White Bumps In Throat _{Page 75 of 90}

Katherine,

I never had any sinus problems.

Hmm..That's what I was worried about. It seems that many people on here who have complete success with their tonsillectomy ( i.e no bad breath ) didn't have sinus problems in the first place such as Post Nasal Drip. I'm worried that the tonsillectomy won't cure me completely since I do have Post Nasal Drip. Although, I have tried the sinus irrigator and it didn't help whatsoever.

Hey I've dealt with these boogers for the past couple years and I finally googled it. I always felt like they were plaque balls and I still don't know how to get them out, they just come out at odd times on their own. They smell and I'm not sure if I had a bad breath problem, no one has ever told me so (and my husband would).

I do have post nasal drip so I don't know. I just deal with it, I would like to know how you extract them early though instead of waiting for them to come out on their own.

I know I mentioned it a few years ago to my brother and totally knew what I was talking about--he's the one who called it a plaque ball. I never looked at my tonsils so I didn't know they were visible.

I just popped a lil bastard out and then I came to the internet to Google it.

Do they have a name? I read the calculi in an earlier post.

you should read some more posts in this thread.. you'll get all the info you need.

they're also known as 'tonsil stones'

some people use q-tips to dig them out, others even use those waterpiks to flush them out.. i haven't invested the money into getting a waterpik, but i've had best results with a rubber tip butler gum massager. i'm getting a tonsillectomy anyway to get rid of these things for good.

i think i've even read a post in here one time about someone using a wire coat hanger to get them out, which i thought was an insane idea, especially since the coat hanger actually got stuck in the person's tonsils and it turned out to be a bloody mess (nevermind the potential for a nasty infection).

one thing you may learn here, like i have, is that i haven't come across anyone who has had success with getting rid of these things permanently through alteration of diet, or even with keeping the mouth as clean as possible with using dr.katz therabreath products. that's why so many people are going with the tonsillectomy.

Hey Katherine,

I have major sinus issues and tonsil stones. I will be getting my tonsils out on the 30th. I am pretty sure that I have read from some people on this thread that having their tonsils removed helped their post nasal drip significantly. I have also come across some info on the net that suggested that an adenoid/tonsillectomy help sinus issues in like 30-40% of the people who got them. My tonsils may only be one source of my sinus issues but I am hoping they are one of the bigger sources. Also, maybe getting them removed will help my snoring too! That would be a bonus.

Katherine,

Don't worry about it. You will be okay. I was worried too because my breath problem was extreme. I have no confidence that I was going to have relief although I had to try. Also, my doctor told me the tonsilectomy was a cure.

My surgery is tomorrow morning:) I'm a tad nervous, but more excited that the date has finally arrived after all that waiting and debating! I have a couple questions for all who have had tonsillectomies. I asked this earlier but I don't think anyone really understood what I was trying to get across. On my sheet of paper outlining the rules for surgery, it says that you can't chew gum, eat, or drink before the surgery! For me... that's pretty crappy because I usually chew gum and eat to get that taste out of my mouth. How did anyone on here combat that? Can you brush your teeth? ... Second question.. I realize that there have been MANY posts about the foods you should get ready for post-surgery, but I don't know what pages they are on. Does anyone just have a quick suggestion as to what foods I should get for the couple days in which I'll feel my worst ( and therefore can't get to the store? )... Thanks alot everyone:)

Hey Katherine, my surgery is tommorrow morning too! hehe.

I believe someone mentioned you will be on liquid diet on day of surgery and depending on how you feel, you can eat soft food afterwards like soup without any chunks of meat.

For those of you who JUST had surgery, could it possible the breath relief is coming from the antibiotics you are taking?

Just thought I would update you guys on this. I went to the ENT and explained my problems. He then told me to upen my mouth so he could look at my tonsil. He said 'Wow!' and then got a Q-tip and poked my tonsils for a good 30 secounds until this ugly greenish thing came out. He then explain to me about how my srypts are very deep, deeper then normal. He said the only way to get rid of them was to remove my tonsil.

Which made me very happy :)

The whole visit only took 5 minutes. I'm getting them removed this monday morning. I'm a bit nervous as I'm not totally sure what method he is using. I asked him 3 times but he said that he has several methods and will use the one best fitting for my situation.

Any advice for the healing process/any thing to expect?

Thanks!

My doctor just put me on an antibiotic called Biaxin (Clarithromycin) for an unrelated condition, and I have to say I haven't had any stones since I started taking it. However, I do still have my usual post-nasal drip, though it's lighter than usual. My boyfriend says my breath smells better than usual, too. Too bad we can't stay on antibiotics forever... I'm seriously considering a tonsillectomy, anyway...

When I went for a check-up after having the laser procedure my ENT looked and my throat and said 'Hmm.. you do have really big crypts'. That seems to be the major problem for all of us here. Obviously with deep crypts we can't get in every nook and cranny, and that is why the tonsillectomy seems to work much better over a waterpik.

Antibiotic prolonged or over use is way more dangerous and unhealthy than having your tonsils yarded out. Anyone recently on a bout of antibiotics should eat some yogurt to replace the good bacteria killed by the med's. As a benefit, Japanese did a study that showed sugar free yogurt helped breath.

*******************************
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4367723.stm
Natural yoghurt beats bad breath
Image of a woman flossing
Good dental hygiene keeps breath fresh
Sugarless yoghurt could help beat bad breath, tooth decay and gum disease, say scientists.

Japanese researchers found eating the yoghurt reduced levels of hydrogen sulphide - a major cause of bad breath - in 80% of volunteers.

The key are active bacteria in yogurt, specifically Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.

Details were presented at a meeting of the International Association for Dental Research.

A total of 24 volunteers who took part in the study were given strict instructions on oral hygiene, diet and medication intake.

They spent two weeks avoiding yoghurts and similar foods, like cheese.

Researchers then took saliva and tongue coating samples to measure bacteria levels and odour-causing compounds, including hydrogen sulphide.

The volunteers then ate 90 grams of yoghurt a day for six weeks.

At the end of the study, researchers took samples again. They found hydrogen sulphide levels decreased in 80% of participants.

Levels of plaque and the gum disease gingivitis were also significantly lower among yoghurt eaters.

Added bonus

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said: 'The foundation has long been drawing people's attention to sugar-free yoghurts as a healthy snack, so it is pleasing to hear that it may have oral health benefits we were previously unaware of.

'Frequent consumption of sugary snacks is the principal cause of tooth decay, which can cause a great deal of pain and discomfort.

'Although this research is still in the early stages there is no doubt that sugar-free yoghurts provide a much healthier alternative to sweets and chocolate, and we would encourage snackers to incorporate them into their diet.'

One in four people suffer from bad breath regularly, while 19 in 20 are affected by gum disease at some point in their lives.

However, Dr Carter stressed that the best way to beat bad breath was by adopting a good oral health routine.

This involves brushing twice-a-day with fluoride toothpaste, cutting down on the frequency of sugary snacks and drinks, flossing daily and visiting a dentist regularly.

I asked this earlier but I don't think anyone really understood what I was trying to get across. On my sheet of paper outlining the rules for surgery, it says that you can't chew gum, eat, or drink before the surgery! For me... that's pretty crappy because I usually chew gum and eat to get that taste out of my mouth. How did anyone on here combat that? Can you brush your teeth?

I have read that having a tonsilectomy will eliminate tonsil stones. It is not necessarily so. I had my tonsils removed when I was 14. (I am now 51.)

I still get the tonsil stones. I didn't know what they were and found this site while researching them. They are exactly the same as described here; whitish, smelly, firm globs that form in crypts in the side of my throat.

I get them even though I no longer have tonsils.

Katherine,

The day of surgery you can brush your teeth but don't swallow any water. I was told I could take any prescribed medication with just enough water to get it down. After the surgery I felt okay but really didn't have an appetite. I had homemade chicken noodle soup with nice hunks of chicken. Nothing spicy like tomato sauce or citrus like OJ. It stings your throat really badly. I also had ice cream.

Good luck Katherine and IhateB.

I had my surgery this morning at 7:00 am. It went well and it feels like I have fresher breath. It feels like the only smell is coming from my tongue. I don't have the bad taste in mouth. My doc told me my right tonsil had some puss in it. I was glad to hear that because I don't get those tonsil stones like many of you do.

A problem that worries me is that I seem to snore from my left nostril. Anyone have problem with snoring right after surgery? I had my adenoids taken out too...Ok, I'm feeling naseous now...I'll check back later.

Hi I was just wondering if many people who have tonsil stones also have had acene? or dandruff?

I ask because I read that tonsil stones are related to skin sloughing in your oral cavity, which is also the cause of acene and dandruff (the skin on your face and head of course).

I've had acene as well as dandruff. So I wonder if more people are the same?

I had the surgery this morning at 10:00. Everything went well and I am feeling pretty good (mostly because of the medication).. and have a bad sore throat. Looks pretty nasty back there:) To knudt: You posted this 'I still get the tonsil stones.. They are exactly the same as described here; whitish, smelly, firm globs that form in crypts in the side of my throat. ' .. If you have crypts in the side of your throat then it is very LIKELY that you still get tonsil stones. If you got your tonsils removed it is possible that your ENT did not reach all of the crypts because they were simply too deep. Perhaps you may benefit from a little lasering to eradicate more of the crypts.

Katherine,

Yes, I had the snoring but it goes away woth the healing. I think it's because the muscles around the wound are weakened by the procedure. Immediately after my surgery I couldn't lie flat because I felt like my throat was closing. As I got better I could only lie on one side. That took about 16 days to go away but it is gone.

Just so everyone knows, the admonition to not eat or drink anything before surgery is a common practice in any general anesthesia procedure, not just tonsillectomy. The reason for it is to prevent the regurgitation and possible aspiration of stomach contents during surgery. The logic is, that if you don't have anything in your stomach from the day before, you can't choke on it while you're 'under'. So, brushing your teeth and chewing gum are probably ok, as you're not swallowing much more than the usual saliva in either case.

WOW!
This subject now has 75 pages worth of posts. I am happy for those who dared to get the tonsillectomy. It is indeed a bold step. I hope it all works out for you all, and you find yourself better off in the long run.
For those still trying the natural cures mentioned here and there amongst these pages I say keep at it.
I have been able to drastically reduce the tonsil stones in my tonsils and completely eliminate my bad breath thanks to some of the aforementioend info. For those interested, there is agreat deal of info in many of these pages, you just have to look. Try going back to the 'teens' and 'twenties' if I recall there is good stuff in those pages. It will be worth your time to look if you are patient enough.

Hey everyone--- I am now 30 hours post op. Yesterday everything seemed to go smoothly until this morning. I was sleeping and woke up in the middle of the night with a mucus sensation in the back of the throat. I became worried when it was increasing and I couldn't repeatedly swallow it so I came to the bathroom and it was gushing blood:S. I had to go to the ER in the morning.. stayed there for a while on an IV then was sent home. Later in the day, I was coughing a bit and the wound opened up again, gushing blood, so I had to be sent back. I'm home now, feeling kinda crappy. Don't mean to scare any of you into NOT getting tonsillectomy, just being open with what happened. I'll update soon.

I am sorry to hear that Katherine1. I am glad you are alright and will send up a prayer for you.

Thank you so much, plantinga:) Means alot to me!

Firstly I would like to say that this forum is a great help. Thanks everyone for the great posts and the wonderful information.
Moving on to my situation. I've had tonsil stones for years. Never really had a big problem or bad breath or anything so never worried over it.
One night this week I coughed up about a couple dozen at once when prior never more than two at once. Immediately after I got a sore throat. When I woke up the next day I was sick as a dog. I had aches and pains especially my back and my whole body ached too.
That's when I found this forum. The next day I went out with my gf to walmart. I looked at the waterpiks and they were like 30-50 dollars and didn't really look like they would do the trick anyway. Someone had mentioned a homemade waterpik using fishtank tubing. But the tubes were much too large.
My tonsils are actually quite small not swollen or anything even with this sore throat. Then I remember that I had an irrigater from when I had my wisdom teeth out. I found it even though I had used it years ago. After a thorough sanitation I tried it. It worked perfectly! I got a small flashlight and began to squirt into the tonsils.
I found that I could use the head of the irrigater to push aside the flap of skin that hid, to my surprise, a giant crypt. There were at least 8 more stones in there of medium size. There was another smaller crypt next to it which I fished one more stone out of. At the very back of my throat was a super small crypt with an equally small stone. Much gagging later I managed to remove it finding the crypt was very shallow.
Now I plan to irrigate every night before sleep and morning when I wake. Even after all that today I coughed another one up in the morning after irrigating and finding nothing. But it feels so much better knowing I can get rid of them now. I know I could never give up milk or dairy. I used to smoke moderately and recently quit.
I'm also wondering if the recent burst in stones was a result of a sore throat I had a couple weeks back. When my gf got it from me (she has no tonsils or adenoids) it lasted for a week and she had to get antibiotics. It barely affected me and only lasted 2 days. I've never had strep throat in my life. I don't want my tonsils out; aside from the cost and having no insurance I still think they might serve a purpose. I wish luck to anyone that has this problem.
By the way, the irrigater that I used is called monoject 412. It has a very small tip and is curved at the end. It holds a large resevoir of water and can spray as forcefully as I can push the plunger. Hopefully this post can help someone out there as much as these posts helped me. Good luck to you all!

Katherine,

Did the doctors at the ER tell you to sit up versus laying flat? I was getting moderate bleeding the day of my surgery and contacted the nurse on call. She told me to sit up. After sitting up it went away. And when I say I sat up I mean a slept on the couch with plenty of pillows in a sitting positiion.


Iradicate,

Several people mentioned the monoject 412 several pages back. I'm glad you mentioned it for the newer posters.