TonsilStones.org

26 Comments Add your own

• 1. annie  |  March 23rd, 2008 at 10:57 pm

  I’m so glad I read your symptoms. I have exactly the same ones as you and have discomfort on the left side of my throat. I am suffering quite badly at present and fell so miserable and lacing in energy.
  At least I know it’s not just me. Do you get pain on swallowing?

• 2. Michele  |  March 25th, 2008 at 1:13 pm

  Hi Trillian,

  I would go see another ENT in your insurance network. If he’s that hesitant and insecure about making the decision, I’m not sure I would want him to even do the surgery. There are ENT’s out there that know what they are and will take them out without any hesitation.

  Best of Luck!

• 3. Trillian  |  March 26th, 2008 at 3:51 am

  Hi Annie,
  Thanks for your comment. If I skip cleaning them out for a few days, it does get to be painful. I’ve found that if I take q-tips and do what I can to remove some of the build-up, I can keep myself from coughing or irritation. The problem with that is that I have to do it at least twice a week, and it’s such a sensitive area that it usually ends up bleeding. My co-teacher always jokes with me because she knows that if I come in with a raspy voice, I definitely spent some time with my flashlight and q-tips that night before.
  I’ll keep looking for another doctor. Thanks for your encouragement!

• 4. SuperNinja  |  March 27th, 2008 at 1:28 am

  You’re wasting your time with that doctor.

  You wasted over a year with him.

  I saw 2 different doctors about my tonsil stones, and both of them unhesitatingly said that surgery was a good option, the very first time that I saw either one of them.

• 5. Chris Lord  |  March 27th, 2008 at 10:57 pm

  @SuperNinja: Ditto, I saw 3 separate (maybe 4?) GPs and a specialist and all of them said, unhesitatingly, that I could have them out if I wanted to – I had also suffered from chronic tonsilitis since a child (I am now 22, 23 next week), however, but they all said that if the stones were bothering me that I should seriously think of having them removed…

  And today, I just did It’s not so painful so far, although I get the feeling tomorrow morning is going to be a bit of a trial… I’d compare it to a particularly bad bout of tonsilitis, except without the fever/headache/illness that tends to go with that. If you keep on drinking water and make the effort to eat solid food, it actually massively reduces the pain (immediately after waking up from the surgery I was drinking plenty of water and I ate a wholemeal bread sandwich as soon as I could manage it).

  I don’t regret this decision in the slightest if it means I have a roomier throat (which it does) and it means I never have to deal with tonsil stones again. My tonsils were quite above average size, however (another thing my various GPs commented on), so this might be more advantageous to me than it would be to you… The various nurses and doctors that dealt with me were all very nice as well, I felt well taken care of

  On the whole, a very positive experience so far – if I can make it through the next couple of weeks without too much incident, I’ll be one happy bunny!

• 6. elle  |  April 5th, 2008 at 12:29 am

  I just stumbled across this site, and felt I had to say something!
  I had been dealing with what I now know as tonsil stones since childhood. More than a few doctors accused me of making it up, until I just stopped asking what they were. I hated the choking sensation, the lumps in my throat, and the creepy feeling you get from inadvertently swallowing a tonsil stone. I thought it was just me!

  I also suffered from frequent colds, sinus infections, and strep throat, which eventually made the tonsil stones an insignificant problem by comparison.

  Periodically my tonsils would become so swollen I would require either prednisone (steroid) tablets or sometimes even prednisone injections (which come with really unpleasant side effects) to prevent my throat from swelling shut!

  Sometimes I was frustrated with my parents for not allowing my tonsils to be taken out when I was a child (they did have the best intentions– not wanting their child to undergo painful surgery for something they were told I would probably grow out of). However my symptoms got progressively worse as I got older, including excruciating ear pain which I attribute to the added pressure from tonsil stones, a CONSTANT swollen throat (sometimes sore, sometimes not) and a life disrupting never ending series of infections. In the last 1.5 years my swollen tonsils even affected the sound of my speaking voice, and made it impossible to sing.

  About 7 years ago I started actively looking for a doctor willing to remove my tonsils, with no luck because in my very early 20′s I was too old! Eventually I gave up on ever finding a solution, until I couldn’t take it anymore.

  Last year, after a series of doctors, I finally found a ENT willing to remove my tonsils. Surprisingly, this was an ENT I had been to at the beginning who had refused to do the tonsillectomy due to my age– I guess now it has become more accepted in the ENT/medical community. So instead of having my tonsils removed at age 20 or 21, I finally had them out at 28.

  For me the recovery was incredibly painful, even with the prescription painkillers (I also had a reaction to the anesthesia which caused uncontrollable vomiting for a few hours after the surgery, OUCH). It took nearly 2 weeks before I could talk or eat semi-solid food without extreme pain and about a month before my sore throat subsided to a level more “annoying” than “painful”. AND IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT!

  I would sign up for the tonsillectomy surgery again without reservation. It has now been 6 months since the surgery and I have not had a cold, sinus infection, strep throat or even a sore throat since. Even my allergies have become much more manageable, and I will never ever have to deal with those horrible tonsil stones again!

  I can only speak from my experience, since surgery is such a personal choice, but I wholeheartedly recommend the tonsillectomy. The fleeting post-surgical pain is a small price to pay for lifetime relief from all the terrible symptoms. I also feel much healthier now that I’m not being pumped full of antibiotics, NSAIDs, steroidal anti-inflammatories, painkillers, decongestants and antihistamines every few months.

  My two cents– Fellow sufferers: keep searching for a reputable doctor who will listen to your concerns and will clearly outline the benefits and risks of surgery so you can make an informed decision. Good doctors are hard to find, but they are out there!

  Concerned parents: get a second, third, or even fourth opinion if your child has repeated problems. By no means rush in to what could be unnecessary surgery, but don’t rule out the potential benefits either. I wish this was something EVERY child could grow out of… but if they don’t, find a trusted ENT and monitor the situation until you find the right course of action for your child, whatever that may be.

  Best wishes to you all!

• 7. Chris Lord  |  April 9th, 2008 at 7:55 pm

  Just thought I’d post a follow-up comment – it’s now 13 days after my surgery and I’m feeling much better My throat still hurts quite a bit in the morning and I still need some painkillers to go through the day comfortably, but I’m almost eating normally again, there’s hardly any visible scarring left and just the thought of no more tonsil stones is enough to forget all of that

  Days 6-8 were the worst pain by far – before then, I could just about handle solid food, but during that time, I had to go off it the pain was too great – but after that, I could gradually reintroduce solid food and since a couple of days ago I’m almost back to normal, as long as I make sure to chew thoroughly.

  To anyone that suffers from tonsil stones and/or chronic tonsillitis, I’d really recommend getting this done – Like Elle said, the fleeting pain of the surgery is nothing compared to the lifetime of inconvenience that bad tonsils can cause.

• 8. Bell  |  April 29th, 2008 at 3:45 pm

  I’m 39 now and have been suffering with these things for 22 or 23 years now. I’m going through a fairly rough case right now, which is how I found this site, Googling for information about tonsils and whatnot.

  I’m going to have to try going wheat-free for a bit to see if it helps.

  I’m considering seeing the doctor about this latest bout as I’ve had a bit of blood along with the tonsil stones this time. It’s not bleeding profusely, just a slight gush — much less than a teaspoon — when I push the right tonsil hard, and then it’s done within literally a second. The bleeding has happened twice now over the last 4 or 5 weeks. I’ve pushed at least thrice daily on it for the past month. So, having only two of those pushes result in a tiny bit of blood doesn’t scare me much, particularly so when I am probably pushing so hard as to bruise.

  What I’ve noticed with mine is that while I have no doubt my tonsils would be considered chronically infected or something, that it always seems to have an acute “cause” that takes months to work out, or even a year. Usually, I can actually feel with my tongue something akin to the main stone way back there, probably close to the holes leading toward the adenoids or something, or maybe it’s just the deepest of the “crypts.” I think I can actually feel it right now, too, with my tongue. Once I get that one main one out — which always ends up being the biggest (like a quarter or half-centimeter), grossest and often physically hardest tonsil stone you could imagine — the rest usually go away within a few days. Then, it will be months or even years before I have the problem crop up again.

  It had been probably about 5 years before this latest bout I am suffering from now. Truthfully, I don’t think mine are so bad, due to the years where I don’t get them. If it had been 22 or 23 years straight of this, I probably would have taken a steak knife to them myself if I couldn’t get a doctor to do it. Every doctor I’ve seen about it tells me my tonsils are hardly swollen compared to other cases they’ve seen and removal is out of the question. Honestly, my tonsils never get very swollen, even when I’ve “squeezed” out a tbsp. or two worth of stones. I don’t know where all the stones fit! My tonsils must be practically hollow to fit it all in there. My right one always seems worse, too.

  Here’s a cautionary tale, too. My cousin suffered from the same issues with her tonsils. They eventually took hers out when she was about 40 and they were terribly infected. They just had to remove them. Unfortunately for her, she started bleeding about 2 days post-surgery and she had to be rushed into emergency to cauterize and stitch up her wounds again. She very nearly bled to death in the O.R. Lucky for her they were able to stem the bleeding eventually.

  Her doctor said that the risk of complications like bleeding to death from a tonsillectomy goes up considerably post-adolescence. So, when your doctor hesitates to perform this surgery, understand why.

  Sure, the odds that you’ll die from a tonsillectomy are like 1 in 15,000. But, the odds that a ENT surgeon will have a single patient die on them from a tonsillectomy during their career as a doctor are like 50-50. Your doctor doesn’t want you to be that patient, especially for something that is not very likely to be life threatening.

  I have heard, through some other threads here and on Wikipedia, about this laser smoothing or resurfacing of the tonsils. Sounds interesting, maybe a better alternative to actually having them removed? If anybody has any information about that, I would love to hear it.

• 9. carol  |  June 4th, 2008 at 9:58 pm

  I have just arrived home from my GREAT ENT (Dr. Mambrino) and he just enlightened me that I had Tonsiliths. He knew right what they were and said that as we get older the tonsils shrivil ( his word) and the crevices are more apt to trap shedding mucus etc and form tonsiliths. He said I could have them out but really didn’t advise it. His advice was to wait it ourt as this would pass as the tonsils grow older they would change to not trap the stuff so easily. He suggests swixhing and maybe digging them out as needed depending on the annoyance level.
  As a side note I don’t believe they cause bad breath – he agrees – as wikipedia and a hundred other websites claim. OBVIOUSLY if you crack them open they smell – so don’t crack them open!!

  Try him – hope this helps

• 10. carol  |  June 4th, 2008 at 10:03 pm

  PS
  Dr.Mambrino is at mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge MA

• 11. SimSim  |  June 28th, 2008 at 2:59 am

  Wow, and here I thought I was just some weirdo who got this.

  When I was younger, years (8-12) it would happen every once in a while, usually on my left tonsil.

  And now, at that ripe age of 19 (ha ha) I’ve been dealing with these fiendish, bedamned , bits from hell for well over a year. My tonsil gets swollen, it hurts to swallow, I am constantly nervous that I have bad breath, and I can feel and tell when Have those little bastards ( pardon my language, but I think its one of the few suitable terms) and I have a constant painful pressure on my right ear. It’s total torture.

  I told my mom about these, she didn’t believe me at first, until I showed her. She quickly changed her mind. I finally got to see an ENT after my doc referred me (after always telling me to gargle when, NEWSFLASH: IT NEVER WORKED!). She said ti would be a good idea to get them taken out, and told me she had seen several patients who had this problem as well. They wanted to schedule surgery after my semester was over, but with this whole insurance (or lack of), it wasn’t an option. Then, miraculously, they seemed to go away. Until today. The F***ers came back with a vengence, only this time, they are not budging, even after considerable pushing with a finger, and q tip (gross I know, but it was the only way.) So now, once again Im off to see the Doc this Monday, to schedule when I can get them taken out. It sucks because I was told it will take 10 days of recovery, and Im looking for a job, but on the other hand, I cant stand it anymore.

  Anyway, to end my rant, I just wanted to say thanks for giving me some more info, as well as hope and the comfort (for lack of a better word) to know that I am not alone.

  Thank you all so very much.

• 12. Jennifer  |  July 19th, 2008 at 2:10 pm

  I have had these off and on for years. The best method I’ve found for getting them out is to use a long q-tip with peroxide on the tip. If I can push some of it in the crevice, after a while it will ‘boil’ out. I usually have to repeat several times, but I can see progress with each one. I guess it is possible that if the peroxide can loosen it, that maybe gargling will get it out the rest of the way.

  You can buy the long q-tips at some pharmacies or home health stores. They aren’t necessary, but it’s easier for me to reach them when balancing a magnifying mirror and a flashlight!

• 13. autumn  |  August 8th, 2008 at 6:09 am

  wow it was not until high school that i found others who had these things. And only yesterday did i learn their name and find this thread. i was thinking though, if in fact our tonsils are functioning parts of our bodies that keep bacteria from traveling deeper into our bodies…..aren’t these stones a sign that our tonsils are doing a good job? if spitting out a few globs that only break if i squash them, when i happen to get them is all i have to worry about! what i mean is…..instead of working so hard to find surgeons tp perform a controversial surgery, i think people should explore possible allergies, make dietary changes, cut out the milk and sugar first. Honestly these are no longer a problem for me unless i happen to get around cigarette smoke. Since i have quit smoking i rarely get them, but my family smokes and that really irritates my system when i get around them. Also, I have been pregnant and so, avoiding alcohol entirely(which is sugar) may have helped. Since i have been trying to eat healthy for the baby, I have had no flare ups. I am happy to see one of these nasty things, because it is often the only warning i have that a nasty bug could set in and i beef up on my vit.c and chicken soup before i even experience severe cough symptoms. i understand the problem may be worse for others, but i still don’t believe surgery should be considered before diet and lifestyle decisions are examined. Because if you weren’t getting these nasty stones, all that nastiness would be swallowed….yuck.

• 14. Tanis  |  August 28th, 2008 at 12:20 pm

  I have had these since childhood, and they come and go. I feel that surgery is an extreme option, but I have had the buggers stuck and know how frustrating it can be. The best thing that I have found, is get an irrigating syringe from the doctor, it is like a plastic needle with a little tube on the end instead of a needle. Fill the syringe with water or saline solution and poke the tube into the crypts. Then plunge and spit. You can get them out when they are very small if you do it once a week or so. I find sometimes if I am feeling sick, like headache and like I’m getting a cold I will irrigate my tonsils and I will feel much better. I think that they are like pearls, getting out bits of food, but also a defense against infections, by calcifying the foreign body’s. I guess the way I look at it, the tonsillar crypts and tonsil balls were put there to serve some purpose, who am I to come along and Chop them out! I really hope that this helps some of you who feel surgery is your only option. It can’t hurt to give it a try, and i’m willing to bet you will be able to find an irrigating syringe easier than a ENT doc who will remove them. That and you can still enjoy all the things you are currently eating!

• 15. robert  |  September 7th, 2008 at 6:33 am

  The stones certainly do cause bad breath and taste, regardless of what doctors or other sites say. You do not have to break them to smell the foulness either. I do not believe doctors are informed half of the time. I have been told they are rotted food pieces, trapped phlem, etc., by seemingly good doctors. Not true. None would work on me or take my tonsils out and most doctors dismiss the whole thing. Now I am to old to have them out. I believe mine started with Mono as a teen. I have other latent problems I believe are related, like night sweats, and tender lymphnodes sometimes. The chemical make up of the stones prove many doctors claims wrong. Why don’t docs just admit when they don’t know the facts? Someday a doctor will sufer from this and find the truth in desperation. Until then, good luck all.

• 16. pf  |  September 14th, 2008 at 2:53 am

  I have them too. It’s been about 6 years or so. It took me a while to piece it all together. Not much info out there 6 years ago. Thank you all for your suggestions. I am 33 so too old to get the tonsils removed from what I read. I will try the long Qtips and see what happens. I am hoping the feeling in my throat goes away and my bad breathe clears up as a result.

  Thanks again…

• 17. monica  |  September 24th, 2008 at 3:58 pm

  I am 36yrs old , someone wrote that 33 is to old to have them removed, why is that ? Do you have to be a certain age. I hope not I don’t want deal with this anymore, I would like to have my tonsil removed. Thanks for all your helpful comments.

• 18. cindy  |  October 5th, 2008 at 1:03 am

  I am 50 years old, and I too suffer from tonsil stones. My husband is a family physician and he said that tonsil stones are a good candidate for a tonsilectomy. I am planning one in the future. Surgery has come a long way. Why suffer daily with this problem, when it has a simple solution?
  I have tried all kinds of other treatments without luck. There is hope and an answer for all of us.

• 19. nicole  |  November 16th, 2008 at 6:43 pm

  I’ve had tonsil stones since i was around 10 years old (I’m 40 now). When I was young no one knew what they were so I decided to call it “cottage cheese disease” for lack of a better term!

  I’ll go a few weeks or a month or two before they start bothering me. When that happens I know it’s time to get out the flashlight and remove them. What I have found is that a waterpic removes them quickly and easily without any pain. The pocket on my right tonsil is pretty deep and the waterpic flushes out the entire pocket (just be careful to spit the water in the sink and not swallow!) If you do try this I recommend you put it on the lowest water pressure setting. I thought I was going to need to really blast them out the first time – not so much. Turn it to the lowest setting and then slowly increase if you need to. I find the lowest setting works perfectly. Hope this helps!

• 20. Kristi  |  November 17th, 2008 at 8:49 pm

  I have had these for about 8 years now. At first they were just the little white things I would pick out of my throat. Then, about a year ago, I had to really do some digging, and boy did I get sick after that. I had the most horrid looking throat you could imagine. I went to the doctor and didn’t tell her what I had done, and she thought it was strep. The strep test came back negative, but I got antibiotics and it cleared up. I just did some major digging again about 2 days ago, and boy am I sick again… throat hurts so much I can barely swallow, and it feels like it will swell shut at night. Is this going to happen now every time I really have to dig? I know some people think a tonsilectomy is drastic for these, and I would agree if you aren’t getting sick. But if I’m going to get this sick each time I have to do major digging, it would be worth it (I have had more and more of these as I get older). Anyone else get sick from digging them out?

• 21. Judy  |  November 20th, 2008 at 4:42 am

  I am 50yrs old and after dealing with these disgusting tonsil stones for over 30 years finally had a tonsillectomy two weeks ago. My throat is almost clear of the white muck that has to come off after the tonsillectomy. It doesn’t hurt to swallow today and today I feel like i am ready to go back to work. Being a teacher using my voice all the time and risking infection I wanted to wait until i could cope with talking for an extended period without pain before returning to work. I go back on Monday. There are so many sites that explain how it is after the tonsillectomy for adults. I am so thankful that I could prepare for the pain. biggest thing was to drink lots of water all the time which was hard for me. If this site is still operating I’ll keep you posted on whether it was worth it. Only time will tell.

• 22. jackie  |  November 22nd, 2008 at 2:56 pm

  I have suffered with pain in my right tonsil daily for almost three years. Periodically I would see white debris on my tonsils. Sometimes they work themselves out from below my tonsils. The worse was during the swim portion of a triathlon where I had to stop and cough out a huge stone. The largest I’d seen. Well after finally getting over the fear of being diagnosed with cancer I got the nerve to see an ENT doctor. He diagnosed me with tonsilliths, but to make sure that I didn’t have anything more ominous he did get a ct scan. Anyway when I asked him what could be done about the stones, he said “really nothing other than removing the stones whenever you see them and if they are too difficult to get off that you could come to the office and we can help you remove the stone. And one day when you get tired of doing that after a while then just call me and i will schedule me for surgery.” Well, I thought about it for 2 weeks, considered how miserable this last 3 years have been with daily pain, nasty taste in my mouth, and coughing up stones in not so fun places. Then I called him up and he scheduled me for a tonsillectemy.

• 23. Jake  |  January 23rd, 2009 at 7:25 am

  I started getting them almost immediately after a horrible tonsillitis that had me confined to my bed covered in blankets yet still shivering for a week. After that sickness my tonsils had extremely deep crypts and I got tonsil stones ever since. They made me very self-conscious about my breath. I cleaned stones out of my tonsils a couple times per week and I compulsively brushed my teeth like five times per day.

  A couple years ago I decided to have my tonsils removed. I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was SOOOOOO worth it. People worry that maybe the tonsils are there to trap bacteria so it can’t get into your system. Seriously, think about how absurd that proposition is.

  You’re telling me that microscopic organisms enter your body through your nose or mouth and then CAN’T FIGURE A WAY PAST YOUR TONSILS??? LMAO. What — do the bacteria walk along your tongue till they get to the back of your throat and then, instead of just continuing on down the throat they instead jump into your tonsillar crypts?

  And if the simple logic doesn’t do the trick for you, how do you explain the fact that candidates for tonsillectomy are most commonly people who get sick VERY often. And then after they get their tonsils out they abruptly stop getting sick frequently?

  What possible reason is there to adhere to the groundless presumption that tonsils act as a gatekeeper that quarantines and neutralizes bacteria, rather than simply providing a warm, moist, dark area that is perfectly suited for a bacteria breeding ground?

• 24. Serg  |  February 4th, 2009 at 6:48 am

  I had bad breath for years. The worst thing is most people assume you have bad hygiene but I flossed and brushed twice a day just like everyone else. It was until about two years ago that I figured out what the problem was. As soon as I figured out that I had tonsil stones I started to dig them out. Unfortunately I could never get them all. Sometimes I would spend 2+ hours trying to make sure I got them all but I always found more. The most problematic area was between the glossopalatine arch and the tonsil. It’s really hard to reach and you cant see heck.

  Because I didn’t have health insurance I had to travel to my home country to remove my tonsil stones. It was painful and I stayed in the hospital for a week. Fortunately it only cost me $200 US.

  Now, six month later, I don’t regret it at all. The benefit of not having to keep 3 meter distance sure paid off.

• 25. Hilda  |  February 28th, 2009 at 8:17 pm

  About a year ago, I felt I had bad breath and while talking to my sister she told me that I might be suffering from tonsil stones. Sure enough, a few weeks ago, I was getting sick and noticed a white stone on the back of my throat. At first I thought it was a fever blister but did not hurt. I was able to remove it with my finger and it had an awful smell. After reading the comments to Trillian on this site, I will go home and try some of the tactics some of you have tried. I hope it helps.

• 26. Heidi  |  April 30th, 2009 at 6:36 pm

  I’m wondering what happened to Cindy (comment #18)? Did you get your tonsils out? I’m glad to read about Judy (#21) too—-are you fully recovered? And, feeling good?

  I’m 44 and have had this problem for a long time too. In college I had strep throat quite a bit and was told the standard was if I had strep 2x/year, I should have them removed. I wish I had pressed it then.

  My husband thinks surgery is too risky (we have 7 yr old twins) but I too am sick of the bad taste in my mouth and having these balls pop out at all times, feeling like there are rocks in the back of my throat and trying to pick them out with blunt objects. Gargling doesn’t help and I have a good diet—don’t smoke, drink very little alcohol. I have a sensitive gag reflex and have brought on 5 minute coughing fits while trying to dislodge the “balls”.

  When I was younger, they would seem to ‘pop’ out by themselves, but now I have to poke and prod in front of a lighted magnifying mirror and then my throat bleeds, is sore, or I have a coughing fit.

  Oh, and now, I get bronchitis and walking pneumonia. I have allergies and have been snoring more. I can’t help but wonder if these things would be better if I got the tonsils removed (and it’s BOTH of them). It’s only gotten worse as I’ve gotten older. I don’t know how the stats for death from tonsillitis compare but people die from pneumonia often! I’m thinking the risk would be worth it—–haven’t seen an ENT yet, but think I will.

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