Ta has asked an interesting question. Do you still have your tonsils? If so, what shape are they in? Or, were yours removed, at what age, and why? Tonsil Talk Mine are in but I had tonsilitis a lot as a child. Many people believe
this is a precursor to RA (I'm one of those people). Having them out
now would be about as useful as locking the barn after the horse is
stolen.
I always note a lot of people with RA were plagued by strep throat as
children, but it's not very scientific because I am always looking for
that connection so maybe I just notice it more rather than the rate of
prevalance being abnormally high.
I've never had tonsilitis in my life.......still have mine! How weird is that? There's several people in my family with the same thing. The rest of them had terrible tonsilitis as kids and had them removed.
However, my aunt didn't have hers removed until she was 46. This proved to be really REALLY traumatic as for whatever medical reason (I forget the name of it) she not only lost her sense of smell temporarily, but she couldn't taste anything right. Meat and dairy all tasted like "sh*t" (her words, I swear!) She said if you ever wondered what poop tastes like, I can only imagine thats as close as you'd get without actually eating it. Over time her taste has come back, but MAN what an ordeal!
When I was a kid I had tonsilitis all the time. It was to the point that they talked about removing them, and then after that I did not have tonsilitis anymore. Just like my RA went away around the same time.
So... I still have mine. Kinda wish I did not. They like to swell every once in awhile.
Mine were taken when I was 4 or 5. I don't know why exactly, I guess I must have gotten tonsilitis. Never asked.I had my tonsils removed when I was 5 years old after several bouts of tonsilitis. Even though it was 50 years ago, I still remember the doctor saying my tonsils were "all chewed up." My sister had her tonsils removed as an adult and had a very bad time. Something about being older makes tonsil surgery much more serious. Why, I don't know. I've never had tonsilitis or strep throat for that matter and I'm almost 50. Actually, I'm rarely sick....who knows.I still have them even tho I remember strep infections/tonsilitus until I was about 12 - remember praying they would take them out it was that bad.
GoGo - I'd look more into it. I know I've heard its really hard when we're older but sometimes people have them 'all chewed up' and stuff keeps getting stuck in them and they don't realize that's why they keep getting sick. It's something I'm considering because of my dental work 'inciting incident'.
Pip
I thought tonsils were sort of like your spleen, filtering out bacteria and bad stuff so you're better off if you can keep them., did I dream that? Maybe I'm thinking of nose hairs
I missed so much school my first, second and third grade it was a wonder I passed...well, I didn't pass fist grade. I guess that was the only honest teacher.
I had mine out at 16. Lots and Lots of tonsilitis and strep.
Well my tonsils are huge but I've rarely had a sore throat and never had strep. Another thing I've always heard about tonsils is that the surgery is much worse for an adult than for a child. Why is that?
My sons g/f was in the hospital for three days because of tonsilitis and extreme swelling. She was on steriods and two antibiotics. Now she is having them removed this week. She's 22, wonder how it will affect her?
Hey Moana,
If you visit here - ask some of the docs, OK? Why would it be so much worse for adults?
Pip
Lots of tonsilitis, strep and ear infections as a child here too, then tonsils and adnoids removed with tubes in ears at 11/12. Still have ear infections though even as an adult. Adults tend to have lots more bleeding complications than children. Some studies show that as many as 10% of adult patients have bleeding issues and have to be re-admitted to the hospital after they're discharged. 50% of those require a second surgical intervention to stop the bleeding. Adults also tend to be incapactitated for a longer period of time after the surgery - you will be off work from 1 to 2 weeks.