Anyone here have tonsil stones please help!

[warrior1]

Male here. I have had tonsil stones so many times already. Each time i got it out by gagging myself with vinegar or salt water. Last time though i did get it out using my index finger b/c i was told that was possible. This time however, i got tonsil stones stuck again.

I cannot get it out this time b/c I don't even see it but i feel it. I tried listerine, salt water and vinegar and no help at all. I think i also might have scratched my throat b/c my ear is feelign a bit weird now.

Can someone tell me if a doctor can take out the tonsil stones for me? I do not have a good gag reflex and usually it takes a LONG time to get the tonsil stone out. I heard about an irrigator that you can buy and use. Does that work? How does it work? I dont care if i have to pay $100 for one as long as it can get rid of the tonsil stones.

Most people don't like it b/c it makes your breath smell bad. True i also smell it as well but the worst part is you feel something is stuck in your throat. I have had tonsil stones so many times in the last 2 years. I recall each time i got it was b/c I ate rice and i did not chew it fully which is why the food is stuck in my throat.

I keep telling myself to eat slower but forget. These tonsil stones are always caused by me eating. I am very depressed right now b/c these tonsil stones is affecting my attitude. I am always mad and sad now. Does anyone know what is the best solution for me to get rid of it?

I heard about taking out tonsils and i know it hurts a lot but I would do it if it was allowed. The most annoying and frustrating thing to me are tonsil stones b/c you feel food is stuck in your throat when you talk or swallow. Other things include wanting to vomit and vomiting itself.

Anyone can give me advice please? Last time i went to an ENT referred to by my doctor and they told they saw NOTHING. They used some telescope and put it in my mouth and said they say nothing. A few days later, i coughed out the stones but this time, it is REALLY hard for me. I am also feeling a bit sick now b/c of it.

 

[KontrollerX]

Seriously consider getting a tonsillectomy.

A lot of people get this operation done when they are kids because it was the only way to keep their airway from becoming completely cut off due to tonsilitis or they just got tired of the repeated tonsil throat infections they'd get because of their tonsils.

From what I read this surgery will solve your problem.

 

[warrior1]

I have gotten this starting in 2007. The worst feeling in the world health wise is wanting to vomit and you are not at home. Say if you are taking the subway and just feel sick. I had an awful experience throwing up from food poisoning. These tonsil stones are a definite 2nd.

I dont know why people who complain about tonsil stones complain about the bad breath. Shouldn't the feeling in the back of their throat bother them more? I care about bad breath etc but feeling something stuck in your throat is very frustrating. I also feel tired and someone mentioned that these 2 are correlated. Last time when i got the tonsil stone out i felt so good. Now that i got it again, i feel sick and tired. Sometimes my ear gets a little red to now.

anyone else?

 

[piranha45]

I have tonsil stones, get them all the time. They always stay relatively small (biggest I ever see would probably be 10% the size of my pinky finger's last digit). They do not bother me nearly as bad as they apparently do to you. All I need to remove them is a minute's time and a mirror so I can see where to press.

I negated my gag reflex in relation to my tonsils quite some time ago. I usually press them out when they become visible with my right pinky finger. They form in my right tonsil's cavities much moreso than my left tonsil (probably because i chew food on my right side more than my left? i dunno).

I have also considered a tonsillectomy, but it was more in the interest of removing a source of infection rather than the tonsil stones.

I have done some googling research in my pursuit to learn about tonsillectomys. Do some of your own; there are plenty of multi-page forum stories and blogs that detail the unbelievable agony that tonsillectomy patients go through. Between the drugs and the pain, you will be unable to work or do anything productive for about 2 weeks. 2 weeks of sitting at home and drinking nothing but soup, praying to god that another pain bout doesn't come up, because apparently most doctors are stingy with the amount of pain medication they'll give you after a tonsillectomy. You can't sleep for more than a couple hours, because of the pain. And there will still be heavy pain for another 2 weeks after the first two.

On top of that, it seems many doctors refuse to perform the procedure at all unless you have SERIOUS tonsil problems; the desire to remove them simply because of minor tonsil stones and occasional infection prevention seems to be insufficient.

In wake of my personal research on the subject, I have pretty much abandoned my quest to get my tonsils removed. The tonsil stones do not bother me, i was interested in removing them since they tend to start up my cold infections a couple times a year. Apparently, you need demonstrable proof that they give you infections a dozen times a year or so before a doctor will consider performing it on you. And for me, the mind-blowing pain over a month is a real turn-off. Women have said their tonsillectomy recoveries were worse than non-hospitalized childbirth, to put things in perspective.

That being said, after about two months you will be back to 100% normal, minus those big worthless fleshy growths in the back of your mouth. Its an incredibly lengthy and very debilitating experience, not something to be taken lightly. Go do some googling.

 

[warrior1]

I have done a lot of googling already. They all tell me pretty much the same thing. The thing is if i could get them out everytime like you, then i would be fine. You say it takes you 1 minute? Do you use any listerine or hydrogen peroxide?

I have a horrilble gag reflex so i cannot get it out. Heck, if it takes me 30 minutes i would still be fine. The thing is it is very hard for me to take it out. I am goign to the ENT doctor on Tuesday. Do you know if it is possilbe they can take it out for me using a toothpick or whatnot? I am going to ask the doctor about the waterpik irrigator b/c some people say it works. Have you tried that b4?

 

[piranha45]

i used to have the bad gag reflex too, the key is to desensitize it by pressing in there a lot. the routine removal of my tonsil stones was quite sufficient to desensitize the area quite some time back when i first started having tonsil stone issues (mid teens)

i dont use any mouthwash or anything else. i havent tried the waterpik irrigator, even though i own one, because its less effective than fingers. I USED to use q-tips, back when i first started removing them. over time of course as the gag reflex went away, fingers became more practical.

I imagine the ent doctor will spray your mouth with some numbing agent and then pull it out with some instrument.

all i can really suggest is that you just start spending time prodding ur tonsils with ur fingers, to gradually overcome that frustrating gag reflex... and try using q-tips too.

For the past few years, its been nothing more than 5-10 minutes in front of the mirror. I usually get multiple stones in various areas of right tonsil that will peep out a little. A big obvious stone will press right out in less than 30 seconds. No gag reflex at all if its in the mid-upper part of tonsil, although if its in the lower area (not very many occurrences there) near tongue then i might gag a little, may also gag if i have a lot of the white crud and im pressing really hard. Big 10-minute episodes like that are rare though, maybe once every few months. Most come out quicker and easily. I press the white crud out maybe once every 2 weeks on average. Shaving my face is more of a hassle and much more time consuming.

 

[Jules Verne]

I had my tonsils removed. I'd say two weeks until you fully recover.

I puked on the first day of recovery, but that was because I kept taking the liquid medicine I was given. I stopped taking it, and I was fine after that.

The pain was minimal. It was a bit severe on the fourth or fifth day, but nothing serious. The recovery process is a ***** since scabs form where your tonsils were and you can't really open your mouth fully and eat proper food until about two weeks later.

The surgery is worth it.

 

[warrior1]

how much do you have to pay for the surgery? I heard that insurance wont cover it? Im a 22 year old male that still lilves at home with no job b/c i am still in college. i do have health insurance though.

 

[anne5510]

from what i heard you have to push out the stones with your tongue by placing your tongue under the base of the tonsil and pushing in an upward direction. If the stones don't stop forming you may require surgery to remove the stones or a tonsillectomy.

 

[darkstarrr]

I solved that issue a long long time ago without getting tonsils removed. Try this first, its very simple.

1. Drink a glass of orange juice each day.
2. Drink several glasses of water each day - when you wake up, before you go to sleep, after meals.. I add a squeezed slice of lemon to mine.
3. Exercise at least 2 times a week. Run - SWEAT...

Maybe the above had nothing to do with it and it was just a timing coincedence that when I changed my lifestyle to incorporate the above they seemed to occur less often/disappear. I'm not a tonsil specialist.

How is your diet/exercise/sleep overall?

 

[VHoj]

darkstarrr is right. the reason why orange juice and lemonade helped him (and me) is that it makes you produce saliva (bodies own cleaning fluid for mouth). Saliva is acidic, it kills germs and fungi which actually cause tonsil stones. So glass of OJuice a day to keep tonsils away!

 

[marmel75]

Damn...I didn't even know there was such a thing...sounds like it would extremely uncomfortable...