Getting rid of my tonsil stones for good?
Hi! Firstly if you are reading this you must be another sufferer of these horrible stink balls they call tonsil stones. So you have my full sympathy.
Funny taste and little stones
Since I was 14 I’ve constantly had a funny taste in my mouth. Gradually over the years, these little yellow bits of debris would appear in my mouth, again I put it down to something else, like leftover crisps or food. BUT. One day I crushed one to see what it was and OMG. The smell of death only a tonsil stone sufferer knows!
Back and forth to GP and Dentist
My next step at aged 17 was to mention it to my GP who took a very quick look inside my mouth and said “nothing there” it must be leftover food. I knew it wasn’t. So years went by and I still got the stones, they got worse and worse. I decided to go back to a new GP in my early 20’s and he sent me to the Dentist. The Dentist sent me straight back to the GP. So again I wasn’t getting anywhere. This back and forth continued every year.
They have a name! Tonsil Stones
Then a few years later, my first hero arrived – the internet. I did a search on “smelly yellow debris in mouth” as back then I had NO idea what they were. The first word that comes up “tonsilloliths” also known as “tonsil stones”. I had my diagnosis but what was the treatment?
Well it seemed that full tonsil removal was the only solution and as I was in my early 20’s by then, there were warnings of the op being riskier and a long recovery time. I had a busy job and could not take weeks off and didn’t want to be in pain for weeks either.
I spent years trying new products, mouthwashes, pushing the stones out with cotton buds or my fingers and yes the odd one popped out but my tonsils were full of them.
PLEASE NOTE: Tonsil stones is nothing to do with bad hygiene. My oral care was also very good and I’ve never had problems with my teeth but these stones kept coming.
Have I found a long lasting solution to Tonsil Stones?
Fast forward to now (20 years later). After finding many products great for bad breath I was resigned to the fact that nothing would make my tonsil stones go away except getting rid of my tonsils. One winter I suffered tonsillitis twice in 2 months as the antibiotics just didn’t do the trick the first time and I’m sure that was linked to my tonsils being full of tonsil stones and gunk.
Today I had my first consultation where a tiny camera examined my tonsils up close and I watched the video back. My right tonsil is enlarged and you could seen some tiny tonsil stones poking out and between the back of my mouth and my tonsil there was a lot of debris there forming as tonsil stones. Lasering the tonsils away means there will be nowhere for these horrible tonsil stones to form and hide. I continued my oral hygiene routine using ProFresh Mouthwash every day and will do so after the procedure too.
Laser Day!
I’ve been waiting many many years to find a way to get rid of my tonsil stones and was looking forward to getting them sorted but the night before I’m not going to lie, I was really nervous. I imagined every scenario and was even more nervous the next morning. I took some paracetamol an hour before the procedure to reduce any discomfort from the laser. .
Bye Bye Tonsils!
I was shown into the treatment room where my tonsils were sprayed with local anaesthetic. You have to be careful not to swallow it so I tried to stay calm and still and just breathe. They were sprayed a few times and then it was time for the laser! My tongue was gently pressed down and I was asked to take a deep breath and say ahhhhh. I did this and after less than a few minutes on each tonsil the job was done. It wasn’t painful but as the laser was working they felt a bit sore. You can literally see your tonsils go up in a form of steam/smoke. The smell isn’t pleasant but it stops as soon as the laser stops. The worst thing I found was the taste, for a good few hours afterwards there was a burnt taste in my mouth but like other patients suggest, take some mints to hide the taste until it goes.
You do have to be careful with drinking water for the first hour as your mouth is still a bit numb (yes I managed to choke on a sip of water) but an hour and a half later I was on my way home on the train eating Macaroni cheese that I picked up from Borough Market near London Bridge!
1 Day Later
Ok, so my throat was very sore last night, it hurt to swallow and I kept taking ibuprofen and paracetamol. I had some ice-cream which soothed my throat a lot but it hurt to swallow. I kept sipping water to keep my throat from going dry.
I slept ok but the next morning my throat was still a little sore so I continued with the pain relief. It’s now 7.30pm the day after the lasering and just feels like I’ve got a bit of a sore throat but I don’t need the pain relief. My tonsil area looks grey but I’m sure that’s normal.
I have a follow up appointment late April to ensure everything is ok. The most important thing I want to know, is in a few weeks time will I notice a difference with tonsil stones. Right now it looks like there is nowhere from them to hide and when I use mouthwash, it can rinse the whole area whereas before all the tonsil stones were trapped in my tonsils!
2 Days Later
I didn’t have a good night, I woke up with a very dry sore throat and the most awful taste. I kept sipping water and took some paracetamol. It hurt to talk and swallow. I should have taken some pain killers the night before but didn’t as my throat felt ok. My tonsil area looked very white as did my tongue.
Later on that day I took the prescription for stronger painkillers that I had been given my the day of the treatment. Those did take the pain away substantially though were probably a bit too strong for me so went back to the paracetamol and ibuprofen. I bought a tube of Daktarin (oral gel) to calm down the whiteness in my mouth. By the evening I felt substantially better.
3 Days Later
Today I woke up feeling fairly normal. Had a good nights sleep. Still feels like I’ve got a bit of a sore throat but nothing compared to Day 2. I can talk, eat and generally go about my business. Have only taken one painkiller today. I have had to spit out what look like the white/creamy bits of skin coming away from where my tonsils where. This is effectively the “scabbing” of where the tonsils where lasered and now its healed the “scabs” are starting to come away. After my dinner this evening my tonsil area and ears did become a bit sore again but I put that down to the meal I had contained lots of garlic and lemon juice, this probably irritated the sensitive area.
4 Days Later
Feeling better again today, just a bit of a sore throat when gulping, hurts the ears a little bit but its all connected so that’s normal. I took some mild painkillers. Ate normally throughout the day and drank some herbal tea with a teaspoon of honey. Nothing major to report.
5 Days Later
Woke this morning and noticed that my left side tonsil area was no longer sore but the right side was. My right tonsil was much bigger so that area will have had more lasering. Haven’t felt the need to take any mild painkillers but have had some more herbal tea with honey and sucked on a soothing lozenge. The tonsil area still looks whiteish and so I’m continuing with the Daktarin mouth gel a few times a day.
6 Days Later
Again no pain today with my left tonsil area but right side still is, the back of my tongue feels a bit sensitive on the right side too. Did take a mild painkiller as I was at work and it was distracting me a bit. I also had some spicy chicken for lunch which made the right side of my mouth a little sore. Improving every day though.
So today I dared to do the breath test with my daughter who is always brutally honest with me about my body, face, hair and breath. So she braced herself (the first few days after the op were rough..) but she didn’t smell anything! I do notice that foods taste a little different, sharper. It may my imagination but things seem to smell stronger too. I think it’s because I always had a permanent bad taste in my mouth (eggy or metallic) and now it’s neutral everything is much sharper. Tomorrow will be 1 week since the laser treatment and I will take a photo and show you how the healing is progressing.
1 Week since Lasering on Tonsils
Same again today, woke up with less pain on the right side and no pain at all still on the left. Tongue is clearer and mouth feels and tastes “neutral”. I’ve noticed that brushing my teeth the toothpaste tastes stronger. I really believe all that gunk at the back of my throat behind and in my tonsils was so overpowering that my sense of taste was diminished.
I’m showing here a photo of the yellow skin where my tonsils were. I’ve Googled it and 
and Patient.Info says that “The tonsil area becomes coated with white/yellow thickened mucous which acts as a protective covering while the area heals” This “eschar” begins to fall off after about 7 days. This often increases the throat pain and can cause pain to be felt in the ears”. This makes sense as when the yellow tissue was coming away after a few days on my right side, my right ear began to hurt (see from days 3-4). As you can see there is still a lot of yellow to come away and if it gets more sore after shedding this then I’m not looking forward to that.
2 Weeks since Lasering on Tonsils
It was yesterday that I could finally say that the right tonsil area finally stopped hurting. It was only a minor discomfort for the right hand side for the last week but I’m glad it’s gone. My tongue has looked the pinkest it has ever been. I’ve always had a coating on there ever since I can remember. Will be interesting to see if this is another benefit of the tonsil removal or whether it’s the Daktarin gel I was using. I’m inclined to think a bit of both.
I do have a lot of post nasal drip and it was always in the back of my mouth getting stuck around my tonsils and tongue. Now there are no tonsils at all that may mean the mucus simply drains away rather than hanging about and attracting food and bacteria. Will let you know when I’ve been for my post lasering check up. I’ve had to postpone because of meetings I have but will keep you posted. I’m very happy so far with the results.
Final Opinion on Lasering Tonsils for Tonsil Stones
I’m now 4 months down the line and had a recent appointment to be signed off. What do I think of the final result? On the left side of my tonsil area I have suffered my no tonsil stones whatsoever, there is nowhere for them to hide. On the right side, unfortunately although most of the tonsil was lasered away, there is still a crevice for tonsil stones to hide. They are nowhere near as bad as before though and it tends to be just tonsil stone juice rather than the actual hard stones. The surgeon did offer to laser the remaining area of tonsil stone away but I really didn’t want to have 2 weeks of discomfort again. So it has been a partial success.
I truly believe that bad breath comes from a variety of sources, tonsil stones, gum disease and probably a bit of a candida overgrowth. I believe that my tongue cleared up dramatically after using the prescription strength Daktarin and a few years ago I had tonsilitis and was given antibiotics to clear it up and my bad breath went away within days and I had a lovely pink clean mouth but as soon as I stopped the antibiotics, my mouth went back to its normal – yeasty and sticky. Antibiotics are not a long term answer though.
I’ve now cut right down on sugar and dairy and no longer eat yoghurts.
I’m now trying to floss every day, not just every couple of days.
I am continuing to use ProFresh to keep my gums healthy
I’m going to invest in a water flosser and when I find a good one at a reasonable cost, I will let you know.
My bad breath journey continues….
