tonsillectomy!

<p>What? Why?</p>

<p>In case you weren't kidding, cancer is caused by the failure of an immune system to keep mutated cells from multiplying. A healthy person's immune system destroys thousands daily. </p>

<p>@-',--</p>

<p>Leah, my mother underwent it, and it wasn't so bad. Be prepared to fast before procedure, spend upwards of 5 hours in the hospital, and liven 1-2 weeks of wisdom tooth-reminiscent throat irritability depending on the success. Talking, swallowing, and drinking despite the discomfort are recommended for speeding the healing process. Good luck!</p>

<p>I doubt it would cause cancer, but it means that if/when you do get sick, it's going to be VERY serious, because your immune system doesn't know how to fight illness.</p>

<p>OP-you'll be fine. :) Tonsillectomies are pretty routine nowadays, and you shouldn't have any problems or complications whatsoever. Good luck!</p>

<p>I haven't had the procedure, but a friend did like 2 years ago. It really wasn't as horrible as she thought it was. Just be sure to keep up on the pain meds or you will regret it! The only bad thing is that to this day, she won't eat another popcicle or ice cream. She also lost some weight from not really eating.</p>

<p>Good luck with this!</p>

<p>way to taint my thread with your drunken debauchery..</p>

<p>yeah, okgirl, i'm definitely afraid i'll lose weight..i think i'll try pretty earnestly to keep eating through the pain haha
thanks for the advice, everyone :)</p>

<p>I had it done when I was 14 and it was the worst pain I had ever experienced. I heard that the older you are the more it hurts...for me it was to the point that the medication I was on was essentially ingestible morphine. I did lose 10 pounds in 3 weeks because I couldn't eat anything, though, so I guess it's an effective (if strange and twisted) diet technique!</p>

<p>just dont do it. it wont kill you.</p>

<p>i seriously get sick like once a month..my friends call me typhoid mary hahah
i think it'll be worth it..</p>

<p>Try drinking protein shakes a few times day. Some of those "MAX MASS" things will have so many calories that you'll avoid losing weight.</p>

<p>protein shakes are gross</p>

<p>leah, so many doctors try removing tonsils in order to keep the patient from getting sick (the friend i mentioned got strep at least once every few months), but it doesn't always help. Make sure to get a 2nd (or 3rd) opinion before you actually have it done. There's no reason to go thru the time, suffering, and money if you don't have to. I forgot what was wrong with my friend, but it wasn't her tonsils.</p>

<p>OH I completely forgot that my mom had hers removed at 23 and she said it was horrible. That was like 25 years ago, so there's not much comparision with all the medical advances. Her main problem was that she couldn't smoke :(</p>

<p>i mean, i've had tonsillitis 4 times since october and every time i've had to go on steroids because the swelling was so bad in my throat that it came close to closing my airway. the doctor didn't say anything about the surgery improving my overall health, but i've heard from several people that after they had their tonsils removed they got sick wayy less frequently, so i wasn't going on a medical opinion for that aspect but rather word-of-mouth haha</p>

<p>I don't know about you, but I don't like anesthesia and surgery, so I would rather avoid it if at all possible. You might need them out, but there has been some research on effectiveness and how it usually doesn't help much (I'm too lazy to try to find it but it's out there somewhere...haha). Just remember that with any big medical procedure, you really need another opinion.</p>

<p>I'm no doctor, but I have a feeling that removing the tonsils is a fairly effective way of preventing tonsillitis.</p>