21 Years of Suffering-Tonsilectomy

[21yearsofsuffering]

Hello

Long-time lurker here. It all started when I was about 7 or 8 years and my older sister was back from varsity during the holidays and she asked if I had brushed my teeth and that I should brush my tongue. Everything went downhill from there from my classmates making fun of me to getting toothpaste as a present every year during primary school from my “friends”. I started chewing gum every day, it provided temporary relief but the smell just would not go away. All throughout high school I survived on gum and ignoring the negative comments people made. I have always had a tough skin and I never talked to anyone about it but I suffered. I thought that maybe if I ignored the problem it would go away and that was my coping mechanism for most of my life. Varsity came along and through my research on such forums I bought a tongue scraper and I though all my problems will disappear. No such luck!! The problem persisted and this is when I started my BB routine (brush, floss, tongue scraper, gargle with salt water and baking soda, waterpik floss repeat this 4-5 times a days plus chew a pack of gum and drink lots of water and eat sweets). It seemed like the more I did my BB routine the worse the problem got.

The first time I mastered up the courage to speak to a Dr about my bad breath was when I was about 19 20 years old and the Dr just said he couldn’t smell it and said that maybe its because my gums are a darker colour. Some Dr’s are so pathetic. So my early 20s consisted of me going from Dr to Dr to specialist and receiving no answers.

Symptoms
Horrible BB (rotten eggs/dog feces) even after long tedious oral hygiene routine
White heavily coated tongue
Fatigue
Constipation

Then I got my first job, which I was very hesitant to take because this meant being around people 8 hours a day unlike in varsity where some days I could just not go to Lectures if my BB was very bad that day. Working was a huge nightmare from nose rubs to people stepping back when I talk to some colleagues lighting fans when I was near them. Some colleagues where even rude enough to cover their whole nose with their hands when talking to me. It was a Hellish experience this led me to be very antisocial and angry cause it very frustrating when people just simply think you don’t brush your teeth. Mints made it worse and It got to a point when even chewing gum did not help. No matter how many times a day I brushed my teeth or scraped my tongue the BB would just return in 5 seconds and my tongue remained pale white.

Things I have tried
Antibiotics
Hydrogen peroxide
Raw vegan diet
Dentist twice a year (teeth perfect)
Oral hygienist twice a year (teeth perfect, had a bit of plaque that was removed)
Teeth deep cleaning
Therabreath (waste of money)
Chlorophyl
Parsley mouthwash
Alkaline Diet
Chewing mint
Fenugreek tea
Parsley oil pills
Probiotics
Vitamin C Pills
Whitened teeth (oral hygienist said It would help, Waste of money)
ENT (gave me Flixonase for PND)
And the list goes on and on and on, I was depressed and could not find a solution.

Lets not even go into my love life cause I chewed even more gum than ever, even slept with gum in my mouth and woke up in the middle of the night to brush teeth. Dating was just horrible because it meant I had to up my BB routine I was exhausted. It was just so exhausting having to go through all these things and still having terrible breath. Surprisingly none of my boyfriend’s has ever mentioned it. Having friend and a social life was equally as exhausting. Driving in a car meant that I couldn’t talk and I avoided that. Plane rides were a nightmare life in general was just terrible.
So I dedicated this year to finding a cure no matter what. By some Miracle I went to this Dr and I explained my problem to him (probably the millionth Dr I have had to explain this to). He actually had someone in his family that had the same problem and he had assisted them.

Process with Miracle Dr
Barium test (admistered at hospital you swallow some thick liquid and they take scans of your stomach) – No problems found
Allergy test- came out positive for allergy to inhalants
Sinus scans
Referred to ENT- Sinuses fine , checked my throat and he said my tonsils were severely infected I had to remove them before we could do anything else (ENT said I have a rotten egg breath)
Tonsillectomy and adenoictomy- I WAS FINALLY HEALED!!!

WOW the happiness I am feeling right now after so many years of suffering. I had never had any problems with my tonsils ever since I was child(except for tonsil stones once in a few months) so I never thought this would be the source of my BB. The only reason I went in for the surgery was because I just wanted to remove it from my list of things to do so I can go through all the tests to find a cure.

The next step if the tonsillectomy didn’t work was to get allergy shots and then if that didn’t work He would have to check my lungs.

In a way I am so angry that I lived so many years suffering over a simple things that I could have fixed when I was a child but at the same time I am so glad and happy that I finally found a cure. This is day 15 post tonsillectomy I have the freshest breath! I still need to brush my teeth as normal and scrape my tongue but I only do that once in morning and at night like a normal person. My tongue doesn’t have the thick white layer anymore, my floss doesn’t smell after I have used it and I used to have a lot of plaque on my teeth especially at the end of the day it would be a thick smelly layer but that’s gone. I haven’t chewed gum ever since my surgery. I took antibiotics for the first 7 days and ever since I stopped taking them 8 days ago my breath is even fresher. Yesterday I was out doing my nails with no gum in my mouth and there was no negative reaction. I am back at work today still no gum and I haven’t had any nose rubs or people stepping back when I talk. I even ate eggs for breakfast (LOL I was pushing it) and still no reactions.

I would strongly recommend everyone on this forum to get their tonsils removed as a first step towards finding a cure. Even if they have never given you any issues because they do become infected even without being inflamed. I have so much energy as well now my BB has gone from a 200% to maybe 15% before I brush my teeth. I think the 15% is from my PND when I sleep I will get a nasal rinse for this and see if it helps.

Usually when I’m at work to test my breath I would go to the bathroom mirror and breath into it, in the past I smelled dog feces, today I did my test and smelled nothing at all. Its Unbelievable

Please don’t lose hope, the is a cure for all of us!

[Soon]

Hi 21year,

I believe you are still on antibiotics for your surgery. Would you please update us again in a month or 2?

[Dead]

I hate to have to break it to you, but if you took antibiotics following surgery, then you don't know you're cured until atleast a month after the treatment. A lot of us gets temporarily bb free for a few weeks when taking antibiotics.

[lolla123]

Hello

Long-time lurker here. It all started when I was about 7 or 8 years and my older sister was back from varsity during the holidays and she asked if I had brushed my teeth and that I should brush my tongue. Everything went downhill from there from my classmates making fun of me to getting toothpaste as a present every year during primary school from my “friends”. I started chewing gum every day, it provided temporary relief but the smell just would not go away. All throughout high school I survived on gum and ignoring the negative comments people made. I have always had a tough skin and I never talked to anyone about it but I suffered. I thought that maybe if I ignored the problem it would go away and that was my coping mechanism for most of my life. Varsity came along and through my research on such forums I bought a tongue scraper and I though all my problems will disappear. No such luck!! The problem persisted and this is when I started my BB routine (brush, floss, tongue scraper, gargle with salt water and baking soda, waterpik floss repeat this 4-5 times a days plus chew a pack of gum and drink lots of water and eat sweets). It seemed like the more I did my BB routine the worse the problem got.

The first time I mastered up the courage to speak to a Dr about my bad breath was when I was about 19 20 years old and the Dr just said he couldn’t smell it and said that maybe its because my gums are a darker colour. Some Dr’s are so pathetic. So my early 20s consisted of me going from Dr to Dr to specialist and receiving no answers.

Symptoms
Horrible BB (rotten eggs/dog feces) even after long tedious oral hygiene routine
White heavily coated tongue
Fatigue
Constipation

Then I got my first job, which I was very hesitant to take because this meant being around people 8 hours a day unlike in varsity where some days I could just not go to Lectures if my BB was very bad that day. Working was a huge nightmare from nose rubs to people stepping back when I talk to some colleagues lighting fans when I was near them. Some colleagues where even rude enough to cover their whole nose with their hands when talking to me. It was a Hellish experience this led me to be very antisocial and angry cause it very frustrating when people just simply think you don’t brush your teeth. Mints made it worse and It got to a point when even chewing gum did not help. No matter how many times a day I brushed my teeth or scraped my tongue the BB would just return in 5 seconds and my tongue remained pale white.

Things I have tried
Antibiotics
Hydrogen peroxide
Raw vegan diet
Dentist twice a year (teeth perfect)
Oral hygienist twice a year (teeth perfect, had a bit of plaque that was removed)
Teeth deep cleaning
Therabreath (waste of money)
Chlorophyl
Parsley mouthwash
Alkaline Diet
Chewing mint
Fenugreek tea
Parsley oil pills
Probiotics
Vitamin C Pills
Whitened teeth (oral hygienist said It would help, Waste of money)
ENT (gave me Flixonase for PND)
And the list goes on and on and on, I was depressed and could not find a solution.

Lets not even go into my love life cause I chewed even more gum than ever, even slept with gum in my mouth and woke up in the middle of the night to brush teeth. Dating was just horrible because it meant I had to up my BB routine I was exhausted. It was just so exhausting having to go through all these things and still having terrible breath. Surprisingly none of my boyfriend’s has ever mentioned it. Having friend and a social life was equally as exhausting. Driving in a car meant that I couldn’t talk and I avoided that. Plane rides were a nightmare life in general was just terrible.
So I dedicated this year to finding a cure no matter what. By some Miracle I went to this Dr and I explained my problem to him (probably the millionth Dr I have had to explain this to). He actually had someone in his family that had the same problem and he had assisted them.

Process with Miracle Dr
Barium test (admistered at hospital you swallow some thick liquid and they take scans of your stomach) – No problems found
Allergy test- came out positive for allergy to inhalants
Sinus scans
Referred to ENT- Sinuses fine , checked my throat and he said my tonsils were severely infected I had to remove them before we could do anything else (ENT said I have a rotten egg breath)
Tonsillectomy and adenoictomy- I WAS FINALLY HEALED!!!

WOW the happiness I am feeling right now after so many years of suffering. I had never had any problems with my tonsils ever since I was child(except for tonsil stones once in a few months) so I never thought this would be the source of my BB. The only reason I went in for the surgery was because I just wanted to remove it from my list of things to do so I can go through all the tests to find a cure.

The next step if the tonsillectomy didn’t work was to get allergy shots and then if that didn’t work He would have to check my lungs.

In a way I am so angry that I lived so many years suffering over a simple things that I could have fixed when I was a child but at the same time I am so glad and happy that I finally found a cure. This is day 15 post tonsillectomy I have the freshest breath! I still need to brush my teeth as normal and scrape my tongue but I only do that once in morning and at night like a normal person. My tongue doesn’t have the thick white layer anymore, my floss doesn’t smell after I have used it and I used to have a lot of plaque on my teeth especially at the end of the day it would be a thick smelly layer but that’s gone. I haven’t chewed gum ever since my surgery. I took antibiotics for the first 7 days and ever since I stopped taking them 8 days ago my breath is even fresher. Yesterday I was out doing my nails with no gum in my mouth and there was no negative reaction. I am back at work today still no gum and I haven’t had any nose rubs or people stepping back when I talk. I even ate eggs for breakfast (LOL I was pushing it) and still no reactions.

I would strongly recommend everyone on this forum to get their tonsils removed as a first step towards finding a cure. Even if they have never given you any issues because they do become infected even without being inflamed. I have so much energy as well now my BB has gone from a 200% to maybe 15% before I brush my teeth. I think the 15% is from my PND when I sleep I will get a nasal rinse for this and see if it helps.

Usually when I’m at work to test my breath I would go to the bathroom mirror and breath into it, in the past I smelled dog feces, today I did my test and smelled nothing at all. Its Unbelievable

Please don’t lose hope, the is a cure for all of us!

Hey! Congrats! Hopefully this is your definite cure! I was wondering did you ever suffer from tonsillitis? (bacteria on tonsils cured by antibiotics)

[21yearsofsuffering]

I was on antibiotics for 7 days following the surgery.

I have never suffered from tonsillitis ever in my life, that's why it was a surprise for me that it was the cause of my BB.

I will post a follow up in a month.

[winter]

Congrats! Before the millionth doc, did you consult an ENT? None of them find any problem with your tonsils? Did the doc who recommended the surgery say your tonsils were infected just by looking at it? Did you have nasal BB? By the way, where is the millionth doc located? It's hard to find someone willing to help.

[salehia802]

How long have you tried raw vegan diet?
I'm in it for 5months but nothing changes
How was it for you? Not even better?

[Golbahar]

My tonsils are cryptic and when I touch them My finger smell bad.. i have stones maybe once a mounth....
I want to do to nsilectomy
Becouse none of ways i did. Doesnt work for me.
And I want to remove them

[21yearsofsuffering]

Congrats! Before the millionth doc, did you consult an ENT? None of them find any problem with your tonsils? Did the doc who recommended the surgery say your tonsils were infected just by looking at it? Did you have nasal BB? By the way, where is the millionth doc located? It's hard to find someone willing to help.

Hi

Yes I did consult with an ENT few years ago when I was in University and he just said that I have PND and prescribed Flixonase nasal spray, never said anything about tonsils. With the ENT that took out my tonsils when I went in for my consultation he said that I had a rotten egg smell when he looked down my throat and it's caused by my infected tonsils. After my surgery he confirmed that they were indeed infected and very large.

Im not sure if I had nasal BB but if I was in a room like my bedroom for a long time and went out for a few minutes and came back there always used to be a smell.

I am based in South Africa. If you really want them out just say that they are painful to your ENT (even if they arent) and also mention tonsil stones and chronic fatigue.

Good Luck

[21yearsofsuffering]

How long have you tried raw vegan diet?
I'm in it for 5months but nothing changes
How was it for you? Not even better?

Hi

The longest time I was on a raw vegan diet was probably a month because I was on and off it throughout the years. Green juice (spinach, kale, apples, parsley & lemon) did reduce the BB slightly after I drank it but after a few minutes the BB would come back and I would have to scrape green junk off my tongue cause it smelled bad.
Other than being raw vegan another thing that helped slightly was eating Plain full fat greek yogurt in the morning It would keep me fresh a bit for an hour or two but as the day progresses it would turn my breath sour/bitter.

Right now I have a cleaner feeling in my mouth no matter what I eat. When I was raw vegan I still had a bad taste in my mouth and I still got reactions. My tongue was still white and the Diet made me hungry.

[21yearsofsuffering]

My tonsils are cryptic and when I touch them My finger smell bad.. i have stones maybe once a mounth....
I want to do to nsilectomy
Becouse none of ways i did. Doesnt work for me.
And I want to remove them

Hi

I used to get tonsil stones when I drank alcohol. I would attempt to socialize and meet up with friends for drinks and end up coughing up stones in public It was so gross and embarrassing. I rarely ever got stones but on the days I did cough up some they would be huge and smelly. The stones smelled like the back of my tongue.

I would suggest you consult with an ENT I had coblation tonsillectomy & adenoidectomy its a new procedure that uses less heat its less painful. The recovery took me about 12 days to feel normal again and I was knocked out most of the time due to pain meds.

The pain was well worth it and if its not the solution at least you will will be closer to finding a cure.

[21yearsofsuffering]

Hello everyone

This is my update 5 weeks post tonsillectomy and adenoid removal. My breath is still fresh. I currently chew gum maybe once every two days for extra freshness (I used to have 3 pieces of gum at a time when desperate). After suffering for so long I think I have developed halitophobia. I check my breath every chance I get,every second and every moment. I still feel uncomfortable talking real close to people and in small closed spaces. My colleagues were the most sensitive to my BB as I explained they used to back away or cover their noses whenever I spoke but so far no reactions.

Another habit I formed was to eat food with gum in my mouth, I would push the gum back into my upper gums and I would eat my food and after go back to chewing my gum again. I don't do that anymore and it feels good to chew my food without any secret gum lodged in my gums

Feel like I am rebuilding my life at this point after 21 years of suffering. My BB consumed my life! right now I just have more time to plan and enjoy my life, I can think more clearly. I have a holiday coming up with a friend of mine and I am not dreading it or the airplane we have to take there. I have lost about 7lbs since I removed my tonsils. This is largely due to the fact that i would eat to cover the BB. I have since discovered that my appetite is pretty low as I don't have the need to constantly be chewing on things to keep fresh.

I still have the fresh feeling in my mouth, white tongue in morning but after scraping it stays pink all day, less plaque on my teeth and less of that thick layer that used to cover my teeth late in the day.

Right now in the morning I brush, floss, scrape tongue and use oral salts and repeat same procedure at night before bed.

[lolla123]

Hello everyone

This is my update 5 weeks post tonsillectomy and adenoid removal. My breath is still fresh. I currently chew gum maybe once every two days for extra freshness (I used to have 3 pieces of gum at a time when desperate). After suffering for so long I think I have developed halitophobia. I check my breath every chance I get,every second and every moment. I still feel uncomfortable talking real close to people and in small closed spaces. My colleagues were the most sensitive to my BB as I explained they used to back away or cover their noses whenever I spoke but so far no reactions.

Another habit I formed was to eat food with gum in my mouth, I would push the gum back into my upper gums and I would eat my food and after go back to chewing my gum again. I don't do that anymore and it feels good to chew my food without any secret gum lodged in my gums

Feel like I am rebuilding my life at this point after 21 years of suffering. My BB consumed my life! right now I just have more time to plan and enjoy my life, I can think more clearly. I have a holiday coming up with a friend of mine and I am not dreading it or the airplane we have to take there. I have lost about 7lbs since I removed my tonsils. This is largely due to the fact that i would eat to cover the BB. I have since discovered that my appetite is pretty low as I don't have the need to constantly be chewing on things to keep fresh.

I still have the fresh feeling in my mouth, white tongue in morning but after scraping it stays pink all day, less plaque on my teeth and less of that thick layer that used to cover my teeth late in the day.

Right now in the morning I brush, floss, scrape tongue and use oral salts and repeat same procedure at night before bed.

Congratulations! So glad you have found your solution and you can now live freely without having this horrible problem at the back of your mind, can I ask you if you had any symptoms? Did your tonsils hurt? Did you ever suffer from tonsillitis? Did your tonsils have a bad smell to them that told the docs they were infected?

[gotshot26]

Fantastic post - great work for finding your cure. Quick question - how do tonsils affect the coating on your tongue? I can't in anyway see how they could be related. What happened with your fatigue and constipation?

[Golbahar]

Please continue updaties