Things got worse in college. And there were many times I wanted to commit s*****e, run out of lecture halls, or quit college. I feared sitting next to anyone, because whoever sat next to me always exhaled loudly through their noses or pulled their shirts up to cover their nose. They could smell my breath even when I wasn't talking. Somehow, everytime I swallowed the smell would diffuse from my nose to their nose and then they would exhale incredibly loud for everyone to hear. College was the worst four years of my life, where I developed anxiety being around people, talking to people, and being hypersensitive to people's actions and remarks. I lost a lot of friends or they tried to keep their distance from me...So I tried everything to cure my condition. I tried all the following:
mouthwashes, toothpastes, eliminating dairy, probiotics, coconut oil rinses, wisdom teeth removal....
Nothing worked
So I got a referral to an ENT on my school campus 3rd year of college. She told me that yes, I had cryptic tonsils but that they were way too small to remove. She suggested nasal rinses, home removal of tonsil stones with Q-tips, and allergy pills to manage my post nasal drip? Still, no cure...In fact, my symptoms got worse. I was sick with tonsilitis every 3-4 months which made my bad breath intensify...
I'm 23 now, and it has been one year since I have graduated from college. A few months ago in April 2018, I found another ENT surgeon. She empathized with me because she also had bad breath, tonsil stones, and etc. when she was my age. Fast forward to July 24, 2018 I got the tonsillectomy and my adenoids weren't there so no adenoidectomy. My ENT surgeon said despite their small size (tonsils), they were cryptic and filled with so much pus. Also, she discovered that I had contracted clusters of a bacteria called ACTINOMYCES which infested my tonsils and even tore through the muscle behind my tonsils. She said if I had waited any longer, the bacteria would have spread down to my neck
The 2 week recovery from the tonsillectomy was absolute hell. Not gonna lie, the pain left my crying, depressed, and I lost 10 lbs which is bad because I was already underweight to start with. I don't think I can ever go through that again. However, I am cured. I don't have that nasty fecal odor when exhaling after swallowing, no white tongue, and no bad taste in my mouth. I don't even have bad breath when I wake up in the morning!
I still get like a teeny bit of bad breath like if I drank too much coffee or haven't ate or drank in hours but this is totally different from the sulfurous breath I had before 24/7. I am cured and I'm ready to take back my life with more confidence 