I am curious and wondering how many people with hypothyroidism had their tonsils out when they were younger. I had mine out at 13 because I kept getting strep throat. I am reasoning how near the tonsils are to the thyroid and could there be a correlation.
I am curious and wondering...: I am curious and... - Thyroid UK
I am curious and wondering...
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Katherine1234
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helvellaAdministrator
I had tonsillitis quite regularly until I was about 13 - when it just stopped. I still have my tonsils all these decades later.
My mother was never convinced that I should have mine out. But my older sister had tonsils and adenoids out. Did that make her re-think? I don't know.
It happened to my eldest son too helvella. I decided not to have his removed. He still suffers on and off with sore throats. I am of the believe that nature did not put anything there that was not needed. I am hanging on to my gallbladder at present like crazy. Even though they want to take it out. I was just wondering as thyroid is so near to tonsils. Also I was reading there is a connection with tonsils and gallbladder.
Been wondering this for a long time. I had mine out when I was about 4 years old.
Here's an article that might interest you:
organiclifestylemagazine.co...
Thank you greygoose, I will have a read.
An interesting read greygoose. I am of the belief that nature would not have put anything there if it did not serve a purpose.
Exactly! I totally agree.
My son, had terrible problems with his tonsils when he was about 3. Doctors did nothing to help - told me to give him ice cream when he couldn't even swallow a sip of water without vomiting. I did my own research - which wasn't easy 50+ years ago - and came to the conclusion that vit C was the answer. And it was! Not that that was easy, either! Had to buy it in a pharmacy and the pharmacists didn't want to sell it to me, kept asking me why I wanted it. I kept telling them to mind their own B business and hand over the goods! Damned cheek. 
But, his tonsils pretty soon cleared up and he's had no health problems to speak of in the past 50+ years.
Yes indeed large doses of vitamin C every 2 hours to bowel tolerance would take out an infection of the tonsils. Well done you
Thank you. Vit C is wonderful stuff!
I had tonsilitus time and time again as a young child. But my GP fought for me not to have my tonsils out. I still have them. I grew out of the bugs. I was an only child. Sending me to school was like throwing me into a germ factory totally unprotected.
I would have rather had kept mine.
Well ffs one more thing to think about in retrospect… if we knew then what we know now.
I had my adenoids out when I was 5.
Reading about this just makes me sad.
I had mine out when I was around 7 or 8. Mine were very enlarged, not infected and I had adenoids removed. This was in the 70's where it seems anything not essential for life was whipped out.
Mine were very enlarged Sparkingsunshine but I kept getting strep throats age 11 to 13, so they took them out. I realise I was quite old to have them out. Horrible operation.
I had strep throat over and over and over again and goodness knows how many anti-biotics my mother was dead against removal but FINALLY had my tonsils out aged 19! Strangely Mum was a Vit C convert but only used it for colds - if only she had tried it for the throat! I am certain the anti-biotics weren't good for me. I don't do very well with lots of pharmaceutical stuff hence I self treat on NDT.
Yes, I was aged 4 when my tonsils were removed but I continued to have a number of low level health issues during my formitive years which doctors generally dismissed!
I knew something was far wrong but medics had no ideas so I had to start researching myself from a very low knowledge base!!
Fast forward to 2017 when after a series of debilitating health issues and much research it turned out that I have a form of Thyroid Hormone Resistance and need high dose T3-only
I suspect at that early age my T3 level was already low and my tonsil related problems were an early sign of what was to come
I have read of this link in the past but my erratic filing system has since resulted in the lost the details....must try and retrace those early steps.
Thyroid hormones, particularly T3 as the active hormone, are key to the function of most, if not all, parts of the body
The only thing I remember about that early hospital stay is the ice cream....but I suspect it was more significant than just a bowl of refreshing ice cream
So yes, I'm convinced there is a correlation.
I am on T3 now DippyDame, I was on a 100mcg of T4, 5 years later I was way over on a blood test, Endo reduced T4 and added T3. I am now 75mch T4 and 20 mcg T3. Doing slightly better not that magic bullet I was hoping for.
Perhaps your dose still isn't right for you.
Your previously high FT4 suggests you have impaired T4 to T3 conversion
Did you have low FT3 reading with that high FT4...a sign of poor T4 to T3 conversion....and the need for added T3
is that why your endo introducec T3?
The fact that you felt " slightly better" after adding T3 suggests to me that you still need more T3
Suggest you ask to trial a further T3 increase ....some of us just need more. This is to ensure enough T3 reaches the nuclei of the cells where it attaches to the T3 receptors and becomes active....until that point T3 remains inactive
We are all different with different needs...not necessarily what a textbook indicztes
The chances are that the tonsilitis is a symptom of T3 undermedication...at whatever age
i don't think removing the tonsils is the answer it didn't stop me having a lot of health issues throughout life...and I'm aged 79!!
I need appropriatre thyroid medication....
I need 100mcg T3 only!
Yes, low T3 it just scraped in but t4 was off the charts. Endo has upped my dose to 30mcg instead of 20, but I was too scared to take it. I have another blood test booked in January, I will see then. My TSH is now suppressed my T4 was 18 last time and my T3 5.1
Please don't be scared of T3. If another 10 is too much, you'll feel it and can tweak it down.
Good, a clued up endo....hopefully!
I would use the extra T3 to gradually increase your dose
You definitely need more!
Instead of jumping straight to 30 mcg I would cut the extra tablet (10mcg?) into four× 2.5mcg and add 1 quarter to your 20mcg dose, wait 2 weeks, add the next piece and repeat until you reach the 30mcg dose then see how you feel...note any symptoms
Do you keep a diary of your thyroid journey noting medication symptoms test results etc....I found this invaluable
Don't be scared of T3 it's your way to better health....but ensure that you add any increase gradually to allow your body to slowly adjust to having more hormone
You will soon know if it's too much....just drop the dose a little!
I've taken up to 212.5 mcg T3 as I was titrating my dose up....that became too much despite my having a form of Thyroid Hormone Resistance, which I don't think you have
As my T3 receptors adjusted with the dose I settled on 100mcg.
The late T3 expert Dr John Lowe whose work I followed took around 150mcg daily for most of his adult....he died as the result of a traffic accident .....nothing to do with T3!!
"The book he wrote with Dr. Gina Honeyman-Lowe, Your Guide to Metabolic Health (2003), describes when T3 should be trialed, how to go about it, and complementary supplements and methods to monitor progress. Many patients start on a “full replacement dose” of pure T3 (i.e. the amount a normal thyroid gland would produce per day: 20 – 30 mcg), but the starting dose depends on the patient’s health status, severity of symptoms, and other factors. Dr Lowe generally prescribed a single daily dose of pure T3 to be increased gradually by 12.5 – 25 mcg at 1 – 2 week intervals, and then more modest increases of 6.25 mcg as the patient appears to approach the “therapeutic window” (Lowe, 2008) – i.e. “a dose at which the patient has no symptoms of overstimulation, and hypothyroid-like symptoms improve or disappear altogether.”
Their methods are also described in the following e-book which is available on Amazon for £3.56 or free if you have Amazon Prime. It is called "Impaired Sensitivity to Thyroid Hormone (Thyroid Hormone Resistance)" by Hugh A Hamilton
I recommend it!
The journey might be a tad bumpy but 30mcg is nothing to be afraid off. There are far too many scaremongering stories about T3. It just needs to be treated with respect and to be increased slowly!
The more you learn the more comfortable with it you will become!
Don't give up!!
I had my tonsils and adenoids out when I was 10.
I had been developing tonsillitis over and over again, which always ended up with me getting a high fever and being prescribed antibiotics.
My GP at the time had a simple rule. Have tonsillitis three times in a year and the patient would be allowed to keep their tonsils and adenoids. Have tonsillitis four times in a year and they got removed.
I never regretted getting mine removed because life was so much more pleasant without getting painfully ill over and over again.
I had terrible tonsillitis growing up, was put on the waiting list for removal at age 16, turned 18 (almost 30 years ago)& hadn't had it for a year so I didn't bother. Only had it once or twice as a adult.
I had tonsillitis a lot as a child and teen, but our family doctor was against removing them. Both of my children suffered with a lot of strep as kids and even as young adults, and I often caught it from them as an adult.
Not for me, I didn't suffer with sore throat until I became an adult. I've often that joked I have an overactive immune system. It was only when my poor thyroid couldn't hold off the autoimmune attack that I suffered with infections, and still do when undertreated.
Never knowingly had tonsillitis, and im nearer 60.
Wow! you lucky bunny I had it all and the yellow dots on my tonsils
don’t have tonsillitis and didn’t have mine out either!
My son’s repeat tonsillitis and ear infections stopped immediately when - aged 2 - I reduced the quantities of dairy he took in. He never had another ear infection.
But had been on the cusp of having grommets before I changed his diet.
Katherine1234,
Yes, awfully sickly child so tonsils and adenoids removed aged 10.
Appendix removed aged 12.
Then awfully sickly teenager lasting into early twenties with swollen lymph nodes, constantly testing negative for glandular fever and brucellosis. Looking back I think this was the early ravages of emerging Hashimotos.
I’ve read some research looking at the consequences of removing any lymphatic tissue and later autoimmunity is one suggestion.
radd. I will still have swollen lymph nodes, they are never down. I have been diagnosed with ME/CFS which I think is just a catch all diagnosis. I test positive for epstein barr.
I had my appendix out at 36, I was a late developer lol. Mine was on the verge of bursting so had no choice and was found to be gangrenous. I got hypo around 15 years later.
yes I had my tonsils out aged 8 but so did many of my contemporaries in the 1950s.
yes awful time as a child every winter tonsillitis and sinus infections- finally had tonsils removed at 13! Still had sinus issues and still do!!
I was 13 Robinface. I hear that is late to have them out.
I had mine. Out when I was a child
I have never had tonsillitis but I grew up with asthma and recently diagnosed severe. I had more sinus problems and one side of my nose quarterised at about 13, due to bouts of chest infections
I had my adenoids out aged 5 but my tonsils stayed, even though I kept getting tonsillitis. I eventually grew out of so many bouts of it.
I too had my tonsils and adenoids removed at about 7 /8 years old. We, my younger brother & I were always having bugs from school.
It was the done thing in those days late 1950s at our age to have your T& A removed.!
Yes I remember the horrible purple drink I had to down in one!! Covalence reward was jellies with some Ice cream …..sore throat foods!
I’m now on a trial of T3/T4……
I am now on a T3/T4 trial Tea7light
Tonsils, adenoids and a sinus washout emergency surgery at GOSH when two and a half. Sore throats and etc continued with being absolutely poleaxed twice a year, normally around October and March, when I would be delerious (sp) for 48 hours and take a week to recover. Last one of those was about 30 years ago when my son was about 3. Has a sinus washout and widening about 20 years ago. A mixture of T3 and moving out of a vale finally got rid of it but a couple of months ago OH brought me a big back from France and I’ve had mucous problems again. I get a mild sore throat and left earache when I’m tired. I’m deaf with a mainly profound loss in my left ear.
Sounds like me from the ages of 7 to 26 when Graves kicked in. I then seemed to get it now and again, but at the first sign I suck Strepsils and mostly that seems to ward it off. It is very rare for me the last few years since a good level of Vitamin D. Never had my tonsils out, but they are in such a state, I wonder if they are doing any good!
I had my tonsils out when I was 8 years old, but I had tonsillitis at least 3-4 times a year when I was younger that required antibiotics, so it was good that they were removed.
I can even remember the ward I was in with the other children, and we got really lovely pistachio ice cream for cooling the throat! Silver lining ... 😉
I think most people in my age group will have had tonsils out. It was very rare at school to find anyone who still had tonsils by the time they were at the end of primary school.
That is amazing and there was then a big back turn in the 80's and doctors were told not to remove them. They never told us the reason why.
I had my tonsils out when I was 4. I don’t remember being ill having tonsillitis or similar but guess I must have. My mum was a nurse so I’m sure she must have considered it carefully prior to agreeing. did have & still do have Asthma. As others have said it was common in the 50’s.
Yes I had mine out. I think Dr P used to think there was a link.
Thank you mstp, I will have a look and see if I can find more information from him.
He passed away last year but his book might say something about it.
I had mine out before I was 12 in the fifties because I was frequently ill with bad colds. I remember nearly every Christmas I was sick in bed, which really got my mother down. Anyway, my health did not improve and I continued to suffer until I was in my twenties. I had moved away from home and my GP said he thought I had a sinus infection (chronic) and sent me to a specialist who said I had a defected septum. I was continually blowing my nose, producing black stuff (to me that was normal). Anyway, the specialist performed surgery on my nose, and I would say that normalised me! So tonsils could have been left alone; I caught a cold in the hospital anyway due to them leaving a window open above my bed, and so I wasn't able to go home at the same time as all the other kids who had it done.
That was a lifetime away. I'm 80 now and not suffering like I did as a child/young person.
i had no issues with tonsillitis as a kid , so i have my own tonsils still, didn't stop me becoming autoimmune hypo in my 30's though .
my daughter had regular horrible bouts of tonsillitis (2 or 3 a year) from about age 12 on wards.... she didn't quite reach the threshold for removing them , but i would not have been keen to allow it even if she did ... due to vague idea's along the lines of 'if they are the first line of defence, and you remove , what gets attacked instead ? "
she is now 26 and hasn't had a bout of tonsilitis for several yrs now , so i think she's grown out of it ....
mind you her tonsils are not pretty anymore ... full of massive craters.
I agree with you tattybogle. They are our first line of defence and makes a lot of our fighter T cells too.
Believe I was misdiagnosed with hypothyroidism and I still have my tonsils
silverbelle what do you mean misdiagnosed with hypothyroidism, have they said you are hypothyroid?
I had no sx back in 2012 when I had an annual exam and labs. Dx on a single TSH and blindly started Levo and I stared to develop hyperthyroid sx and when I complained I was told I just didn't recall what it felt like to feel "healthy" . I had been walking 2 miles 2x a week working on rehabing from a medial meniscus surgery and within a few months I was less and less able . I was on Levo 1/2013 to 7/2017 when I decided to wean myself off Levo and yes I did tell the doctor. I had to because I had become a cripple and had developed low grade hypertension and placed on a combo of 2 drugs when previous my BP was always on the low side, but I had great energy and felt well. I am not as well as I was 12/2012, but I have been able to shake off most of the symptoms I developed and in 2017 -2018 I also weaned myself off the 2 drugs. I have no doubt it all started with Levo, but I do have acute joint issues! Thank You for asking .
What a crazy journey silverbelle. I am not so sure most doctors know what they are doing with thyroid. Have you tried MSM natural sulphur for your joints? It got rid of my joint pain and even the pain of a frozen shoulder! It gives you lots of energy and the tummy likes it too.
I have tried MSM, but no real results is there a brand or name you would recommend. I generally buy on Amazon cause things are so hard to source here in the USA, but if there is something you like I just might try and find it and give it a try. Thank You
Back in the early fifties I had recurring tonsillitis - I remember the doc painting my tonsils but I can’t remember or never knew what he ‘painted’ them with but it did the trick as I still have them !
I bet it was old fashion iodine. That stuff kills anything. I am started to think that doctors knew a lot more back in the old days.
Had mine out when I was ten, my Mother was firmly of the mind that the Doctor knows best!
Yes, I've wondered about this too - I had my tonsils removed aged 16 & looking back, I think my thyroid problems started after that.
Geeze! that was late jillyana, I thought me having them out at 13 was late. I never felt right after the removal of my tonsils.
I ended up with hashi's & wonder if it was linked
I don't have hashi's I am normal underactive thyroid. Although I wish I had known then what I know now, I would have treated it with iodine, retinol vitamin A, beef liver capsules, selenium and L tyrosine.
I had mine out when I was 16. I couldn’t even lift my head off the pillow I was that ill when I had tonsillitis! So now, if I ever get a really sore throat, I KNOW I am going to be REALLY ill, and I usually am. Personally speaking, having my tonsils out was the best thing that could have happened to me at the time as it has saved me from a lot of suffering in my adult life.
how awful, I know that pain well and not being able to lift my head of the pillow, so dehydrated too, swallowing water was so painful.
Still got my tonsils. Adenoids gone as a young lad and I got the ice cream still afterwards to the annoyance of my 2 older brothers who had tonsils out. They do not have thyroid issues.
I had glandular fever around 18 and I wonder about effects of that. 25 years later to finding thyroid issue though.
I had glandular fever a6 16 Sleepman. And last year I had it reactivated. My son had glandular fever at 18. There is a link with glandular fever and thyroid.
Mum is same as me so I think mine is genetic weekness ... gluten and thyroid , low conversion
- perhaps glandular fever has a role in triggering though - I had read something
I think Mum has a bad fever at the start of her troubles.
I am wanting my kids to get TSH/T3 and T4 normal levels and check TPO and TGA in case they ever do get it they have a baseline normal level.
I was 6 years old when I had my tonsils and adenoids removed after repeated ear infections with perforated eardrums. I had one ear infection afterwards and that was it.
There was a ‘craze’ of taking tonsils out when I was a child in the 1960s. One school year I think I was off sick more often than I was in, because each time I went back I got tonsillitis again! My Mum was very reluctant to get them taken out, and in the end the doctor said if I got it one more time he was going to take out my tonsils. I never got it again 😁 (probably coincidence?). I’ve still got them now.
Phew! That was lucky Ukie, I had my out in 1970/71.
Have recently got my nhs old notes. I had lots of tonsilitis, coughs & then prob due to antibiotics each time, uti's each time, just after having 9mnth innoculations as a baby. Seems this settled after few yrs, but ear infections/utis cont.
Just after tetanus jab at 15 I started getting tonsilitis each month again & over those 2 yrs had 20 courses of antibiotics, & plenty moire to follow I'm shocked to read it! Started to get sinusitis too & yes, more uti's!
At 24, 2nd yr of primary teaching & plenty of bugs, came vto a standstill & diagnosed with ME& at 6 1/2 stone, advused to have tonsils removed, then subsequently got sinusitis each month instead!
Can see at that time my ferritinvwas 11, (never even told to take iron) b12 in 200's, same level it was when I've since, many many years on got a functional b12 diagnosis, & thyroid is up & down, currently at 30% through range & trying to question whether it's behind all this, or just affected by other deficiencies!
Have had candida along way, & knowvall those antibiotics and more messed my stomach up.
Still bad sinus issues & due polyps removal.
So yes, think my tonsils were telling me my system was not well, but unfortunately noone could help tell me the real reasons.
It's so frustrating as I was into healthy eating, exercise, etc, but at that age in life believed the Drs were doing right! Turned 50 now and determined to get some better health...
That's my rant over!
Jo that is so similar to myself. I got diagnosed with ME/CFS I have enlarged red blood cells to, which normally means hypoxia at cellular level. Loads of throat and sinus problems. Finely got my notes 15 years later, as as plain as the nose of my face low B12, low thyroid, the whole 9 yards and my doctor never said a thing!
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