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Tonsil atrophy

Ninan

Senior Member
Messages
523
A doctor looked in my throat a few years after I came down with ME. He said I must have had my tonsils removed. Which I haven't. They're just gone. I was 27 at the time.

Anyone else lost their tonsils? Any idea what it might mean?
 

snowathlete

Senior Member
Messages
5,374
Location
UK
My tonsils are quite large, pitted, and always mildly inflammed. I always had problems with my tonsils as a child, but then not too bad as an adult until i got ME and then they were as they are now for about a year leading up to getting ME full blown. Then they calmed down. This year they have gone back to being upset all the time.
Don't really know what it all means, but certainly different to your experience.
 

Legendrew

Senior Member
Messages
541
Location
UK
The trouble with the tonsils is that they are incredibly non-specific entities in both there normal function and upon becoming inflamed. Mine always play up simply as a result of seasonal allergies (hay fever in particular) giving me a milk sore throat occasionally, while in some people they seem to shrink down for no reason whatsoever.
 

Gingergrrl

Senior Member
Messages
16,171
I have always had huge tonsils and chronic severe tonsillitis throughout my childhood.

When I got mono/EBV in 2012, my tonsils were so large that they were touching each other and almost blocked off my air supply.

My pcp at the time thought might have an abscess on my tonsil and sent me to the ER but it turned out not to be the case. They gave an IV w/saline and steroids to try to reduce my tonsils and I had a fever for three straight weeks.

I don't think I was ever so acutely ill as when I had mono. But now my tonsils are back to their normal size.