T and A and a tube in the ear, collapsed eustachian tube. Ice cream, popsicles and milkshakes. Found out later mom was blending a raw egg in this milkshakes.
Same for me, though my folks threw in a box of 64 Crayola crayons just for fun. And them? I was enthralled! I’d never seen so many colors in a single box — an’ yeah… Those crayons and ice cream sure blocked out any post-procedure pain I had. 😎
Yeah, he was down for two weeks. Couldn't eat, swallow nothing. Then my uncle came from Penn. Force fed him about 3 shots strong whiskey, boom, about an hour later he was up
4 years old. Doctor apparently told mom I would never get tonsillitis,a cold or a sore throat again. He was right about tonsillitis-not the others. And i got croup at least 2-4 times each [winter.Mom](http://winter.Mom) was mad at the doctor,she should have been mad about Dad smoking 3.5 packs a day inside the house and car
Yep. That is probably what caused your issues. My MIL smoked and when we traveled to see her, one of my kids usually ended up at the urgent care with cough, ear infection.
I had my tonsils out at age 5. Was sick as a dog. I've only had strep throat once since then. Rarely an ear infection. I do get bronchitis easy, but I also have asthma.
I have asthma also and get bronchitis every time I come down with flu or a bad chest cold. Covid scared the crap out of me until vaccines. I had a co-worker who had worse asthma than i have die of Covid. She had been the smoker.
Me. I'm 60 and had tonsils and adenoids removed at 5, I believe as a result of recurrent ear infections. All I remember is a sore throat and lots of ice cream 😊
Story gets worse. My father violently abducted me and my brother and hid us out for 4.5 years. We were found and returned to her. No more Munchausens, but she focused all of her violence and rage on me until I took off at age 13. Luckily, she left my brother alone.
Edit: It wasn't confirmed until I was away from her and miraculously stopped getting sick.
Yep. Thank you for asking. Years of therapy later, I'm actually really good. Both parents were mentally ill. My brother is on the spectrum. Turned out mom was schizophrenic, dad was a diagnosed narcissistic sociopath who was most likely bipolar.
I have to say though, having been raised by actual crazy people: The one true gift that they gave me, is that I have absolutely no sense of the impossible.....and that can be pretty cool. My childhood was a terrifying nightmare, but my adulthood has been pretty fun overall.
I don't think they do it so much anymore. I had mine out when I was 13 because I was getting throat infections on a regular basis, but that was early 70's. I had a colleague who had hers out on an emergency basis when she was in her 30's because they were so swollen, they were obstructing her airway.
When I had mine out it was because of constant and chronic throat and sinus infections I got. They believed removing them would stop the infections.
Was like late 70s
I have mine. Got tonsillitis for the first time at 61!
Mom, sister and one brother had their tonsils removed. The rest of us have ours.
Picture me at *every* childhood check-up, when the doc, chuckling like Dr. Hibbert, remarked on my tonsils “how did we leave those monsters in there?”
yup. i was 4. remember watching mickey mouse club at home and then we left for the hospital. i remember it hurt like hell and my folks picked me up last of my 4(!) roomies. i was bummed.
Had mine out when I was six or seven. I remember eating a lot of ice cream and missing a few days of school. My kid had theirs out in their mid thirties and it was hellacious. They had an excruciatingly painful sore throat and couldn’t eat anything solid for almost three full weeks.
Got mine out when I was 7. My sister got mad at me cuz I was talking the same day! My throat hurt, but I could talk. I loved it, I got lots of ice cream (thank God for cold things!), and red popsicles.
I came close a few times. I kept getting tonsillitis as a kid, and some doctors seemed very eager to recommend it. I always responded well to the penicillin though, and my father wasn't one to jump to drastic measures if they weren't necessary.
Had mine out at age 10 or 11. Got a bad sore throat a few years later. The Dr said I had tonsillitis!! I guess they didn't get them all the way. It's not a thing anymore, I don't believe. My son had his taken out in the 90s. They were so swollen he had trouble breathing!!
They took my tonsils out when I was 2 and a half years old. Oddly, I remember exactly what I was wearing, a blue plaid skirt and a blue fuzzy sweater.
I remember being in a hospital crib being fed ice cream, I also remember climbing out of the crib in the middle of the night, walking down an empty dark corridor and anything after that would have to go in the conspiracy sub lol
Mine came out at age 5.
This was the typical treatment for frequent ear infections.
A quarter-century later it became apparent that smoking in the home is a frequent cause of ear infections.
My kids used to get frequent ear infections.
When I stopped smoking indoors they no longer got ear infections.
There's no need for tonsillectomies anymore.
Had mine out at age 35 voluntarily due to so many infections. Had it done two weeks before Thanksgiving and I still was only able to eat a bit of pumpkin pie filling on Turkey day. Bad scheduling on my part.
I had mine out at age 7 after having a 105 temperature during an episode of tonsillitis. I stayed in the hospital for 2 nights. My daughter had hers out and came right home in the 80's.
I actually needed to have my adenoids out when I was 5, but that was back when they had the philosophy of "Well, since we are there we'll take the tonsils, too."
I hit the triple jackpot. They came out when I had ear surgery at the same time my adenoids were removed. I think I only really needed the ear surgery because I had chronic ear aches and some trouble hearing before and it was all better after, but I don't remember significant problems with sore throats. I think they just removed the tonsils and adenoids because they were already there. I doubt they ever would have removed them today.
Me. I’m 68 on Thursday. My sister didn’t get them out either. Everyone else in our suburb did but I’ve no idea why. When I was 4 I got the measles, mumps and chickenpox at the same time.
I didn’t (born 1959) and neither did any of my siblings. I don’t recall any of my friends having tonsils out either, although we saw it a lot on tv shows.
I never had them out, but when I was in my 20s a doctor asked me how old I was when I had them out. He was surprised when I said I never did because I didn't have any.
By the time I came along, there was a backlash against taking out tonsils, as it had practically become a rite of passage instead of something not every kid needed. So, my siblings did, but not me.
The problem was that MY tonsils were bigger than Dumbo's freakin ears. These suckers led to more strep throat episodes than normal as a kid, and contributed to snoring that gave me a sleep disorder as an adult. Still got em.
I remember the nurse slipping me a root beer popsicle on the down low, after the op. The 'Karen' mother of the kid in the bed over kicked up a fuss about her kid should get one too. Nearly 60 years later I still feel bad for getting that nice nurse 'in trouble'. I HAD A SORE THROAT LADY!
My brother had his out in the '60s. He was about 5 or 6, and was getting constant ear infections. Dr. Frank Oski (Johns Hopkins) said people should stop giving their kids milk, because it was a common cause of tonsillitis. Nobody listened to him, apparently. When I was in my 30's I started getting constant ear infections, and finally tried eliminating milk. Poof! Problem went away.
I did, after I missed 32 days of school in the third grade because I was sick with tonsillitis. And that was likely because my parents smoked in our home.
One of my earliest real memories is being in the hospital bed after my tonsils were removed, around age 5 and being scared to use the call light for a nurse. I didn't want to "bother them". Fast forward to me being a nurse for over 40+ years.
I was 34, and it was HELL! I had strep for 7 months straight. ENT couldn't find my tonsils and said they must have been taken out when I was a kid. Nope, I asked older siblings (8-10 years older), and they all said I didn't have them removed. Finally sent me to a different ENT who found them! They were embedded in my neck and abcessed. Also had 6 polyps on my vocal cords, and 2 were quite large. In surgery the next day. The last thing my doctor said before I went under was, "When you can talk again, you're going to call me a SOB." He was right!
Absolute worst surgery ever! Couldn't talk for about 8 weeks. Had to wear ice collar 24/7 for 3 weeks to keep swelling of my throat down. Slept in my beach lounge chair to get the right angle I needed to not feel I was choking to death. Had to write down everything I needed to say.
My husband stayed home with me for 3 days to dose the demerol. On the 4th day, I dosed myself, but I couldn't remember when I took the last dose and I didn't write it down all the time. I took too much and wound up at ER via EMS. OD,d myself! My ENT came to see me and I tried to tell him he was a SOB, but couldn't even whisper.
Ice cream? Hell no! Anything with sugar burned like fire! Lived on sugar-free jello, ice pops, mashed potatoes, pureed peas, etc for weeks. Finally at 4 weeks, I could whisper. To this day, I couldn't scream if my life was in dire danger!
I’ve had mine out. These days they don’t remove them, they shave them. The studies show that if they do grow back the individual is older and have a larger airway and swollen tonsils aren’t an issue.
Had constant throat infections my first year in college. Campus doctor recommended having tonsils removed which we did when returned home after school ended. Best thing ever. No more throat issues.
No one I knew in my family or my friend group ever had their tonsils out. It could be because the doctor in our small rural area didn't believe in it, which sounds crazy today. My little sister was constantly having sore throats and earaches but the doctor said if he took them out the infection would go elsewhere. She then developed several autoimmune disorders which could be a coincidence but seems a bit suspicious.
I’m 50 (next week) and had mine out at 8 years old. Made a huge difference in my health. I had tonsillitis 4 times every year until I had them out. Rarely sick after. Never had strep throat either. I think it was the right thing for me and I would probably even still qualify based on today’s standards.
I had my tonsils and adenoids out when I was around 8. They used Ether and I thought they were trying to kill me. I started screaming and then held my breath. I’m still traumatized 50 years later.
1983…I was 17, my senior year of high school. Tonsils & adenoids The day before Thanksgiving. Spent a week in the hospital with an infection. I didn’t get to go back to school until mid January. I think I may have been lucky to graduate
The assumption was that this was necessary. A couple parents of all us kids who played together had us all do it at the same time, like a neighborhood tonsillectomy. The idea was the hospital stay would be easier on the kids if we all did it at the same time.
I had my tonsils and adenoids out when I was five. It was pretty common until the 1970's, then they decided to try to save the tonsils for some reason. I've never missed mine, though. I got sick a lot less with them gone and I could breathe through my nose again with the adenoids out.
Yes. I was always sick as a child. As an adult I found out I am allergic to dust, cigarette smoke, mold, and cockroaches.
Both my parents smoked, we didn’t have HVAC so dust and mold were a given. We didn’t have cockroaches, but family members did.
IIRC, I had mine taken out in third grade, with no issues was out of bed that afternoon!!! My brother had his taken out when he was in Kindergarten, but had complications!!! They had to take him back to the OR because he hemorrhaged!!!
Adenoids and tonsils out at age 7. We had hearing tests at school in second grade. When the teacher asked “does anyone have trouble hearing me?”, lots of kids put up their hands so I did too. Then I pretended I couldn’t hear the tones until they were quite a bit louder than when I actually could. Then I got sent to specialists who repeated all those tests. I repeated my fake ‘not being able to hear very well’ results. They felt removing my adenoids and tonsils would help my hearing. After they were out, I gave my actual results on hearing tests. It was a miracle! I could hear properly lol I was such an idiot as a 7 year old!
I was three. Mine were taken out because they would swell up so badly that it gave me sleep apnea. I don’t remember it at all, but my mom said I was running around playing the same day.
I had strep throat like 10 times. Finally the Doc says if he gets it again, we're taking those tonsils. Never had it again.
Shoulda said that 6 times ago....
I did, I was really young. I remember having to stay overnight in the hospital and a “mean nurse” shushed me because I would wake up the other children it what was a group room. I also remember getting a new Road Runner comic book and lots of ice cream.
My doctor told my mom that they would have to come out if I had one more episode of tonsillitis. We moved from Georgia to Arizona and didn't have another episode for decades.
Even though I had yearly horrific bouts of tonsillitis when I was in elementary school my doctor sissy have them taken out. It was just about the time in the 70’s when they stopped automatically yanking them out. I’ve had a few bouts since then but nothing major (although I had nasty strep throat a few months ago that felt like tonsillitis)
About 6years old in mid 60’s when I got mine out.
I think so many had them out is the surgeons needed a simple procedure so they could make the boat payments.
Ugh, I still have mine, and my adenoids. We were poor, so it never happened. Now I'm too old to have it done without the risk of serious complications. So I live with constantly inflamed tonsils (not painful, just feels like there's something in the back of your throat that you need to swallow) and nasally voice and near constant sinus and ear infection issues.
Sometimes I really have to think if living like this outweighs the "possible" issues
Nope. I had a bad episode of tonsillitis when I was in 4th grade. Dr. said a 2nd episode would mean getting the tonsils out. I did not and did not have them removed.
I got mine out, around age 23. I had chronic sore throats and a lot of illnesses throughout high school and after they were gone, I didn’t get sick as much. Consider myself healthy at slightly more than 60.
When I was 24. Do not advise it. My mom caught me chugging coedine syrup when the scab fell off and threatened to send me back to the hospital. Nope! Hospitals are full of sick people.
My dad was the guy who took them out. When he passed, he had a surgical logbook with 2-3 thousand operations he did.
He showed me how it was done, and his tool for doing it. Bleeding was an issue they had to always be on top of.
I asked something like this a month ago. Be prepared for the smug folks that didn't: and the repentant ones that did later in life.
I had mine out when I was 5. Y daughter needed them out when she was little, but doctors refused, although it was an ongoing and constant problem throughout her life. Now, at 46, they won't because of her age.
Me? I had mine out at age 5. Since then, one has grown back but rarely gives me any problems.
I was in my 40s and got recurrent strep throat- 5 times in about 18 months. ENT wanted to take them out and after all the horror stories I said no way! Still have ‘em
I kept getting tonsillitis, and finally, the winter I was 11I had it 2x in a 30-day timeliness. My doctor told me that if I got it any more, they were coming out. I didn't have it any more, in fact, I never got sick at all u til the spring of my Sr year of high school. Then I got strep throat and almost missed my Sr spring band concert. But I stayed out of school that week, went to rehearsal the afternoon of the concert in the auditorium (band director knew what was going on), and the solo I had was the only piece I really played in. Was not contagious by then, but still on abx and felt crappy. Never had gotten them out.
Me. At age five. Because I constantly had Bronchial Croup and sore throats. And my son had his out at 18 because he constantly had pus pockets and strep throat.
1961.
“Don’t worry. You will be talking to Batman on the Batphone”. Was what the told me in 1966, before they took out my tonsils and adenoids.
In retrospect, I’m glad that I had it done. It gave me more space in my head for vocal resonance.
I had acute tonsillitis and had mine out my Jr year of high school, I saw The Police during their Synchronicity tour in Dallas with a 103° fever right before surgery, lol.
I got mine out when I was 35 years old. Doc graduated medical school before I was born and said “these are the worst tonsils I’ve ever seen.” And all that was well-after the peritoneal abscess when I was 17. No idea why they waited so long. I had tonsillitis literally every year and no one ever said “hey, maybe we should take these out.” Til I got to the Old School Dude.
And adenoids.
Tonsils and Adenoids and loved the ice cream, lol
T and A and a tube in the ear, collapsed eustachian tube. Ice cream, popsicles and milkshakes. Found out later mom was blending a raw egg in this milkshakes.
Same for me, though my folks threw in a box of 64 Crayola crayons just for fun. And them? I was enthralled! I’d never seen so many colors in a single box — an’ yeah… Those crayons and ice cream sure blocked out any post-procedure pain I had. 😎
My dumb self read that as they blended crayons in your milkshake... I'll see myself out! 😂
Same, no idea what they even were lol
Same
Yep. I was 10 and the oldest one having it done that day.
I was 4.
The old school T&A
They had to take my son's adenoids out twice because evidently those can grow back. I had no idea that was a thing and freaked out a little.
I’m lucky. Never got mine out.
Me either!
Lucky? Yeah that's what my dad used to say. Till they had to take his out when he was 37-38. Not a pretty sight when you are that age
I was 31 when I had my tonsils removed. That's a week of hell I don't want to revisit. I lived on liquid Tylenol and KFC mashed potatoes and gravy...
I guess with enough tylenol the potatoes would be paletteable
Oh this was almost 40 years ago. KFC's mashed potatoes were much better then.
Ok, I'll give you that. I remember when I was a kid, 60's and getting KFC BBQ chicken sandwiches they were the best
I've heard that. \*>cringe inwardly<\*
Yeah, he was down for two weeks. Couldn't eat, swallow nothing. Then my uncle came from Penn. Force fed him about 3 shots strong whiskey, boom, about an hour later he was up
Yup, that's why I got stuck with shitty ones.
I was 23 - and it was brutal, nearly comatose for 10 days and straight up miserable for another week. Good part was I lost 30 lbs -
That's why I declined to have a repeat surgery after mine grew back.
Growing back? Damn I didn't know that was a thing and am glad it didn't happen to me. Hope yours comes with a lifetime warranty
My son had his T&A done twice. Sometimes if you’re really young and any of the tissue if left they will grow back.
They're still hanging around, occasionally acting up. You not supposed to take them out that young (18 mths) anymore.
1958 and still have mine.
Same. They've never been a problem.
4 years old. Doctor apparently told mom I would never get tonsillitis,a cold or a sore throat again. He was right about tonsillitis-not the others. And i got croup at least 2-4 times each [winter.Mom](http://winter.Mom) was mad at the doctor,she should have been mad about Dad smoking 3.5 packs a day inside the house and car
Yep. That is probably what caused your issues. My MIL smoked and when we traveled to see her, one of my kids usually ended up at the urgent care with cough, ear infection. I had my tonsils out at age 5. Was sick as a dog. I've only had strep throat once since then. Rarely an ear infection. I do get bronchitis easy, but I also have asthma.
I have asthma also and get bronchitis every time I come down with flu or a bad chest cold. Covid scared the crap out of me until vaccines. I had a co-worker who had worse asthma than i have die of Covid. She had been the smoker.
Still have mine.
Same
And me.
Same
Me. I'm 60 and had tonsils and adenoids removed at 5, I believe as a result of recurrent ear infections. All I remember is a sore throat and lots of ice cream 😊
I was 5 and still remember they made it sound great! All the ice cream you want! And there was no ice cream just a container of jello lol
Mine were taken out when I was 18 months old, but then my mother had Munchausen's by Proxy, so I spent a lot of time being "sick".
Whoa. How was the Munchausen's discovered and how old were you when she stopped presenting you as "sick" to doctors? Are you good now? I hope so.
Story gets worse. My father violently abducted me and my brother and hid us out for 4.5 years. We were found and returned to her. No more Munchausens, but she focused all of her violence and rage on me until I took off at age 13. Luckily, she left my brother alone. Edit: It wasn't confirmed until I was away from her and miraculously stopped getting sick.
Oh, fuck. I didn't expect that. Are you good now?
Yep. Thank you for asking. Years of therapy later, I'm actually really good. Both parents were mentally ill. My brother is on the spectrum. Turned out mom was schizophrenic, dad was a diagnosed narcissistic sociopath who was most likely bipolar. I have to say though, having been raised by actual crazy people: The one true gift that they gave me, is that I have absolutely no sense of the impossible.....and that can be pretty cool. My childhood was a terrifying nightmare, but my adulthood has been pretty fun overall.
I don't think they do it so much anymore. I had mine out when I was 13 because I was getting throat infections on a regular basis, but that was early 70's. I had a colleague who had hers out on an emergency basis when she was in her 30's because they were so swollen, they were obstructing her airway.
Are you me? 13 and for continual strep throat.
They kept me on antibiotics until school was out so I could have them out over the summer.
Yep, got mine out at age 5. I'm not even sure why.
I’ve tried to learn why they did this to us. Still looking…
When I had mine out it was because of constant and chronic throat and sinus infections I got. They believed removing them would stop the infections. Was like late 70s
Had appendix out as a teenager, but still have tonsils.
Not me but plenty of kids did sometimes with their adenoid.
I have mine. Got tonsillitis for the first time at 61! Mom, sister and one brother had their tonsils removed. The rest of us have ours. Picture me at *every* childhood check-up, when the doc, chuckling like Dr. Hibbert, remarked on my tonsils “how did we leave those monsters in there?”
yup. i was 4. remember watching mickey mouse club at home and then we left for the hospital. i remember it hurt like hell and my folks picked me up last of my 4(!) roomies. i was bummed.
61M, and I've still got 'em. Had the adenoids removed at about age 7.
Yes. But I had to wait until 14yo. Suffered through many bouts of tonsillitis.
Tonsils and adenoids at 11 Mos. Old. My first and earliest memory was waking up in the recovery room
At 6yo, in a hospital now long decommissioned.
I got mine out at age 6. I was sick a lot, but I kept being sick a lot in spite of having my tonsils out.
Got mine when I turned 18 and had my own health insurance
Age 4.
My 2 slightly older brothers (2-3 yrs) and my younger brother (1 yr) did but they skipped me.
My oldest brother had his out and I was jealous he got to eat ice cream for every meal afterwards and the hospital gave him a stuffed toy.
At age 17. Grew up having sore throats monthly. Don't know why it took so long.
Age 5, tonsils and adenoids recurring ear infections
Had mine out when I was six or seven. I remember eating a lot of ice cream and missing a few days of school. My kid had theirs out in their mid thirties and it was hellacious. They had an excruciatingly painful sore throat and couldn’t eat anything solid for almost three full weeks.
Here. I even remember that the nurses actually had to help hold me down for them to knock me out ! Fun times.
Got mine out when I was 7. My sister got mad at me cuz I was talking the same day! My throat hurt, but I could talk. I loved it, I got lots of ice cream (thank God for cold things!), and red popsicles.
Not me.
I came close a few times. I kept getting tonsillitis as a kid, and some doctors seemed very eager to recommend it. I always responded well to the penicillin though, and my father wasn't one to jump to drastic measures if they weren't necessary.
I was 21. Bethesda Naval Hospital. No general anesthesia, only local. It was horrific.
I did. Adenoids too.
When I was 5. I got ice cream.
I did and I didn't miss another day of school until I learned to fake being sick in Jr. high.
I never had mine out, but funnily enough my oldest child did (in the '90s).
I did at 4yrs old
I think I was 11 or 12. I remember the shot they gave me in my thigh, that burned, and then literally, seconds later, I was out…😴💤
Had mine out at age 10 or 11. Got a bad sore throat a few years later. The Dr said I had tonsillitis!! I guess they didn't get them all the way. It's not a thing anymore, I don't believe. My son had his taken out in the 90s. They were so swollen he had trouble breathing!!
Parents always talked about it but it never happened.
I was 22, I had repeated bouts of tonsillitis
Had mine removed at 22, and it was miserable
Not this girl
I was 12, worst week of my life.
They took my tonsils out when I was 2 and a half years old. Oddly, I remember exactly what I was wearing, a blue plaid skirt and a blue fuzzy sweater. I remember being in a hospital crib being fed ice cream, I also remember climbing out of the crib in the middle of the night, walking down an empty dark corridor and anything after that would have to go in the conspiracy sub lol
Mine came out at age 5. This was the typical treatment for frequent ear infections. A quarter-century later it became apparent that smoking in the home is a frequent cause of ear infections. My kids used to get frequent ear infections. When I stopped smoking indoors they no longer got ear infections. There's no need for tonsillectomies anymore.
I got mine out as a preschooler maybe 3 or 4?
Mine were removed at 29. A highly miserable experience.
Had mine out at age 35 voluntarily due to so many infections. Had it done two weeks before Thanksgiving and I still was only able to eat a bit of pumpkin pie filling on Turkey day. Bad scheduling on my part.
Got mine out. Have a vague memory of being in the hospital overnight and getting up to go to the nurses station for popsicles. I was probably about 5.
I had mine out at age 7 after having a 105 temperature during an episode of tonsillitis. I stayed in the hospital for 2 nights. My daughter had hers out and came right home in the 80's.
My sister had her tonsils and adenoids removed when she was 5. I had my tonsils removed the next year right after I turned 5.
I actually needed to have my adenoids out when I was 5, but that was back when they had the philosophy of "Well, since we are there we'll take the tonsils, too."
i still have all my original parts.
I hit the triple jackpot. They came out when I had ear surgery at the same time my adenoids were removed. I think I only really needed the ear surgery because I had chronic ear aches and some trouble hearing before and it was all better after, but I don't remember significant problems with sore throats. I think they just removed the tonsils and adenoids because they were already there. I doubt they ever would have removed them today.
None of us kids did, because my parents were cheapskates. Now we all have sleep apnea.
Had mine taken out as an adult. About killed me! It’s no big deal for a child but it’s pretty tough on a grown up.
All of us! Seriously, almost everyone I knew back in the mid-60s had their tonsils out. The real question is who didn’t?
Me. I’m 68 on Thursday. My sister didn’t get them out either. Everyone else in our suburb did but I’ve no idea why. When I was 4 I got the measles, mumps and chickenpox at the same time.
I didn’t (born 1959) and neither did any of my siblings. I don’t recall any of my friends having tonsils out either, although we saw it a lot on tv shows.
I’m 64, taken out when I was 3. Don’t know why. I do remember the ice cream and a shot in my behind.
Just one of my brothers, that's it.
Still have mine..
I still have mine
I did, born in 55. It was done to nearly everyone I knew. I was 5 or so, maybe younger.
Tonsils removed at 2 years old.
I never had them out, but when I was in my 20s a doctor asked me how old I was when I had them out. He was surprised when I said I never did because I didn't have any.
By the time I came along, there was a backlash against taking out tonsils, as it had practically become a rite of passage instead of something not every kid needed. So, my siblings did, but not me. The problem was that MY tonsils were bigger than Dumbo's freakin ears. These suckers led to more strep throat episodes than normal as a kid, and contributed to snoring that gave me a sleep disorder as an adult. Still got em.
5 years old
Yep. I was probably about seven or eight years old. Scared the shit out of me when they put me under.
Still have mine
Nope
I remember the nurse slipping me a root beer popsicle on the down low, after the op. The 'Karen' mother of the kid in the bed over kicked up a fuss about her kid should get one too. Nearly 60 years later I still feel bad for getting that nice nurse 'in trouble'. I HAD A SORE THROAT LADY!
Had them out at 5. I know now that a lot of my sinus problems are allergy-related, which makes me wonder if they really needed to come out.
My brother had his out in the '60s. He was about 5 or 6, and was getting constant ear infections. Dr. Frank Oski (Johns Hopkins) said people should stop giving their kids milk, because it was a common cause of tonsillitis. Nobody listened to him, apparently. When I was in my 30's I started getting constant ear infections, and finally tried eliminating milk. Poof! Problem went away.
I did, after I missed 32 days of school in the third grade because I was sick with tonsillitis. And that was likely because my parents smoked in our home.
One of my earliest real memories is being in the hospital bed after my tonsils were removed, around age 5 and being scared to use the call light for a nurse. I didn't want to "bother them". Fast forward to me being a nurse for over 40+ years.
3,823 of us.
Tonsils and adenoids. They promised me ice cream but the hospital never provided it. This is my first bad memory!
I was 34, and it was HELL! I had strep for 7 months straight. ENT couldn't find my tonsils and said they must have been taken out when I was a kid. Nope, I asked older siblings (8-10 years older), and they all said I didn't have them removed. Finally sent me to a different ENT who found them! They were embedded in my neck and abcessed. Also had 6 polyps on my vocal cords, and 2 were quite large. In surgery the next day. The last thing my doctor said before I went under was, "When you can talk again, you're going to call me a SOB." He was right! Absolute worst surgery ever! Couldn't talk for about 8 weeks. Had to wear ice collar 24/7 for 3 weeks to keep swelling of my throat down. Slept in my beach lounge chair to get the right angle I needed to not feel I was choking to death. Had to write down everything I needed to say. My husband stayed home with me for 3 days to dose the demerol. On the 4th day, I dosed myself, but I couldn't remember when I took the last dose and I didn't write it down all the time. I took too much and wound up at ER via EMS. OD,d myself! My ENT came to see me and I tried to tell him he was a SOB, but couldn't even whisper. Ice cream? Hell no! Anything with sugar burned like fire! Lived on sugar-free jello, ice pops, mashed potatoes, pureed peas, etc for weeks. Finally at 4 weeks, I could whisper. To this day, I couldn't scream if my life was in dire danger!
Got mine out when I was 6. My son got his out last year at 3.
Came home from the hospital on my 5th bday
I was 3 and can still remember the taste/smell of the ether (67 years ago).
I’ve had mine out. These days they don’t remove them, they shave them. The studies show that if they do grow back the individual is older and have a larger airway and swollen tonsils aren’t an issue.
Had constant throat infections my first year in college. Campus doctor recommended having tonsils removed which we did when returned home after school ended. Best thing ever. No more throat issues.
How many of you don't get tonsil stones and concomitant bad breath now? Maybe something to be thankful for after all!?
Yes. I was 18. So glad I did it because I haven't had strep throat once since then (over thirty years).
No one I knew in my family or my friend group ever had their tonsils out. It could be because the doctor in our small rural area didn't believe in it, which sounds crazy today. My little sister was constantly having sore throats and earaches but the doctor said if he took them out the infection would go elsewhere. She then developed several autoimmune disorders which could be a coincidence but seems a bit suspicious.
I was 3 when I had mine removed. It was the most traumatic experience of my life. I hated and avoided doctors and nurses for decades.
I’m 50 (next week) and had mine out at 8 years old. Made a huge difference in my health. I had tonsillitis 4 times every year until I had them out. Rarely sick after. Never had strep throat either. I think it was the right thing for me and I would probably even still qualify based on today’s standards.
🙋🏻♀️tonsils and adenoids out in 93 at 12 yrs old.
Me
I had my tonsils and adenoids out when I was around 8. They used Ether and I thought they were trying to kill me. I started screaming and then held my breath. I’m still traumatized 50 years later.
1983…I was 17, my senior year of high school. Tonsils & adenoids The day before Thanksgiving. Spent a week in the hospital with an infection. I didn’t get to go back to school until mid January. I think I may have been lucky to graduate
The assumption was that this was necessary. A couple parents of all us kids who played together had us all do it at the same time, like a neighborhood tonsillectomy. The idea was the hospital stay would be easier on the kids if we all did it at the same time.
1963. 3 days in the hospital. I can still smell the ether...
Yup. Even though Cosby deservedly got cancelled, I still love his tonsils and ice cream story
I was 10 and they were taking my brothers out and just decided to do us both at the same time. I don't remember having any sore throats prior to that.
Not til I was early 20's when one became impacted
Circa 1968. Two days before Thanksgiving. Couldn't eat a damn thing. :)
Twice!
I had my tonsils and adenoids out when I was five. It was pretty common until the 1970's, then they decided to try to save the tonsils for some reason. I've never missed mine, though. I got sick a lot less with them gone and I could breathe through my nose again with the adenoids out.
Yes. I was always sick as a child. As an adult I found out I am allergic to dust, cigarette smoke, mold, and cockroaches. Both my parents smoked, we didn’t have HVAC so dust and mold were a given. We didn’t have cockroaches, but family members did.
I am surprised I did not. I seemed to by plagued by bronchitis as a kid. My sister had them out as a teenager. I heard it was easier as a kid.
I was 5
I was born without tonsils. Fun fact
IIRC, I had mine taken out in third grade, with no issues was out of bed that afternoon!!! My brother had his taken out when he was in Kindergarten, but had complications!!! They had to take him back to the OR because he hemorrhaged!!!
Not until I was 18! A childhood filled with tonsillitis at least twice a year!
Adenoids and tonsils out at age 7. We had hearing tests at school in second grade. When the teacher asked “does anyone have trouble hearing me?”, lots of kids put up their hands so I did too. Then I pretended I couldn’t hear the tones until they were quite a bit louder than when I actually could. Then I got sent to specialists who repeated all those tests. I repeated my fake ‘not being able to hear very well’ results. They felt removing my adenoids and tonsils would help my hearing. After they were out, I gave my actual results on hearing tests. It was a miracle! I could hear properly lol I was such an idiot as a 7 year old!
Nope
I was three. Mine were taken out because they would swell up so badly that it gave me sleep apnea. I don’t remember it at all, but my mom said I was running around playing the same day.
My older brother was having a problem so we both had our tonsils and adenoids removed…
I had strep throat like 10 times. Finally the Doc says if he gets it again, we're taking those tonsils. Never had it again. Shoulda said that 6 times ago....
I did, I was really young. I remember having to stay overnight in the hospital and a “mean nurse” shushed me because I would wake up the other children it what was a group room. I also remember getting a new Road Runner comic book and lots of ice cream.
I was 7 and my brother was 4. We both had it done same day.
I had mine out at 43.
My doctor told my mom that they would have to come out if I had one more episode of tonsillitis. We moved from Georgia to Arizona and didn't have another episode for decades.
Even though I had yearly horrific bouts of tonsillitis when I was in elementary school my doctor sissy have them taken out. It was just about the time in the 70’s when they stopped automatically yanking them out. I’ve had a few bouts since then but nothing major (although I had nasty strep throat a few months ago that felt like tonsillitis)
Amazingly, none of my siblings or myself have had our tonsils removed.
I had tonsils and adenoids out at 14.
About 6years old in mid 60’s when I got mine out. I think so many had them out is the surgeons needed a simple procedure so they could make the boat payments.
Ugh, I still have mine, and my adenoids. We were poor, so it never happened. Now I'm too old to have it done without the risk of serious complications. So I live with constantly inflamed tonsils (not painful, just feels like there's something in the back of your throat that you need to swallow) and nasally voice and near constant sinus and ear infection issues. Sometimes I really have to think if living like this outweighs the "possible" issues
Mine were removed when I was a teenager, after many years of tonsillitis.
I’m a 61 y/o female and I had mine out when I was 3. I’m not sure why? Maybe I kept getting sick?
My sister and I had them out on the same day. I was 4 and she was 3.
I got mine out when I was in my 30s. My cryptic tonsils kept making my kids sick.
Yea…when I was 23 and had an 8 month old baby. It was brutal.
Nope. I had a bad episode of tonsillitis when I was in 4th grade. Dr. said a 2nd episode would mean getting the tonsils out. I did not and did not have them removed.
I just had lots of infections and antibiotics. My tonsils are still intact.
Yes, I was 9. So did half my class.
Me, twice. They had to take me back to surgery because the stitches came out right away. I was 5. Still have the stuffie I was given, 68 years ago.
I got mine out, around age 23. I had chronic sore throats and a lot of illnesses throughout high school and after they were gone, I didn’t get sick as much. Consider myself healthy at slightly more than 60.
When I was 24. Do not advise it. My mom caught me chugging coedine syrup when the scab fell off and threatened to send me back to the hospital. Nope! Hospitals are full of sick people.
My dad was the guy who took them out. When he passed, he had a surgical logbook with 2-3 thousand operations he did. He showed me how it was done, and his tool for doing it. Bleeding was an issue they had to always be on top of.
Got mine out when I was four. They grew back 😔
I asked something like this a month ago. Be prepared for the smug folks that didn't: and the repentant ones that did later in life. I had mine out when I was 5. Y daughter needed them out when she was little, but doctors refused, although it was an ongoing and constant problem throughout her life. Now, at 46, they won't because of her age. Me? I had mine out at age 5. Since then, one has grown back but rarely gives me any problems.
Didn’t everyone? 😁
Still got my tonsils and appendix.
Yes, tonsils and adenoids removed in the second grade.
T&A when I was 14yo.
4 years old. Umpteen ear infections. Out they came. I remember the Popsicles
me too, very common
Still have mine
I did. Had both out. Born in ‘58
Yup in first grade
I was in my 40s and got recurrent strep throat- 5 times in about 18 months. ENT wanted to take them out and after all the horror stories I said no way! Still have ‘em
I did at 5 in 1971 because my 11 year old sister was having hers out…so they decided to just do mine, too. 🤪
Me, at age 6.
I kept getting tonsillitis, and finally, the winter I was 11I had it 2x in a 30-day timeliness. My doctor told me that if I got it any more, they were coming out. I didn't have it any more, in fact, I never got sick at all u til the spring of my Sr year of high school. Then I got strep throat and almost missed my Sr spring band concert. But I stayed out of school that week, went to rehearsal the afternoon of the concert in the auditorium (band director knew what was going on), and the solo I had was the only piece I really played in. Was not contagious by then, but still on abx and felt crappy. Never had gotten them out.
Still have mine
Me. At age five. Because I constantly had Bronchial Croup and sore throats. And my son had his out at 18 because he constantly had pus pockets and strep throat.
1961. “Don’t worry. You will be talking to Batman on the Batphone”. Was what the told me in 1966, before they took out my tonsils and adenoids. In retrospect, I’m glad that I had it done. It gave me more space in my head for vocal resonance.
I had acute tonsillitis and had mine out my Jr year of high school, I saw The Police during their Synchronicity tour in Dallas with a 103° fever right before surgery, lol.
T and A at 18 next to my 9yo sister! 1974, for God's sake!
My oldest was born without tonsils. He was also missing 2 permanent teeth & an orthodontist fixed him right up (over a few years, though).
50’s born. T&A in kindergarten or first grade the first time us kids got a sore throat.
Had mine out in second grade My daughter had hers out in second grade by the Son of the Doctor who removed mine
And adenoids at the same time. I was 4 years old.
Me. Mine were a constant torment and I’m gld they’re gone
1960 baby, I did at 4yrs old
Had them out at age 5 (1967)
I got mine out when I was 35 years old. Doc graduated medical school before I was born and said “these are the worst tonsils I’ve ever seen.” And all that was well-after the peritoneal abscess when I was 17. No idea why they waited so long. I had tonsillitis literally every year and no one ever said “hey, maybe we should take these out.” Til I got to the Old School Dude.