Lingual Tonsil Infection (Page 1)

Hello, my 16 year old daughter has very inlarged lingual tonsils, we are told we need to have them removed. She will have them removed on july 15, 2005. This is a very rare infection,i would like to know why. Denise

I was also on the brink of getting my lingual tonsil removed. It was cured with 1 month of a special antibiotic. but to make sure you don't get it again and again. you need to not eat food that is cultured with bacteria mainly yogurt, cottage cheese, and sour cream. plus get on acid reflux medicine. that prevents the bacteria that is in your stomach from getting to your tonsil and reinfecting it.

I have exactly the same condition, it keeps recurring giving me slight fever and throat pain. JX, which antibiotics did you use?
I have read a lot on acid reflux, that seem to be the main cause as per my understanding.

I too have had the lingueal toncile surgery time 4 they keep growing back and yes I have also heard the acid reflux is a sign, but I have been on every acid reflux medicine you can think off and it still keeps coming back. The worst part of the whole lingueal toncile for me is at night when I lay down it falls back into the throat and cuts off my breathing, I then wake up at least 29 times a night. but I will be also getting it removed again for the fifth time.. someone needs to find out why this grows back so fast. I feel great for about three weeks and I can tell the day it starts to come back..Good luck to all.

I too have had the lingueal toncile surgery time 4 they keep growing back and yes I have also heard the acid reflux is a sign, but I have been on every acid reflux medicine you can think off and it still keeps coming back. The worst part of the whole lingueal toncile for me is at night when I lay down it falls back into the throat and cuts off my breathing, I then wake up at least 20 times a night. but I will be also getting it removed again for the fifth time.. someone needs to find out why this grows back so fast. I feel great for about three weeks and I can tell the day it starts to come back..Good luck to all. FYI I feel it has more to do with the dranage from sinus and ears.. again good luck to all who have the surgery..

Hi there,

It would take me for ever to tell you all of my story but to summarize, I just recently had surgery to have my lingual tonsils reduced- not taken out completely. I have this horrible lump feeling in the back of my throat and it drives me crazy. MY ENT keeps telling me that it will be several more weeks for them to shrink but I have my doubts and am beginning to wonder if I should have had them removed. Do you also have that lump feeling or that something is in your throat?

Are they shrinking your lingual tonsils or completely taking them out? Also, where are you having this done? Is your regular ENT doing it? Thank you so much for your help as I am desperate! -Suzie in Denver

I have been suffering with swollen lingual tonsils for about 5 months and I'm about at my wits end. I've had a CT scan (normal), 3 scopes by ENT, 2nd opinion & headed for my 3rd opinion. 1 ENT blamed it on acid reflux of which I do have that is unresponsive to medication. My GI doesn't believe the acid reflux is causing it & the other ENT said we may never know why it occurred & wants me to keep trying CPAP until they go down. Has anyone experienced this condition before and what were your results?

hello... the basic reason why lingual tonsil get swollen is primarily because of infection.It mostly happens in people who have undergone tonsillectomy for palatime tonsils.2nd reason is the GERD.Apart for proton pump inhibitors which are the mainstay of treatment lifestyle modification and healthy food habbits are very essential to keep GERD under check.PPI should be used for a minimum of 3 months to keep the GERD fully suppressed.Along with that timely food habbits.....make it a compulsion to eat at 8 o clock 1 o clock and again at 8 o clock.Never skip ur food habbits.Never overeat...eat small amount of meals.Please avoid spicy and oily food.Restrict the amount of caffeine u take.All these coupled with the treatmenet for 3 months will definitely keep ur Gerd under check.Some people may suffer from hiatus hernia which can also cause GERD.Consult the Gastroenterologist if u have ne doubt.......an upper GI endoscopy will give a conclusion.All the best

Read more: Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders Forum - Lingual Tonsil Infection http://ehealthforum.com/health/topic26254. html#ixzz1sTh1OEGB

jxscot2, what antibiotic did you use

i agree it is not acid reflex due to i had a stomach scope and throat scopes with NOOO signs of acid reflex. this has been going on since Oct 2009 and i to have had 2nd opionion and one verge of a 3rd. i cant swallow even pills due to my lingual tonsil so big! i have lost 15 pounds though....

I have the same thing and cannot live with this. My throat feels weird and I am starting to want to cut my throat open. jk but you know what I mean, I have neck pain too. My ENT said that I just have to deal with it, but I hope it is not cancer! Does cancer hurt? my neck has two

hello.....iam a doc and the basic reason why lingual tonsil get swollen is primarily because of infection.It mostly happens in people who have undergone tonsillectomy for palatime tonsils.2nd reason is the GERD.Apart for proton pump inhibitors which are the mainstay of treatment lifestyle modification and healthy food habbits are very essential to keep GERD under check.PPI should be used for a minimum of 3 months to keep the GERD fully suppressed.Along with that timely food habbits.....make it a compulsion to eat at 8 o clock 1 o clock and again at 8 o clock.Never skip ur food habbits.Never overeat...eat small amount of meals.Please avoid spicy and oily food.Restrict the amount of caffeine u take.All these coupled with the treatmenet for 3 months will definitely keep ur Gerd under check.Some people may suffer from hiatus hernia which can also cause GERD.Consult the Gastroenterologist if u have ne doubt.......an upper GI endoscopy will give a conclusion.All the best

At one time I had a swollen lingual tonsil. It got so bad that I could hardly swallow. I had all the rounds of tests and went through the cancer scare but was advised that since it wasn''t cancerous to leave it alone. Eventually through trial and error, I realized that it was always worse when I had a long exposure to scents. At the time, I was burning a lot of scented candles. My throat seemed to get somewhat better when I was away from home so I kept trying to figure out what was happening. I got rid of all scents and after a while, it cleared up. My throat always gets sore and it''s hard to swallow when I shop in stores with scents or if I''m visiting someone with air freshners or candles.

what is the medicine name of tonsil that, i will take for reducing my problem.

I have been dealing with swollen and infectious lingual tonsils since December,,,the pain is unbearable,no pain med. can take it away. I went to an ent and he said removal is very rare.He has only done 2 and the removal is only some of the tonsil, you can't take it all out.So what happens when i do the surgery and because there is some tonsil left...it comes back??? I am on my way for a second opinion tomorrow....I real don't want the surgery. I will let you know what the ent says tommorrow.

I too suffer from Lingual Tonsillitis not to many doctors have seen this apparently its quiet rare.

I had my tonsil removed as a child so my family doctor didn�t think it had to do with tonsil at all, I was treated for Strep Throat and different infection but nothing worked, so after 3 days of antibiotic and Alot of pain (hard time swallowing, massive ear ache and a muffled voice) I went to Emerg where I was admitted and ended up being hospitalized for 2 days in ICU (due to air way restriction) and spend and other 2 days in the hospital, (they originally thought it was an infection of my Vocal cords) but after several tests, and scans, Demerol, steroids and two different kind of antibiotic, it was determined that it was Lingual tonsillitis and this is when I was diagnosed with it. They told me at that time I was lucky I came in. I could have died in my sleep because of the way my air way was inflamed.

It�s been close to one year and i still have an enlarged lymph node and suffer from mild pain in my throat and ears daily, I get checked couple times a year to keep tract.

I was told that there�s not much they could do about it.

Up here the Doctors won�t touch you since there a really high risk of bleeding out while removing the lymph node at the base of the tongue, and laser method is still kinda iffy. I have learnt to live with it but I�m hoping for a solution soon, i wish i was my old self again but i'm hoping with time it can happen.

Lingual Tonsillitis, a horror story! After 5 days of Antibiotic, my throat feels worse than ever! Feeling grotty & not sure what to do next? Any advice?

I battled a sinus infection all summer and living in the south the summer was terribly hot with high humidity. In July I developed the feeling of something stuck in my throat. I went to my GP and he prescribed Augmentin, Flonase, and said acid reflux was probably causing the sore throat...hence Prilosec and Pepcid were prescribed too. I took this and saw some improvement but it never left completely...that feeling of something stuck on left side. After seeing another dr. who prescribed Z Pak and Allegra, I again had some improvement but as the meds wore off, it was back with a vengeance. So I was sent to an ENT and after putting camera down my nostril found two inflamed lingual tonsils. Now I am on two rounds of antibiotics for ten days each and back to have him re-evaluate my situation. Bactrim DS generic was the first antibiotic and I had a bad reaction to it...so he switched me to Augmentin...I am still weak and shaky from the Bactrim and feel really lousy. Can't sleep and worry about tonsils obstructing my airway...this is awful! Praying that all of you have found some relief...if you do please pass it on.

Anyone had to remove the Lingual Tonsil? If so, was the surgery helpful?
I am having painful inflamed tonsil since 2008 and it is getting worse. Antibiotics and anti fungus medication
did not work.

I had my lingual tonsils removed a week ago. I was always getting throat infections with symptoms like tonsilitis but I had my tonsils out in 2002. I was always taking time off work and no one understood! I even lost a few jobs (contracts weren't extended) because I was seen as unreliable! Perhaps they should get lingual tonsilitis! Finally I was referred to an ENT at the but by the time I saw him I was better and he said he needed to see me when I was sick with it! So about a month ago I got it again and he was able to quickly fit me in. He put a big tube/camera up my nose and the lingual tonsils were so infected it was gross to see it all on the screen!! He realised what it was but said he couldnt do the surgery himself so He then refered me to another ENT who decided the surgery would be beneficial to me and said it's not very common and there can be post-op bleeding and I would have to go back to hospital to control it, but luckily no bleeding yet! Even when I woke up in recovery there wasn't any bleeding! I remember after I had my tonsils out I woke up and threw up a lot of blood! Not nice! Anyway, I had 1 night in hospital and lots of morphine! It didnt seem to bad really.

It has been a week after the op now and I am in lots of pain!! They said there could be an increase in pain around the 5th to 7th day after the op and if this happens get the antibiotics. So I am on the antibiotics now but still not much improvement! Everything I eat, even water makes my throat sting! and then the pain radiates to the ears. And it hurts to talk and move my tongue. But I think it will be worth it if it means not getting lingual tonsilitis again! I have had it 5 times this year and about 4 or 5 times last year! The painful throat, fever and muscle aches was just so debilitating! I would look in my thoat and see the back of my tongue was so enlarged. And drs would just give me antibiotics. More drs need to know about lingual tonsilitis! But it is quite rare apparently!

Has anyone else had the surgery? If so how long did your pain last for? I am taking 2 weeks off work as the dr recommended. I hope the pain eases soon! I just want to eat properley and leave the house! I have endone for bad pain, trying not to use it though as it makes me really tired! They also recommended soluable panadene. I am meant to gargle it and then swallow but it hurts to gargle!

I also have lingual tonsillitis for the second time ..it really is painful.. I'm starting on Augmentum which worked well last time. I have been on a high protein diet eating loads of cottage cheese and yoghurt ..I wonder if has something to do with it?? as per note posted by Jxscot2..

i suffer of lingual tonsilitis too,with pain in the throat,neck, tongue and ears, is very unconfortable, taking antibiotics, nothig works for me, i am very frustrated w/this and worry, if someone knows something for this, pls let me know.

I never find anyone who recovers or gets any relief who posts later. I promised myself if I ever felt better I would write here again so I am doing that. After seeing two ENTs, an internist who tested me for everything he could think of, another GP after the first one who diagnosed acid reflux, I finally decided that acid must have something to do with it. I put myself back on acid reducers and after a few weeks I am seeing some improvement. I feel like when all the damage is healed my throat will be normal. Right now, it is the best it has felt since last summer. I also had something viral going on that affected me with extreme weakness. That is subsiding also. So if your lingual tonsils stay swollen, try something different...get your GP to prescribe acid reducers and acid inhibitors and I bet you will see a difference. Just be patient, it didn't start suddenly and it takes time to heal.

What time of acid reducers did/do you use?

Hi, my story is a bit long...I have had my normal tonsils removed twice now, the first specialist removed them but they grew back I was told. After changed doctors as first wouldnt listen because they had already been taken out, i was put on 2000mg penicillin for about a year then i wasnt getting better so i saw new specialist whom removed them feb 2011 but got sick again so back on penicilin for pharyngitis doctor told me had & when wasn't getting better was referrred to a different ear, nose & throat specialist who told me had lingual tonsillitis. Was told surgery wasnt an option. I had a sleep apnea test but was only 5.1 & had a afew upto 24 events or more a night, they were concerned as my brain oxygen was 72% instead of 92% was told to get a machine which i havnt been able to do. I suffer really bad fatigue have for about 3 years now, maybe that has something to do with tonsils? Want the prob finally fixed for good, still need to take penicillin, not sure what to do & have had this problem for over 10 years

I've been dealing with this feeling that something's stuck in my throat for the past three months. My first visit to an ENT ended with a script for antibiotic, Levoquin. NO RELIEF. My second visit ended w/a script for Diflucan, for thrush. Again, NO RELIEF. About a month later, I went to the ER because I was having a hard time breathing and food kept getting stuck and ear is killing - there I had a CAT Scan and was told my sub-mandibular gland was swollen. So I went to the ENT again, he reviewed the scans and said he saw nothing wrong with the gland. So then, he decides to stick his finger down my throat and determines my lingular tonsil is swollen and "if it's bothering you that bad, I can take it out." I scheduled surgery for next month, but I'm really nervous about it.