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Yesterday was the last day on the antibiotics.
I know the smell will return as I still have the throat mucus and his makes me sad. I know it's a terrible comparison but it's like a blind man given sight by taking a pill but he knows he can't take it forever. This is what keeps me going though. There simply has to be a workable solution.
Our saliva is sterile. It is meant to clean our mouths and has antibacterial properties and enzymes. Assuming we have enough saliva then our mouths and throats should not stink. That smell indicates there is a problem.
Ok, another update for you all. The halitosis returned one week after my 10 day dosing regiment. A thing of note is that during the antibiotics, my throat mucus was whitish in color with no smell. When the antibiotics wore off, the mucus began turning brown and yellow and is slowly becoming thicker. I did manage to spit some tiny tonsil stones out while on this treatment which leads me to believe that chronic bacterial infection in the tonsils is certainly a possible cause. I have an ENT appt tomorrow and will see how that goes.
Also, I just finished the last in a series of tests for the GERD problems I am having. It was the smart pill test and was normal, I have an appt with the G.I. doctor on Thursday.
Went to the ENT today and I have to say it was a positive experience. I showed him the results from my studies and explained all the issues with the tonsil stones and halitosis. he evaluated my tonsil tissue and told me that it was swollen on both sides and traveled down into my throat. I believe he said it was ectopic? Anyway, he said I probably do have chronic tonsilitis due to the frequency of the stones and the fact that i get some relief while on antibiotics. He even said this could be the cause of the globus feeling in my throat and mucus issues. He said the tissue would need to be removed to fix the problem but needs to look at the CT scan of the neck I had done and he needs to consult with another doctor to see if and how much tissue can be removed. Evidently, this tissue is right next to muscle and carotid arteries. He said he will call me within a week.
So i am purposely not getting to enthusiastic about a potential fix but at least I know what the problem is and there is some comfort in having my theories validated. He did say that both arytenoids were swollen as well which means that LPR is still an issue.
i had to pick up the Cat scan of the neck with Dictation to drop of at the ENT on monday. fortunately the images are on a disk so I was able to view them at home.
The results are that I have chains of swollen lymph nodes in the neck on both sides with one particularly large node on the left. Also, I have a large, dense fluid collection in the vallecula .http://academic.amc.edu/martino/grossan ... rynx18.htm
Looking at the diagram, this is solid proof of the feeling I get that mucus and stinky fluid is collecting at the base of my tongue. I only get relief when I perform a finger sweep the remove this crud but it slowly returns a couple hours later. Interestingly, this is where the palatine and lingual tonsils come together as well. Infection, tonsil stones, food debri, and mucus can collect in the saddle shaped depression and ferment. This is a real revelation to me and I feel, for the first time in years, that I am making solid progress in getting relief.
The first person I saw for this problem was a dentist. Do you know what he told me? He told me that "some people just have bad breath and you'll just have to live with it".
Well this guy still has his practice and if/when this mess gets sorted out i'm gonna schedule me an appointment!
Great effort, I really hope this will be the solution for you.
One question:
Everytime I swallow (or about 80% of the time) I have a bad taste in my throat (where the tonsils are) and it usually goes away after a couple of seconds. However during those 5 seconds my breath smells like sh*t and much like tonsil stones. However this goes away after a couple of seconds and I had it confirmed that I don't have bb afterwards.
Did you also had this symptom?
Sandspiegel, thank you for your well wishes and I hope you find relief as well. Your symptoms of bad taste only when swallowing are fairly common in the BB community. It is the fact that you say it is comming from the tonsil area that I see as usefull information. Perhaps as you swallow, the holes and crevices in your tonsils are pushed forward and exposing more of the contents within. I have that problem of bad taste when I swallow as well. It tastes like feces first thing in the morning and like snot as the day goes. I can also taste food I have eaten hours before. This would seem logical If it is getting in the crypts and between folds in the throat.
If you haven't seen an ENT yet, I would definately schedule an appointment. One thing I have learned is to not hold back though. If your breath is offending people 3 feet away and literaly smells like crap, they need to know this. It is important so that they don't just think you have halitophobia or occasional mild halitosis and driving the point home could be reason enough for a tonsillectomy which could cure you.
Had a setback today. I met with the ENT this morning to see about a tonsilectomy. He told me the majority of my tissue is at the base of the tongue and he was not comfortable removing it as bleeding can not be well controlled that far down the throat. He did say that in his opinion, I do have chronic tonsilitis and that removal would be the best option.
He refered me to another ENT who is supposed to be the best head and neck surgeon in my city. I am somewhat discouraged right now as this whole process is taking forever and costing a lot of money. Also, I made an appointment and I can't get in untill early next month.
One good thing is that I had a spell of strong halitosis after the antibiotics but it seems to have died down and I can no longer taste shit even though I still get throat mucus. Also, the mucus is not as thick or discolored as before. I am still gargling hydrogen peroxide and using a finger sweep to push on the tonsil tissue and scoop out any mucus at the base of the tongue. It's not perfect but it's the most successful thing (other than antibiotics) that I have tried thus far.
As always, I will keep you posted as things develop. Keep up the good fight friends.
Just got back from the new ENT. My appointment was bumped up so I didn't have to wait untill next month after all. I am having a Transoral Robotic Assisted tonsillectomy and biopsy of small lesion seen on left palatine tonsil tossue on May 15. The doctor believes the tonsil tissue extending down the throat on the left side is the cause of my problems with halitosis. He said the robot allows for excellent magnification and incredible accuracy which allows him to remove tossue down into the throat. The risk of bleeding is 5% if it happens it will be between days 7 and 14.
The doctor told me that this lymphoid tissue is like weeds. It is impossible to remove all of it and it can pop up again at any time (although not likely in most people). He said if this does not fix the problem, we will go back in and remove the lingual tonsils as well. I told him to just "pull every weed he sees" while he is in there but he doesn't believe it will be necessary and may produce more complications and longer recovery.
So that's it for now. I am trying not to be pessimistic but I have been let down more times in the last few years than anyone should be in a lifetime. Could this be the end of years of suffering? Do I have a real shot of living like a normal person? Will I be able to overcome the social anxiety and phobia of conversing in close quarters that haunt my daily activities?
Just had the robotic tonsilectomy this morning. The doctor removed the leftover palatine tonsil tissue on both sides and the lingual tonsils. I wasn't expecting the lingual tonsil removal but he said they were inflamed and shaped in such a way as to partialy block the throat when swallowing. My breath is pretty bad right now but that is to be expected with the pain medications and damaged throat tissue. Plus the doctor did warn me that everyone has terrible breath after a tonsilectomy for the first couple of weeks.
The positive news is that I have been swallowing ice chips with ease. The swallow is clear with no tissue to obstruct it. In other words, I am not experiencing any LPR like symptoms right now.
recovery has been going great so far. I have been sleeping of and on all day. I was given morphin and a pain patch in the recovery room and so far haven't needed to request anything else for pain. I am on I.V. antibiotics (Clindamycin) as well. Tomorrow I should be able to go home baring any bleeding or extreme pain.
I have been fortunate in that my doctor was nice enough to prescribe tons of pain medication (hydrocodone syrup and fentanyle pain patches every 3 days) otherwise this would be an amazingly painfull experience. I tried to be a tough guy last night and not take any meds so I coukd be somewhat productive today but within 1 hour of missing that first medication I was in extrememe discomfort. So if you are going to have this done, just expect to be laying down and taking it easy for the first couple of weeks.
Also, I continue to experience relief in my throat. Even though it is still swollen from the surgery and painfull when swallowing, I can no longer feel any obstructive tissue the way I did before. The doctor explained to me that he has basicaly recontoured the throat down to the epiglottis and opened up a lot of space. I spoke with him again yesterday, prior to leaving the hospital, and he really gave me a lot of hope. He said the lingual tonsis were cryptic and believes the main source of the smell was coming from one particular pocket on the back left. He removed all cryptic tonsil tissue he could see all the way down the throat and at the sides as well. This is not possible without the use of a robot as you cannot safely see that far down or cut precisely the way you need to in order to avoid making catastophic mistakes. Therefore, most doctors will just remove the palatine tonsils (at the sides) and call it a day. Just to reiterate, the name of the proceedure was Tosilectomy with base of the tongue resection using (TORS) TransOral Robotic surgery.
Sorry if this was long winded, just didn't want to leave anything out.
I can't recall anyone from this forum having this done, so this is really interesting to know what happens in your case.
It does make a lot of sense if palatine tonsils can (apparently) cause bad breath when they fill up with a lot of stones, that crypted lingual tonsils would do the same. It's even worse for lingual tonsils because this is right in the zone of where there's the most bacteria at the back of the tongue.
Do you ever have the lump in the throat feeling or the feeling that something is stuck there?
I can't imagine how painful it must be to have that area cut out of your throat, but well done for trying this and once again, best of luck! Please keep updating.
LPR was a major concern and a daily event. I am still recovering so it will take some time for the swelling to go down in order to see if anything has been sorted out with the LPR symptoms but my throat feels more "open".
Today is day 5 and I am still in extreme pain. I can only eat a liquified diet for 2 weeks per doctor's orders but even that feels like swallowing pine cones. Interesting to note that I have not had he shit smell or taste since the surgery, although I have had other interesting malodors coming from my mouth due to the tissue healing.
Next follow up appointment is Friday and will report back then.
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