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I was wondering if an adult has their tonsils removed, does it affect your thyroid? Someone told me that as an adult, having your tonsils removed messes up your thyroid and makes you gain weight.
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I had my tonsils out at the age of six and by the time I was seven had become overweight, at 32 now still struggle with weight issues. Friends of mine have also experienced the same thing.
November 8, 2012 - 3:19amThis Comment
My sons' tonsils were remove when he was 7 years old. Now he is 14 years old. Every since his tonsils were remove, he started to have tremors, nerveouse, weight loss, irritable. Could that affect his thyroids. I was doing reserch on Hyperthyroidism. I am not sure if this is his case. Please help. Doctor say its probably a heredity. I don't think so. Are my doctors overlooking at this?
December 5, 2009 - 8:25pmThis Comment
Was there any indication that your son's tonsillectomy resulted in any surgical errors that would lead you to believe that this effected his thyroid?
I have not seen any reports on the removal of tonsils as causing any thyroid issues. Since you are worried about hyperthyroidism (most likely because of the similarities in symptoms), has your son had his thyroid medically evaluated, along with blood tests to confirm that he does/does not have hyperthyroidism? Is there a family history of hyperthyroidism in your son's family (either side)?
Why do your doctors think that your son's symptoms of tremors, nervousness, weight loss and irritability are hereditary? Is there a family history of any of these conditions your son's family (either side)?
As you know, there are so many changes that occur to children between the ages of 7 to 14, and I am wondering what doctors you have seen, what tests your son has undergone, to seek some sort of diagnosis or cause to his symptoms. I am wondering what has happened in the past 7 years: have you been to numerous doctors, have all of these symptoms been gradually worsening or did they literally appear days after his tonsillectomy seven years ago?
Hope to hear back from you soon.
December 6, 2009 - 8:44pmThis Comment
Jwhisler, there are indeed some connections between the tonsils and the tyroid, but not really what you heard.
First, let's look at what each does and where they are in the throat.
The tonsils are two pieces of tissue in the back of the throat on either side of your tongue. Their job is to produce lymphocytes, which are involved in antibody function.
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the lower part of the front of the neck, below the Adam's apple and above the breastbone. Its job is to produce thyroid hormone, which travels through the body and affects multiple organs.
Tonsils tend to be removed when they cause recurrent and severe bouts of tonsillitis, throat pain, abcesses or sleep apnea. A person can live without them easily. When the thyroid is removed, due to improper function, medicine is often taken for the rest of the patient's life to make up for the loss of the gland.
Here's a basic Web M.D. explainer on the thyroid:
http://women.webmd.com/guide/understanding-thyroid-problems-basics
And here's a short explainer on tonsils:
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/tonsillitis-topic-overview
There are many instances cited where thyroid problems affect all the surrounding glands, including the tonsils. In fact, when a thyroid goitre(enlarged gland or growth) is involved, that goitre can be implicated in repeated tonsillitis:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,760036,00.html
As far as weight gain (or loss), that would be more of a function of whether a thyroid is over-functioning or under-functioning. Here's a thyroid.org article about the thyroid and weight:
http://www.thyroid.org/patients/brochures/Thyroid_and_Weight.pdf
One university research study discusses weight gain in children who had their tonsils out due to severe sleep apnea, and found that the children fidgeted less, sleepwalked less and had a reduction in daily motor activity, which led to an excess of calories. You can read about it here:
http://www.buffalo.edu/ubreporter/archives/vol37/vol37n23/articles/Rommi...
As with any medical procedure, every individual is different. Your best bet is to find a doctor that you trust, ask her questions until you feel satisfied with the answers, and then follow good advice based on that.
October 1, 2008 - 9:33amThis Comment