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.
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:
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:
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:
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.
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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
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