lump on tonsil

[pinx]

I am a 33 year old female, non smoker non drinker.  For a few weeks now I have had a very uncomfortable problem with my throat.
It feels like there is something constantly stuck in my left tonsil or under the back of my tongue.  When I look there I can't see any growths etc.  But sometimes it does have little white bits on it.  Every morning my tongue is covered with a white film plus my mouth is really dry.  My saliva feels grainy/rough if that makes sense!  My throat feels slightly sore, just like it would at the beginning of a cold.  I also have to constantly clear my throat during the day, which also helps the lump feeling. I have also had some discomfort under my jaw on that side.  It feels like there is something in my neck and if I massage it it feels better.  My gp says I have oral thrush and gave my a gel but it hasn't improved.  I don't know how he could have diagnosed this when I have just slight white patches on the tonsil. Could thrush cause all these symptoms? And on just one side of my throat?  I've become paranoid that I have throat/tonsil cancer. The strange thing is - this lump feeling completely disappears when I eat and returns shortly after a meal.  In my mind I feel like I have lumps all over my neck but I can't physically feel one!  Am I going mad?  Please help!

[National Jewish]

Thrush is an over growth of a fungus that is normally found in the mouth, called Candida albicans.  This generally looks like cheese curds, which when wiped off, leave a raw, bleeding surface.  Thrush could certainly cause all of the symptoms that you have described.  This is treated with Nystatin Oral Suspension or Mycelex® (clotrimazole) Troche.  Sometimes, the topical medicines like the gel that you have used are not enough to control the thrush and tablet medicines are needed.

It is unlikely that this is throat or tonsil cancer since the lump feeling completely disappears when you eat.  Since your symptoms are not improving with the gel that your general practitioner gave you, please check with your doctor to see what would be recommended next.  It could be that there is something in addition to the thrush that is adding to your problem.

[kosmepe]

Couldn't all this be due to reflux?

[Susie37]

I think I know exactly what your problem is.No, I'm not a doctor but my 16 year old daughter had this same problem about 9 months ago. I took her to our family doctor and was then sent to an Ear Nose and Throat specialist. Do these white things look kinda like a small grain of white rice? Do they have a fowl smell? Anyhow these are called tonsil stones.There is a bigger medical term used but for short thats what our specialist referred them as.My daughter was treated with 3 months of antibiotics with no results and then had to go in for a tonsellectomy.Good Luck to you............Susie37

[davies67]

visit tonsilstones.com

[Ju0429]

Ji, I have the same lump in my throat and have noticed the "tonsil stones" for awile now but just recently for a couple of days now there seems to be a bigger lump in my throat, it has been there since I got a sinus infection. I am so worried that I have some type of cancer. Usually I dont feel them for to long but this lum has been there for about a week and a half and its not just on one side but seems like its in the middle of my throat and every one here says its dedicated to one side. Like I said I have noticed coughing tonsil stones before but it seems worse. If Some one could answer this; How long has one with tonsil stones had one stuck in there throat and what is the biggest size and have they ever felt like it was in the middle of the throat. Please email me what you have to say after you post a follow up.

[Ju0429]

Ji, I have the same lump in my throat and have noticed the "tonsil stones" for awile now but just recently for a couple of days now there seems to be a bigger lump in my throat, it has been there since I got a sinus infection. I am so worried that I have some type of cancer. Usually I dont feel them for to long but this lum has been there for about a week and a half and its not just on one side but seems like its in the middle of my throat and every one here says its dedicated to one side. Like I said I have noticed coughing tonsil stones before but it seems worse. If Some one could answer this; How long has one with tonsil stones had one stuck in there throat and what is the biggest size and have they ever felt like it was in the middle of the throat. Please email me what you have to say after you post a follow up.

[flamedphoenix]

Actually it could be the fact that there is another possibility-- I was reading on other sites that another common area for tonsil stones is the base of the tongue, the back end of it which is in the throat.  The people I've talked to about this said they experienced the same things-- a lump in the throat that wouldn't get out no matter how much they picked and prodded at the tonsilliths.  One man said he thought it might have been cancer-- like you-- and found out from an ENT that it was simply the crypts at the base of the tongue.  Apparently these little buggers will form no matter what location if there is proper space for food particles, bacteria, and white blood cells to mingle.

Best of luck and I'd recommend seeing an ENT just to be sure but I wouldn't worry  :)

Lindsay

[swataz]

I have had a similar problem. I had a right-side-only throat discomfort in varying degrees for over a month that my ENT diagnosed as tonsiloliths a couple of weeks ago, but since then, the right-side only lump/pain sensation has become a lump in the middle of my throat and seems to be getting worse.

In fact, the PAIN is no longer there, now it is only this globulous sensation, like a dead area in my throat. I am starting to not only get a little scared a little but the discomfort is so prevalent now, it is starting to make me angry.

I am on Levaquin for a completely different infection right now, and I am starting to wonder how THAT is affecting my body, frankly after readng some not very flattering things about it.

I have another appointment with my ENT this coming Wednesday, October 1 - tried to get a cancellation for tomorrow instead, to no avail - and I swear if it gets any worse, I will go to a friggin hospital instead, that's how nuts I am getting with this already. I have NEVER had this kind of a problem before.

[Zapper24]

I am a 22yr old man and recently have been experiencing a large amount of tonsil stones. I have had them I think since I was about 16 and for a couple of years they went away..but now they are back. I have read many different reasons on how they are formed but can't really understand them..If It was caused by food particles then why did they stop appearing for about 2 years? i didn't stop eating? and if it was caused by post nasal drip then again how did they not appear for that period of time..surely if I have extra mucous then it won't suddenly clear up and come back...I would always have it wouldn't I? Anyway i'm not too sure what to do, I think I may be too old to have my tonsils removed and I'm living in the UAE so medication for this sort of things doesn't really exist (I'd be lucky to find a doctor who knows anything about them!) Anyway all I can say to those who have them is that i haven't really had bad breath over the years. I check the back of my throat every day with my finger and get rid of anything that is there..if done regularly they don't build up and you soon get used to the finger at the back of your throat and don't feel the need to gag...If anybody has suggestions on how I could get rid of them I would be more than happy to hear from you.

[Zapper24]

I am a 22yr old man and recently have been experiencing a large amount of tonsil stones. I have had them I think since I was about 16 and for a couple of years they went away..but now they are back. I have read many different reasons on how they are formed but can't really understand them..If It was caused by food particles then why did they stop appearing for about 2 years? i didn't stop eating? and if it was caused by post nasal drip then again how did they not appear for that period of time..surely if I have extra mucous then it won't suddenly clear up and come back...I would always have it wouldn't I? Anyway i'm not too sure what to do, I think I may be too old to have my tonsils removed and I'm living in the UAE so medication for this sort of things doesn't really exist (I'd be lucky to find a doctor who knows anything about them!) Anyway all I can say to those who have them is that i haven't really had bad breath over the years. I check the back of my throat every day with my finger and get rid of anything that is there..if done regularly they don't build up and you soon get used to the finger at the back of your throat and don't feel the need to gag...If anybody has suggestions on how I could get rid of them I would be more than happy to hear from you.

[Zapper24]

I am a 22yr old man and recently have been experiencing a large amount of tonsil stones. I have had them I think since I was about 16 and for a couple of years they went away..but now they are back. I have read many different reasons on how they are formed but can't really understand them..If It was caused by food particles then why did they stop appearing for about 2 years? i didn't stop eating? and if it was caused by post nasal drip then again how did they not appear for that period of time..surely if I have extra mucous then it won't suddenly clear up and come back...I would always have it wouldn't I? Anyway i'm not too sure what to do, I think I may be too old to have my tonsils removed and I'm living in the UAE so medication for this sort of things doesn't really exist (I'd be lucky to find a doctor who knows anything about them!) Anyway all I can say to those who have them is that i haven't really had bad breath over the years. I check the back of my throat every day with my finger and get rid of anything that is there..if done regularly they don't build up and you soon get used to the finger at the back of your throat and don't feel the need to gag...If anybody has suggestions on how I could get rid of them I would be more than happy to hear from you.

[avas]

I have suffered from tonsil stones for years and years.  If you get a water pik and use a device called the grossan original throat irrigator tip www.pharmacy-solutions.com and  a lighted mirror you can wash them out yourself.  Use the water pik on low, low speed your caratoid artery is behind that tonsil.  Alternately, you can have an ent doctor pick them out after freezing the tonsil.  you can also try using very long qtips and pushing on the tonsil lightly.  I have become an expert.  You can also have an ablation of the tonsil which is a shrinkage by radio waves which will remove the tonsil and the crypts that the garbage is falling int.

[clcla]

I know this might sound nuts, but I had very similar symptoms and ended up being diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux.  The ENT first suggested it and it sounded far fetched so I didn't take the prescription for GERD.  When my symptoms kept getting worse, I tried the GERD medication.  It helped some, but not completely.  They sent me for a barium swallow that strongly suggested GERD and I was refered to a gastroenterologist who did a scope and confirmed the reflux diagnosis.  I am still taking the medication (twice a day) and seeing lots of improvement, though the throat sensation isn't completely gone after about 6 weeks of treatment.  The doctors say the sensation is referred -- the "tissue damage" is where my esophagus meets my stomach, but I feel it in my throat (and that grainy feeling on and near my tongue).  Eventually I will cut back to once a day medication.  Just thought I would share.  It defies common sense, but that is what happened to me.