# The Tonsil Poll **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 20, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tonsil-poll/650909 "2013-02-20T21:54:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tonsil-poll/650909/41 "2013-02-22T16:57:45Z")
I had mine out at nine, and I believe my brother and sister had theirs out around the same age, too. One of mine grew back partially, which marked the first time I ever spoke to a doctor with anything other than deference! I was maybe 20? And was sick during college, and went to my family doctor at home, and he told me I had tonsillitis, and I turned to him and said, in rather a stern voice, “Now how is that possible when you took them out when I was nine?” I really thought he was an idiot. Then he explained how they can grow back. But the dam was broken…I talk to my current doctor the same way, the young whippersnapper… ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tonsil-poll/650909/42 "2013-02-22T17:22:19Z")
I still have mine, as do my daughter and my brothers and sister. My husband, however, had his out as a small child. I think the doctors were going to do his older sister and told his mom they may as well do all three kids. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tonsil-poll/650909/43 "2013-02-22T18:45:51Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I got mine out when I was maybe 12 or 13, so that would have been in the early 80s. I’d been getting strep throat about twice a year for a while, and they finally decided to yank 'em. I don’t think I’ve had strep again since, so it worked! I used to get strep twice a year too. They let me keep my tonsils anyway. Hurrah. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tonsil-poll/650909/44 "2013-02-22T19:43:39Z")
In my 20s I had many many bouts of tonsillitis. But not all of them were strep. The Army had a policy that there had to be a certain number of cases of strep before they would remove them. It never happened. As I got older I stopped getting it as often but to this day whenever I am sick I feel it first in my tonsils. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tonsil-poll/650909/45 "2013-02-22T19:52:11Z")
I had mine out in the late fifties. They gave them to me in a little jar of formaldehyde to take to school for show and tell! My mother had hers out during The Depression. Couldn’t afford a doctor so she did some cleaning for a dentist who took them out with her sitting upright and awake in his dental chair. That must have been fun. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tonsil-poll/650909/46 "2013-02-22T23:23:21Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I am a tonsilectomy virgin. > > I’m saving myself for marriage. You have some perdy adenoids, ma’am. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tonsil-poll/650909/47 "2013-02-22T23:44:10Z")
Had them removed at 21, mess of a surgery. They had grown attached to the inside of my throat and removing them the Dr. managed to nick my throat and I lost a lot of blood before the bleeding stopped. 2 weeks later I coughed up the stiches and had to rush to the ER to have it fixed again. The other side blew in another week while I was in class and had to again be rushed to the ER. AT 45 my Dr. said I had a pair of perfectly good tonsils. Yeah I guess they can grow back. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tonsil-poll/650909/48 "2013-02-22T23:47:33Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > Had them removed at 21, mess of a surgery. They had grown attached to the inside of my throat and removing them the Dr. managed to nick my throat and I lost a lot of blood before the bleeding stopped. 2 weeks later I coughed up the stiches and had to rush to the ER to have it fixed again. The other side blew in another week while I was in class and had to again be rushed to the ER. > > AT 45 my Dr. said I had a pair of perfectly good tonsils. Yeah I guess they can grow back. Are you certain those were your tonsils they finally ended up pulling out that time? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tonsil-poll/650909.md?page=2)