Strep bacteria love my throat. The first infection started when I bas about 4 years old and recurred several time when I was on grade school. I was advised to have my (throat!) tonsils removed at that time (When I was on 2nd grade.) but I rejected that option. I remember that at that time tonsillectomy only costs 6, 000 pesos.
Fast forward to 4th grade, tonsilitis still recurs and I was given monthly antibiotic (Penadur LA) injections, which, by the way were given deep IM and very painful. This continued until my first year in university.
On my second year in UPLB, I decided to discontinue this monthly torture. I still had several Strep infections but all didn't require hospitalization, until....
Last year, maybe because of frequent contact with dirty animals I was, again, for the nth time, infected with Strep. This was the worst of all of the episodes because this time, my usual antibiotics decided that they cannot beat the now very resistant bacteria that I host. I was hospitalized for several days and I was on leave for about a week.
Also last year, I was advised to have tonsillectomy by an EENT in a hospital in Naic. I was already halfway with the pre-op requirements when I decided to back out :) That surgery was supposed to be free because it was covered (entirely) by my health card. But, I the surgeon that I consulted didn't get my hundred percent trust. So....
Last month, I discussed the recurring sore throats with my cardiologist, so he referred me to another EENT in DLSU-UHS in Dasmarinas. He said I had tonsilloliths, which are liths (stones) that come from the tonsils and are formed by debris from food, saliva, and bacteria. And that my tonsils need to be removed because they're already "dead" and are "decomposing". Cost of surgery would be more than 50, 000 pesos but it's covered by my card (PF excluded).
I'll see him again tomorrow for a schedule and for re-costing because I shifted to another health card.
I did some research and read somewhere that the mortality rate for tonsillectomy is 1/15, 000.
Google:
tonsillectomy+video
tonsil+photos
http://tonsilboy-blog.blogspot.com/
***May PANDAS kaya ako noon?
http://www.technorati.com/posts/tag/tonsillectomy
God bless me and u!