silentotter99 said:Oh man, that sounds awful—I really feel for you. There’s nothing worse than being left totally in the dark about what's actually going on. I don't have a ton of experience with this kind of thing, but I can give you my two cents... What Glušac is saying actually makes sense to me, and honestly, people on here talk him up quite a bit as a solid specialist. But then again, we all basically know that if you're constantly getting tonsillitis, they usually need to come out, so I guess that’s why the doctors were so quick to react without even really looking at the nose part.
Do you actually have trouble breathing? Like, do you sound nasal when you talk? (Was that how he knew right away it was a deviation?)
If I were in your shoes, I think I’d try to get a second opinion, maybe from a private doctor... I’ve always gotten the impression that they take a bit more time to really dig into where the actual issue is. Anyway, definitely poke around a little more first—there’s no point in rushing into things only to end up needing both surgeries down the road😲
He didn't know it was a deviation immediately, but he suspected it... because of my voice. He said you can tell while I'm talking (one doctor even told me I sound like I'm talking through my nose), but it's nothing crazy, just noticeable to specialists... hahaha... I hadn't even realized it myself, and none of my family or friends had ever mentioned it... I breathe fine... so until then, I truly thought I didn't have any issues... or that the tonsillitis had nothing to do with it...
An acquaintance of mine who gave me the number had tonsillitis too, but his was way worse—unbearable pain and constant nasal congestion... but he also had a deviated septum (a really bad one, too) and he’d broken his nose like twice. He also had one failed nose surgery... so the deviation was super obvious... he went to see Glušac... and the doctor told him straight up that once we fix the nose, the tonsillitis should clear up on its own. And that's exactly what happened! But for him, the nose was causing massive problems even without the tonsillitis.
Honestly, I would go to a hundred different doctors if it meant getting answers... Roje and Račić say it's the tonsils... but Glušac, after a really thorough exam, says it's the nose. I don't know which other ENT specialists are good, but I'd go to a private practice in a heartbeat. If anyone has recommendations, please let me know...
Everyone has their own opinion, so you're stuck trying to be smart about it now🤷
I'm done going to the hospital in the city... first off, the wait times are insane—like 2 or 3 months just for an appointment... plus the crowds... and then when you finally get in... they just look at the referral for why you're there, glance at it (in my case, the tonsillitis), confirm they need to come out, and that's it. End of story.
When I saw Glušac, I had a referral recommending tonsillectomy... he checked the tonsils (they are damaged)... then he used the camera in my nose (I was actually surprised he was looking in there since I didn't think I had any issues)... then "turn your head," "swallow like this," "don't swallow now," etc... then plugging one nostril, then the other... checking the vocal cords... he is seriously thorough. He told me the root cause is the deviation, which funnels saliva toward the tonsils. His analogy for why to operate on the nose instead of the tonsils... was that if a roof is leaking and ruining the floor, you don't start by fixing the floor (those are my tonsils), you fix the roof that's causing the problem (the nose).... I think there's logic in that... 🤷... so why are the other doctors so hell-bent on fixing the floor first?🤣
But yeah, Glušac agrees the main issue is the nose... though the question is how much damage the tonsils have already taken... it's possible that even after the nose surgery, they won't heal and might still need to come out. There's a 70% chance they'll recover, but still...