Question:
Did anybody else gain their weight after having their tonsils out?
A few friends and I were talking and discovered that all of us went from "normal kids" to "overweight kids" after having tonsilectomies. I think this is an area that health professionals might look into when trying to track down the things that trigger obesity in children. — Julie S. (posted on March 24, 2002)
March 23, 2002
My mother always said I gained weight after my tonsils were out. But it
makes no sense Plenty of people have their tonsils out and don't become
obese. And plenty of people become obese without having their tonsils out.
— faybay
March 23, 2002
I would also like to know if anyone has read any research on this subject.
My daughter weighed 406 lbs. at the time of her lap RNY two years ago (now
is happily at-goal). Before she had her tonsils removed at age 7, she was
a thin/pale child who had repeated sore throats and respiratory infections.
Within a year of her tonsillectomy, she looked like a different
child...rosy color, healthy, eating well, etc... Within two years of her
tonsillectomy, her pediatrician was concerned about her "moderate
weight gain". From that point on, she became an overweight child,
then an even more overweight adolescent, and finally a morbidly obese
adult. The same pattern happened with her sister (who is awaiting
insurance approval for her lap RNY), and my mother relates that I myself
"never had a weight problem until those tonsils were removed".
My very thin, frequently-ill, granddaughter has just had her tonsils
removed...it will be interesting to see if this pattern repeats itself in a
third generation.
— Diana T.
March 23, 2002
One added comment. My daughter who is having WLS soon, never had her
tonsils out.
— faybay
March 23, 2002
That is odd.My little sister was rail thin until she had her tonsils and
adnoids out too.After that she gained a bunch of weight and is now a
morbidly obese adult.(I still have mine)
— KCAllen77
March 24, 2002
Actually, I was also an extremely thin child. Until I had my tonsils out
at age 6. Immediately afterward I began gaining weight....and it never
stopped. I also never had as much energy after that surgery. Thankfully
WLS has been a godsend.
— Cynthia B.
March 24, 2002
You can add me and another person I know to your list of children who
gained weight after a tonsilectomy. Of course, I always thought it was just
a coincidence. After I had children, their pediatrician and I monitored
their weight so they would hopefully not be plagued with the weight
problems I had encountered as a child/adult (One of the things I did as a
parent was to refuse to use food as a reward or to give them a cookie to
quiet them down, so they would never equate food with good feelings. It
must have worked, because, as teenagers, they never use food for comfort. I
also enrolled my daughter - who had started to put on too much weight by
age 10 - into a pre-teen food awareness class run by the local hospital. I
wanted her to learn the relationship of food and exercise to weight
gain/loss.) Anyway....I mentioned to their pediatrician (who was also a
pediatric endocrinolgist) how I had gained a lot of weight after my tonsils
were removed and he told me that was quite common. He explained that prior
to my tonsils being removed, I was probably sick all the time, and was
unable to eat properly. As soon as I became healthy, and was able to eat
normally on a regular basis, my weight increased. Just as a precaution,
though, I refused to allow my daughter's tonsils to be removed when she
went through an episode of constant strep throats at age 6. I swear, she
was on Ceclor more that year than not...but, since then, she's never had
strep throat...and she's going to be 17 in 2 weeks.
— Cyndie K.
March 24, 2002
In my case it was an appendectomy at at 8-9, until then I was rail thin-
within a family of no morbid obesity. Sure there were "weight
issues" from either side of my families- but no one over 175Lbs...
there were two overweight aunts on my Mom's side- but I think that is
stretching the whole genetics thingy for me.... I had my appendix out, and
then the following year started on my "journey"- in my case it
was a time bomb, my sickness must have been fending off my PCOS, but still-
they took it out and I developed madly. Instant weight gain post op = Oh my
Mom was sooo proud how fast I recovered weight wise after surgery, problem
was, it didn't stop. My Period struck, got hugmongo boobs, you name it...
then the gradual weight gain. Then what seems was a lifetime of misery,
until I found WLS. Maybe these childhood problems keep whatever it is at
bay, then they fix it, and your true colors show up.... but I doubt it was
the actual tonsils fault, just that you were sick, and then when you were
well, your body "recovered"... If recovery is a way to describe
it!
— Karen R.
March 24, 2002
I always attributed it to bad timing on my mother's part. I felt that my
weight issues began at the same time puberty hit and my mother cut my long
beautiful hair short short for the first time. But, now that I think about
it I also had had my tonsils out a year before so that could also have
something to do with it. One possible explanation may be that the
anesthesia may upset our young fragile metabolisms as well as removing the
cause of so many throat infections which acted as a natural diet aid.
This is a very interesting question and I hope the medical profession does
some research in this area. I'd be very curious to hear what the results
are.
— Elva C.
March 24, 2002
Yep, appendectomy at age 12. Gained from there. My mom always believed
that surgery caused weight gain because the same thing happened to her
after her appendectomy. Very interesting huh?
— Barbara H.
March 25, 2002
My sister and I both started to gain weight after having our tonsils out! I
was 5 and she was 7. Both of us became morbidly obese. Our 2 younger
sisters still have their tonsils and neither have a weight problem.
Coincidental? I don't think so!
— Karen W.
March 25, 2002
I was constantly sick with colds and ear infections until I had my tonsils
out at four years old.I was also thin but after the surgery I gained a lot
of weight and have had a weight problem since then.My mother has always
said it must have had something to do with it.I think part of it,is that
because of the colds and ear infections I couldn't really taste anything
for the first four years of my life.Then after my tonsils were out,my
health improved and I discovered, WOW! food is really yummy.lol
— jennifer A.
March 26, 2002
I became overweight immediately after getting my tonsils out - when I was 4
years old. I did not turn morbidly obese until after a near death
experience about 10-years ago.
— Lisa J.
March 26, 2002
I gained weight after having my tonsils out, although I didn't become MO
until much later. Before my tonsils were taken out the only thing I would
eat with any regularity was mayonnaise sandwiches with the crusts cut off.
I guess the soft squishy texture was all I could take. After surgery, well,
everything tasted so much better and I became a "chunky" kid. If
you look at pictures of me before the surgery I was very thin and pale and
had huge bags under my eyes.
— ctyst
March 26, 2002
I had another man ask me the same thing. He gained weight but not
MO. Also a dietician with the Optifast program I was on mentioned the same
thing. I do not think it is some thing strange!!!
— Dennis J. B.
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