Can I have multiple tonsil stones at once or are they forming one at a time every few days?

by Brian
(Rochester, NY, US)

Hello Dr Katz and everyone else,

Here's my tonsil stone story and then I have a question at the end.

Finally, after all these years, I now know what those nasty little nugget things are (I searched WebMD first to identify what they are and then Google Searched and found your website (thankfully!)-I also never knew that I had tonsil ducts and where they are (I like your diagram that shows the parts of the mouth). I always just thought it was some old piece of peanut or food that was caught somewhere under the side of my tongue. I don't seem to get them too often so I never paid much attention to them but recently I was thinking that something was stuck under the side of my tongue, way in the back, and for over a week I could feel something, but it was really in the tonsil duct!

As one other person wrote, it was DRIVING ME CRAZY, too, so I started poking around with my finger in the area where I thought the debris was, and then I saw this white nugget thing pop out of the backside of my throat, so I dislodged it with my finger. That night I dislodged about 3 "bb" size pieces (smaller than a pea)and I was a bit frightened but figured the material is now out of me, so that's good. That was 4 days ago and now tonight I could feel something in that area again! So I started to gently message that area again and got more tonsil stones out.

Here's some other information about me: I am a snorer and breathe through my mouth at night. I generally brush, floss, and use mouthwash before bedtime.

Here's my question: Do you think that it is just really backed up in there so it's taking a few days to get it all out or do you think that it is forming NEW every few days?

Thanks for your comments. I love your website and this forum.