3 y.o. getting tonsillectomy- POST-OP UPDATE- NEED ADVICE!

[nessz79]

Thanks everyone! I'm prepared for the worst and hoping for the best. He's a very active little boys so it'll be hard to see him so down and out. I'm hoping he'll be one of those bounce-back kids and I'm reallllllly hoping he'll take the pain medication...when he doesn't want to eat something, there's no convincing him.

 

[nessz79]

UPDATE***********

He had his surgery this morning and we were home by 12. We immediately started the pain meds and tried to push the fluids. Fluids have not been going well. Our Dr. says he should drink 35-50 oz of fluid a day- yeah right!! DS was very combative after the surgery and if I even talk about drinking he has a complete kicking/crying fit.

We've gotten in 10 heaping tsp of applesauce, about 5 sips of water, 1/2 a jello cup, maybe just a bit more than that here and there. He had lots of IV fluids during and after surgery and he's not dehydrated yet.

I'm very worried, though. I can't understand why he won't drink. He tells me his throat doesn't hurt and his stomach has been better since he threw up halfway through the day.

Advice?

 

[LisaNJ25]

UPDATE***********

He had his surgery this morning and we were home by 12. We immediately started the pain meds and tried to push the fluids. Fluids have not been going well. Our Dr. says he should drink 35-50 oz of fluid a day- yeah right!! DS was very combative after the surgery and if I even talk about drinking he has a complete kicking/crying fit.

We've gotten in 10 heaping tsp of applesauce, about 5 sips of water, 1/2 a jello cup, maybe just a bit more than that here and there. He had lots of IV fluids during and after surgery and he's not dehydrated yet.

I'm very worried, though. I can't understand why he won't drink. He tells me his throat doesn't hurt and his stomach has been better since he threw up halfway through the day.

Advice?

Have you tried ice pops.. at this time of night I would just let him get some sleep. He is probably just out of wack from the surgery. With the fluids from the iv he should be ok for the night.

That is why I am glad my 2yo spend the night.. just incase anything went wrong.

 

[Bethany]

My 5yo had his tonsils out last summer (when he was 4) due to severe sleep apnea.

We brought him home that day and he absolutely refused to take his pain meds and he refused anything in his mouth. He became dehydrated and we took him back to the hospital, where he spent 2 nights. It was a huge struggle to get him to eat or drink. He wouldn't even eat popsicles. He didn't eat anything until about day 3 or 4 post op.

I know, that's not helpful at all.. just wanted to let you know that it is a possibility.

 

[asmit4]

Watch him for signs of dehydtration. This can be a very serious issue as stated above. In addition, popsicles, try popsicles.

 

[Merriwind]

Slurpees! My DD lived on them when she had her tonsils out in December. (She was 9.) Shakes and ice cream felt too thick and gloppy for her.

Do keep pushing the fluids. DD's recovery was very smooth, but it took her several days to be anything like herself again. I think she was supposed to drink 80 oz per day. We got two Super Gulp slurpees into her each day, plus anything else we could. Pain meds need to be non-negotiable. He won't feel well enough to drink otherwise. If it's the codeine syrup, put it in the freezer. It won't freeze, but the taste will be diminshed somewhat. We couldn't find anything to mask the taste, so DD just chugged it with a slurpee chaser. We moved to Tylenol meltaways asap. Try jello, broth (sometimes warmth is soothing), sherbet, ice chips, popsicles, anything to get fluids in!

Our neighbor's son had his tonsils out a little before dd. He couldn't/wouldn't swallow and didn't get much in the way of liquids in. He had a very rough time of it. His wounds became actual scabs and he had pain, bleeding, chunks of them coming up when he coughed, ugh. Scared the you-know-what out of me, so I made sure to keep dd hydrated when hers came out. (That's one of the purposes, to keep the scabs very soft and moist, so bits just come off as they swallow.) Sorry to be gross, but it was an eye-opener.

Good luck! Hope he's feeling all better soon!

 

[klamb19]

My Ds had his tonsils and adenoids out last June when he was 3. He acted very combative for several days and I finally figered out it was all of the narcotics between surgery and post op meds.
They are so little and i think the strange feeling from the meds scares them.

BTW the surgery was a huge success for us. Good Luck!

 

[nessz79]

My Ds had his tonsils and adenoids out last June when he was 3. He acted very combative for several days and I finally figered out it was all of the narcotics between surgery and post op meds.
They are so little and i think the strange feeling from the meds scares them.

BTW the surgery was a huge success for us. Good Luck!

I think maybe that's what's going on with him- the narcotics are making him act very strange. Of course, he's upset over the surgery and the pain, but he actually keeps insistently saying that nothing is hurting right now...so I can only think it's the drugs.

He won't really eat popcicles. We are just constantly battling with him. He just had his dose of pain meds (which he takes with a lot of battling) and it took us about 20 minutes to get him to drink 3 sips of water and 3 chips of ice. We're letting him sleep now until his next dose of meds at 1 AM where we will do the battle again.

I'm really hoping he won't have to go to the hospital. We keep telling him that could happen if he doesn't drink but he's just not rational at all right now.

Thank you for all the replies- I'll keep everyone posted (and more posts are welcome, of course).

 

[ditchdocsgirl]

First let me just say, Bless your heart! I know exactly what you are going thru!. My dear son had his removed last March (he is 9). The surgery went well, came home around 12. He was acting a lil strange from the meds but not wanting to sleep. Made sure he drank at least a sip every 15-30 minutes. Day 2 we even walked outside and fed the horses, just to pass some time. Day 3 all the meds from surgery had started to wear off, and a lil ill. Day 4 we started running a fever and ended up dehydrated and had to go for fluids but was not re-admitted to the hospital. <jumping ahead>, Day 6-7, the scabs came off and then I became more worried due to the increased risk of bleeding. I would have thought once scabs came off we were good to go, but Dr. informed me that this time period was of more concern to him especially starting to eat more real food and had greater risk to bleed. But when his scabs came off we noticed that he had a piece of his throat wall attached to his 'hangy hicky'. After a trip back to the Dr. we had to go back into the O.R. and have it clipped. Well that just done my son in he gets extremely upset if his throat gets the least bit sore.
My advice to you would be plenty of liquids, and if he doesnt want to drink try crushed ice. We even filled ice trays with gatorade and froze them and crushed them to eat on. Kyle would have never dehydrated if he hadnt got the fever. Stay ahead of the pain, dont miss a dose of the pain med, because once out of control it will be hard to manage. So for the first 4-5 days make sure you get that down him. I hated so much to see him suffer, but I hope in the future it will help him not become sick so easily. Hang in there it does get better.

 

[mom2prettyprincess]

My DD3 just had hers out in April, and she was running up and down the hall of the peds ward pushing her IV pole 2 hours after surgery. And she was back to her normal self except eating in 3 days.But she probably would have eaten anything if i would have let her, And her appetite has not quit since she had them out. Prior she ate very little, and now everytime she turns around she wants to eat. She was a bit tired earlier in the day and had a longer nap, but other than that it was a breeze. And liquids, liquids, liquids. they coat the throat. Good luck, it will be much easier than you think..

 

[krcit]

Aww, poor baby. Both of my dds had their tonsils out at 6. They both did really well with it, I have to say. The key is to get him to swallow-it aids the healing so much. Maybe try some soft scrambled eggs or jello tomorrow. Hopefully he will feel a bit better after a good nights sleep. Good luck.

 

[MandM-Mom]

Ice pops, Ice pops and more Ice pops. My DD is not much of a drinker to begin with so we let her have as many popa as she wanted. Also I brought her to the store the day before and let her pick whatever drink she wanted, for some reason it tastes better when little sister can't have it Maybe he could go pick something thats a special drink. THe codeine made my daughter very sick to her stomach, we switched right over to regular tylenol right away after realizing it, this helped with getting dd to drink more too, she felt better. Good luck, we will be thinking about your family

 

[princessmom29]

Have you tried ice pops put in the blender? Wen I had my wisdom teeth out as a teen I had a complicated extraction and a large incision. That was all I could handle for about 4 days. I couldn't do jello or pudding, but the blended ice pops were cold and soothing, but liquidy enough to go down easy. I even had trouble swallowing pain meds and antibiotics. We also did liquid jello. Just mix it and leave it on the counter. It will stay liquid and the gelitan helps with stomach upset.

 

[nessz79]

My mom's coming over this morning and we're going to try those Slurpees...that's pretty special as he never gets Slurpees (for no particular reason..we just don't buy them). She's also going to bring ovaltine, because he loves to drink that at her house...I know that may be a little thick, but whatever he drinks at this point!

He is somewhat less combative this morning, although he did cry when I tried to push more fluids after his 2 sips every 20 minutes. I backed off for now since I know my mom is coming with her bag of tricks

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I was crying my eyes out last night...it's just so much pressure to get him to drink and the last place I want to end up is back at the hospital!

 

[Merriwind]

Hang in there, mom. It will be ok. Exhaustion and stress aren't a good combo for anyone. I'm so glad that your mother is coming to help you. Good luck!

 

[Feralpeg]

In case your doctor didn't mention it, day three is the worst. The surgeon explained that to me, but I still wasn't prepared. DD seemed to be doing great until day three and then she was miserable. She wouldn't eat or drink anything. She just sat around and cried. I called the doctor and took her in to be checked. Everything was fine. He reminded me that day three was always the worst post op day. By day four, she was doing great.

Hang in there!!!

 

[sskem96]

A few sips or a few ice chips every 20 minutes is fine. That's much easier on the child than trying to push 10 oz every 4 hours. Just let him rest as much as possible and eat ice chips when he's awake. Every little bit helps. I work the peds floor sometimes at the hospital and take care of lots of post op tonsil kids, and my oldest had hers out about 3 years ago.

Just remember, you can't expect a 3 yr old who's just had surgery to be rational! The applesause is fine, but it can still feel pretty chunky going down, and might fill him up so he won't want more liquids. Jello is great. Just remember, that 1/2 cup of jello is 4 oz, so that takes care of about 2 hours worth of his fluid needs. Sometimes the best way to get fluids down is to give it to him in fun ways. Let him squirt it in his mouth with a medication syringe or drink it out of the dose cup that comes with medicine or little tea party cups or something.

Did they send you home with an ice collar for his neck? If they did, change the ice in it every couple hours to keep the swelling down. Even if he says he's not in pain, the swelling can make it uncomfortable to swallow. If you don't have an ice collar, you can put some crushed ice in a ziplock baggie wrapped in a thin towel and keep it on his neck. The ice seems to help more with pain than anything. When I had my tonsils out, I wore my ice collar constantly for about 3 days.

As far as dehydration, as long as he is urinating at least every 8-12 hours and it's yellow, he's ok. If he goes more than 12 hours without urinating, or it turns orange, or if you can't get any fluids at all down him for 12 hours, you should give the doc a call and let him know.

I hope he starts feeling better soon!

 

[Mickeyteacher]

I just had to give you my $.02 worth of advice.
I had my tonsils removed about 2 years ago as an adult followed by both of our children over the next 6 months. I found that cold items were trouble to try and drink- I would drink gateraid at room temp becuase the cold hurt my neck, ears and head. DS was the same way.
Try somethings are room temp. That might work.
Hugs to you all,
S

 

[Hayloburger]

I didn't read through the entire thread, so I am sorry if this was mentioned before:

My DD5 had her out last summer...everything was fine, but it's easier to explain/rationalize with a 5 year old vs a 3 year old...BUT, my girlfriend had her tonsils out a few months before, so she was a big help.

She told me one thing that I would have never thought of...NO STRAWS....that sucking hurts your throat (at least for her it did)...so, we just spoon fed liquids to my daughter and never offered her a straw....we didn't do sippy cups either. It worked for us....but everybody is different. I would think ice chips or flavored Ice chips (chop up a popsicle) would be soothing.

Day 2 and 3 are usually the roughest and then it will get easier...I promise.

 

[nessz79]

Thanks everyone for the reassuring words!

We found something he'll drink- ovaltine. Go figure. He's still not drinking lots and his mouth has been very sticky since his surgery so I'm a little worried. However he did sit up and watch tv for a couple hours today and he drank an entire cup of ovaltine over the course of that time (literally every 5 minutes I made him take a sip). He's sleeping right now, which is fine, as he was becoming very negative about drinking again. I've found that when he is rested and recently took his meds he is much more agreeable.

I'm hoping tomorrow's the last of the worst.

I'm not sure at what point I would need to call the doctor. The last time he peed was very early this morning but it was still very light in color and quite a bit. He's talking little to not at all and seems very lethargic but this could also be the medicine.