Has anyones child had a Tonsillectomy

[tufenuff]

My DGS is 8 and has had Tonsillitis for about a month. FIrst they gave him a shot of antibiotics which worked for a week, then he got sick again then they tried 10 days of antibiotics. That worked for 4 days after he stoped taking them. then they tried steriods for 5 says, worked for a few days. Now he is on the second round of 5 days of zithromax.He saw an ear nose and throat doctor today and he said they should take out his Tonsills. I am very worried about surgery. anyone have any advice or experience with this. any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Anne MN]

one of my DD's had hers out when she was about 10. not a big problem. it is now day surgery- in and out. give pain meds (mine is 14 now and will still only take liquid or chewables) and ice cream or other cool/cold foods. don't want to have them sucking on a straw for a bit- can dislodge the "scabs" and freak them out. she had her's done after school ended- so no school missed.

 

[crz4mm2]

DS was just shy of 3 when he had his out (adenoids too and tubes put in his ears).
He never looked back. Was eating chips and hot dogs with ketchup the day after. Doc said he could have whatever he wanted. It was 18 blissful months before he was sick again!

I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Good luck.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

DS had his out in November. Instructions said to restrict activity for 10 days. He ate cold stuff for 2 to 3 days (ice cream and popsicles) and then was fine. Yes, it is surgery and that can be scary...but so can the side effects from all the meds your child is taking for tonsilitis.

I will also say that I had mine removed at age 9. I was a lot like your kiddo....constantly sick and on meds. This was back in the day when they didn't like to remove tonsils and my mom had a knock down drag out fight with the pediatrician (I think I missed nearly 1 quarter of school from tonsilitis) and since my mom was one of the few working moms we knew, I can't imagine how she juggled work and a constantly sick kid. Anyway, it's not too bad. A sore throat for a few days and now, 30+ years later, I've only had one sore throat in my life since my tonsils were removed!

Find yourself a good pediatric ENT and get those tonsils removed. Your child will thank you later!

K

 

[Scornelius]

My brother had his tonsils and adenoids out when he was 5 (12 years ago). He spent 2 nights in the hospital, but was great after that. One thing no one told us, though: his voice was about half an octave higher after. It definitely took some getting used to for him, and the family!

 

[daughtersrus]

My DD had a rare genetic disease. Part of that involves some of her organs getting larger than they should because of "storage". She had her tonsils out when she was about 3yo. This was over 10 years ago. It was day surgery. She was in very little pain if any at all. She loves Sluprees so our first stop on the way home was at 7-11. She really didn't have any problems but unlike some of the other posters, we were told not to let her have anything hard or crunchy for two weeks. That was fine. We were also told that she may have a little set-back about 10-14 days after surgery because that would be about the time that the scabs would be falling off. Sure enough, we had a day or two.

Even with this, I wouldn't hesitate to have the surgery again. Previous to this, she had tubes in her ears (she will always need tubes in her ears) and her adenoids out (not at the same time because at the time of these surgeries, nothing else was acting up).

 

[suejai]

DS had his tonsils and adenoids out when he was 2. They let me come into the operating room until he was anesthitized. Afterwards was no big deal, he had a sore throat for a couple of days, ate a lot of popsicles. Then when he was 5 or 6 he had tubes put in his ears and the adenoids removed again, apparently they grew back. They are very groggy and miserable when they come out of the anesthesia though, but once they wake up fully it's usually fine.

Good luck

 

[monkey68]

I had my tonsils taken out when I was 10, and this was almost 14 years ago. Even back then, it was an in and out surgery. I used to get strep throat literally every other week, I was always on medications, and I probably missed half of that school year. It really wasn't a big deal. I remember my throat being sore for a few days, but then it was fine. I fortunately haven't had strep throat since I got them removed. It is surgery, and surgery is always scary, but this is one of the more mild surgeries you can get.

 

[onelilspark]

I was under the impression that this kind of operation was fairly routine. Both my brother and I had our tonsils & adenoids removed when we were kids. I was sick right after the surgery, we learned I react to anesthesia. So I was in the hospital longer than most due to dehydration, but nothing serious.

 

[Arielle22]

DD15 will be having hers out on June 25th. Her dr told her 7-10 days of pain (since she is older than the average patient) with most of the time spent resting on the sofa or in bed. (At which point I asked my daughter "How is that different from any other day?)

DD13 had hers out when she was about 3. She stayed in the hospital overnight due to a bad reaction to anesthesia. She had sleep apnea and snoring so loud I could hear it down the hall through a door. After it was very quiet.

I had mine out at 30 (same day my sister had hers out at 22). We were out of work about a week and the worst thing was we were throwing up after surgery.

I am not worried at all about DD15 having them out. My only worry is that she will drive me crazy with her complaints as she is a bad patient.

 

[kmthomas]

My son had tubes, and his tonsils were huge. ENT suggested removing adenoids, and tonsilectomy...best thing we EVER did! No more snoring and my son said swallowing didn't feel funny anymore. Outpatient surgery, no real pain until about day 7-8 which is normal . Regular children's Tylenol and/or ibrupropen took care of most of the pain. Also drinking a lot of ice water helped also. The scabs coming off was most painful around this day 7-8 period, but once you make it through this it is like someone flipped a switch and he was 100% normal feeling again. He was 7 when he had the surgery, and even though he did go through some discomfort, he said he is glad he had it done, and would do it again if it meant feeling better in the long run.

 

[C.Ann]

DGD had hers taken out when she was around 6 - I think.. Of course we were all nervous about her having anesthesia for the first time, but all went well.. She had one or two episodes of severe pain during her recovery - I've never, ever seen her cry like that - broke my heart - but after giving her the liquid tylenol with codeine the surgeon prescribed she was fine.. Recovery period wasn't too long - and the surgery did away with her coughing fits she would have every single night..

It's scary - but so worth it so you're not dealing with a sick child all the time - or exposing them to antibiotics over and over and over again.. It will be fine..