How fast did your child recover after tonsilectomy? What did you feed them?

[Irin997]

My 7 year old is going in for a tonsil / adnoid - ectomy on Wed and I'm freaked! Anyway, how fast did your child recover and what on earth did you feed them? Thanks!

 

[kydisneyfans]

Probably not what you want to hear, but our then 8 year son had his tonsils out last year. The outpatient surgery went into a 3 day stay as his heart rate slowed and blood count dropped during the surgery. He is fine now though.

After release, it was about 2 weeks before he was back to normal. Clear popsicles were out best friend, macaroni and cheese was a close 2nd.

 

[Poohgirl]

My son was a little younger and it took him about a week to feel like himself. He ate pudding, ice cream, ice pops, mashed potatoes, jello, carnation instant breakfast and even some campbells chicken noodle soup. He loves to eat so the selection made him not very happy, but the fact that he got to eat as much ice cream as he wanted made him VERY happy. Good luck with you son. They bounce back quickly.

 

[clh2]

Our ENT recommended to really limit the dairy products - so we stayed away from ice cream and pudding.

From a mom who has BTDT, pain meds are a crucial part of the recovery. In the first couple of days - make sure you do the pain meds on time, every time, even if that means waking them up in the middle of the night. Otherwise - the pain becomes unbearable and then you can't control the pain.

Be sure to keep them really hydrated (i.e. popscicles, juice, WHATEVER THEY WILL DRINK) I know several people whose kids needed to go back to the hospital after several days for IV rehydration. Not fun.

Other things to have around - the "freezy pop" things, sherbet, watermelon (My DD likes freezy pops better than popscicles. Jello. Scrambled Eggs. Pork and Beans. Hot dogs. By day 4 post-op - DD really wanted toast - We didn't see that one coming, I had to borrow a loaf from neighbors, because at the time - we just didn't have any in the house.

Good Luck! I've heard that some kids bounce right back from a T&A, but mine took the whole 2 weeks for recovery.

 

[Tinks]

My son had his tonsillectomy when he was about 8. It did take the full 2 weeks to recover. I remember being at church with him one week post op and we were planning to take him to his favorite place for brunch (soft scrambled eggs) and he just started crying because he still didn't feel well enough to go.

We did many ice chips, popsicles, ice chips with gatorade, lots of ice chips in the beginning! Then any soft food he could tolerate. Mac n cheese, soup, ice cream, scrambled eggs. It was a long week or two of pain meds and discomfort.

After two weeks, it was amazing the change!

 

[harleyquinn]

This was the best thing my doctors ever did for me. I was 6 and I don't remember much--lots of mashed potatoes and popsicles. I used to get strep every time the antibodics would wear off. I haven't had it since my surgery 22 years ago.

It might be tough, but it's worth it!

 

[Irin997]

Thanks for the tips. The only problem I have is that she is incredibly picky as it is when it comes to food so if she like scrambled eggs and mashed potatos it would be a different story. I'll just try my best to find things for her to eat!

 

[Pamlur]

My daughter was not quite three when she had it done; she spent that night in the hospital, then went home and had a full breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast. My son was five when he had it done; he spent one night in the hospital, then went home and had a full breakfast of sausage and toast.

Bear in mind, he is 39 now and she is 44. But surely the methods are even better now than they were "in those days".

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

My DS was 6 and came out of surgery asking for chicken wings, he was out of the hospital in 8hrs after the surgery. Dr's said to let us guide him, soft for the first week with no red food (in case of bleeding). He was back to normal the next week. Good luck with the procedure and healing.

 

[chobie]

My son was 9 at the time and had a rough time. We had to threaten him with going to the hospital for an IV to get him to drink or eat. He mainly ate oatmeal for a few days and has not had it since. The pain meds made him throw up so he was only taking tylenol. It took the full 2 weeks before he was eating normally.

On the upside he has only had strep throat once in the 2 years since, whereas he was getting it 6 to 7 times a year before the operation. He sleeps better at night and is just less sick overall.

 

[MariDisney]

My DD8 had hers out 2 weeks ago Weds. She spent one night in the hospital. Right after the surgery she was eating ice cream and popsicles. When she came home I also gave her cream of wheat, egg salad, slushies/smoothies, mac and cheese, oatmeal, and soup.

I will warn you, as our dr. warned us, that days 1-4 are easier then days 5-8 after the surgery. Last Tues.-Thurs. she ate nothing. She was drinking, though, so I was OK with it. Today she is finally back to school, but still eating soft foods.

 

[wils]

My DD had the same op here in the UK last month. She was running up and down the coridors and home the same night.

I would agree with managing the pain meds carefully. We had two types and were able to overlap them.

Food wise she liked poridge and soups.

Apart from some distress at night and being quieter than usual everything went well.

Best wishes to you and hope all goes well for your DD

 

[douglisa]

This is a bit off topic.
When I was a kid and had mine out the doc and nurses kept saying to me that if I was really brave I could have all the ice cream I could eat after surgery. It was like a joke I guess. When you have your tonsils out you do not want anything.
I was robbed!!

 

[Annie68]

The best advice I got from the ENT prior to my DS's surgery was to buy a shaved ice/slushy machine. Bed, Bath & Beyond has them, as does Kohls, Target, etc. You buy small bottles of syrup with it, they have grape, cherry, etc. The ENT said to stick with the non-red colors for the first 48 hours (so that it wouldn't mask any bleeding). It was a lifesaver for my DS!

 

[ilisao]

My son had his out when he was 3. It took him about 2 weeks to recover and to feel like himself. Our biggest problem was getting him to drink afterwards; he didn't feel like doing anything.

I will tell you, having those tonsils out did him a world of good. Prior to the operation, his snoring could wake the dead.

 

[mom23boys]

My oldest DS had tonsills and adnoids out when he was 8 he is now 14. Best thing we ever did for him.

The best advise I can give you is have him take is medicine on schedule (ex. every 4 fours or so) I did not after a few days and he was in alot of pain so the medicine did not work as well. And he almost had to go back in the hospital for an IV since he was in pain and would not drink anything. After talking to the ENT we had him take his medicine every 4 hours around the clock and he did much better.

Also, chaved ice, slushies, popsicles, soup, broth. My ENT also wanted me to limit his dairy.

 

[crz4mm2]

DS was 3 when he had tonsil/adenoids and tubes in ears.... he was eating hotdogs with ketchup and potato chips a couple of days later!! His doc said to feed him whatever he wanted....
He wasn't wild about cold stuff. He even wanted pop that was room temp

 

[Irin997]

Wow guys, awesome tips, thanks again! I've gotten some great ideas so far. I realize it will kind of be touch and go but at least I can stock up on a few things from your ideas!

 

[aprilgail2]

DS was 3 when he had tonsil/adenoids and tubes in ears.... he was eating hotdogs with ketchup and potato chips a couple of days later!! His doc said to feed him whatever he wanted....
He wasn't wild about cold stuff. He even wanted pop that was room temp

Wow, I am glad you posted! I was reading the other posts thinking that my daughter was the odd one out! She had the tonsils and adnoids removed when she was in kindergarten. I gave her pain meds 2 or 3 times, only when she needed it, I would not keep her drugged unless she really needed it. She was back to school after a week but could not play gym. The hardest days were days 3-7 because she felt just fine and wanted to ride her bike and swim and she was supposed to be kept on the quiet side and its hard to keep a kid that feels fine down! No red food but since she did not drink anything other than milk back then the Dr said it was fine to give it to her just so she wouldn't dehydrate and Wendys chicken nuggets the day after surgery were fine too since they are on the soft side.

 

[MrsHerbie53]

DS9 was 7 at the time of his surgery. He had a rough recovery too that took 9 long days. Towards the end, he sneezed and dislodged the clot -- that freaked him out!!!

We fed him popsicles and lots of ice water. Some mashed potatoes and mac & cheese...

It was definitely a needed surgery for him and he breathes so much better now. But it was a rough 9 days....

Best wishes for your child's surgery and recovery.