OT-Tonsillectomy for ds6

[summerrluvv]

My son had his out about a year and a half ago when he was 8.5. He was an excessive drooler, had a hard time swallowing and snored a little. I too couldn't believe I didn't think of his tonsils being the issue sooner. They gave him a drink to make him feel "loopy" before he went in, that way he wouldn't really feel the IV. He came out of surgery asking for his Gameboy and was okay that first day. He had to stay overnight because he has a clotting disorder, so he had to be monitored. The second day was BAD, but as long as you stay on top of the meds, it should be okay. Waking up in the morning and swallowing was the worst for him! I have noticed he gets sick more often now than he did before, which stinks!

I'm not sure if your DC is into Build a Bear, but they have a little scrub set for the bears that I had bought for DS's bear to bring with him. It was cute.

Good luck!!

 

[karen624]

My 5 year old dd just had hers out 4 weeks ago for breathing problems, snoring/apnea, chronic sickness etc.

I have not read through the other posts- so I may be repeating information. A lot of the recovery/pain level will vary depending on the surgical technique used. My daughter had hers out via coblation. She had tonsils and adenoids out as well as her tongue clipped.

Coming out of surgery was ROUGH. She had some complications with her bp being too high, o2 being too low, but she was still able to go home same day. I gave her the tylenol with codeine round the clock the first few days. She ate a lot of popsicles (find the slow melt ones, they are AWESOME), oatmeal that was really soupy, etc. She only likes to drink water, hates Kool Aid, so that is what she drank. The other thing she ate a lot of were Kraft cheese singles.

The first 3-4 days were tough. We made sure to give her the meds, woke her at night to do so and made her drink a lot when she woke up. We encouraged her to drink water (no straws allowed so she had a fun travel mug.)

It got better for a few days- and then about 7 days out things got bad again. That is when her scabs started coming off. It was like going back to day 2. She had been off of the pain meds and only on regular Tylenol, but had to go back on the pain meds. It was rough again. This lasted about 3 days, then it was smooth sailing and at 2 weeks post op she was eating chips!

The snoring went away immediately (like the first night) and so far she is a much happier child, more energy. She was sleeping so poorly at night before all of this.

The other thing is that your child's voice may get really high for awhile. Elizabeth's is still not back to where it was, but she had a really husky voice for a little girl. She had severe tonsilar enlargement and airway narrowing, so hers might be staying high for awhile since so much tissue was removed.

Good luck!

 

[luvmy3jewels]

So how are his allergies now?

Aside from some minor seasonal allergies ds is doing great! Although I can't say that the surgery completely "cured" his allergies, I can say that the excema has almost completely disappeared since he had it. This leads me to believe that a lot of the problems he was having were related to continuously being on antibiotics.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

We just found out that our ds6 needs to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. We think he may have sleep apnea b/c they are too large for his mouth. Has anyone else had this procedure done with their child? How was the recovery. We were told it would be challenging. I just want to know what to expect.

Yes, my dd had her tonsils and adenoids removed when she was six, as well. The tonsils were obstructing 70% of her airway (ran a scope down her nose to see it), and the adenoids were also swollen due to repeated strep infections, the strep would "hide" in the tonsils and constantly recur. She also was having sleep apnea, which caused her to be sleepy at school and have trouble concentrating.

Our pediatrician also didn't think we needed to see an otolaryngologist, that decision was made by me when I was on the fourth strep infection with DD in 1 year. I now tend to go directly to specialists and skip GP's as a rule, now. Broken arm gets a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, etc. Peds are now strictly for run of the mill checkups and minor boo-boos.

Recovery was fast, we followed the directions they gave us, and the difference in my DD the weeks and months afterwards was incredible. Kids who get a good night's sleep are SO much happier and healthier than ones who don't, I can't even begin to describe it. No more strep, no more snoring, she had no more attention issues at school, and she GREW like crazy because she was finally getting the solid sleep she needed (children do most of their growing, healing and information retention while sleeping).

Just find a doc who does tonsillectomies/adenoidectomies all day long, every day. If you're in the atlanta area I would recommend our doc, Dr. James Thomsen, he's the one all the other docs bring their kids to for their tonsils...

 

[summerrluvv]

Our pediatrician also didn't think we needed to see an otolaryngologist, that decision was made by me when I was on the fourth strep infection with DD in 1 year. I now tend to go directly to specialists and skip GP's as a rule, now. Broken arm gets a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, etc. Peds are now strictly for run of the mill checkups and minor boo-boos.

...

Same with ours, and I'm glad I'm not the only one that skips the regular ped. for specialist stuff!

 

[Missus Toad]

Just wanted to chime in with the rest of the replies I read and say yes it's so hard at first, but it changed our lives in countless wonderful ways. Both my kids had the coblation procedure in January for sleep apnea and chronic tonsillitis, and our quality of life has gone through the roof since then. You will hate your doctor on like the 3rd-5th day, but it gets so much better and you will love him again. The big thing is to try to be there when he wakes up from the anesthesia, because he will be upset and flailing around looking for you.