OT: Tonsils and Adenoids removed

[ChrisAlli]

Anyone have a child that has had these removed?

My DD3 is having them out and I was just looking for some experiences.

 

[mrsbert]

My now DS8 has his taken out 2 years ago. He was very scared at first to use his voice because he thought it would hurt. We catered to him and let him stay in our room for a couple of days.
The recovery took about 5-6 days. He was on strick orders to stay calm and cool for the first week. Just be real carefull about getting overheated, especially this summer.

After sugery, my son didn't wake up so well. He was scared and didn't know where he was. It's hard to see them so scared and in pain. Just prepare yourself in case this happens. I'm usually the calm one and my husband made me take a time out. Good luck. I'm sure everything will go smoothly.

 

[Sailorwife]

My daughter was 8 when she had her tonsils and adnoids out. We were at a local Children's hospital and they were wonderful with her. She was down with a sore throat for just a few days and then did great. The best advice is keep up with the pain meds every four hours or so, even if they say they are not hurting. She missed a week and 1/2 of school but that was mainly because there was a strep throat break out and the doctor did not want her to be exposed. After years of strep throat and tonsilitis, she has been super healthly ever since!!

Good luck!! I hope your daughter has a great recovery!!pixiedust

 

[thepeach80]

All of my kids have tubes and Evan has his adenoids out. He's had 2 throat 'infections' the past 2 weekends though so I'm not sure if we'll need tonsils out too.

 

[momto2inKC]

Anyone have a child that has had these removed?

My DD3 is having them out and I was just looking for some experiences.

My son had both of his removed when he was 4. He was literally trying to escape the hospital room just hours afterwards LOL He recovered very quickly.
He is now 10 and has not once been sick with anything since having them removed. The only school he's ever missed has been for Disney vacations

 

[DawnM]

My son just had them out in late April. He had no problems at all.

He had hand surgery at the same time and complained about his hands but not his throat at all.

Dawn

 

[MrsPMC00]

Anyone have a child that has had these removed?

My DD3 is having them out and I was just looking for some experiences.

My DD had them out last summer when she was 3 1/2. Everything went very well overall. She was a little scared as she came out of anesthesia, but they let me go back with her and she calmed down right away. She had Tylenol/Codeine for the pain afterwards, and that was very good to have. The only time she really complained about pain was if she did not take her pain med before bedtime. She would wake up crying because it hurt. That was really the worst of it. Keep the popsicles handy, and use the pain meds for the first few days!! Kids bounce back so quickly! Best of luck to you and DD!!!

 

[mlraabe]

My DS4(today!) had them out in May. He recovered very quickly and had no pain at all - we still kept him on tylenol every 4 hours though. A week after the surgery - he was pretty much back to normal but he started to bleed. It was very scary. The dr. said that sometimes this happens when the scab starts to come off. They had to do emergency surgery to stop the bleeding and they had to pump his stomach - there was so much blood in there by the time we got to the ER. I would say that his recovery from the second surgery was worse than the first. But even a week after the 2nd he was fine. So, it does not seem to happen often but just be aware that it can even after they seem fine!

No more snoring or strep throat!

 

[gumbys7227]

When my DD was 2 she had her Adenoids out & was pretty much knocked out for the day, drooled for a few days, and had complete "dragon breath" for a while but she was up and moving by day 2. She stopped snoring & her "temper tantrums" started to decrease because she was finally getting restful sleep at night.

When she was 5 her tonsils got so big and swollen she stopped breathing at night. She had been on 3 diff. allergy meds (including steroids) and after her tonsils came out she no longer needed any of them! She did so great after this surgery we were totally unprepared. The only down side was she threw up all over me in the recovery room (totally normal.) I gave her pain meds ONE TIME! She was eating m&m's that night and chicken nuggets the next day. I went out and bought all kinds of soft foods and ice cream, but she didn't want any of it. We were worried that she'd hurt herself eating "normal" foods because we never asked the Dr. what to do if she wanted to eat normal foods, but it was fine.

It's the scariest thing to do, but it was the very best thing ever. I think she did so well after because she had been in so much pain for so long, that the recovery was actually easier on her. The hardest thing for her was having to stay home from school for 10 days because the Dr. worried about infection.

I'm sure your DD will do great! Try and make sure the Dr. gives you the pain RX before the surgery so that you can have it filled and waiting at home & not have to make any stops on the way home. Also, try going shopping for soft "treats" that she maybe doesn't get very often because I've heard for some kids it is hard to get them to drink or eat afterwards.

I also learned the hard way when DD was 2 that I shouldn't have dressed her in her clothes because she had a total meltdown when we tried to put the hospital gown on her. When she was older I prepared her for putting on her gown & took her in her pajamas.

Good luck! It's always worse in your head, and it'll be so worth it in the long run!

 

[ChrisAlli]

Thank you all so much for sharing. Her tonsils are so big they just about touch. Her speach sounds like she's stuffed up and talking from the back of her throat.

She has too much energy and sleeps pretty well, but is mouth breather, snors and and had been having throat infections.

Being put to sleep really is what has me worried. She had a pretty high tolerance for pain, she has never cried since she was a baby when she has gotten shots, she cries when you tell her no, but not a shot!!!

I know it's minor compared to what some parents/child goes through, but I know I'm going to lose it once I have to leave her. They said it should only take 45 minutes, so that's not too long.

 

[klineyqueen]

The younger the better!!! Be glad he is getting it done now! I was 20 when I had it done and my recovery was over a week.

One of my private music students had it done last Monday and she was up and around in about 3 days.

My niece had it done at 4 and she was eating spaghetti the next night!

I am she everything will go well. By the way...I had strep throat CONSTANTLY. I have not had a sore throat since I had them removed 10 years ago....the best medical decision I ever made!

 

[blessedby3]

My DS(now 12) had his removed at age 4 after having strep continually even while on the strongest antiobiotics. We were so relieved that he never had strep again....until 2 years ago. He got it in 2005 and then again a couple of weeks ago. I thought we wouldnt have it again, but at least it isnt constant. He had an okay recovery. The scabbing seemed to bother him a lot, but we kept the pain meds in him and just offered him liqueds and soft things like jello to eat. I am glad we had it done.

 

[brymolmom]

Thank you all so much for sharing. Her tonsils are so big they just about touch. Her speach sounds like she's stuffed up and talking from the back of her throat.

She has too much energy and sleeps pretty well, but is mouth breather, snors and and had been having throat infections.

Being put to sleep really is what has me worried. She had a pretty high tolerance for pain, she has never cried since she was a baby when she has gotten shots, she cries when you tell her no, but not a shot!!!

I know it's minor compared to what some parents/child goes through, but I know I'm going to lose it once I have to leave her. They said it should only take 45 minutes, so that's not too long.

OMG - this sounds just like ds5...and we're scheduled to have tonsils & adnoids out on Aug 16th. He has always snored and has always had HUGE tonsils (we always get the 'WOW!' whenever a new dental hygenist or new doctor covering walk-in hours sees him) - but we decided to do it when he got strep 2 months ago and sounded like he had a golf ball in his throat...and even after the strep cleared up - he still has not gone back to speaking as clearly as before.

So, we're in the same boat - do you know when your dd is getting it done?

One more thing to worry about - our Free dining - OKW upgrade WDW vacation is 10 days after the surgery...sounds like almost everyone responding had kids who were well way before 10 days...I hope...I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[barkley]

seems everyone here is posting from the perspective of their child having it done. i'll post as an adult who clearly remembers having it done on themself.

i had HORRENDOUS sore throats/strep and ear aches/infections for years-finaly in 3rd grade had surgery. honesty-the aftermath was worse than any strep (and i had horrendous strep) i ever experienced in my life. i clearly remember all the promises of 'all the ice cream you can eat'-well, i ended up in the hospital longer because it hurt so bad my mother could not convince me to take even ice chips in my mouth.

i have to admit that for several years i did not get the sore throats or ear aches i had previously experienced-but when as a young adult i began to work with young children and was exposed to all their 'bugs'-i had multiple bouts of strep-and ear infections such that both my eardrums burst.

while the surgery can be effective-it is not a 'cure all', there are those of us that due to our physical 'set-up' are simply pre-dispositioned to have ear infections and sore throats (in my case i am a fair skinned red head-i have had numerous doctors tell me that they have seen people similar to my genetic make-up encounter the same problems-we have smaller eustacian tubes (sorry if the spelling is wrong), smaller nasel passeges-and greater suseptibility to ear infections and throat infections).

i have 2 children and would not have considered this course (despite one having heavily recurring throat/ear issues) until after they had aged a bit and physically developed a bit. with dd who experienced most of these problems, we found that by around age 5 she had developed physicaly and immunly such that she either was more resistant to infection or, her physical design was developed such that she was not so prone to be subject to illness (she inherited dh's genes-he's never had more than a minor throat or ear ailment).

 

[CastleCreations]

My DD had them out last summer when she was 3 1/2. Everything went very well overall. She was a little scared as she came out of anesthesia, but they let me go back with her and she calmed down right away. She had Tylenol/Codeine for the pain afterwards, and that was very good to have. The only time she really complained about pain was if she did not take her pain med before bedtime. She would wake up crying because it hurt. That was really the worst of it. Keep the popsicles handy, and use the pain meds for the first few days!! Kids bounce back so quickly! Best of luck to you and DD!!!

Just a quick note about popsicles. I agree they are great for pain, and a little hydration, but just don't give them anything red to eat or drink. If they vomit, you will need to be able to tell the doc if they are vomiting blood. Unfortunately little ones swallow a lot of the blood if they have any bleeding. Just watch them for continuous swallowing, and nausea...then get the bucket....Just kidding...

 

[ChrisAlli]

OMG - this sounds just like ds5...and we're scheduled to have tonsils & adnoids out on Aug 16th. He has always snored and has always had HUGE tonsils (we always get the 'WOW!' whenever a new dental hygenist or new doctor covering walk-in hours sees him) - but we decided to do it when he got strep 2 months ago and sounded like he had a golf ball in his throat...and even after the strep cleared up - he still has not gone back to speaking as clearly as before.

So, we're in the same boat - do you know when your dd is getting it done?

One more thing to worry about - our Free dining - OKW upgrade WDW vacation is 10 days after the surgery...sounds like almost everyone responding had kids who were well way before 10 days...I hope...I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

My DD is having hers done Aug 22nd. So we'll have it all done before she starts pre-school in Sept.

 

[kami2199]

My dd had them out two years ago...our experience was not so good as we found out durring and after the surgery that she had a bleeding disorder. I want to encourage two things. First is, if they don't offer pre-op bloodwork, ask for it. The hospital we went to had just stopped doing any bloodwork before surgery. Second, I second the red popsickle suggestion...or anything red for that matter. On day 7 my dd started bleeding. She did swallow a lot of blood and it made her vomit. This happened in the middle of the night and by the time she woke me up her hemoglobins? were so low that she was fainting on me. I had a suspicion that she may have drank some Hawaiian punch at at birthday party that evening and when she vomited she filled an ENTIRE 8-10 oz cup (doc said to make sure to measure it). I wasn't sure if some was the punch or if it was all blood...found out later it was all blood and she had no punch. I think complications are rare and manageable but better prepare yourself. Oh, on a better note, she has had not one ear infection or sore throat since! Good luck!

 

[Oceana]

Her tonsils are so big they just about touch. Her speach sounds like she's stuffed up and talking from the back of her throat.

She has too much energy and sleeps pretty well, but is mouth breather, snors and and had been having throat infections.

Being put to sleep really is what has me worried. She had a pretty high tolerance for pain, she has never cried since she was a baby when she has gotten shots, she cries when you tell her no, but not a shot!!!

ok here is my story

My 3 year old had too much energy never fussed from pain. He busted his chin open at disney last year and needed 6 stitches he cried when it 1st happened but was calmly chatting with me after the 1st few moments

His tonsils were so large they touched and he always sounded like he had a cold. He has not napped since he was 14 months old snored like a trucker. Not too many throat infections

How I noticed his enlarged tonsils is he co-sleeps and has since birth what I didnt know is that I have been so intuned to him he has been suffering sleep apnea since birth only I never conciously knew it. I was so use to poking him and turning him and checking his breathing while I slept. One day my DH started noticing and we pieced what I was doing all night long together. At first we thought he had a cold... then we discovered his giant tonsils

we had to visit the doctor several times including putting him on steroids to get his tonsils to go down in size. when none of the non invasive methods worked we scheduled his surgery

the surgery is not the same as it was when barkley was a kid so please keep that in mind. surgery has improved!

he was 3 years 6 months at the time he had no bleeding because they burned his tonsils off with no additional complications it was done. I did loose it when I left the OR. I got him a mask about a week before his surgery and we practiced putting it on his face so he did not find it scary. He jumped onto the OR table when we went in and smiled at the "sleep doctor" then asked for his mask. I did have to tell the sleep doc when he was asleep cause my kid sleeps with his eyes open. I left the room and had a full on crying panic attack

gotta run my kids to camp... I will post more in a bit

 

[maymom96]

My son was about 8 when he had his removed. He had a hard recovery. He threw up twice before we left the hospital. Had an asthma attach after he woke up. When we got home, he was miserable. He wouldn't drink and cried all the time. He was on pain meds for about 10 days. It was a miserable time!!!
After he healed, he was a different child. Much calmer and happier. He had sleep apnea and wasn't sleeping good. So he was having behavior issues. So what he went through after the surgery was worth it in the end.
My daughter had hers out when she was 3. The hardest part was the nurses taking her from my arms and her screaming. Our hospital doesn't allow you to walk your child to the OR. They did some and get me as soon as the surgery was done because they didn't want her screaming when she woke up. So I spent about 45 minutes in recovery before she woke up. As soon as she started to stir, the nurses put her on my lap and so she woke up in my arms.
She recovered great. She was eating pizza that night or the next night. Recovery was the opposite of my son.
I stocked up on cold and smooth things before both surgeries. Neither kid wanted that. When my son started eating, it was tuna fish. My daughter ate what ever we were eating.
Good luck!

 

[graygables]

My youngest had hers out when she was 4. Huge adenoids, sleep problems, etc. While the surgery went fine (and it wasn't her first, so I was calmer), the recovery was (and still is) a nightmare. She did fine in the hospital recovery, did all the things they needed her to do, but when we got home, she was in tremendous pain and refused to drink. We tried EVERYTHING. I called the doc's office and they switched her pain meds, but that was it. I'd speak to a nurse and she would just tell me to "watch" her and "do my best" to get her to hydrate. I asked if I should take her to the ER, but the nurses kept telling me no, that this was normal. She was SO sick. When I brought her in for the follow-up, the ENT looked at her and asked why I hadn't brought DD to the ER. I told him I'd called his office several times and they never once told me to bring her in, even when I asked. He was LIVID and said I should have been told to take her to the ER. It took over a month for DD to sort of recover, but she has had chronic fatigue-type problems ever since. She still doesn't sleep well, can't walk for long distances, and is just generally a different child.

Moral to the story: if your gut tells you that something isn't right, go with it. With the 4th child, I tended to tolerate a bit more drama and be a bit less hyper-vigilant, esp when the medical professionals were telling me it was normal.