Questions about tonsils being removed??

[We_love_WDW]

My daughter has had very large tonsils for the the past 2 months that are affecting her sleep and eating...we are taking to the ENT doctor tomorrow. What are the chances they will want to remove them? Or is there something else that can be done? Has anyone else's child gone through this? How was the surgery/recovery?

 

[pigletgirl]

Mine were huge when I had them taken out. I had a 60% blockage of my airway. The main symptoms were recurrent strep infections and bad snoring.

As for the procedure, it was an outpatient thing. Went in, in the morning and then went home in the early afternoon. I was told no milk products, so I lived on popsiciles for the first 48 hours or so.

Very common thing!

 

[charming23]

I was in 2nd grade when I had mine out. They were rather large and I kept getting strep infections. I had a little bit longer recovery period then most since I had my adnoids taken out as well as tubes being put into my ears. I went in early in the morning and was home sometime after dinner. I remember a lot of popsicles, jell-o, chicken soup, and ice cream. I was back at school the next week ( I had the surgery on a wednesday).

 

[Mickey527]

My grandson age 4 just had a sleep study and they diagnosed mild sleep apnea.
His tonsils are constantly swollen but he has never had strep. He doesn't complain of a sore throat either. I have asked him when he wakes if his throat hurts but he says it is just dry and after drinking water it feels better. So maybe it always hurts and he just doesn't know any different.
the Dr has recommended he get his adenoids removed for the sleep apnea and snoring but they also said that they don't do the adenoids without taking the tonsils too.
My youngest had the surgery when he was 4, he is 27 now. My friends son had the same surgery the same day. I bought little toys like hot wheels etc... and wrapped them in paper and put them into a pillow case. Every time he drank a cup of juice or had a popsicle he got to pick a new toy.
My friend's son refused to drink anything due to the pain.
My son was back to his old self two days after the surgery with no pain at all.
My friends son was hospitalized for 3 days for dehydration.
I am stocking up at the dollar store for my grandson's surgery, although I am sure it is less painful now than 23 years ago.

 

[lila]

Get them out! My parents opted not to when I was young and then I had to have surgery as an adult, which is a bigger deal. It would have been much easier on all of us if they had had it taken care of when I was a child and having my initial issues.

That said, getting them out as an adult (when I was 29) was the the best thing I ever did for my health. I am sick very infrequently now - I used to have almost a constant cold before.

 

[clh2]

MY dd had her tonsils out 12 years ago. She was 4.

My only advice - proactively manage the pain. I was advised to even wake her up in the middle of the night for pain meds. This helped us tremendously - because too much pain = not drinking = dehydration. (Just like a PP mentioned.) Push those fluids...push those fluids!

I would pick up a bunch of freezy pops. Good Luck. DD had tonsils and adenoids out.

Good Luck!

 

[golfgal]

I had mine out as a child and DD had her's out in kindergarten. She had huge tonsils and recurrent strep infections-10 times in kindergarten alone. They actually took her tonsils out with an active strep infection because they just couldn't knock it out. She hasn't had strep since and is now in 9th grade. DD had was was called a 23 hour admission. She had the surgery one day, spent the night in the hospital and we checked out the next morning. It was nice having that extra observation time in the hospital.

It is worth doing the surgery in my opinion. I know several adults that have struggled with tonsil issues and have gotten them removed as an adult and it is MUCH harder to recover.

 

[aprilgail2]

My daughter had hers out in kindergarten- best thing we ever did! She missed 36 days of school that year with strep and ended up in the hospital 3 times. They took the tonsil and adenoids out and also fixed some tongue tie that she had at the same time. The best thing you can do is NOT listen to the people that are going to come out of the woodwork telling you horror stories about a friends cousins sisters kid that had his out and ...... .

People came out with some crazy rules about what they can and cant have after the surgery that were amazing and when we had them done and asked the Dr he gave us all different instrutions. Ours was no red foods but no liquid diet. The following day she had chicken nuggets from Wendys (which the Dr said was just fine!). In fact they wouldn't let her go home after surgery until she took a drink and ate a small amount of food. As far as pain, I gave her meds that evening and before bed and then only as needed the next day (which was only once). I don't medicate if its not necessary. She had surgery on a Friday and was back to school a week from then- just couldn't run around at recess or gym.

One of the hardest things is actually keeping them calm and quiet because after a couple days they are up and ready to ride bikes and run around but they can't yet!

 

[dawson5]

my youngest had his done in kindergarten. He was constantly sick, snored so loud we could hear it downstairs and would fall asleep at 6pm and still have a hard time waking him up at 10am to get ready for school. It also effected his toilet training. Our pediatrician always said he would like to see him when he wasn't sick. He went in first thing in the morning, out by 4pm. I remember him being in pain that night and the next day but I think after that it was manageable. My cousin had this done when she was around 10, I remember her having a harder time of it. What my child experienced didn't seem to be anything like what she did.

I remember when I was a kid, it seemed like every child had their tonsils taken out. I think there are different guidelines in place now for removal of tonsils/adenoids. If the ENT tells you this will help your child, I would think that there aren't better options available. Surgery is a scary thing, especially when it's your child. They wouldn't suggest it if it wasn't needed.

All I can really say is that I wish we had pursued this earlier. After the surgery, it was like night and day with my son. He went from being tired all the time, always sounding stuffy or sick, to a bundle of energy, healthy and active.

Don't worry too much.

 

[Kit'smommy]

My only advice - proactively manage the pain. I was advised to even wake her up in the middle of the night for pain meds. This helped us tremendously - because too much pain = not drinking = dehydration. (Just like a PP mentioned.) Push those fluids...push those fluids!

I agree with the statement above. DS had his out three weeks ago and he just turned 6. We only had one case of strep, but his airway was being blocked by the tonsils and adenoids and he snored really badly and had sleep apnea. We also had choking issues with all but the softest foods. DS also had to have tubes put in at the same time because his ears could not drain and he had lost most of his hearing due to fluid in his ears.

Now, he is a new child. We have no snoring, choking, etc. I am very happy we did this and he feels better than he has in months.

We gave him the Tylenol 3 on a regular schedule, even waking him up at night. Otherwise, the pain was terrible. We did that for about 4 days and then switched over to smaller doses only when he complained about hurting for a couple more days and then to plain Tylenol as needed for another day or two. He did hurt some for about a week and a half, but we never had any trouble getting him to eat and drink as long as he had the meds. He went back to school after a week. I don't like to give medication unless completely necessary, but Kit needed the drugs. He has a very high tolerance for pain and was miserable without medication. All children are different, and the amount of tissue that is removed can vary, so your child's experience with the pain may vary from others who have had this surgery.

We were originally told no dairy, but then they said to give him what he asked for (as long as it wasn't crunchy), even if it was ice cream or pudding. He doesn't like much of sweet syrupy things and wanted American cheese squares, Gogurts, egg noodles, etc. Day 2, he wanted Chick-fil-A ice cream, and when we ran up the street to get it, he decided to help himself to my sandwich! I cut the center of a chicken filet up in tiny pieces and he ate that, a couple of very soft waffle fries and a thing of ice cream. He would not eat even his favorite popcicles at all while he has healing but now he asks for them again.

He is a skinny child at 44 inches and 39 pounds, but he only lost about 2 pounds and has already put that back on.

Good luck to you.

 

[taximomfor4]

middle daughter has enormous tonsils, and was scoped to see her adenoids and they are huge as well. She never, ever breathes out of her nose. Even as a newborn, she was a mouth breather. Anyway, ENT said that tonsils shrink a little after age 6, and you continue to grow after age 6...so now he leaves the tonsils in place. SO basically, a wait and see approach. DD is now 11, and breathes through her nose half of the time, I would say. Although thanks for the reminder, I should get that sleep study done soon.

 

[dejr_8]

GET THEM OUT.

My youngest had his out when he was 6 (18 months ago). He was constantly congested and was getting strep infections every other month. It was painful for him and it took a few days before he was back eating solid food. If you ask him now if it was worth the pain he says yes.

 

[metalis4ever]

I had the very same issue with my tonsils. I developed severe sleep apnea and was unable to swallow properly. I went to the ENT and asked to have them removed but as an adult the doctor first made me participate in a sleep study to ensure that I had sleep apnea. The test results came back and my breathing stopped on average once every 60 seconds while sleeping....As a result of this the ENT gave me the green light to have my tonsils removed and let me tell you it was the best procedure ever!!! The recovery was nothing they gave me a liquid painkiller which I didn't even have to use and I ate a large cheese pizza crust and all immediately after getting home from surgery!!! There was some pain but nothing that prevented me from eating whatever I wanted Not to mention since October 2009 when I had the procedure done I have stopped snoring completely (the DW loves it) and I have not had any issues with sleeping, eating and I haven't gotten sick all winter not even slight sniffles

So in short as PP's have said Have Them Removed ASAP

 

[teskak]

If it is sleep aponea or severe snoring, the tonsils will come out as the kids are not getting proper sleep and so they cannot learn and fall behind in class.

Keep the pain meds up, codeine if you get prescription & they tolerate it.

Also look at getting topical anaesthetics to use when there is a breakthrough on the pain meds. There is something called xylocaine which is a liquid and tastes disgusting, but is is used by dentists to cover mouth ulcers before treatment and for chemo patients with thier ulcers. A small syringe swirled through the mouth on demand works. The child can decide if the pain is worth the bad taste

 

[Denine]

My daughter has had very large tonsils for the the past 2 months that are affecting her sleep and eating...we are taking to the ENT doctor tomorrow. What are the chances they will want to remove them? Or is there something else that can be done? Has anyone else's child gone through this? How was the surgery/recovery?

Good luck getting them to take them out. DD has been going through the same thing and they say she has to "grow into" her tonsils. Her adenoids are also enlarged. DD is 7.

 

[mykidsand_i]

My daughter had hers out in kindergarten- best thing we ever did! She missed 36 days of school that year with strep and ended up in the hospital 3 times. They took the tonsil and adenoids out and also fixed some tongue tie that she had at the same time. The best thing you can do is NOT listen to the people that are going to come out of the woodwork telling you horror stories about a friends cousins sisters kid that had his out and ...... .


One of the hardest things is actually keeping them calm and quiet because after a couple days they are up and ready to ride bikes and run around but they can't yet!

Sounds EXACTLY like my DD- she's now 8, but she missed a TON of school and was in the hospital 4 times while sh was in kindergarten. We even got 'the letter' sent home about how she was missing too much school, and if she missed anymore we had to provide a Dr.s written statement! they called it a 'truancy problem'...How HORIBLE!!!! We were LIVID when we got the letter. I went straight to her Dr. and asked him to write a letter to keep in her records about how sick she'd been all year. He gladly did it, and I was FURIOUS with the school for sending that stupid letter out for a KINDERGARTENER!!!

She got her tonsils out two days after school was out for the summer. That wouldn't exactly be a 'choice' of ours for dates, it was because she was so sick the week before, Dr. told us that she should have them out as soon as her infection was gone. It just happened to be two days into summer break.

We were SOOOOOOOOO happy that it got done! She went from being sick two times a month to a perfect attendance student two years in a row now (if we can get through this school year- we only have 7 weeks left!!!) She can miss 2 days or less to be considered "perfect attendance" and she's missed 1.


I do not know the experiance everyone else on here has had, but for the MOST of the people you'll talk to about it or hear from they will tell you the same story as mine/my daughters!!!

Go in, get them out, they'll send the patient home later that day if they can keep a little food down (like jell-o or a popsicle) ...that day, my daughter felt fine. She was happy and didn't have much problems. It wasn't until the day after that she was in pain- she had pain med.s to use for a week. She was 'sick' and in pain for that week. AND YES, IT IS A WEEK!!!!! So, when the Dr. says a week, he is quite honestly correct! They can't do much or eat much besides soup broth, popsicles, jell-o- They cannot eat anything red.

The reason behind the "week" is this...there are two stages. The first stage is 'pain and open sore at the back of the mouth' the second faze is that the scab that forms at the back of the throat is sore- it takes a few days for it to form and when it does, it feels yucky for a few days. It is definately a week.

I was told by our Dr. that some parents try to bring a kid back to school/daycare 3-4 days after the surgery thinking that they are ready and it's the WORST thing they could do. He said "it's bad parenting" when a Dr. tells you a week with a surgery like this- you take a week. If you don't it only slows healing time and puts the kid through misery.

 

[We_love_WDW]

So she had her appt today and the doctor is going to have her do 2 weeks on augmentin to see if they go down...if not they will be removed at the end of the month. Thanks for the responses. Does anyone know o have experience with augmentin working?

 

[iwrbnd]

I say GET THEM OUT! They are linking large tonsills/snoring/sleep apnea to ADHD because their brain isn't getting full oxygen during sleep.

My oldest had large tonsills/adenoids and ended up with innattentive ADD. Maybe he would have had it anyway but he had great attention skills as a preschooler! He also had to have braces which the ortho said was because of large tonsills that made him hold his mouth in a certain position to breath well.

My 2nd and 3rd child had normal tonsills but my 4th had large ones like my oldest. She snored horribly and I took her to Children's Hospital here. They took them out very early. She was barely 2 yrs old. It's not a fun surgery but now she sleeps and eats great and has excellent attention skills at 7 yrs old.

I say you should be concerned whenever a child is snoring.

Good luck with the Augmentin. I don't know anything about that.

 

[Kit'smommy]

Three courses of different antibiotics did nothing for Kit. Hopefully your experince with them will be different.

 

[Denine]

So she had her appt today and the doctor is going to have her do 2 weeks on augmentin to see if they go down...if not they will be removed at the end of the month. Thanks for the responses. Does anyone know o have experience with augmentin working?

I can't tell you how many times DD was on Augmentin in the last half of last year. Her tonsils would shrink a bit and then go back up. We saw 2 different ENT's and they won't take them.

Good luck!