Adnoids Removed and Tubes Put In

Updated on May 15, 2008
D.H. asks from Memphis, TN
19 answers

My son will be 1yr on Saturday and has chronic ear infections. We tried numerous antibiotics and nothing would work. We were referred to a ENT and he said we should have his adnoids removed and tubes put in. We did this on Tuesday and he is not sleeping at night. If he lies down he cries or moans like a puppy. We have elevated the end of his bed to help but nothing seems to work. The doctor suggested Motrin at night however that does not seem to work. He has a really runny nose which makes him cough and then he cries. The doctor suggested Mucinex for cough. Nothing is really helping him and I just feel very helpless. Please advise.

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So What Happened?

It took about 2 weeks before he got back on schedule. He finally did and is doing fine. So far we have not had any infections and we look forward to not having any. Thank you all for your advice.

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S.J.

answers from Memphis on

My son had his Adnoids removed also; this was when he was 8 and he is 11 now; no problems since. He wasn't sleeping well at all either and was having terrible nose bleeds. Motrin doesn't work for either of my kids. I religiously gave him Tylenol for children because he was grumpy and tired all day long. Had to keep him home I think a couple of days.

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J.T.

answers from Fayetteville on

My son had his adnoids removed and tubes put in when he was a little more than 1yrs old. It was rough for about a week and then he bounced back. He is 5yrs old now and has not had an ear infection since!!
Best Wishes!

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L.D.

answers from Fayetteville on

i'm so sorry that you are going through this. i can tell you though, that i think your precious son will be ok. my husband is a P.A. and this is what he told me, regarding surgeries such as this......... the actual runny nose is probably just a side effect from finally being able to have all the "gunk" drain, that was causing the infections to begin with. and the actual crying or puppy whines are probably from the anesthesia, still filtering from his system. this can take up to a week or more to filter out. he may also be having some "memory" of the actual procedure, even though he was "out" at the time. even at very young ages, children tend to remember being laid down for a surgery or being put under, therefore, it reflects in their inability to sleep after such an event. i know this may sound tough, but the only way we got through this with our middle daughter, was to sleep on the couch for three days with her on our chest, then have extra soothing bedtime routines, when she began to feel better. i know this is a lot to absorb and i'm sorry to bombard you with it.....just trying to help..... oh, by the way, we were told it was best to start out with motrin and then alternate it with tylenol every 5-6 hours.....L.

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H.B.

answers from Memphis on

My 3yr old had tubes put in and adnoids removed on the 7th of May. He did hurt while laying down and just in general. It is his neck. My son has been telling me. Plus, he will not turn his neck at all. I called the doctor and he gave us some Lortab for the pain. It has helped. I give it to him before bed. He is getting better. I called yesturday and the nurse said it may take up to two weeks to get completely better. The pain is from all of the positions they put the child in while in surgery. Those movements are involuntary and cause the muscles to go into some kind of spasms. They also said to apply heat. I have been using warm damp wash clothes but they said there are heat patches at Walgreens. My sons skin is so sensitive that I am afraid to use something with adhesive on it. I hope this is of some kind of help. I bet the coughing is aggravating his neck and causing him more pain. Poor baby!!! I know how you feel. It is so hard to see your baby in pain like that.

I am hoping that your son is better by now.

Take care,
H.

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M.K.

answers from Huntington on

He could be crying because his ears are finally draining and he does not like that feeling. My son also had tubes put in and he also had to have allergy medicine. They put him on zyrtec and that has cleared up all of his congestion. He was put on the zyrtec at about 4 or 5 months old. They also discovered he has asthma so we had to add singulair to his list of meds. My only suggestion is to ask if he possibly needs allergy medicine. I know how horrible you must feel not being able to comfort him and my heart goes out to you. Good luck.

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M.C.

answers from Jackson on

hi D.,
My grandson just had this all done,but he was 3,he was very sore for about a week, they gave him an antibiotic along with Motrin & we ggave him cold drinks & ice cream which seemed to help some, Also elevate his crib as much as you can & maybe give him a thin soft pillow it is so hard at that age as they really can't tell you yet what is wrong,but if this dose not help take him right back to the Dr. & make him do a through ck.
Not just an over the phone talk!!!!!
If you can, wet a towel in warm water, ring it dry, & put it in between his pillow the slight heat he will get may help some.
Let me l know how this works out I have raised five kids have 19 Grandkids & two great. So I know what your going through dear,
Best of Luck & I will be praying for that little guy & you.
Paula
____@____.com

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J.L.

answers from Memphis on

Just to sleep, you might try putting him in his carseat. I know it sounds crazy, but I had to do it for awhile when my son was younger. If you can get the carseat where his head is comfortable it might help him to sleep better. Never did the tubes but my daughter had adenoids and tonsils removed and she was a BEAR for about 3 weeks. Nothing consoled her, but after those 3 weeks, she was good as new. Try to hang in there, it won't last forever.
Jessi

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D.F.

answers from Raleigh on

My middle son went through this as well. He had his adnoids removed and tubes put in and it took almost a month for him to sleep through the night. We had his crib elevated from birth due to reflux. Here is what we have done to help him as since this surgery was done he has had sleeping issues. It always seems like he has a stuffy (not runny) nose when he is trying to sleep. During the day he has no problems with a stuffy nose.

* Take him back to the ENT and make sure the tubes are positioned properly and there is no fluid behind the tubes. It is possible for children to get ear infections even with the tubes and you might need to put him on some antibiotics. I would do this one first. I saw my ENT several times since i felt the surgery had been the catalyst in my son's problems.

* We had him tested for allergies. Once the adnoids were removed, we essentially had taken away the filtering system the body uses and if your child would be prone to allergies then it would show up after they were removed. My son has no allergies, but they did try putting him on numerous antihistamines to help with the nasal stuffiness.

* Humidifier in his room to keep the air from being too dry. We run it during the times he isn't trying to sleep since he doesn't like the sound, but a lot of people run them 24 hours.

* Gave him some Benadryl as Mucinex is only effective if there is chest congestion causing the cough, not really great for runny noses. Check with your doctor on the dosing as my son was 14 months when he started taking Benadryl at night and naptime to help him sleep. He still takes it and it has been almost 2 years.

We still struggle with this to a much lesser degree. The above suggestions have helped my son get some sleep at night and make him comfortable. We have the allergy filters in our home even though he has no allergies. Our ENT has advised that this may of just helped bring to light the fact that his sinus cavities are not as developed as they should be. He should grow out of the problem by the time he is 5. I hope that these things give you some relief. My son had to take Tylenol with Codeine in it for almost two weeks after the surgery at night because he was so miserable. I don't know what was worse the constant ear infections or how he was after the surgery. My other two sons have both gotten tubes and have no issues, it seemed to only be the adnoid removal that was the worst. Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.

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K.S.

answers from Huntington on

A decongestant for the runny nose might prove more helpful for a few days. The mucus is draining into his lungs, then when he lies down it comes back up, causing the cough.

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P.M.

answers from Memphis on

D., For ear infections you might try putting 1 drop of Melaleuca oil (tea tree oil) into 1 teaspoon of olive oil and dab a piece of cotton ball in it, put it in the ear or ears over night. I am a Mom and Grana. It has worked on both my children and my grandchildren. Hope this helps.

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T.L.

answers from Nashville on

You might try alternating the Motrin with Infant Tylenol for pain. Also, over-the-counter Zyrtec will help dry up the runny nose that seems to be contributing to the cough. Both Tylenol and Zyrtec are indicated for babies his age, but check with his pediatrician for appropriate dosing information. Hopefully your son has a follow-up appointment soon with the ENT, but if not I agree that is a good idea. Due to the tubes, be careful not to put anything in his ears that is not prescribed by your son's ENT or pediatrician. Good Luck! (I'm a mom as well as a family nurse practitioner).

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C.

answers from Charlotte on

Hey D.,

I'm so sorry you are going through this. My son had ear tubes put in in March, and he had really no pain with that part of the surgery, but I have heard that having the adnoids removed is a much tougher procedure. My suggestion would be to rotate between Motrin and Tylenol, but if this is not enough pain relief, call the doctor back and ask if you can give him a greater dose of one of these than what the bottle says or ask for something stronger. There should be no reason that your little guy should have to be in pain.

I would definately have the ENT check for correct tube placement and also an infection. My son has kept an infection in his right ear ever since he had the tubes put in, but they haven't been painful thank goodness. His ear just drains constantly a nasty green smelly fluid. We've tried oral and drop antibiotics and they're not working. So infections after tubes are definately possible.

Also, I second the Benedryl for the runny nose and cough, and it will also help your son sleep. My son is 12.5 months and weights 26.5 lbs and I was told to give him 1/2 teaspoon (at night before bed). I'd say if your soon is around the same age/weight, the dosage would probably be about the same.

I hope your baby gets better soon. Bless your heart, I know how the chronic ear infections are and how frustrating all of this is! Hang in there!!

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T.C.

answers from Nashville on

Any chance it could be loud noises? He hasn't been hearing well until he got his tubes put in. And they should have given him something stronger than Motrin for the pain! He should be antibiotics anyway for the surgery. YOu could also try sudicare plugins. They work awesome!

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C.K.

answers from Louisville on

Although my children have not had problems with chronic ear infections, I did as a child. I was on the "pink medicine" for years. It got to the point it did not work anymore. When I was 4 the doctors decided to do the same procedure. I did not have another ear infection for nearly 10 years. And since then I have only had about 5. Before the surgery, I had one a month. It worked for me and that was over 25 years ago.

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A.M.

answers from Louisville on

Have you looked at diet? A great many chronic ear infections are caused by milk allergy (according to research I first heard presented at an LLL convention) Even if you are breastfeeding, milk proteins can be passed through your milk, so you would have to stop drinking milk/eating cheese as well.

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K.K.

answers from Huntington on

i would take him back to the ent and make them look at him my son had the same surgery and he never had any problems like that i would make them reexamine him

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R.W.

answers from Lexington on

Mucinex? I've never had any luck w/ that just more hacking! My sister is a pharmacy tech. The pharmisists she has worked for wonders if doctors really know what medicine to perscribe. Anyway... She summed something quite nicely (apologies for spelling) for me when our kids were sick...

Antihistemes- helps prevent post nasal drip
Nasal Decongestent - helps dry up existing post nasal drip
Guaficin- clears lung congestion (this is Mucinex)

If these don't work, then get him to the doctor for a script. May not be a bad idea to talk to your regular peditrician as well.

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N.D.

answers from Owensboro on

My son had tubes put in when he was one. He had no problems with that, but at 3 he had his tonsils and adnoids removed. That is major surgery for a young child. He was put on Lortab for pain. Your baby might be in pain and that is why he is crying and not sleeping. Motrin may not be enough. As for his nose running it may be excess fluid from the ears draining,my son also had that problem, you might need to talk to the dr about better pain control.

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K.H.

answers from Memphis on

It would not hurt to get a second opinion, but it may just be that everything is finally having a chance to drain out so it will be a bit rough for a minute. I am almost positive it will clear up. How do I know, because I had the same surgeries when I was 9 years old.

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