Snoring/breathing Problems at Night

S.,
Both of my brothers had tubes and their tonsils and atnoeids taken out one of them at just under two years. It can be scary as the parent wondering and waiting for the next breath sound. You are doing the right thing seeing the ENT, they will make a recommendation and hopefully it will be the one you want to hear. Both my brothers did fine, and it very much
so eased my mothers mind. It was harder on her than on them.
The best of luck to you!
B.

I am a single mom of a 3 year old boy who just had his tonsils and adnoids out about a month ago. His were very swollen and he too snored very loud. He was also getting sleep apnea from his swollen tonsils. Now that they are out, he is eating better, sleeping better, and when he talks, he is a lot easier to understand. I'm glad I did it. If your daughter does get them out, it is a good 2 weeks before they are better and back to normal.

My daughter snored since the day she was born. I always mentioned it to the pediatrician at every well child visit. They never thought it was problem. I finally read a newspaper article regarding large tonsils and adenoids. Turns out her tonsils and adenoids were off the charts in how big they were. We immediately scheduled her for surgery to have them removed. And it has changed her life. She had surgery when she was four yrs old and now she's eight yrs old. I still can't believe the pediatrician never noticed. I would take your daughter to the ENT specialist, as you mentioned.

My son had tubes put in at 18 months, and at 2 years 2 weeks he had his tonsils and atnoieds removed. He use to snore a lot, and like you said, would seem to gasp for air. His atnoieds we're so large that when they took the x-ray they didn't even give me a decision as to if I should do or not. He has only snored a few times since then. He also had numerous sinus infections, has your daughter had any sinus troubles? They like to wait until they are a little older than 2 to take them out, is what our ENT told us, but sometimes you have to just go ahead and do it. Especially if it's effecting them sleeping. We had to stay overnight in the hospital with my son for one day due to a slight complication, but most kids are released the same day. Good luck. He has been healthy since he had this done.

My son also snored so incrediably loudly. When he was 3 we had his tonsils and adnoids taken out. Not only did he breath better and sleep better, but he has not had one ear infection since. He use to have them very often. It was very nervous for him to have the surgery, but I was a great thing for him. As for sleeping at night now, have her proped up so she can breath better and a cool air humidifier can help with her breathing as well. Hope this helps. Good luck.
S.

My cousin had the same problem. About four months ago they put tubes in his ears took out both his tonsils and atnoieds and he no longer snores at night. He got to the point that he would wake himself up he was so loud. He also had a constant ear ache that is not gone. Another thing that we are starting to notice is that you can understand what he is saying now. He is 4 so a little bit older. He started having problems when he was 2. His parent wish that they would have had it all done sooner. I hope that you find something to help your little one. I know how hard it is when they do not sleep well at night.

B.

MY DAUGHTER WILL BE 3 IN MARCH AND ABOUT A YEAR AND 1/2 AGO WAS DIAGNOSED WITH SLEEP APNEA, SHE HAS NO TUBES, ENLARGED TONSILS AND ADENOIDS (ONE OF HER TONSILS LOOKS LIKE IT TAKES UP HER WHOLE THROAT PRACTICALLY), AND SHE HAS FLUID THAT SITS IN HER EARS (NOT ENOUGH TO DISTURB HER HEARING/SPEECH). SHE HAD A SNORING PROBLEM (VERY LOUD) AND THEN AT TIMES DURING THE NIGHT IT WOULD SOUND LIKE SHE HAD STOPPED BREATHING (GOT REAL QUIET) AND THEN SHE WOULD LIKE GASP FOR AIR AND START SNORING AGAIN. SHE WAS SUPPOSE TO HAVE HER TONSILS AND ADENOIDS REMOVED THIS PAST DECEMBER, BUT I ELECTED TO RE-SCHEDULE BECAUSE OF THE FLU AND COLD SEASON APPROACHING. MY SUGGESTION AS FAR AS SLEEPING IS FIND A POSITION THAT OPENS HER AIRWAY AND THAT'S COMFORTABLE FOR YOUR DAUGHTER. MY DAUGHTER SLEEPS BEST ON HER RIGHT SIDE, HEAD PROPPED UP BY A PILLOW WITH HER INSIDE ARM (THE ARM SHE WOULD BE LAYING ON) UNDERNEATH HER HEAD, OR UNDER HER PILLOW CRADELING HER HEAD...USUALLY THEN SHE HARDLY SNORES AND IF SHE DOES SHE IS QUIET. HOPE THIS HELPED...GOOD LUCK AT THE APPOINTMENT!!!

My daughter also had sleep apnea and had her tonsils and adenoids removed this past dec. It is so much better now. It has helped her behavior problems as she was chonically sleep deprived before. It is NOT an easy recovery I will warn you, Horrible is the word that comes to mind. In the end it was worth it. If you are a working mom you will need to take 2 weeks off of work to tend to your very sick child, don't think that 3-4 days will be enough. In the mean time take your childs pillow away. When the neck is bent up on a pillow it compresses and narrows the bronchial tubes and trachea which is already narrowed by thier big adenoids and tonsils.

Hello,
We have three girls and two of them have had the surgery. Our youngest daughter was three when she had her T&A. Our middle daughter was six when she had her T&A. With our youngest it was like she didn't even have it done. Meaning that from the time she woke up she was eating and drinking like nothing happened. She was eatting noodles within an hour of coming home. Running around it was hard to keep her down. Now with our middle daughter it was different it took her about two weeks to bounce back and then she was not fully herself and either could not or would not eat much for almost four weeks. They are both great now. I have to touch them to make sure they are breathing ok when sleeping now because I can't hear them. I tell you this to let you know that I feel the younger they are for this surgery the better it is on them. I was 17 when I had mine done and I know that it is painful. But it is well worth the week or two of recovery. Good luck and my thoughts are with you.

T.

My son had his tonsils and adnoids removed and tubes put in last Spring 06 - just shy of his turning 2 years old. He was having mutiple ear infections and his snoring could be heard across the hall. We had gone to his ENT and it seemed his doctor wanted to wait a little longer. After much persistance, we were recommended to a sleep specialist at children's hospital, st paul. We scheduled an overnight sleep study. He was hooked up to monitors to watch his breathing etc. Well, lo and behold, he was diagnosed with sleep apnea - which was why he was constantly waking up at night. Because his tonsils were so huge, his breathing would be obstructed and would either be shallow or stop altogether! The clinic counted over 50 instances through the night when the monitors would pick something up and his breathing would stop! Needless to say, he was scheduled for surgery immediately and it was the smartest thing we did! Right after his surgery, his development took off - it was night and day for my son! My only suggestion to help your daughter sleep better at night would be to elevate her head. It seemed to help my son a little. But be persistent and see a sleep specialist. I'm glad my husband and listend to our gut and stuck to our guns and insisted that he be monitored. Sleep apnea can be a serious thing and she should be diagnosed to determine whether or not she has it because she sounds exactly like my son...good luck! I'm sure she'll be fine.

My daughter had her tonsils/adenoids removed last fall (she was 3). She was a "loud breather" from birth, snoring nightly as she got older, many ear infections, and a poor sleeper in general. I finally took her in last fall after an observed period of sleep apnea (when I checked on her before I went to bed, she wasn't breathing for a few seconds). We went to the ENT and scheduled surgery for a few weeks later. He said that she was rather young to have the procedure, but given her history, he did recommend the surgery with an overnight hospital stay. The 7-9 days after surgery were AWFUL for our little girl (and us as parents!), but it was well worth it. She is a great sleeper now, no more snoring or loud breathing, and attitude has greatly improved (she is finally getting the good rest that she needs). Talk it over with the ENT--the improvement for our little girl has been amazing!

Definately pursue an answer! A two year old should not snore!

My son was five and didn't talk much. He also didn't hear but his doctor was convinced that he was just ignoring me. I knew my son wasn't the kind to ignore his mom and kept fussing about it until we got sent to a specialist. Sometimes, Mom really does know what she is talking about! The specialist said that my son heard fine, if he was 105. But for a 5 year old he was deaf. That is why he wasn't talking. They took out his tonsils and adnoids and we never had any trouble after that. It was a relatively simple thing then and that was almost 20 years ago. I am sure it is even better now.

I agree that you should get it checked out with the ENT Specialist. My son is going to get a sleep study done next month because he has large tonsils & adnoids. Because he is only 2 they want to be sure what is going on. They do not like to have the surgery done at this young age because of post op bleeding. If he can wait to have the surgery we will until he is a little older. I believe that the sleep study will be benificial.

Good luck!

My neighbor had her 3 year olds tonsils and adnoids out. Her story sounds identical to yours word for word. Her daughter doesn't snore anymore, isn't as sick anymore and the earinfections don't come anymore.

Hi S......I feel like I live at our ENT office. I have 3 little ones (5,3, and 3 months) My older 2 have both had multiple sets of tubes and they both have had their atnoieds out with their second set of tubes. Their tonsils were "normal" sized, so they were not taken out. Let me tell you what a HUGE difference the atnoieds out made! Our ENT said that both of my boys atenoieds were blocking like 98% of that passage so it was no wonder that they had so many ear infections. Our boys also did the "loud" breathing at night and drooled like you wouldn't believe because they were mouth breathers. Both the drooling and the breathing troubles stopped the night they come home with out the atnoieds. It is always scary to hand them over to surgeons, but it was so worth it for our kids. We have money down on when our 3 month old will get her first set of tubes:) Good luck!