Tonsil Removal

Hi J.,

I wanted to let you know about our experience with our daughter, just to let you know that you may have some options beside the surgery.

Our daughter who is 6 1/2 has been having sleep apnea, snoring, and bedwetting for at least six months. We have gotten various opinions from our chiropractor, an herbalist, a naturopath and a ENT doctor at Children's hospital. The ENT doc recommended having her tonsils removed, but we hesitated, wondering if the reason all of this had come up recently was due to something her body was fighting and just needed a little support with.

We have decided that we will work with a naturopath to help boost her immune system and help her lymphatic system (specifically the neck and throat area) circulate better to flush out all of the inflammation and over activity. In just over a weeks' time of using the homeopathic remedy and an herbal support for the lymph system, her snoring/apnea has decreased noticeably, and she's even woken up a couple of times to go to the bathroom! Our hope is that her body is fighting and working to flush out the over activity, and that she will continue to get better and we can avoid the surgery. We know it wouldn't be the end of the world if she had them removed, but we thought, if we can support her body to overcome this in a healthy way, then why not try it?

I hope this helps you to know that there may be some other options for your daughter, even with the severity of her symptoms. It might be worth it to see someone that focuses on holistic wellness.

Good luck!

Hi,
My daughter had her tonsils/adnoids/sinus surgery done when she was in kindergarten. It is hard to just hand your child over to the doctors. I was allowed to go in the surgery room and give her a kiss as they were giving her the anethesia. I cried, but just had to trust that they knew what they were doing for her good. Recovery was not fun. She basically woke up screaming in pain. Try not to let the pain meds wear off. Her recovery time was much longer than what the doctor told me it would be. Part of that may be she caught a cold right after we came home. I just let her decide when she felt better. At 5 or 6 I don't think they purposely want to fake not feeling good to lay around. It took about 12 days, and my daughter was back to normal. She is now seven and has only had to be on antibiotics maybe 3 or 4 times since we had the surgery. It was definitely worth it.
M.

I have never had my kids or myself have my tonsils out but just having experinces with surgreys and little kids. she will probably be fine in a day or 2. My son had surgrey at 6 months on his little boy parts and he was fine the next day. Kids bounce back way faster then adults. ANd about the putting to sleep it is a little scary but she will be okay the doctors know what they are doing! the hardest part for me was he couldnt eat for 10-12 hours so it was hard to see him want to eat and i couldnt feed him. good luck everything will be okay!

My daughter had hers out and to be honest with you it was hard on me to allow them to do that, she had hers done at health south and the scariest part was putting her to sleep, but the nurses and doctors were great and kept me informed of everything that was happening, she was suppose to stay the night - but was doing so well after wards, they released her late that evening and we went home - she had the same issue with them being so big, she snored so bad and had sleep apnia as well, and she was sleeping with her mouth open which caused dental problems as well - now she sleeps great, no more snoring and gets the true rest she needs. - my daughter was 6 when they did hers as well. It is truely easier on a child than an adult - they say it is one of the most painful surgeries for an adult to go through and my husband had his done after my daughter and had a harder time with the whole thing. So just pray and tell yourself it is the best for her and she will be o.k - hope all goes well, take care and stay positive!!!

K. Conger
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My daughter was 3 yrs old when she had her tonsils and adnoids removed. As far as being put to sleep, I was concerned as well. If there is any family history of anesthesia problems (hard time waking up etc) be sure to let the dr know ahead of time so they can determine the best route to take. The anesthesiologist is there the whole time monitoring. As for how long to keep her out of school, that will depend on your daughters recovery. My daughter (although not in school) was back to herself a couple of days after. Be prepared to have alot of soft foods for her to eat, for example mashed potatoes, noodles (ramen or cup o noodles) but be sure they are not too hot. I'm sure she will be fine. Good Luck

Hi J.,
My Daughter had both her tonsils and adenoids removed in Feb. I felt very uneasy about her going under as well. It is a quick surgery, they are under about 1/2 hour. The recovery time is different for each child, my daughter who is 8yrs old took 3 weeks to heal. We missed about one week of school. We are so glad we had it done! She also was a very heavy breather and had sleep apnea. She also had bad breath. She sleeps like a baby now and her breath never smells bad. Your daughter will do great! Courtney my daughter didn't eat for over a week. It's pretty painful after. They do heal and if she is having sleep apnea I would encourage you do have them removed.

I have had 2 children get their tonsils out. They both recovered quickly. They weren't of age to go to school so I am not completely sure how long they were down. But I know they slept better the first night because they could now breath. They were sore. But were up and running a day later. So I hope that helps. Everyone is different though. Your doctor should be able to tell you more of the recovery process.

Hi J.
I am the mother of a 25 yr old, and a 4 & 5 year old daughters. My 25 yr old had hers out and I remember being so worried. But, it turned out fine, and that was 21 years ago!I gave her lots of ice cream, and red jello(her favorite). And lots of baby tylenol. Not too much conern, because I didn't want to baby her, lest I convey my concern. it's good she's getting them out if it's interfering with her sleep, and getting infection after infection is not good either. They build up a resistance to them.
So, try(lol) not to be too worried and trust the doctors.

Hi J., I used to schedule surgeries for ENT's and the best advice to give is this: have all medications ready at home for when you return from the hospital; have her favorite jello handy, popsicles and juices as it is VERY important to stay hydrated; keep top ramen or mac n cheese handy for when she is able to start "eating"; she should be home from school for 7-10 days depending on how quickly she heals. As far as putting her to sleep more than likely you will have a pediatric anesthesiologist or someone who also handles pediatrics and they only use what they have to. Most of them will let you stay with her until she goes down and let her hold a "lovey" or security blanket and you can take it with you after she is out. Some parents don't like to watch their kids going down but have to as they need to in a sense oversee what is happening. Fear is totally normal and you should be able to talk to the anesthesiologist prior to surgery even prior to them calling you the night before to discuss any concerns you may have in detail. I have seen many many kids go through this as young as 2 and let me tell you, they are SO much happier went all is said and done. Last thing is to make sure you have post-op instructions from your physician prior to the surgery date so you can be totally prepared. Good luck to you and just focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. Your little girl will be feeling so much better soon.

All growing up I had tonsil problems and refused to tell my mom (so I didn't have to go to the doctor)So at age 22 I had my tonsils out. It was bad. The doctor told me they were the worse tonsils he'd ever seen. I haven't ever had my children's out, but from my experience....Don't put it off. They say the younger, the better. For me, it was about 2 weeks before I felt like I could function and go in public. I would give your little girl plenty of time off from school(until you think she is ready by running around and eating normal again)From my own experience, laying flat was the worse thing. The best way to sleep was sitting up in a recliner. Good luck. It will all be worth it. I wish I would have done it when I was a child. Keep plenty of soft liquid foods on hand. I liked soups and cream of wheat the best.

Hey J.,

I don't know if you are open to "new" things. Have you tried a good OMD? The Chinese go about the tonsil thing in an entirely different way. I have 9 children. One of them I chose to have her tonsils out and she has been by far my sickliest child. I have chosen to think "outside the box" so to speak and if that doesn't work, I can always go back to the surgical route. I worked in the medical field for 20 years and yes, you are wise to fear anesthesia. If I can help you, please contact me. Either way, you and your little one will be in my prayers.
God Bless,
M.

J.- Relax!
The more worried you are the more worried your daughter will be.
-my daughter had hers out at age 6 also. She was rough that day and the next but, wanted out of bed to play the next day. We did this in the summer so she didn't miss school but, I'd say a week to be safe-she'll need meds often.

The anasthesia was my scariest thoughts too- The Dr. assured me it would be ok....it was she came out of it just fine. no side effects.

I'll prey for you- I'm sure it will all be fine. Stock up on popsicles, movies, and markers/coloring books to try to keep her resting as long as possible.

Best wishes-H.

Not to worry...I had mine out at 65 years of age and everything went fine. I would suggest no sugar or flour products at least 4 days before surgery...try to make her diet just as healthful as you can those 4 days...plenty of protein and green vegetables...some raw if she will eat them. After surgery concentrate on juices and don't be afraid of light pain meds to keep her quiet for a few days.

I also saturated my body with a whole food liquid supplement before and after surgery. The product is called Body Balance and you can get a complimentary quart to use before and after her surgery by going to http://www.LifeForceFamily.com use 20371445 as the referral ID#....really does help with surgeries...I have proven that over and over with myself, my husband and my mother. Provides the body with over 120 nutrients so the body can heal itself quickly. If you have any questions or concerns please contact ____@____.com
Let us know how it goes.
G.

Your stressing to much, but normal when you have never done this with your child. My 12 month old had his removed last week. This was the 12th time he was under anesthesia. He has red lined it three different times from Morphine overdose and this last time because he hurt so bad he didn't want to breath.
He has min. of one more surgery to go, but still two Dr. that he has yet to see that may result in more.

My advise someone who is new to all of this is 1)Explain everything. I do this even with my little guy. 2) She can not be around other people for a min. of 7 days, so you will need her to stay home for at least that long and take it one day at a time from there. 3) She will only be able to take Tylenol so have plenty of it around (we ran out a few days after wards). 4)Nothing hot for a week, Cold will make her feel better, it's like putting an ice pack on the sore spots.

As for anesthesia, they usually use a mask to put the child out and then...after you leave put in an IV and what ever else to make them comfortable.

We stayed over night, someone should call you a day ahead of the surgery to explain everything to you, if you want to talk to someone more specific you can ask that nurse about it. But for us we met with the anesthesia guy right before surgery, at Primary's they have a little black line that parents don't cross, so our little guy went right to the guy, as he came and while he talked to us, he concentrated on making our baby smile, and he was more apt to go to him later. Note, that our little guy doesn't have problems with anesthesia, he has problems with pain meds after wards. He also had three surgeons working on three different things, so he was a lot more sore and a lot more going on. But we did this so we wouldn't have three different surgeries. And the pain med's for the one would cover the other.

I hope in amongst all this you get something to help you. I have been the rounds with hospitals and the nurses know me by name now and am considered an honorary nurse by most of them. I am not afraid to get my hands dirty and they all know that if something is going to be done to my little guy, I'm involved to make sure I like what is being done and how it is being done.

My little guy had major sleep apnea and was on oxygen at nights for it. We are 8 days from surgery and he is doing great, he still has oxygen every once in a while (we have a monitor to tell us how he is doing), but most nights he doesn't dip enough for me to turn on the machine.

But we were told to give everything 2 weeks for healing. And though he is happy, he is not quite there yet. So I would say the two weeks is right.

Good luck with everything. Email me if you need more information. I have more experience than I would ever desire, but would do it all again for my beautiful baby boy!

Last year my 5 year old and 8 year old had theirs out on T. same day. It was very easy. Putting them to sleep is hard even though my 5yr has had 18 previous surgeries. My 8yr old said she was scared when they took her from us but was asleep very quickly(within 2 minutes). It took a week before they could resume school. Keeping them inactive for T. first 3-4 days is a good idea. You will be so glad you did it. I would have to say all in all it really wasn't a hard or bad experience for anyone.

removing the tonsils is not always the best thing... When I was young I was sick a lot and the doctor wanted to take my tonsils out but my parents said no. My mothers sister had her tonsils out when she was a young child and the scab broke and she almost bled to death. The same thing happend to a kid last summer in our neighborhood. I've talked with people now that say it is good that I still have my tonsils. My parents switched to herbalists and naturpath doctors when I was six or seven and I have never been as sick as I was as a very young kid on antibiotics all the time.

I am interested in the responses as well, since my five year old is also possibly going to need a tonsillectomy soon. Her tonsils are amazingly big and she keeps getting strep and tonsillitis. I don't want to go through a tonsillectomy though, since I have heard the recovery is awful.

We had our daughter's out at the same age. Make sure that you are there with her every step. They sent us to the wrong waiting room so we weren't there when she woke up. She hasn't let us forget that. Make sure that she keeps eating something soft but has to kind of chew. Popsicles or jello. The earaches after a couple of days is what did us in. She would go to school in the morning but by lunch time she had an earache and we had to go and pick her up. Then we would do some medicine and the earache would go away. This lasted a week. But it has been worth the week of misery. She has hardly been sick since then. And she sleeps better also.

J., Two of my daughters have had their tonsils out, one of them was not quite 5 years old, the other one was 18 years old. The 5 year-old recovered very quickly, I think I kept her out of preschool for a week. She should have had her tonsils and adnoids out long before this, but her old pediatrician wouldn't listen to me. She had tubes put in her ears because of chronic ear problems when she was 2 years old. We were told that the tubes should fall out of her ears on their own within a year. They never did, then she started getting bad sore throats, infections, etc. But our old pediatrician wouldn't listen to me. She ended up losing 50% of her hearing in both ears! I found this out by going to a different pediatrician and demanding a referral to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City Utah. They couldn't believe that her doctor kept saying that she was alright. They did surgery on her, removing her tonsils and adnoids, which were terribly infected, and causing her more problems with her ears. Then they had to scrape away scar tissue from around the tubes that her old doc had put in her ears. They put new tubes in, which fell out within 7 months, and we went back for check ups a few times. Within 6 months my daughter had completely regained all of her hearing and is doing fantastic now. (She is a very active 12 year old now!) Anyway, I told you that whole story because it is important to get those infected tonsils and adnoids out, they can cause other problems with ears and respiratory infections too. My daughter recovered so quickly from having her tonsils, adnoids and the tubes done. It was amazing. I am so glad that I went to the right doctor finally and had that surgery done.

My oldest daughter had her tonsils out when she was 18 and her recovery was so much longer. She was in more pain than my 5 year old. I don't think my 5 year old ever took anything for the pain. My 18 year old should have had her tonsils and adnoids out many, many years ago, but her father, who she lived with growing up, didn't believe in having any surgeries done! So, she suffered a lot growing up with tonsilitis, until she was old enough to have the surgery done without him having to sign a consent form. The older they get, the harder having their tonsils out is on them.

If your daughter is suffering from sleep apnia also, that is a great concern! I would definitely have the surgery done, and ask your doctor how long you should keep her home from school. If you can get time off of work easily, keep her home as long as the doctor says to. If you have family or friends to help you, take advantage of their help too! Buy lots of popsicles, yogurt, sherbet, pudding, mashed potatoes, etc. Both of my daughters loved home made tapioca pudding, or vanilla custard, then they got the protein from eggs in the recipe.

Good luck to you! Let us know what you decide and how it goes!

I would say don't worry but as a mom that is part of our genetic make up. It is scary to have her knocked out, but it will be for a short time only. I think its less than an hour.
My niece had her tonsils and adnoids out and the short term knock out versus days of pain and sickness were by far the best choice.
I would keep her home the rest of the week, unless she wants to go back to school. Some kids thinkits cool to have a fantastic story to tell when they go back and can't wait to go back. Plan for the rest of the week, but give her the option.
Many happy nights.

Have your children's tonsils and adenoids removed at Primary Childrens if at all possible. The anesthesiologists at Primary only work on children so they would be your safest bet when they put her under. My daughter had to have surgery when she was five and I was also really worried about the anesthesia. Unfortunately we didn't live near a children's hospital at the time so I asked my doctor (the one doing the surgery) who he would recommend as an anesthesiologist. He actually gave me a recommendation. Good luck!

I had my tonsils removed when I was a little girl, if that tells you how long the procedure has been out there. They put me to sleep, also. I was probably about the same age as your daughter, maybe slightly younger. I know I was way underweight and had a lot of being sick issues. I remember them telling me to blow up a balloon of some sort, and falling asleep. When I woke up, my parents had given me a teddy bear, of which I still have today. And I was allowed to eat an endless amount of icecream! Really, it wasn't that scarey for me. And I was a much healthier version of me from that day on. It's hard not to worry, but I am so thankful my parents made that decision.

My son who is 8 years old had his out on the 6th of March. I was nervous about him being put to sleep as well. I asked the Dr. many question and it put my worries at ease. The hard part was the pain. It was like having an infant again. Stay on top of the pain meds dont let the time go by cause when it gets bad it is hard to help them feel better. We have year round school and he was off track for three week and it was a good thing! He finally felt better at the 14 day mark but his bad breath was something I had a difficult time with. It wouldnt go away for 3 weeks. So him being home from school was a God sent. Good luck! Eveything will go just great. Oh he loved popsicles and jello!

I had this done when I was 7 years old and if I remember correctly my parents only kept me home for a few days. I also remember that my throat hurt quite a bit even eating ice cream but it does go away. My parents said that I snored horribly and used to wake everyone in the house and that after my throat healed from the surgery I was a lot quieter. I am sure that your daughters illnesses will be a lot less afterwards as well. I also had tubes put in my ears at the same time as the adnoids and tonsils were removed which dramatically reduced my ear infections as well. Good luck with your daughters surgery. It is really not a big deal these days. I am sure everything will be fine.

J.,
Things will be okay, and I do understand that those minor surgeries are those they do other children. Tell the doctor you are concerned, things can and do go wrong, but please keep the faith that all will be okay.
My son was 5 when he had his tonsils removed, he had tonsils the size of a large man, once they we removed we never looked back. He has not had one sour thoat, did not choke on his food, and finally he could sleep. It is necessary to have them removed as the tonsils will make the whole body sick. We had the tonsil removed on a Tuesday and we were eating Thansgiving Turkey on Thursday, carefully but he was eating. Just oush liguids, water, juice may burn, but push the water. Hopefully this will be the last sore throat you will have to endure. My son is now 23 and remembers the throat cultures, the sour thoats and said we should have removed the tonsils sooner, it was a blessing when we finally did. HAng in there and say your prayers.

HI
I don't know about the tonsilectomy but we had to have our little girl put to sleep for an MRI when she was just 2 weeks old. The doctors are usually very good about making sure kids get the right amount of anesthesia. So don't worry too much about that part of it. Of course that's easier said than done. Hope all goes well.

Hi J.,
We had the same procedure done when our daughter was 2ish. She had ear problems and went she was 1and we only wanted to have the tubs put in, thing removed. A year later we had the tubs done again along with the tonsils and adenoids. It is scary but the hospital staff was outstanding. They know you’re worried and they do all they can to comfort you along with your child. We kept our daughter down as much as possible for 3 weeks. No rough housing which for a 2 year old was hard to explain. This should be easier to expect because she is old enough to understand. She is also old enough that she can tell you if this or that hurts more or less. Good luck, it is scary but really if your doctor has done this many times he is skilled. And if he hasn't you may want to find an Ear/Nose/Throat specialist. The wait may be longer but when your messing with your child and these little parts you want someone who knows what they are doing. The last thing you want is to have to do it again because the doctor didn’t get all the tonsil etc.

J.,
My son spent the night in the hospital his were so large they had to put balloons up his nose to press against where the tonsils were taken. Everything was fine, I did spend the night with him as he was groggy and needed help to the bathroom and his iv needle needed adjustment from the nurses who were very busy with infants during the night, I would have to go get them as they were rarely at the desk. The anasthesias are much better now than they used to be, there is rarely a problem, another of my sons had surgery when only 2 on his neck and was fine, I too worried, nothing can change that! We had the pop cycles, pudding, icecream all ready at home, he got to go to the store and pick out his favorites, don't get icecream with chunks of candy or cookies in it. He had his done right before Christmas break so had 2 weeks to recoup. He was fine after a few days but was nice not the have to be back at school for a while.
Good luck and you are right, there is not anything else you can do when it is causing her to be so ill.
Good Luck,
S. M.

My son was 5 when he had is out. I think it is one of the best medical decisions we've made. From the time he was born we were probably seeing the doctor at least 14 times a year! After his surgury it immediately dropped to maybe 1-2. (I think less.)

We had it done over Christmas break. He was only down a day or two, but I'd allow a week.

My daughter and I both had this same surgery two years ago. She had her adenoids removed and tubes put in her ears she was also six years old. And I had my tonsils and adenoids removed the next month. My daughter bounced right back within a day of the surgery. I too was worried about the anesthetic. However, although waking up rummy and Arny for a while she came out of it just fine. It does take longer to recover from a tonsillectomy. I couldn't eat solid food for two full weeks. However, children seem to do better in this area according to my DR. I would just watch her and see how she is doing after. I bet you will be surprised how fast she bounces back after. One word of warning you can still get strep throat after having a tonsillectomy so don't be surprised if this still happens. But it does occur a lot less often at least in my case. Also they gave both of us liquid lortab and antibiotics after the surgeries which helped a lot with pain and kept us from getting any other illnesses that would slow the healing process. Good Luck!

Tonsilectamy is definently the best thing to do. Besides the body handles it better as a choild. Trust me I had mine out finally when I was about 19. The doctor kept saying this should have been done when you were a little girl, your body would have handled it better. I came out fine, but had a lot of restrictions afterward. I was basicaly on bed rest for five days because the doctors were worried my throat would hemmorage if I did anything even slightly strenuous. Although her body is much mnore resiliant for this sort of thing right now, the doc will probably suggest you keep her home for about three days. Don't be as nervous as you seem. It's a normal procedure. The getting put to sleep part is normal too. I do suggest that if you are the one who will be with her while she has it done, that you not wear any perfume or scented lotion. The smell when you first come to is very nauseating. Good luck, and feel better about it. Yuo are making the right decision. I had to suffer with chronic strep and tonsilitous growing up; it wasn't until i's had tonsilitous 3 times and strep 12 times in one year that they finally took mine out.

My daughter had her tonsils/adenoids removed and tubes put in when she was 4 and needed about 3-4 days to recover to the point of activity. We did the surgery on a Wednesday and by Monday she was up and playing with her brother. It was a pretty easy experience for her. She has been much healthier and doesn't get as many ear infections. We would do it again if it was needed.

My son had his tonsils and adnoids out last year and things went great. The doctors had told me that the 7 day mark was the worst for pain and they were correct. My son had a hard time with the pain because he refused to take the pain meds. We tried to mix them with everything to get them down. Root beer mixed with it ended up being the best. I would suggest to keep him out at least a week from school! Good luck!

my brother and i had our tonsild removed years ago. we were both under 11 yrs of age and our recovery was different. He was able to eat after 3 days because either he had no more pain or he was more tolerant than i was. I didn't eat for 10 days. Jello and ice cream liquids and soups were all i had. i had to write on paper what i wanted to say because it hurt too much to talk. but after 10 days i was making big steps everyday before i was completely well. I think i have had maybe 2 sorethroats that i can remember since then and that was almost 20 years ago. so it is all worth it. my brother's recovery was way quicker and less painful than mine. he too has had only a few sore throats since surgery.

we were out of school for at least 10 days if not more. so if you are worried about that, try to do it in the summer.

hope this helps...

J., I have 3 girls and everyone of them has had tonsils and adnoids removed because of sleep apnea. When one of my daughters was 6 she had them removed and she went home and went outside to play!!!! Crazy!!! The first few days aren't bad. But about the 4-10th days get a little worse. MAKE HER DRINK EVERYTHING YOU CAN, very important!!! Also, STAY ON TOP OF HER PAIN MEDS AT NIGHT!!! That can really make things awful if you think they are doing better, but the pain gets out of control. It's an easy surgery, but can be a tough recovery. Keep her home from school for at least a week. Good luck! Hope all goes well.

I just wanted to suggest that you have a vaporizer handy for after she gets home from the hospital. The nights are the worst because they aren't drinking & their throats get really dry. The mist helps their throats hurt a little bit less. Be prepared for a few nights of bad sleep. Keep a trash can by the bed, in case she refuses to swallow & needs to spit. Good luck. :)

Hi, Just wanted to assuage your fears somewhat. My daughter also had her tonsils and adenoids out. It was such a huge difference. We struggled for years with infections , coughing , and ear aches. Afterwards, she never got sick. We wished that we could have done it sooner. Children are incredibly resilient and they heal so fast, she will be back to school in 3 or 4 days. There is always risk with surgery and a mom will always worry, but take it from a mom who has been there, it will be a whole new world for her. Take care.

My daughter now 7 1/2, had her T/A at age 4. She did great and yes it was hard watching her "go to sleep". That was heart wrenching. It was calm and peaceful but for some strange reason I ended up crying like a big baby. That was really the toughest part. Her recovery was short 3-4 days mostly whining (for attention)Just maintain with pain meds and it will be just fine. Good luck