Tonsils and Adenoids Removal

Two out of my three kids had their tonsils and adenoids removed. It was the best thing I could have ever done. My ENT said to hold my nose while trying to eat in order to feel what they were going through. It is very hard to breath and very tiresome. After nine years for my older child and two for my younger, they are very healthy and rarely get sick. Better yet, they eat like a young'n is supposed to. Oh yeah, both of them had wonderful recoveries. They both were eating whatever they wanted by the next day and slept the entire night through without waking up one time. Best of luck to you and your family.

Hi A.,

My brother had his removed when he was 5 years old. I remember the doctor my parents he was not going to be able to eat much but that he will be getting lots of ice pops to reduce swelling. Well, as soon as he woke up, his first words were he wanted a hamburguer and a coke. The doctor said it was fine to give it to him. Well he ate it and recovered quickly. Best of all, he never had problems again.

My point is, don't worry too much. You will see everything will be okay and you will be happy to see him without pain ever again. I will keep him in my prayers. Best of Luck!!!!!

Why would you want to make your son suffer for two more years just because you saw an unpleasant video? All surgeries are gruesome. You paid the doctor for his opinion, Why?

I agree with Erin. My son had his tonsils and adenoids removed last summer, one week after his 6th birthday. He had missed 14 days of Kindergarten due to tonsillitis, strep throat, and what seemed to be sinus headaches. I wish we had done it sooner! We immediately noticed that he no longer snored which he had done since he was an infant, his attention span has improved, and he is soaring through speech therapy. This surgery not only helped his health but also his academic success.
You can request that your son be kept overnight (if insurance will allow). I'm glad we did because the doctor changed his pain medication when a nurse observed that pain was returning before the next dose was due.

Hi A....

My son was 4 when he had his out. He had it done at Clear Lake Regional Hospital under Dr. Chester Strunk. He had problems sleeping because he snored horribly and seemed to have apnea and he kept some sort of sinus/throat issue or cold. The surgery looks worse than it is. He had it done, came out and promptly puked on us and said we tricked him :o)...he had his blood work and everything done with no problem. He had no infection and they did give him Tylenol with codeine so he slept alot. He is a big kid, but he lost a little weight but we found that after the second day of popsicles he at soft scrambled eggs and cream of wheat.

Since he's had this done (he is now 11) he sleeps much better with very mild snoring and that's only when he's very tired, but no more of the choking episodes and no more throat issues.

I wish you well, but for us, we wanted to do it earlier than later so he wouldn't miss school. At that time he was in head start/pre k and honestly his recovery time was the 2 weeks off during Christmas break.

Hope this helps

S.

I am 26, and I had mine taking out last October. I would rather go through child birth again, then ever have to do it. But it was worth it, my mood has changed and I am no longer sick. I wish my mother would have had mine taking out when I was younger.

My youngest who will be two in May just had hers out a couple of weeks ago. She bounced back in a couple of days, for some reason, the recovery time is LESS when they are younger. My son who is three is going to have his taken out next month, both of my kids have the same problems, you mentioned.

Only you know what is best. It is very scarey, but I would do it now before they get much older. The recovery time is less, and the pain is so much less. My daughter only needed pain killers for a day and half, in three days she was pretty much back to 100% (I still made her eat non salty food though) When I had mine done, I was taking my pain pill every 3 hours for two weeks, and still thought the pain was awful. Something about being younger helps, so I would do it now!

Hi A.,

My 5 year old son had his adenoids out about 3 weeks ago and it is the best thing I have done for him. All his life he had congestion, a crusty nose and sounded like he had a cold as well. Now he can hear better, he breathes quietly and is not congested. We love our doctor and was so happy with the whole service. If you are nervous that is normal. I was too. As long as the child has some decent pain killers for after he will be ok. I have heard that it is better to do it when they are young as it is worse when they are older. Our doctor is called Joel Anthis. He is fantastic with little kids. The surgery was done at Foundation West Surgical Center. They were so good there. My son has autism so we were particulary nervous, but it turned out well. He had some Tylenol with Codeine after at home for the first couple of days and is a much happier child now. Good luck.
W.

My son had his tonsils and adnoids removed Feb. of 2008. He was 2 about to turn 3. He as well, snored louder than my husband did. When I took him to the ENT, they looked in his ears and they also found our that he had non infectious fluid on his ears. They gave him a hearing test, and then found out that he was hearing at about 30 percent. Boy, that was a real surprise! They said that his adnoids were so large, that they were preventing the fluid from draining from his ears. The removal of the tonsils, adnoids and they also put tubes into his ears was about 40 minutes for all procedures to be done. He had a sore throat for about a week and a half and had trouble speaking for about a week. One good thing that was almost immediate was the snoring. It took him a while, but after that he got the hang of breathing through his nose and the snoring is completely gone. Be sure to give lots of cold things to eat for the first week. This will deminish the pain some what along with Tylonol.
Best of luck to your son and he will a much happier person because he will be getting much better rest becuase he can breath again.
Best of luck!
J.

P.S. Do not be surprised when your sons eating habits pick up. My son was not a good eater until the surgery and has gained a 12 pounds since last Feb.

Only you can decide the right thing for your family. That being said, would you rather your son have to deal with the discomfort he has today for two more years? A lot could happen during that time and he could end up with a more complicated surgery and recovery.

I struggled with the decision to have tubes put in my daughter's ears last year. I just kept thinking, "it will get better soon." She ended up with what amounted to a 6-month long ear infection to the point she had to have antibiotic injections because oral drugs weren't doing the trick.

Recovery on what you are facing is certainly more painful, but we can't protect them from everything, you know. Long term he will likely have less memory of the whole experience if you do it now rather than later. As mothers, our first inclination is to protect our children "in the moment" without always considering the long-term consequence.

You probably still have time to get a second opinion and still keep your surgery date. If you don't feel comfortable with your current practitioner, you should do exactly that.

My son had the same surgery last year. He was three and a half, and I struggled with the same questions you're struggling with. Looking back, having the surgery was really the best decision. Like your son, my son snored and had sleep apnea. After the surgery, he hardly ever snores, and his apnea is much better. Also, our doctor told us that his mood/behavior may change. He said that many children are diagnosed with having problems like ADD when the problem is really that they aren't getting enough sleep because of breathing issues. My son is a pretty laid-back, well-behaved child, but I think he may have gotten a little sweeter. :-)
Now, I do have to say that the surgery and recovery were not easy (it took him about three weeks to fully recover). However, every person I've ever talked to said that it is MUCH better to do it when they are younger -- the surgery gets riskier and the recovery gets more painful as they get older. If your ENT is recommending the surgery, I would definitely do it.
Good luck!