Tonsilectomy

My 4-1/2 year old had a tonsilectomy. It took her a good week in a half to heal. It was pure misery. She was so finicky at the time, that she really didn't eat ice cream. I finally convinced her to eat popsicles. The tylenol with codeine was too strong. It was pretty bad for a while. I called the ENT almost every day thinking it would never get better. But she did and she really hasn't had strep since. She still has sore throats from time to time, but not strep.

Hi, My daughter had her tonsils and adenoids removed when she was 2.5 years old. She really suprised us because she bounced back pretty early. I would say the first 3 days she was in some pain- we gave her tylenol as you aren't allowed to get advil/motrin. She actually wanted to eat real food and not ice cream after the surgery. I am 36 years old and I have to get my tonsils out May 5th because I have had 5 strep throats in 5 months. On an adult it is harder than a toddler. Hang in there

Your son will most likely be irritable for several days afterwards and not want to eat. Have plenty of popsicles stocked up (doctors discourage red - they say they cannot distinguish the color food dye from blood). Also, if he will drink flavored pedialyte or something like that, that would be good to have around. Remember not to allowing him to use a straw - he can accidentally poke himself and cause bleeding. Ice packs on the neck are good. Most kids won't take the tylenol with codeine they prescribe, so don't sweat it, use plain tylenol and use it as frequently as prescribed even if you have to wake him to give it. If it wears off completely, it is hard to get them to do anything. And, if he wakes up and wants a hamburger (it happens) discourage him for a day but build up to it as fast as he tolerates other foods. I'm a mother of five, and a retired pediatric nurse.

We just did this 2 weeks ago (3 1/2 little girl), as did a friend in my daughter's preschool class. Both girls had the whole enchilada, tonsils, adenoids & ear tubes.

For us the first few days were rough. She does not like jello, so I had pudding, popsicles, ice cream, yogurt, juice, applesauce, anything soft I could think of. The first day she didn't want anything to eat but drank ice water, and threw up a few times. I thought it might be from her medicine, but my doctor said it could also have been from the anesthesia.

The next day she slept a lot, and did not want anything to eat, but drank when I offered her water or juice. It took most of the day to get her to drink a tiny juice box though. By mid day she perked up a little after her nap and she had some soft food-she wanted mac & cheese, so I gave it to her. Her doctor said that she could have anything she wanted and could handle. So she ate mac & cheese, yogurt, pudding, and apple sauce for about 2 days before she started asking for pizza.

She recovered very quickly. Surgery was Thursday, by Saturday she was playing with her big sister, and Monday she was crushed not to be able to go to school, but she was also still waking up in the night crying and needed her medicine so I didn't think she should go. She hated taking her meds so I mixed regular tylenol with her tylenol & codine meds and that went down better. (I checked with the doctor first though).

Tuesday she wanted to go back to school, so I let her, but let them know to call me at any point to get her. I honestly expected to get a phone call at 10:30 or so to get her, but she had a great day back. Since then she has been going to school and that was also the last night she woke up at night.

She was much quieter than normal and her voice is pitched differently. She can hear better, and her breath was awful at first, but is fine now. All in all we had a rough 4-5 days, but she is fine now-14 days later. Her doc recommended no school for 7 days, but said to play it by ear.

That being said, that was not the case for my friend's little girl. She was miserable for the full two weeks, and is just now back at school. She only ate cold frozen things and was one the full strength meds for 10 days.

So I was pretty lucky my little one healed very quickly. I was really nervous about recovery beforehand as I had heard lots of scary stories. Push the water or juice and they heal faster, or at least seem happier. I let her call the shots with food for the first week and only this week have started pushing that she eat what we are having for dinner, but I have not made anything too crunchy lately. I am still putting softer things in her lunch so she always has those things to eat. I also avoided cold cereal at breakfast for 2 weeks. But she doesn't seem to need any tylenol at night and sleeps just fine now and is a much happier little girl. She had the surgery because of drainage issue. Her adenoids were huge and blocked off the ear drainage and so her ears filled with fluid. They did not get infected, but she could not hear well. We tried months of allergy meds, but they had no major affect. She has not had her allergy meds since the surgery, but does not seem sniffly or congested for the first time in a really long time!

I wish you all the best.

I thought doctors were not doing tonsilectomys anymore. The new thinking is that they should not be removed. Why does your doctor say so? I had my tonsils removed when I was 3 years old and almost hemoraged to death. I had been sick alot and years ago it was standard proceedure to remove tonsils if you have repeated colds and infections. Actually I know now that my illnesses were caused by an allergy to milk. My dear mother didn't realize it at the time because doctors were not up on the allergy info. Pray for wisdom. AF

My 4 year old just had a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy in
March. She had obstructive sleep apnea and could not sleep properly.She went through cauterization where they used a laser to burn them off instead of the old fashioned way. She had no sutures. . After the surgery, she is doing amazing! Our doctors recommendation was to not worry if she didn't eat at all as long as she drank as much as possible. We forced liquids to keep her hydrated, gave her popsicles and soft foods. The dr advised that usually smaller kids will have the worst time the day after surgery, but older kids will be okay until about the 4th or 5th day. Also, about the 10th day, they may have some bleeding because the scab may release during normal healing. Through prayer, Sage did wonderful and had no bleeding or complications at all! She sleeps through the night now without being restless, and is more focused and obedient during the day. She did have problems swallowing about the 3-5 day and complained of her ears hurting. (actually, it wasn't really her ears, just the nerves around her ears that were inflamed) I'm sure you will be very happy after the procedure is completed. God will be with your son and your family :)

My son had a his tonsils removed when he was 2 and bounced back very quickly afterwards. We stocked the house before hand with soft foods (jello, pudding, ice cream, yogurt and popsicles) But surprisingly he ate dinner with us that night just fine. It took a few days for him to be completely back on track but it was easier than when he had tubes put in his ears the first and second time. The younger that they get them done the easier it seems to be on them. I saw a child at the hospital that was around 8 years old and he got very upset and was screaming.
Heads up though when he comes out of surgery and the medicine starts to wear off and he swallows for the first time...well he wont be very happy:) But other than that it should go well! Good luck

My now 12 year old had a tonsilectomy at 5 for constant ear infctions. It took a full week for recovery. She slept most of the first days and as far as discomfort, I think the fourth day was actually the worst. The only thing I really pushed was fluids and figured she's eat popsicles and stuff as she felt better, which she did. Keep a trash can near by for upset stomach, she was sick a few times due to the fluid/blood draining, it was a real mess. I will say, she experienced hearing loss due to her chronic clogged ears, she had already had two sets of ear tubes. After the surgery, not another ear infection, ever, and hearing returned to normal! God is good!

My son was just over 2 years old when he had a tonsilectomy last April. It took my son a full week before he would eat anything. Also the medicine they give you for the pain does not taste good. And it seemed to wear off before I could give him the next dose. And with it hurting to swallow I ended up giving up the pain medicine and going to Tylenol and Motrin. Ask the doctor what doseage and how often you can give the Tylenol and Motrin. When I switched to that it seemed to get a little bit better. About a half an hour after I would give the medicine I would try to make him drink as much as possible. He would not drink anything if he felt pain. It was not the best experience for me but I am glad it is done. I hear some children do really well and bounce right back. I wish you the best of luck!!