DS (3yrs) having tonsilectomy and adenoidectomy on Tuesday, very stressed

[mousemole]

DS1 was diagnosed with sleep apnea after a sleep study. He is going in on Tuesday to have his adenoids and tonils taken out. He is almost four and is very tall for his age but I am still very stressed about the anaesthetic and the fact he goes to a high dependancy bed after. Reassurance from anyone whose LO has been through the same please..

[psychomum5]

my DS1 went thru this at the age of 4.2mths, for the same reason.

he was fine. he did bleed after the surgery and was in hospital for 2 nights altogether, but he bounced back very quickly once home and the pain killers were sorted.much much better than my DD1 (she was 12 when she had hers taken out), and DD3 (also 4 when hers were removed).

I think some of the bleeding was due to shock tho after the surgery. he just didn;t expect the pain I dodn;t think as he had never suffered tonsilitis (where-as the girls both had and so the pain for them was not anything new IYGWIM). the nurses were fabulous tho, and I felt very reassured by them all, and they were very attentive to DS1, helping calm him down.

the bleedning was not bad BTW, so please don;t fret, and it certainly was not for long either. In fact, had it not been for the bleeding he would have been home a lot sooner. they kept him back for precaution (and also due to other family history not connected to him per se, but more to err on the side of caution).

it can;t have been too bad tho..........he actually can;t even remember it now (he is 8), so clearly the trauma was not huge.

I know it is hard thinking about tho, from a mummy point of view. he is your baby, and it is normal to be scared, but IMHO, it is a quick op that is pretty common, and the docs and nurses in childrens units really are fab (IME).

take care of you too BTW......fretting takes its toll on us mums.

[mousemole]

thanks Psycho, sounds like your are a pro with all 3 of your DC having had the op ! Yes, part of the concern is selfish in that I know I will be beside myself when he is wheeled off... Also, like you said, he has never had tonsilitis so the pain in his throat will be a new experience ! What did you give your DC to eat/drink afterwards ? I don't think it is ice cream anymore is it ? Ds1 is on the thin side so I was thinking of getting some energy drinks in to keep his strength up. I was worried about the bleeding so thanks for the reassurance.

[psychomum5]

well, they like to encourage them to eat toast and crisps pretty soon, as the scabbing can build up otherwise and cause infection, but with DS1 they gave him a lot of icy drinks and soft food due to the bleeding. cereal was a hit for him, but he is a cereal fan anyway.

flat coke was good for sipping and keeping up sugar levels. sounds strange I admit, but all three of mine were helped (DH found it out.......he had his out when he was 22, so remembered well what helped and what didn;t).

I did find that giving staggered pain killers was the best thing tho for making sure they ate..............if the pain killers were kept at a decent level, they would eat. with DD1 (bit different as she was older and so more aware), if she ate too soon to her pain killers wearing off she was sick.

I would give calpol, then two hours later give the nurofen, and then keep them staggered constantly for the first five days, and then tail them off to when they needed after that (IYGWIM).

for fluids when home........ice pops and jelly is fab. easy and cool to eat (so soothing), and if they kept them down, food was soon tolerated.

[sleeplessinstretford]

my eldest daughter had hers out when she was 4-she was absolutely fine afterwards-the anaesthetic bit was horrible (prepare yourself for that as i hadn't and was fit to smack someone as she kept sitting up saying 'no mummy.no') she was fine we stayed in one night, her appetite was amazing and i'd go for non acidic fruits ie bananas/ice cream,plain rice/pasta iirc was a hit and cereal-she was great afterwards though and it made a massive improvement to her day to day life afterwards...keep strong x

[Elibean]

dd had the same op in January, aged just over 2, and was very thin (from poor eating related to her large tonsils etc), and needed an HDU bed for a night due to also having a floppy larynx....so I totally understand you anxieties!

First, it was totally and utterly worth it and I'd do it again in a flash if I were in the same situation. dd now eats well, sleeps much better, and its a joy not to hear her gasping for air at night.

Yes, its horrid when they are under and you have to wait...dh was with me, which helped, and although I felt shaky and wobbly, it went quite fast. I held dd's teddy bear for 40 minutes (took longer than usual because they checked her larynx at the same time). TBH, the hardest part for dd was coming round - she was in pain and confused - because she fell asleep before they put her under and slept through the whole thing.

She never had throat pain before either - but I explained to her she was going to have an ouchy taken out so she could sleep and eat better, and that afterwards her throat would be sore but it would get better after a few days. I've no idea how much she took on board, but she seemed to grasp some of it - and was only concerned about whether Mummy would be there with her in hospital the whole time: obviously, I reassured her heaps about that.

If you're in HDU, you probably won't have a bed for the night for you, but I was able to lie on the bed next to dd and rest...better than the armchair, and she liked it. Nurses were lovely and very accomodating. I took a bag of snacks for me, cleansing wipes, clean tops (in case dd threw up on me, which she did once after the anaesthetic) and a couple of light, clean t-shirts for dd as she got very sweaty and hot (and a bit sick) that first night.

Foodwise, they recommend 'rough' foods like toast to help healing...I also thought of the drinks, but a) the chemist said there were none for 2 yr olds and b) with hindsight, they were unecessary and dd probably wouldn't have drunk them - she went off milk at one point during her recovery period and just wanted tiny bits of food, and water. She did get very thin, but I promsie you it doesn't matter - she was blooming within a few weeks of the op, and everyone comments now on how nice it is to see her with a round little tummy

I did give ice cream as well as rough food, and ice lollies to start with, because she wanted them and at least it was calories/energy - but amazingly, she was just as happy to eat bits of toast, crisps, ham. Mini cornettos, once home, gave her a bit of energy.

Some kids seem to bounce back very fast and have very manageable pain, others like dd have lots of pain - we gave round the clock volatarol and paracetamol suppositories, provided by the hospital because she wouldn't take meds (very young, couldn't reason wit her). It was hard work for a few days, but like I said, well worth it

Any tips you need, any support you need, just shout - there are lots of us here who've been through it (several needing HDU beds for various reasons afterwards, too) and will keep reminding you it'll be ok!

[Elibean]

sorry, that was a novel - I'm away atm, and this is my only chance to post for a couple of days, so wanted to get it all down for you!

[gagarin]

My two have had this - the only thing I'd add is that one threw up after the first sips of water and the puke was all blood stained which freaked my other dc out.

So be warned!

[mousemole]

Hi everyone, thanks so much for the tips - am feeling really reasurred. Elibean - the packing tips are really useful, thank a million. Just off to pack our bags too. Great tips about the food as well, thank you. I'm really looking forward to after, and the joy of not hearing him gasping for breath at night. Dh is going to be with me for the actual op which will help a lot. How long were everyone's LO's in bed for ? Depsite the sleep apnea DS is very active so I am wondering how long he should be resting up for.

[Elibean]

I think resting in bed, beyond the first bit where the anaesthetic is wearing off and they want to be lying down anyway, is probably mostly up to the individual child....they do say not to do anything strenuous for a while, take it easy etc (common sense, plus to avoid adding to small risk of bleeding from the wound) but dd, once home the next day, wasn't on bedrest at all. She chose to lie on the sofa staring at CBeebies a lot though - and I would recommend borrowing a large stash of DVDs to distract and help him to 'rest'!

Good luck, will be thinking of you, do update when you can

[Elibean]

ps the joy of not hearing gasping at night is indescribable. I can't tell you what a relief it was, but I hope and know you will know it for yourself very very soon!

[sleeplessinstretford]

mine was a drooler who was wasting away due to sore throat/not eating-she was amazing really soon afterwards
good luck xx

[mousemole]

just back from hospital. It went incredibly well and DS was a real star. He slept a lot after coming round, then said he was thirsty, drank alot and promptly thew it all up ! Had another sleep, woke up and then ate toast and biscuits and perked up a lot. The doctors and staff were all brilliant. He was wired up when asleep and it showed an immediate improvement in his oxygen levels and he didn't snore for the first time ever ! So thrilled. The surgeon was lovely and said his tonsils were 'enormous' ! Adenoids came out too but no need for grommits, just very waxy ears that they cleaned out. DH now doing a shift at the hosital. Thanks everyone for all your info. I was very calm and in control and didn't cry. In fact, it was DH who had a wobble. Will update again tomorrow !

[gagarin]

You are proof that good preparation reduces the trauma of hospital admission (even in parents)!

Pity your DH didn't come on here......

[mousemole]

you are so right gagarin, research and mumsnet helped me so much. You know men - I tried to encourage him to read up about it but to no avail !!

[Elibean]

Just home and checking up on you

So glad its over, and went well - hurrah for no snoring, isn't it great?

Hope the recovery continues smoothly

[mousemole]

thanks Elibean !