anyone experienced young baby with adenoid and tonsils taken out please???

[mad4myboys]

my 15 month old is having his adenoids and tonsils taken out this thursday and im a bit worried about the recovery. The actual op is fine, not too worried but they have said it can take 4-5 weeks for him to recover, can have sore jaw, ear ache sore throat etc and that i have to keep him dosed up with calpol/nurofen for the first week....

dh will be going away about a week after the op and i have ds1 also to look after. What is he likely to be like? Grizzly? Lethargic?? Hes had 3 GA before so no concerned about that either. Hes having this done due to obstructive sleep apnea aswell as the nasal problems/coughing it causes

[duvetqueen]

I don't hae a parents pespective but I had my adenoids and tonsils out at age 3 due to chronic tonsillitis. Straight after the op he'll probly be tired and grizzly and his throat wll defo be sore. Easy to swallow food and calpol will help, awell as ice-cream/cold yogurt if he likes it (or anything cold and easy to swallow).

From what my mum told me I was grumpy for the first 7-10 days but perked up after that. HTH

[mad4myboys]

thank you, can cope with grizzly....

[Elibean]

I was wondering if you had a date yet....thats good news! And its my birthday, so has to be a good omen

Can't remember how much info I gave in my last post to you, Mad4, sorry if repeating, but dd2 did have a fair bit of pain for a week after the op. That said, she had a band of cartilage snipped as well - which must have added to the post-op 'discomfort', I should think.

Do stay on top of pain relief, giving it a few minutes before its due - even if he seems ok after a few days, keep it up for a week at least. Everyone told me that, and they were right. Alternate nurofen and paracetamol, and anything else they give you (dd just had those - but wouldn't swallow either, so had paracetamol and voltarol suppositories: invaluable). There is a second wave of pain around the time the scabs fall off...I think thats around days 5-9, IIRC, but if you search old threads you'll find much fresher info!

In spite of being at the higher end pain spectrum, dd was playing a bit from the beginning, and watched a LOT of DVDs and CBeebies. She went back to napping more for a couple of weeks, and did wake at night when pain meds wore off for the first week...but after that, slept much much better. And ate better. And breathed better. All worth it.

Wishing you and ds loads of luck, and hope this is the beginning of a whole new and better phase for you both

[Elibean]

Oh, just remembered, no one told me dd would be much LOUDER than before her op - ! They did say voices can change a bit for a while, but not louder...

I think after a week, he'll be loads better - 10 days at most. Even if he's more tired than usual for a month after, he won't be unwell, iyswim.

[mad4myboys]

aaah thanks elibean! Did it really make her louder?! ds2 is very loud as in he has to shout to be heard over ds1 but he does get a hoarse throat! Really really praying this helps him. He is still up every hour or 2 in the night coughing which makes him cry which makes him wake which makes him angry....

I keep reading mixed reviews..some people say only let him eat soft things as he be sore but then also keep reading give him crispy things as that helps healing?!?

He cant have dairy but i will be taking in some soya yogurts...what else would be good to take in? I have to provide his food as there is alot of things he cant eat (e.g wheat/dairy)

[Elibean]

Yes, crispy/rough foods do promote healing - and to my amazement, dd ate crisps when she would eat nothing else

Avoid orange juice or anything acidic/citrus: stings like crazy. dd went off milk anyway, I think dairy tasted downright weird (though hard to tell, she was barely 2 at the time). Rice bread for toast? Nothing that might stick to his wounds, nothing too gloopy...

I think dd at ham at times, toast, ice cream, a few crisps, and biscuits

There were entire days when she would only 'eat' ice lollies - and ice lollies, as opposed to ice cream, were good from the very start: they hydrate kids who don't want to drink, apart from anything else.

Seriously, do not leave hospital without a prescription for pain killer suppositories unless your ds is great about taking meds, and has taken them with no trouble after the op. You can't reason with such a little one, or even bribe, if they're in pain. And some GPs, oddly, are reluctant to prescribe them - ours did, but others I know had trouble getting them (maybe cost more??!?).

As for the loud bit, I wouldn't worry - I think that was just dd

[Elibean]

Ah - yes, she ate sausages. Sausages from our local cafe, that she particularly loved. I still feel grateful for those sausages when I walk past the cafe!