tonsillectomy recovery

[JJ]

My 4 1/2 yo son is having a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy tomorrow. Would anyone know how long he'll be in pain, what we should expect afterward, etc? He's had grommets before, so I know about the anaesthetic and the recovery from that, but don't know about the recovery from the procedure itself. Our doctor has given me info on what to expect, but I'd like to hear it from someone who knows.

Thanks.

[bundle]

JJ, the only thing I've heard about (from a surgeon) was that the most severe pain 'kicks in' about 4 days after the op - ie not straight away, so it might be good to have some powerful painkillers (the hospital should oblige) scheduled for then, rather than actually wait for it to happen. and I think they give them scratchy food these days (eg crisps!) rather than ice cream which everyone used to look forward to. I hope everything goes well for your ds.

[SueW]

Nothing useful to add but I hope it goes well.

[Rkayne]

I had this done when I was around 10. The bad news first:

It was long time ago, but I remember being pretty miserable. The first couple of days I felt so sick from the anaesthetic I couldn't even eat the gallons of ice cream my parents had bought specially for me. I remember throwing up a lot for a day or two afterwards. Once that stopped my throat was just really, really sore and it was probably about a week after the op before I could swallow solid food again. I don't know what they recomend these days but I don't think I could have even looked at a crisp - sounds pretty cruel tom me! I would suggest sticking to ice cream and soup.

On the positive side, I used to get throat/ear infections constantly before that (3 or 4 every winter requiring antibiotics) and have never had one in the 20 years since. Of course I still get the odd cold/cough etc but nothing that requires any treatment.

Hope that's of some help. I hope it goes well.

[Ailsa]

JJ,

DD had her adenoids removed at 4½yo, She stayed in hospital for one night, and was off school for a week after coming out to lessen her chances of getting a cold etc (middle of winter!). If she'd had her way she would have been back at school after a couple of days.

We were told to expect her to feel pretty rotten for a few days, and to possibly cough up some blood, which she did, nothing serious though. When she was hungry post-op, she was given biscuits to eat so no problems there.

I can't remember her being in too much pain, even immediately after. She wasn't given any pain relief in hospital, and I don't remember giving any when she came home.

The worst bit for dd was coughing up blood and being sick after the op.

Hope this helps.

[JJ]

Thank you! The bits about delayed pain and coughing up blood are good to know, the reassurance that all will be better is good to hear and the well wishes are warmly appreciated.

I'm so nervous. It's so hard seeing your child in pain, isn't it? I think that's what I'm worried about and it's easier knowing what to expect and that it will get better (especially with the pain pills I will request). And, of course, that it will all be worth it.

Thanks again!

[Tinker]

I had my tonsils out when I was 23 and the day after was awful - coughed and vomited blood, and then made to eat a bowl of cornflakes - which took about an hour to do. Had to stay indoors for 2 weeks to prevent getting an infection - but I still managed to get an excruciating ear infection.

However, they do say it is worse for adults!

[Mopsy]

Good luck JJ and ds, let us know how you get on. love Mopsy

[mears]

JJ,

My ds no.2 had his tonsills out when he was 7yrs. Apart from being quite sick the evening of the op. he just slept the whole tome. The nurses came and made sure he was sipping water regularly though. One thing that had changed from when I had mine out as a child is that they are not encouraghed just to eat soft ice cream. They are given calpol then encouraged to eat toast! This is to stop slough building up on the tosil beds which can lead to infection and secondary haemorrhage so don't be too 'kind' by not encouraging him to eat - it will be uncomfortable but necessary.
Give him regular calpol interspersed with nurofen - both painkillers can be used. You will be amazed at how quickly he will bounce back.
My ds did need to get antibiotics a few days later. Some surgeons prescribe antibiotics just in case. Hope all goes well.

[JJ]

Thanks again. The info on throwing up blood was especially helpful. It definitely kept me from panicking too much the first time it happened.

Everything went well. The anaesthetist gave him a larger than normal amount of morphine as she didn't want him to be in any pain after the operation. As a result, he vomited up everything he ingested until this morning and was put on a drip overnight. It sounds a lot worse than it was and, truthfully, the throwing up didn't bother him a lot and he mainly slept yesterday. Today the pain has kicked in, but is being relieved by Calpol. We haven't even had a reason to use the Nurofen yet, but definitely will if he's in pain between Calpol doses.

Other than the obvious bad bits of him being in a bit of pain and the vomiting blood, the worst things for me were the going under and coming out of the anaesthetic. When he went under, I started to cry-- it's so hard to watch that! The nurses assured me that everyone does that, so I didn't quite feel so pathetic. Then, after the operation when he was moved to recovery we went in to be there when he woke up. That was a little hard, as it took him a while and he needed to be on oxygen for an hour or so.

Otherwise, everything has been fine. He's sleeping now (not dead, although for the first time he's not making any noise while he sleeps so we keep checking him). The surgery has already obviously been a success, since he went in because he was having trouble breathing when asleep and it's quite clear that he's ok now.

[JJ]

Thanks again. The info on throwing up blood was especially helpful. It definitely kept me from panicking too much the first time it happened.

Everything went well. The anaesthetist gave him a larger than normal amount of morphine as she didn't want him to be in any pain after the operation. As a result, he vomited up everything he ingested until this morning and was put on a drip overnight. It sounds a lot worse than it was and, truthfully, the throwing up didn't bother him a lot and he mainly slept yesterday. Today the pain has kicked in, but is being relieved by Calpol. We haven't even had a reason to use the Nurofen yet, but definitely will if he's in pain between Calpol doses.

Other than the obvious bad bits of him being in a bit of pain and the vomiting blood, the worst things for me were the going under and coming out of the anaesthetic. When he went under, I started to cry-- it's so hard to watch that! The nurses assured me that everyone does that, so I didn't quite feel so pathetic. Then, after the operation when he was moved to recovery we went in to be there when he woke up. That was a little hard, as it took him a while and he needed to be on oxygen for an hour or so.

Otherwise, everything has been fine. He's sleeping now (not dead, although for the first time he's not making any noise while he sleeps so we keep checking him). The surgery has already obviously been a success, since he went in because he was having trouble breathing when asleep and it's quite clear that he's ok now.

[Ounal]

Hi. My 3 year old son had his tonsils out a week ago. He's been pretty good, eating the crisps and stuff, but after day 4-5 he's worse. Not eating etc.

Is this normal? He's so little and I'm worried he's not really eating anything now. Just a spoon of something here and there. Not even an ice lolly.

[gothicmama]

DD has her done a few weeks ago, decide drop on day 6 and 7, she is now more fed up with being in (14 days to prevent picking up an infection. Pain from ears is common so lots of chewty foods or sweets and toast and crisps to help the healing process

[runnervt]

My ds had this op at 3 years too and was definitely worse in the second week after the op. He seemed really sore and would hardly eat or drink. Fruit juice and things like that were particuarly sore ( acidic maybe?). He was better by 2 weeks post op.