Does anyone else's child have chronic fatigue due to enlarged adenoids?

[expatkat]

Ds has never had the energy that other boys have. Now a sluggish 5-year-old, he's been lacklustre for as long as I can remember. We finally saw an allergy specialist yesterday, who determined that although ds has no day-to-day allergies, he does have abnormally largeno, hugeadenoids and tonsils, and that kids with large adenoids who breathe through their mouths (as my ds does) never sleep properly at night and therefore go through life exhausted.

He is set to start a course of nasal steroid spraynasonexin an effort to reduce the size of his adenoids, and I've been reassured that there should be no side effects. Has anyone else used nasonex or something similar on their child over a long period? And does anyone else have a child who fits this description of chronically overtired and tending to breathe through the mouth?

[Santasluckylittlehelper]

Expatkat - both my ds's had adenoid/tonsil problems, not because of allergies though. Ds2 was a very poor sleeper, mouthbreathed, hardly ate, everything you describe. He has dreadful tantrums as a result. Thankfully (because he was ds2 and ds1 had suffered badly) he was seen early and his tonsils/ adenoids were removed at 3. Haven't been down the steroid route, so can't help in that respect. Have they offered surgery or will they if the steroids don't have the desired effect?

[JJ]

Expatkat, my son's tonsils and adenoids were also removed when he was about 4 1/2 years old. He had (has, I guess) some serious allergies and they said that this sort of thing goes along with it. It made a huge, massive difference to his breathing and, I think, to his behaviour.

[Slinky]

DD1 had HUGE tonsils/adenoids which were both removed at the age of 5 - she breathed through her mouth, had problems with hearing, very pale in complexion and actually suffered from severe sleep apnoea which resulted in day-time fatigue. The difference in her after the op. was incredible - masses of energy, due to sleeping better.

DD2 suffers from the same thing - and we saw the ENT Consultant last Wednesday. He stated her tonsils were "magnificient!!", guessed that her adenoids were enlarged due to her breathing. After examining her, we've discovered that she is practically deaf in her right ear.

The plan of action at the moment is for her to see the Audiologist for further hearing tests in January, then she will be having her tonsils and adenoids removed alongside with any work to be done with regards to her hearing.

[strawberry]

Another ds here with huge tonsils and adenoids. We were given a steroid spray for his nose but after trying it for the first time he did a runner every time the bottle appeared! Not easy to administer a spray but apparently you can also get drops which may be easeier.

Ds is 3 in April and will probably have T and A out sometime next summer (although DS2 expected in April too!).

Although ds also has no actual allergies, he has improved on a reduced dairy diet. First sign of a cold and we stop dairy altogether - really think this has helped.

On the steroid front, no medicine is 100% side-effect free for everyone but short-term courses of nasal steroids seem to be relatively ok. HTH

[expatkat]

This is so interesting. Thanks for all of your responses. Ds is also pale, Slinky, and I gather suffers from sleep apnea, or that's what's suspected.

I'm so pleased to hear that all your dds and dses have been much improved after surgery.

I find it strange that all your children had their adenoids removed, whereas that's not been mentioned at all to me. Maybe that will be the next course of action if the steroids aren't effective?

[turquey]

Much the same as the others with my ds. He slept incredibly badly from birth (woke up on average 9 times a night), grunted and snored so badly that I frequently couldn't hear the tv over the baby monitor. He was always shattered with the grumpy difficult behaviour you would expect, plus lots of colds and catagh (sp?).
At three he was discovered to have jumbo adenoids, had them whipped out along with his tonsils and haven't looked back since.
Steroids weren't even suggested.

[Santasluckylittlehelper]

Have you ever been seen by an ENT consultant?

[expatkat]

No, santasluckylittlehelper, we've never got past the ordinary pediatricians/gps, who tested ds's hearing on my request, but found nothing wrong. They also tended to dismiss my worries about the snoring and contanst dribbling (ds dribbled for AGES, til he was 4, really) that were clearly related to the adenoids and mouth-breating. They simply said that as ds grew, his adenoids would shrink in comparison, most likely.

It's only now that any attention at all is being given to my concerns, but then again, I wasn't very aggressive about my concerns.

I think I'll get him seen by an ENT specialist in the US, since we're headed there for 3 months in the spring. Thanks for asking.

[kinderbobsleigh]

I was that child. Pale, thin, terrible sleeper, always breathing through mouth and so rubbish at sport, knackered all the time. Sinus trouble all the time, because you need to draw air through the sinus cavities to prevent infection. I never realised that other people could breathe through their noses and so never thought to mention it to anyone.

Sprays didn't really help, I had 2 operations as a child to remove polyps and wash everything out. When I got pregnant with ds it all grew back and was dismissed as rhinitis of pregnancy. After a year I went to an ENT surgeon who told me that rhinitis of pregnancy should resolve the day after the baby is born. He did a CT scan of my head and showed me all the blockages. He then cut several more bits out, told me I had impressive turbinets (may have spelt that wrong) and sent me on my way.

It made a HUGE difference to me. I had to retrain myself to breathe through my nose, but I now need about 2 hours less sleep a night (well I probably get the same sleep but don't need to spend as long in bed).

What tests did the doctor do to rule out allergies?

[expatkat]

That is fascinating kinderbobsleigh. There's something touching about hearing an adult account of what it's like to have this problem.

The allergist did scratch tests for 8 or so common airborne allergens, like mold et al. Ds tested negative for all. He also tested negative for dairy and soy allegies. (Dd, on the other hand, tested positive for eggs, which I mention in case anyone reading this remembers the thread I started under "Allergies" in which I asked for advice on how confirm my suspicions of an egg allergy.)

[Santasluckylittlehelper]

It's maybe worth you seeing an ENT specialist, kat, either over here, even if you have to pay. It'd be about £100 for a first consult and then you could ask to transfer back to NHS.

My ds's were nevr particularly allergic although ds2 does have hayfever.

[Slinky]

Both my DDs are "non-allergic", don't suffer from asthma, ezcema and the like.

And like Kinderbobsleigh, I was very similar to my DDs as a child. Like them, I had my tonsils/adenoids removed at 5, my parents have loads of pictures of me prior to that looking very pale and drawn. My mum said I would sleep and sleep and sleep, yet still feel tired. I was constantly given "pick-me-up tonics" in an effort to improve my energy.

Only after the op. did I improve - and funnily enough my mum had the very same op. at the age of 5 due to similar problems!

My DH had his removed last year due to sleep apnoea. After DD2 has her op. it will only leave my DS1 who has a complete set of tonsils and adenoids

Really would recommend a consultation with ENT though.

[barny2]

Very interesting everybody. My DD is due to have gromets and adenoids reduction in the next few weeks. Can never breath through her nose, has terrible hearing and now I've read the other posts I realize that she doesn't have as much energy as other kids. My question is does anyone know how long it takes to recover from adenoids reduction not removal. Have been told could be two weeks, just started school so would love it to be less. Any one know? Thanks Runrun

[zonedout]

i started a thread just a couple of weeks ago (in childrens health) about my ds1 (4.8) and the battles i had with the gp dismissing all of my concerns about how tired and pale and run down he has been for the past year (on top of the 13 courses of antibioics he has had since november for tonsillitis). to cut a very long story short, we are now 11 days post op (had massive tonsils and adenoids removed) and although it is too soon to tell about energy levels/behaviour etc as he is only just turning the corner in terms of post op pain and meds, watching him sleep is like watching a totally different child sleep and there is no doubt he is finally getting a good quality sleep.
before the op he would thrash around, soaked in sweat and snoring like a large bear (he did have sleep apnoea). now, he remains in the same position all night, and i have to really strain to hear him breath! he has no allergies (but was a very very poor sleeper as a baby and had reflux and food intolerances which seemed to resolve by the time he was roughly 18 months old). however, ds2 has spent a huge amount of time hospitalised with breathing related difficulties and am sure will be next for adenoid removal...

[barny2]

Thanks zonedout. My DD is always soaked in sweat at night too, never really thought much about, but perhaps I should have. So has your child needed the time away from school. My DD not having tonsils out. Thank you x

[zonedout]

barny2, yes we were also told he would need 2 weeks off school (also really bad timing, being his first term of reception) both for recovery and to avoid the risk of picking up an infection. he will actually be having 3 weeks off as this coming week is half term and i am actually really glad of this as he is only just starting to turn the corner and not need so much (extremely strong) pain relief and he is still not really eating properly and has lost masses of weight (and was super skinny to begin with)

however, i think that the post op pain has all come from the tonsillectomy rather than the adenoid removal - i know that all of the adenoid removal children on the day of my ds's op were only day cases whereas my ds had to stay the night - so i suspect the time off would be more about infection.

it's funny, all of the adenoid patients (including my ds) had a similar look about them, slightly pale with dark rings around slightly sunken eyes. your ds sounds so much like mine was (night sweats apparently can be a sign). and actually, at one point i took my ds in desperation to a private paed when the gp refused to refer me to an ent and he diagnosed allergic rhinitis and prescribed nasonex . my gut told me that he had neither listened to a word i said during the consult and had totally misdiagnosed my ds so i gave him the nasonex once and didn't persevere with it (ds found it intolerable!)

[zonedout]

oh sorry, barny2 just realised i have got confused between you and op... still hope i have been of some help in my mudled witterings

[barny2]

Thanks Zonedout. Sounds like your son will now be a different boy. Hope all goes really well. I hadn't thought that this may help with energy and sleep. We were only doing it for the hearing, and the difficulty DD has had starting school and settling (an August birthday) and just started school.) so hoping for mega bonuses since reading post. :-) thank you

[zonedout]

well of course i am not a doctor. but if she is having night sweats and struggles to mouth breathe then it sounds to me she may also be suffering from sleep apnoea which results in very disturbed and poor quality sleep, leading to a very tired and lethargic dd or ds. my ds is a feb birthday and has also had a really tough start to school and although i was really worried about him missing so much school during this settling in period actually i have realised this is preferable to carrying on in the stated he was in. fingers crossed that the adenoid op will be the answer for your dd too (and the grommets too, of course). keep us posted if you can and much luck to you both.

[Elibean]

dd2 had enormous tonsils and adenoids: taken out when she was barely 2, as she had dreadful sleep apnoea and was hardly eating. It was a horrible time - I can't tell you what a difference the op made. She's nearly 4 now, loud, energetic, sleeping well, happy and no longer looks like a skinny little spider

I hope the spray works fast, and if in doubt, do do do push for an ENT referral and get the op - be it in the US or here!

[muniza]

hello everyone!
I have a 3 yr old son. He had the same typical enlarged adenoid symptoms, lethargic, skinny, irritated, breathing through his mouth All the time, having frequent ear infections with high grade fevers and very disturbed sleep!
HIs ENT looked at his adenoids, they were so big that we took 4 opinions n all told us to get them removed right away!
SO we had his surgery done.
After the surgery he completely transformed to a new healthy, active, Hungry, happy child!! he started sleeping peacefully without snoring!!! We were so happy that we got it done!
BUT,
after about 3 months of the surgery, we noticed that his nose is blocked again, he is breathing through his mouth n not sleeping well at night. Thankfully no infections yet!
We ran to his ENT again, and to his big surprise, my son's adenoids have come back! he said its rare. they are so big again that they almost touch eachother.
I am really worried now!! Please help me if something like that has happened to anyone.
Please advice me on what to do next? should i get him checked for allergies? coz putting him under the knife for the second time is not an option now!

[RosyBelle]

Muniza this is not as rare as you have been told. Adenoids often grow back if they are removed before the age of 7/8 as it is not until this time they stop growing... this is the reason most consultants reluctant to operate unless absolutley necessary when very young. once the child reaches 7/8 they can be removed with more successful long lasting results.
but as you can see from this thread - it is soooo worth it. My DD just had hers removed (we have been asking since she was 3 - now 7) and its made a massive difference.

[Alooosh]

Hi All,

Does anyone got child with enlarged adenoids and swollen glands in the neck all the time?