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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be scared about DD having adenoids and tonsils out

79 replies

CountryMummy1 · 17/03/2015 20:22

Well, after 2.5 years of being made to feel like I was a neurotic mother we finally found out today what was wrong with 3 year old DD. Her adenoids are so big that they have completely closed off her nose and blocked her ears. She has glue ear thicker than the consultant has ever seen before. She has no sense of smell or taste, has sleep apnea, breathes through her mouth 24/7 and has only 25% hearing. All this finally explains her reluctance to eat, her tiredness, her sounding like darth vader etc.

I am relieved that we finally have a definitive diagnosis and the surgeon we saw today at Birmingham Children's Hospital was so nice. He says she needs everything out and grommets in and that she will be a changed child.

I know we have to do this but I keep having visions of them putting her to sleep and thinking that if things go wrong we will never see her again.

They are trying to get her a slot for next Thursday as she is in such a state.

Does anyone have experience of this op? Any tips? And how does anyone survive the wait whilst your child is under without going insane Confused

OP posts:
FryOneFatManic · 24/03/2015 21:53

Back in the 1970s, I was given a GA at the dentist's for removal of my milk canine teeth as apparently they were in the wrong place and preventing my adult teeth coming through properly.

Yes, GAs were done at dentists then, they had a doctor who came in to administer it. I was about 5/6, and recall coming round in the room next door with a piece of cloth in my mouth to soak up the blood. Sort of like biting onto a long strap that hung out the mouth on each side.

The dentist was just round the corner from home, and I distinctly remember staggering home while dad held onto my hand, then crawling onto the sofa to promptly fall asleep with my coat as a blanket.

But the weirdest bit was going under. I don't know if you can visualise this, but it was like one of those bad 70s tv effects, where the camera image is central on screen with several copies of that image in a circle around the central image, and those border images are swirling around the central image. An effect often used on Top of the Pops.

That's exactly what I saw as I went under. The scene in the room of the dentist and dad plus assistant, and several versions of this around the outside all swirling until I drifted off. Not frightening, just weird. Grin

SmillasSenseOfSnow · 25/03/2015 00:55

FryOne, I'm not sure I ever had a weird experience of actually going under - I think for me it was just kind of a fairly sudden 'lights out'. But I do remember distinctly the bizarre feeling of waking up and feeling like I'd simultaneously missed an hour or two, and not missed any time at all. Like being abducted by aliens I guess. Grin

IndecisionCentral · 25/03/2015 13:25

All the best for a low stress experience tomorrow OP Flowers

SpringBreaker · 25/03/2015 13:29

I was 4 in the 70s when I had my tonsils and adenoids out. The only bit I remember about it was eating jelly and ice cream after the OP. Its a really routine procedure and I certainly wasnt scared at the time of having it done. I think as adults we overthink and we panic a lot more than kids do. Everything will be fine and your daughter will be much better in general after it has been done.

Original poster
CountryMummy1 · 25/03/2015 18:04

Thank you. She has to go in at 8am tomorrow so it's all seeming real now Sad I haven't managed to eat anything all day and am waiting to go to bed to have a cry. She has had such a lovely day today and I ker thinking that this might be her very last day here with meSad. So morbid I know but I can't help it.

OP posts:
maninawomansworld · 25/03/2015 22:55

I had this op as a child myself.

It was over 30 years ago and I don't recall anything awful happening.
I went into hospital for 1 night, they put me to sleep and I woke up a couple of hours later with parents there and some presents for being such a brave boy! I then got the rest of the week off school so all in all I thought it was brilliant.

I'm sure things have come on leaps and bounds in the three decades since, I know it's hard not to worry but it was a minor routine op even back in the 80's .

Don't know how to cope as an adult would cope if I'm honest but reassure yourself that it's probably a LOT worse for you than your DD!

Original poster
CountryMummy1 · 26/03/2015 11:54

Well she's gone down and she went to sleep peacefully with the gas. I managed to hold back the tears and keep on the cheery face until I got back to the room. Then I had a panic attack. Got an hour to wait now Sad

OP posts:
2boys1girl1dog · 26/03/2015 12:02

Oh poor you, it must be so hard. This will be a distant memory soon and will be a turning point for your lovely DD's health. Keep strong xx

SweetPeaSoup · 26/03/2015 12:20

I had gas for one of my adenoid / grommet ops when I was 6/7/8 (I'm another for whom it was nothing but positive)!

The only thing with gas is that it made me fairly sick in recovery (it could just be that I was unusually affected, being a fairly pukey kinda person anyway). Just wanted to let you know though - I don't remember it myself so it can't have been anywhere near as traumatic as the glue-ear that it cured (and which I DO remember).

Flowers
momb · 26/03/2015 12:29

My ED had exactly this on her 3rd birthday. I cried as she went under: so hard for a parent to see.
She had difficulty coming round from the anaesthetic (as do I) and the anaesthesiologist gave her an additional shot of diazepam to make the recovery smoother. It worked in that she was not at all distressed but was hard to watch as she was crawling in a circle on the bed like a puppy. In the end they put me up on the trolley with her for a cuddle so we could get back to the ward.
the day of the Op itself was stressful and she spent most of the day sleeping and was sick quite a bit which wasn't nice.
She woke up the next morning, ate a huge breakfast and has never looked back: no more runny nose, no hearing probs (the gromets fell out by themselves after a few weeks), no breathing difficulties.. It's like flicking a switch and all those communication problems go away overnight.
Good luck!

vjg13 · 26/03/2015 12:32

Tell the staff you are going off the ward and ask what time should you be back. Have a walk outside and get a hot drink. One of my daughters has had about 12 operations and IMHO you have done the hard bit. Be back in time to go and collect her from recovery.

Soon it will be time for lots of cuddles, does she need to stay tonight?

Chopsypie · 26/03/2015 12:35

DS had his out over the summer, just after his 4th birthday.
I held him as they put the anaesthetic in and feeling him go completely floppy was the worst bit. 40 mins later he was back. I went outside during the OP and called DH and my mum and had a cry so by the time I was back I only waited a few minutes.

It made a massive difference almost immediately. No more choking on 'claggy' foods, no more snoring, far less colds and throat infections.

It's hard at the time but it's only one day and the difference is amazing. I would do it again on a heartbeat

SnottySundays · 26/03/2015 12:46

Hope you're doing ok.

spiderlight · 26/03/2015 12:59

Hopefully she'll be coming round before too long. I hope it's gone well for her. Thinking of you.

ReindeerBollocks · 26/03/2015 13:08

Don't panic if it's longer than an hour. Some children need more time in recovery as the GA can make them sick, and staff will want them rested. Get some food now if you can as it could be a while before you get a chance to eat again.

Best of luck, it's great that your daughters health will be much improved now

Latara · 26/03/2015 13:09

I had my tonsils & adenoids out at the age of 4 and it made a huge difference to my life; however my sister had to wait til the age of 30 which meant she suffered years of tonsillitis infections.

The post op possible complications are bleeding & sickness - I was very sick for the day after the op but I don't remember it much, my sister bled from the op site and needed IV antibiotics.
The nurses try to get the patient to eat as soon as possible afterwards; things like toast.

When I was 4 being in hospital was just a big adventure, hopefully your little girl will feel the same way however rough she feels post op.

She will totally thank you in the future for having had this op; at least she won't have to go through the illnesses my sister went through and lost days at work as an adult, plus ops are much scarier for adults as we know what the complications can be.

ilovemargaretatwood8931 · 26/03/2015 14:55

Thinking of you and your DD, hoping all will be well. Well done for getting through this. Smile

girliefriend · 26/03/2015 15:08

Just seen this thread, my dd had the same operation when she was 4yo.

Hope all is well, it helped enormously with all the same issues my dd had.

Make sure they/you keep the painkillers topped up as dd had a lot of pain in her throat for over a week. Also be prepared for them not wanting to do too much for a while, dd just wanted to watch telly which wasn't like her and she was more clingy than usual for a while.

However everything settled down after a week or two and it was so worth it, no more infections, sleep apnoea stopped and had more energy in herself.

Also (not sure how common this is) but for a while after the op every time dd drank something a little bit came out of her nose Confused it freaked me out a bit the first time I saw it but apparently this can happen and it stopped after a few weeks!

Original poster
CountryMummy1 · 26/03/2015 15:16

Well she is out! Going to get her was awful as she was screaming like I'd never heard before. She calmed down when I held her and carried her back to her room. She has a very bloody nose and is very snorey and rattley as I guess everything is swollen etc. She is sleeping it off now so will have to see what she's like when she wakes up. I'm just so glad she is still alive as I had horrible thoughts. Never prayed before in my life until today. Thanks for all the supports and tips, it is so appreciated x

OP posts:
girliefriend · 26/03/2015 15:21

Oh God takes me back to when I went to get dd, she was the same screaming with blood all round her mouth Sad she calmed down once they gave her morphine Grin

Lots of cuddles, let her eat what ever she fancies as she long as she eats something it doesn't matter too much what it is and relax the worst is over Smile

dancemom · 26/03/2015 15:42

When my dd came round after her op she announced she was starving! Was back to herself within 30 minutes and home an hour later asking to go to school!

londonrach · 26/03/2015 15:47

My sister was a different child after her tonsils were removed. Best op ever! Take books, snakes, mags x

pantsjustpants · 26/03/2015 16:06

I'm glad all is going well Country Mummy. My ds3 has the same problems and we're currently deciding whether or not to have the op. The surgeon has left it down to us. The odds of complications apparently drop greatly once they hit the magic age 3, ds has just turned 3.

SignoraStronza · 26/03/2015 16:11

Glad it went well. My Dd had the grommets (again) and adenoids (finallyHmm) done on Tuesday and was one of the ones who wouldn't stop bleeding in recovery.

That was an interesting time, waiting for another ENT consultant to turn up and an emergency theatre to become free while she dripped blood into bowls and went through four boxes of tissues. I did really well thoughWink and managed to stay really calm and reassuring outwardly through the catching and wiping.

Thankfully, once she'd gone back under I was able to call a friend and my mil (doctor and theatre sister) who put my mind at rest, but can't deny I wasn't a bit concerned.

She seems to be doing ok. Her voice has totally changed, which I wasn't expecting, and is still a bit sleepy. She'd had 2 GAs though, plus a night in a noisy bay so probably still catching up. I'm making sure she stays up to date on the paracetamol and ibuprofen and trying to force her to drink but she's still really grumpy.

Original poster
CountryMummy1 · 26/03/2015 17:05

DD has perked up good and proper now after a good sleep. She has eaten a whole cheese bap, a packet of Pom bears and drunk a glass of squash. She is eagerly awaiting a visit from the grandparents for homemade cakes and she normally eats like a bird!!!

OP posts:
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