IABU - I'm upset over dd2 having a tonsils removed.

[Whatsername177]

I realise I'm probably being silly, but dd2 needs to have her tonsils removed. She had several tonsillitis infections last year leading to her developing sepsis in March. Thankfully, she was diagnosed and treated quickly and made a full recovery. However, she was referred to ENT due to how seriously ill she became. The first assessment highlighted big tonsils and advised 'watch and wait'. We had the follow up appointment today. She has had a couple of viral bouts of tonsillitis in the last 5 months but no need for antibiotics. The consultant seemed like he was going to discharge her, until he examined her. He was concerned her palate was high and arched, she snores and her breathing is shallow, plus her glands were enlarged. He then said that in cases like this infection almost always reoccurs and he would highly recommend they are removed. I signed the forms and we are on the waiting list. I just feel sad and worried. I know it's a routine OP. I don't know why I feel like this. Any stories or advice?

I had mine out at 20 as I was getting bad tonsillitis 3 or 4 times a year, needing 2 weeks off each time and work were not impressed! Never looked back from getting them done.

My dd (5) had hers out last month. She had sleep apnea and extremely large tonsils. I went back for a second opinion as I was unsure of it was the right thing to it her through. I have to say the recovery was not easy and hard on both of you but she was back to normal eating on day 7 of recovery. BUT I now stand in her room and watch her sleep as she's so peaceful, no noise, snoring, discomfort or night waking. For me it was the right decision x

DS had tonsils and adenoids removed and grommets fitted when he was 3. Hasn’t had a sore throat or an antibiotic since. That was 11 years ago!

My DS got his removed when he was 3 too. He had sleep apnoea related to his adenoid and tonsil issues and had lots of throat infections. It was such a straight forward operation and he bounced back very quickly. He got his grommits down too and he was more in a state about hearing new sounds than the recovery from the operation. Far better to deal with it when there young, I suffered terribly as a DC and we were told to watch and wait and i had lots of sore throats, lost my voice regularly and had tonsil abscess and finally got them removed when I started my nurse training age 18. It was a life changer for me

My daughter had her tonsils and adenoids removed when she was 4 , no regrets at all, went smoothly , after the op she got much better sleep , was ill much less went from illness every 6-8 weeks to maybe I think 3/4 times she has been ill at all since they were taken out 7 years ago and actually we couldn't even tell at the time but on reflection and looking at old videos her voice and breathing got so much clearer . Good luck with everything !

I had mine out aged 17 so obviously recovery will be different but 2 weeks was the amount of time I was told to stay off sixth form. Week 2 was worse than week 1 in my recovery and ice cream was a god send!

@Greywalls12 my ex had his tonsils out privately at age 27, wasn't too bad really a few days of uncomfortable eating and you sort of get a GA hangover considering how men suffer the man flu I was surprised how well he coped.

I had tonsillitis regularly as a kid as did my elder sister.

With both we has a forward thinking consultant, for the time, who said tonsils were important for fighting infection and we would grow out of it. We both did until hers started again at uni and she had to have hers out then and I had quinsies when my son was a baby and I ended up in hospital on IV antibiotics. Not had it since though.

Sometimes I think it is a case of not giving high enough dose/long enough course of antibiotics to totally kill the germs but just knock them out 'a bit', ... put them into hibernation until the next time.

I had mine removed aged 6 or 7. I remember being frightened in the hospital (specifically of the machine that gave out gas that I had to put over my mouth and nose, fucking scary) but absolutely nothing else about it, I can't even remember it being sore afterwards either.

Don't be. She's having the treatment before she has nearly 30 years of agonising tonsillitis, foul breath, undiagnosed Quinsy and the final near miss in theatre because by then, she's a middleaged woman with sleep apnoea and a deepseated infection that required considerably more extensive surgery taking four hours, rather than the short operation a 3 year old would have,

And she doesn't have to go back on the bus, tube, train, train, bus, walk, bus, bus, walk to pick up her kids straight after she's woken up with the very worried looking anaesthetist sitting on her bed and patting her face because she wouldn't come round - and cope with it being Christmas the following day because she could only get somebody to look after them for one day.

Yes, it's horrible seeing your child undergoing surgery, but leaving it until 'later' can make it an altogether more serious operation.

I had recurring tonsillitis as a child but it wasn’t until I was 16 and had tonsillitis 12 times in just over a year that I had them taken out, it was such a relief. If I’d had the surgery after the first few times I would have been saved years of pain. If I recall correctly I had a week of feeling a bit sorry for myself and taking painkillers.

She is little and you are allowed to worry, but threshold for tonsil removal is very high. If it's been recommended, that will be for very good clinical reasons. Think of all the years free of pain and with good health that she will have because of this.

Had mine out aged 7 and they took my adenoids too. I'm now 56 and it was the best thing to stop getting constant tonsillitis. I'm sure you're doing the right thing for your child.

I completely understand why you are worried. However, I would advise her having them out as a child rather than wait until she is older. The younger the better. I had mine out as an adult (in my 30s for similar reasons to your daughter) and it was the most painful experience of my life. Bearing in mind I have given birth to two kids over 9lbs. Having a tonsillectomy as an adult is FAR worse than as a child. As a child, the tonsils dont have deep roots as they do when you get older so as far as the op and recovery goes, she is MUCH better having it done now than later. The surgeon admitted this to me and said kids recover faster from this op and suffer much much less than adults do.I seriously cannot begin to describe how painful this was as an adult - I remember sobbing in pain in was so bad and I would rather give birth again than go through that op again as an adult. On the other side- Ive seen kids breeze through the op and recover very quickly- happily eating and drinking hours after coming round from the anaesthetic. Get it done now- it will save her much discomfort in both infections and the horrendous pain of an adult tonsil removal later on down the line.

I had my tonsils out aged 10. I was on a ward with other children having the same operation and the toddlers all bounced back extremely quickly. Even I was up and playing the next day. The teenagers were really struggling though.

My 6 year old has had 21 general anaesthetics. It's not risk free but neither is crossing the road.

My Mother also refused to let me get mine out. I can still remember the pain I used to be in.

I had to have them out as an Adult, which, I believe is worse.

A lot of people wouldn't snore if they had their's removed. They can also hold on to infection.

I am so sorry to interrup this thread, but i am currently having extremely bad experiences with tonsillitis and it turned to quincy and i was hospitilised (the other year) and i was seriously ill.
I have tonsillitis regularly and finally i think i have had septic tonsilitis enough this year (stupidly when i was younger i refused to go the doctors and suffered in agony so it wasnt on my records) to get them out. Can somebody please give me an honest and true experience of what it is like to get your tonsils out as an adult? I am putting it off as the unknown scares me and id rather hear other peoples honest experiences to prepare me because honestly this is something that is effecting a lot of my life. I may also add i am a single mother to a toddler.

SO Sorry to ask this on your thread OP. I truellt hope your daughter makes a good recovery from her op and by the sounds of it you are an amazing supportive mother and doing the right thing!

I suffered horrendously with tonsillitis and it was only aged 20 they were removed and it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. She will be fine. Also I got cornflakes for my first meal afterwards which was NOT what I was expecting

@iamtinkabella I'm not gonna lie- its horrible. I would say recovery lasted approx 10 days. Day 3 was the worst- I was on Paracetamol, Tramadol, Diclofenac and I was still in absolute agony- counting down the minutes until I could take my next painkiller. My entire throat felt as if it had been burnt with battery acid. They make you eat toast or something rough the morning after the op (you aren't allowed ice cream anymore sadly as milk is very bacterial) because it sloughs the scabs/dead tissue off and reduces the risk of infection later down the line. That said, it was 100% worth it in the long run. I haven't had a bad throat since. Look- you have to weigh it up- 10 days of horrid discomfort and pain is worth a life time of freedom from tonsillitis (which lets not forget- can be agonising itself). I dont regret it and am glad I had it done. There are lots of support groups online for adult tonsillectomy recovery and they really helped me get through it- people writing diaries about how day 3 was, what happens on day 5 etc etc and saying when they started to feel better etc. Just do it- yes its horrible but so so worth it in the long run.

Peadiatric nurse on an ENT ward here. He'll heed regular paracetamol and ibuprofen for a week. Ask if you can have some Oralmorphine to take home. Will need to be off school for 10-14 days and kept away from people with bugs. Really important that he eats and drinks normal food afterwards. It helps healing.

Definitely agree with getting them out while young. Teenagers and older kids are a nightmare post op and don't recover as well

iam

To be honest I wouldn't imagine an adult would be that different to a 14-15 year old having them out would it?

Read my earlier post it's about my experience of getting them out at 14-15 years old.

Definitely the right thing to have the OP. It is scary having a child go through GA, my dd had ops aged 18months and aged 5, she bounced back very quickly from the first op which lasted around 20 minutes, second was a few days, but that was more traumatic and lasted longer than tonsil removal. Horrible passing over an unconscious child, but much like vaccination potentially life saving for your child.

I had mine out at 7 yo, op was straightforward. Never really suffered with ENT issues after that. Honestly you have nothing to worry about! Good luck x

@beautifulstranger101 Thank you for your reply. I suppose my main worry is if i would be well enough to look after my toddler straight away again sfter the operation. Do they keep you as an impatient overnight?

@Ginkypig Sorry i didn't read the full thread, my apologies as i usually read full threads but DD is unwell. I suppose i just assume as my body had changed since that age that so have my tonsils so assumed the op would be different to that of a teenagers.

Again sorry for interrupting and thank you bith for your replies!