Please help me be prepared for DDs tonsillectomy

[ohnoohnoo]

DD is finally getting her tonsils and adenoids taken out next week (anyone who has followed the previous thread will see how desperately needed this is!). Now that it's so close I'm starting to panic, I hate the thought of her going under anaesthetic, even though I know it's the best thing for her after the last 9 months.
I'm just trying to think of the practical things that we will need. We have been told she will be kept in overnight so I know I need pjs etc but a few questions I have for anyone who's little one has had it done:

How did you deal with them not eating before? Dds operation is in the afternoon and she can't eat after 7am, she's only 5 so she won't understand this, is there anything you've found to make this easier?

What will she be able to eat afterwards? I've read conflicting advice, some say soups etc and some say she should be eating hard foods to stop scabbing.

After previous admissions for quinsy she's terrified of cannulas, they've said we will have the option of a cannula or a mask for the anaesthetic, however I'm worried that a mask being held on her face may be more scary and it apparently takes longer. Does anyone have experience and which would you recommend?

Thank you!

Are you the poster who's child has been ill for most of the year? If so, congrats on finally getting a date for the operation! Hope it all goes well, and I hope it stops the constant illnesses in your daughter

I'm not sure if anyone has had the same experience. But I had my tonsils removed when I was your DD's age and it was awful! The recovery I mean. Expect a lot of pain and her only being able to eat soft foods. They advised, then, that it is best to eat hard foods like crisp/toast to speed healing. The morning before the operation is not bad, it's the recovery. But it was all worth it. Instead of suffering from tonsillitis every 4 weeks. I only get it once every two years.

I had adenoids out 8. It was sore, but the team was great. I still remember them being nice and counting back from 10 under mask. Terrified of needles.
It's life-changing and massive positive if you have chronic issues.
The eating is terrible but you will just have to go through it. Distractions helped me apparently. A lot of distraction according to my DM😂

I got lots of ice cream after.

My daughter was four and she was fine with the not eating. Her operation was in the late afternoon so we kept her at home having a really long breakfast with all her favourite things chosen the day before (normal breakfast then fruit, berries, yoghurt, ham and cheese sandwich) and brought her late to school where she stayed until the beginning of lunch. We ate while she was out to avoid eating when she couldn’t. When she came home she didn’t ask for food.
As your daughter can’t eat after 7 am you will probably have to get her up a bit earlier but perhaps a really big breakfast could work.
We had a book on the operation and she had a good understanding of it, it went a lot smoother than anticipated.

The only thing I can help with is the anaesthetic. My daughter had the mask when she was 2. It was upsetting for her but honestly didn't take that long and didn't cause pain like a cannula would in such a tiny hand. Good luck

Was sore but had ice cream/iced water etc, was also given tomato soup before discharge and my mum was calling my dad to collect (pre mobile days) so didn't know. Was blue lighted back to hospital within an hour or so when I started vomiting blood..... 😂

But did learn I react to GA to now have to get the anti sickness jab.

I've also still had tonsillitis a few times over the years.

Both my kids had their removed.

It was really not a huge deal. They should eat proper foods afterwards and we didn’t need pain relief for as long as thought.

i really wouldn’t get too anxious, they’ll just pick up on it. I also think 5 is old enough to explain why they can’t eat - I certainly did with my two.@

I had two kids done privately at age 5&7 as we had many years of suffering but not bad enough to get nhs op

My ds sailed through. Ate hula hoops a few hours after he bounced back easily

Dd was
More scared of eating but they both got through it with pain killers and were completely better after a week.

They get ugly looking white scabs on the area which need to drop off so don't be alarmed by that.

So glad you’ve finally got to this point. DS had tonsils and adenoids out and grommets fitted when he was 3.
We had to be in hospital for 7 and operation wasn’t until nearly lunchtime. Plenty of new colouring books, toys to keep him occupied and forget he was hungry. He got the numbing cream on his hand and cannula inserted just before operation.
Op was fairly quick and I was back with him on recovery straight after. He was disoriented and weepy for a very short time.
When back up in his room they brought him a slice of toast which he devoured, followed by another 6 slices!!
No problems overnight and home the next day with painkillers which we kept topped up for a few days.
Was back at playgroup after 5 days and we’ve never looked back. That was 15 years ago! Good luck x

Your hospital should have some patient booklets which should tell you what to expect. You can usually find them by Googling the procedure and hospital.

The Oxford one is here: www.ouh.nhs.uk/patientguide/leaflets/files/43384Ptonsillectomy.pdf

You can help her prepare by watching things like Get Well Soon www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b092q7ft

Have you got a tablet topped up with games/videos?
We had to have dry toast and crisps, but ice cream too!

The mask shouldn't be too scary, and the staff should be trained to make it as non-scary as possible. (It can take a while so it's a bit boring)

I hope it goes well and she recovers quickly and gets her life back from endless throat problems!

Gas inductions take ever so slightly longer but it’s still quick theatre staff are usually great with the prep and playing blow up the balloon, general chit chat, laugh at their funny hats etc
there’s a few storybooks about having tonsils out/operations and the kids that have them are generally less anxious there’s also a cbbc doctor raj episode on YouTube that’s pretty good.
does she have a teddy/doll that can have the same things (name band, have temp and obs taken) or just to keep her company whilst she’s in theatre?
Scratchy foods like toast crisps etc are good to prevent infection but doesn’t mean you can’t also have soft soothing foods too.
check timings for clear fluids as this is usually a few hours later than food.
make sure you are stocked up with paracetamol and ibuprofen at home.
make sure you eat and drink something when she’s having the op

When my LO had the op I was also really worried about the anaesthesia. However, the surgeon rationalised it for me by reminding me that the car journey to the hospital was actually a much greater risk than the anaesthetic. Also, the anesthesiologist will come to talk to you before the operation and be able to answer any of your questions.

My DD just had hers out 2 weeks ago. She's 18 but my DS also had his out when he was 8.
Get lots of calpol and nurofen in for after and make sure to keep the pain relief up even if that's means waking your DD in the night.
She will be given antibiotics for about 5 days too.
Our consultant said to just eat anything - that it's the action of swallowing which helps to heal and remove the scabs that form. So we just stocked up on jelly, ice cream, freeze some tube yogurts, drink whatever she wants including smoothies.
Good luck

My DC have had different operations and I would second the suggestion of having lots to distract them, both before while you’re in hospital waiting and afterwards. My two were fine with the cannula with numbing cream used first. One of my DC reacted strangely to the anaesthetic they were confused and thrashing around for ages in recovery, they weren’t upset but weren’t themselves for ages.

When DS1 had his out we took him crisp shopping beforehand - we had already been told to encourage eating crispy foods after the surgery to help slough off the post op gunk/scabs and help healing. He thought all his Christmases had come at once! We kept him well topped up with pain relief continuously for however many days after they told us to - I definitely remember them saying day 5 post op was worst as it would be scabbing over by then.

he had a real fear of cannulas so they used a mask, and cannulated once he was asleep. He was 3 at the time, so we had fun distracting him without food- we made
sure his meal before fasting was a big one, and the ward had tons of toys and dress up stuff, so that entertained him! We made up a little bag of new bits and bobs for him, like playmobil figure blind bags, a little teddy, just some little toys we bought for him, which helped too.

having the surgery was the best thing for him. On top of regular tonsillitis he had obstructive sleep apnoea, which had been horrendous for him (and is!). That resolved the first night after surgery and he’s been great ever since.

My daughter had her tonsils and adenoids out age 2. It was quick, they distracted her with a tablet and she had a cannula. If your daughter is nervous then phone the day case unit number on your appointment letter and ask them if you can have a mask to play with at home beforehand so she gets used to it being on her face. I have taken lots of children to theatre. Gas inductions are very gentle and you get to talk to her and reassure her whilst she gets sleepy.

My daughter was eating soon after reaching the ward, if she is hungry the likelihood is she will eat fairly soon afterwards.

The worst part was pain relief afterwards, make sure they prescribe a weight based dose and give it on time throughout day and night without missing any doses, day 10 post surgery was the worst pain for my daughter, so be prepared that she may need pain relief for several weeks afterwards.

If you keep on top of pain relief then eating is easier. Avoid citrus or acidic foods that can sting and offer fluids regularly, swallowing keeps the area clean.

I can only respond with regards to the anaesthetic as my DS has grommets twice and adenoids removed.

The first time, he had the canula with the local anaesthetic on his hand with no problem, but the second time, they couldn't keep the plaster on his tiny hand for the local anaesthetic so the canula was hurting him. They tried a couple of times but he was upset so they used the mask. While he doesn't remember anything, it was horrific for me. He thrashed around (for seeming ages but almost definitely not!) and two drs had to hold him down.

Like I said, he doesn't remember anything but the memory haunts me. If we had to do it again, I would do anything to keep the local anaesthetic on his hand so the canula was smoothly inserted.

I had my tonsils out at around 9 years old so I Had much more understanding than your dd will at 5, and it was scary, my mum got the letter and just blurted it out. I wouldn't do that as it frightened me. I think obviously you'll have to tell her she is having them out but try and explain as much as possible, in age appropriate terms. The hospital staff in my case were realy good at easing nerves and all I realy remember now about it is the 'magic cream' (anesthetic cream on the back of hands under a clear plaster thing)
A new Teddy will help
On the journey back home she may feel/be sick so prepare for that.
And on the way to theatre if your hospital do it, the ceilings have pictures on to spot on the way round, very distracting and calming.

My daughter had hers out when she was 8. She had a cannula in her hand which was fine-they numbed it and held a book up which they read to her whilst it was done. She was back with us about an hour later, threw up spectacularly about an hour later, then ate jacket potato and ice cream.
We were home by 6 pm and she insisted on eating lasagne that night. Best thing we did; after being incapacitated with tonsillitis so many times, including two bouts of scarlet fever, she has never looked back.

Dd had hers out at 5 and I had mine out at 30.
Dd was given a pre med before going to theatre the mask didn't bother her because she was already drowsy. Might be worth asking for. Although my boys manage with emla cream and distraction and never really remember it afterwards.
Re food beforehand my dc have had quite a few ga. I find giving them an early breakfast then keeping them busy and filling them up on water helped. They did understand at 5 that they couldn't eat.
When I had mine out I could only tolerate lukewarm food but dd only wanted very cold food. Its probably going to be trial and error.
With dd the first few days were a cycle of sleeping, pain when the analgesia was wearing off and times when she seemed OK. After the first few days she was better than she had been for about 18 months but had to stay away from people for 7 days. We had lots of walks because otherwise she was climbing the walls.
For both me and dd after the first week it suddenly seemed very worth going through the pain.
A tip for you while dds in theatre make sure that you eat and drink or you'll be no good for her.
Hope all goes well.

My sister had this at 4 and her voice completely changed which was a huge shock! Lots of soft foods for home. Mashed potatoes, pasta. Ice cream!

@tillytown yes I am that poster, that's why we are so desperate to have it done next week. Hopefully it will be the end of my constant thread about tonsillitis lol

@KitchenSupper so glad your little one took it all so well. I think part of the problem for us is that she has to isolate from tomorrow (5 days before) because of covid. So there inevitably has been a lot of talk to her at school from the teachers about homework to take home whilst she's off etc so she's more aware of it than she should be really. I wish she could just keep going to school until the day and then she wouldn't feel as anxious about it.

@Choconuttolata that's really helpful advice thank you. I didn't even consider avoiding citrus or acidic foods. I'll make a list of things to have in next week.

Thank you so much for all the helpful advice everyone! I'll make sure we are topped up on pain killers in the house and that we have lots of ice cream, ice lollies, yogurts etc.

We have been given some leaflets from the hospital which were really helpful but they mainly talked about the procedure so wanted to get some personal experience on here. They have also sent us a book in the post about a little bear who has his tonsils out but they've advised to read it just a couple of days before, I may even do it just the night before as she can be a very anxious child bless her.

I'll also make sure I've got lots of toys and games to take with us to keep her occupied whilst we wait. They haven't given us a specific time they've just said it will be in the afternoon and we have to get to the hospital for 11am so it could be a long wait!

Mask is so much better than cannula - I remember it being a nice smell and much easier to make the mask part of a nice process than a cannula! You can make a count down to blast off or sing to her and she won't be in any pain

My son had his out at 20 months. The one bit of advice I can give is to keep them topped up on pain relief as once it hurts its difficult to get them to eat again. I set my alarm for the first couple of nights and woke him to give pain relief.
As PP said eating really speeds up the recovery so pain relief is a biggie! DS lived on cheerios for the first day or so then was back to eating normally.