To have my childs tonsils and adenoids removed?

[boong121]

Hello all, my child just about to turn 3 and has been seen by an ENT- she is on the ASD pathway,non verbal, has super bad sleep with sleep apnoea, she breathes very heavily during the day I hear her from another room, she cant run more than 5metres she gets out of breath very quickly, struggles with breathing on hot days etc.

But getting them removed is such a major decision, if there is anyone with an experience or knows anyone who has had them removed as a child were they happy with that choice or did they regret it?

I had them removed when little. I was either 3 or before then. Can't remember but was the best decision my parents made. I was so poorly all the time x

Everyone in my family had them removed in childhood apart from me and nobody has regretted it as far as I am aware. They have no health issues and are able to fight infections as well, if not better than me (I have tonsillitis up to 6 times a year). NICE no longer supports removal for tonsillitis but if your child has severe sleep apnea, it is potentially life threatening so I would personally lean towards exploring every option possible to improve breathing, including surgical.

I had mine out as a kid. I remember nothing about the operation. My parents tell me my health, appetite etc.. really improved afterwards.
My DD12 had hers out at age 7 following many years repeated tonsilitis that left her very unwell. The 2 weeks following the procedure were really tough and she was unsettled and her throat was sore but overall it was brilliant.
My Nephew had his out at roughly that age. Again, 2 weeks after was tough but he recovered well and his sleep apnea is fixed.

My DD had hers out at Spire and my nephew had his out in the local NHS hospital. Both locations did a great job and staff were kind and the kids were wonderfully taken care of.

I had adenoids removed when I was a child and it really helped with heavy breathing when I was asleep. Haven't had tonsils out but know a few people who have and they all said it made such a difference to them. From what you describe about your daughter, it sounds like she might definitely benefit from the operation 😊

My son was literally exact age as your little one when we had his tonsils and adenoids out and it is the best decision I made. His tonsils were so swollen, it affected his speech, as in he didn’t want to speak because was so painful. He also had sever apnea. The snoring was horrific and the fear that he would stop breathing altogether, was awful. He was short tempered and generally poor behaviour as he was exhausted all of the time.

We had the operation done during full blown lockdown and even with wearing masks and only allowing me with him and not my husband too, it was the best decision.

His snoring literally stopped overnight, behaviour improved massively and generally a much happier little boy. He was back to normal within 24-48 hours, and we made sure we gave all of the pain medications given to us upon discharge from the hospital.

hope that helps.

Both my DSs had their tonsils and adenoids removed at around age 5. Don’t regret it for a minute. Older DS was so exhausted from lack of sleep, I thought he had something sinister going on. After the surgery he’s was a different child. As soon as DS2 started to show the same symptoms I didn’t hesitate to get them out!

forgot to say, because he was just underage of 3 we had to do an overnight stay just to keep an eye on his breathing - all ok.

my daughter also had the same surgery years before when she was 4 but hers was done on a day case

We are on the waiting list for my 9 year old DS to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. It’s been a long process to even get this far, it’s very difficult to get it done on the NHS now. Is the ENT doctor you saw going to refer her for surgery?

I had my tonsils out age five and remember it as a very traumatic experience. I therefore would not want to put my children through it unless really necessary. However, I don’t how I would have been if the operation had not been done - apparently I had tonsillitis frequently before the op. Plus one of my children snores a lot and supposedly has enlarged tonsils so I don’t know if it will be a decision we end up having to make one day.

Why is it a big decision? Has the doctor recommended it? My son got his tonsils and adenoids out. He was older but primary age. Asd but verbal. It was fine and I never considered not doing it tbh. It was the right thing.

I wish I had mine out as a child - it would have saved me a lot of sore throats. However my mother found her tonsillectomy very traumatic, so she wasn't in favour. I had it done at 21 after repeated infections.

I'm not sure it will fully resolve all the issues you mention - I've never heard of a child being unable to run due to tonsils and adenoids, so there may be something else going on too. But it will surely help with the sleep etc.

DD had hers out when she was reception age, it's a fairly straightforward operation and she made a quick recovery.

2 of mine have had it done, best thing for them such a massive reduction in infections, better sleep and our non verbal child can now speak as his tonsils and adenoids were so large and tight that he couldn't speak, to the point where specialists were insisting he was ASD etc. Within weeks of the surgery he had more sounds and in a year had full speech, just slightly behind where he should be

I had both of mine out at the age of 5 following years and years of tonsillitis, I can fully remember the process and hospital stay and it was definitely not an unpleasant experience. I'm so glad my parents pushed for it for me.

I had mine done at around 4 & it was no bother, have never held it against anyone. After constant tonsillitis it was a relief.
My son had his done in the summer at age 5, in and out the same day, best thing we’ve done for him. It’s changed his little world. Sleep is improved. Eating better, he’s clearer in speech, and doesn’t sound like he’s taking off in the night.
He recovered really quickly, no discomfort, was hammering popcorn and running around within an hour of leaving recovery, he went down about 4.30, I was called to recovery by 5.45, we were home by 10pm, and an hour of that was waiting for his meds for discharge.

I had mine removed aged 10. Made a huge difference to my health.

DD had tonsils and adenoids out and grommets fitted at age 4. She needed it, consultant recommended it, we did it.

It's a painful operation and you need to stay on top of their pain meds for the week or so after. She was at home recovering for 2 weeks, inc about 10 days staying away from people to reduce risk of infection.

She recovered fine and it's a distant memory now.

Good luck, OP.

It sounds like she’s really suffering! I’d definitely get them removed. I had mine removed as a kid as used to get sick a lot and it made a world of difference, if that helps.

I had my adenoids out as a kid and have no memory of this.

I had my tonsils out as an adult after years if tonsillitis and it was bloody awful.

Why would you not? It’s a simple procedure most commonly done by coblation nowadays which has less pain and less bleeding. Home after a few hours. Massive benefits when T&A’s cause sleep apnoea.

DD had hers out age around 4 because of sleep apnoea. I’d recorded her snoring at night and she had the classic breathing pauses, and she used to get so tired mid afternoon even if not doing all that much. She also got horrific coughs in the winter - I think because all the gunk went to her chest instead of out of her nose.

Everything has been SO different since then. She has bags of energy, she is my duracell bunny. And just normal colds rather than horrific endless coughs. So glad we got it done before school started.

There is a new-ish way of removing tonsils (encapsulation maybe?) which is less risky and less painful than the old way because they leave a little stump of tonsil tissue in place. DD had this and the operation and recovery was surprisingly smooth.

Intracapsular removal. Not encapsulation, I misremembered. Coblation is the same thing as intracapsular.

Me and dd have both had them removed around 8 years old. She's asd too. it went well. No major dramas. Dramatically improved her snoring and eating as food would get stuck. Now she eats a wide range of food where as before only things that was dry. Dd got hers removed to help as they was massive almost touching when healthy. Mine was removed to help with tonsillitis and hearing.
I would do it 100%

My DS had his removed when he was 4. My only concern was how the pain was managed. Unfortunately, the doctors didn’t believe in painkillers for children. It was very hard to watch DS in so much pain.

On the lighter side, DS sounded like Donald Duck for a few days after the surgery.

My son had his removed just after he turned four, due to sleep apnoea. I'm so glad we did, he breathes so much better at night now, and sleeps better.

There's growing evidence that a lot of kids diagnosed with ADHD might actually have sleep apnoea, and sleep apnoea is also linked to all sorts of other health problems down the the line which you wouldn't think could be connected. I found it a hard decision because I found surgery terrifying, and also I had a gut sense we shouldn't really just cut body parts out because surely there's downstream effects... But on balance I am glad we did it. They decided during surgery not to do adenoids so he just had a tonsillectomy.