sleep apnea/addenoids? help please....

[permaquandry]

My dd1 (6) has mouth-breathed at night noticably for the past few years. She sometimes snores, not very loudly tho.

I have always suspected large addenoids and after a couple of ear infections each winter since she was 4, I raised the subject with docs. Suggested the sit and wait approach as they grow into their addenoids from around 7.

I agree with this, however, I am concerned she may be suffering in other ways. She struggles to get to sleep, tho once asleep only wakes once, u cud hold a loud convo above her head and she wouldn't wake up.

She doesn't seem tired most of the time but sometimes is lacking in energy (year 2 is a busy year tho). She is doing well at school and the teachers haven't noticed anything unusual, she also speaks very well and not nasally. She is underheight and underweight, but is petite like much of the family.

What exactly is sleep apnea? I looked it up and she has none of the symptoms but does occasionally appear to draw breath for a few seconds, then kind of softly snort and start breathing again. Is this normal in sleep anyway? Dd2 breathes very quietly so not sure I would notice.

I'm wondering if she would be taller, have more energy and not get so many ear inf if she had her addenoids out, tho I really wouldn't want her to have an op (obviously).

Can anybody reassure me that their child was/is like this and is all OK?

Thanks.

adenoids

Anyone?

Nobody? Right, off to docs again then.

I've just seen this, so shall reply! Funnily enough I was asking about tonsil/adenoid removal not so long ago as my just 3 year old is having hers whipped out in a month or so.

I wasn't asking because I didn't know, but simply because two of my other three had the op done, but at 5 and 6 and it was it was 10/11 years ago and I wanted to know how it was for much smaller children.

DD3 (the one currently in question) suffers quite badly from sleep apnoea, lots of ear infections and will sleep through a tornado. She also snores like a 50 year old overweight bloke. Her tonsils, while never infected, are enormous - i.e. touching, so that causes problems with her swallowing, and therefore eating.

When my DD2 had hers done around 11 years or so ago everything you have
described for your DD was the same with us. 9 lots of ABs in a year etc etc. After her op our lives were transformed. She has never been ill since, thrived almost instantly post op and simply became a different child.

DS had his adenoid removed and grommets put in about 10 years ago when he was 5 and a bit. His hearing had been shocking with awful glue ear (30% in one ear, 60% in the other), his speech was, well, negligible - my oldest DD translated everything for us - and, like DD2's post op results, his life changed so much for the better. He could hear, his speech was amazing after maybe two months and his sleep was brilliant after being absolutely crap for a good year.

Definitely go to the doc, get an ENT referral and go from there.

Thanks cappy. Am worried now, just spent 10 mins observing her breathing (on her back). She snorts, goes silent, her chest is rising and falling but sounds like she's not breathing and I can just feel faint breath on her lips. This lasts about 3-4 seconds then another snort, attempt to breathe thru nose and silence again. I moved her on her side and she's now mouth breathing nicely.

I looked at her tonsils and they are big, practically touching the epiglotis (sp) but she has never had a sore throat to speak of and never had a throat inf. Starting another post just about this as I am frightened now.

Don't be scared. This sounds absolutely identical to my DD3 and it's really nothing frightening. Definitely seems like sleep apnoea - DD3 probably has between 10 and 30 episodes a night. I find that trying to keep her sleeping on her side really helps, though I appreciate that is easier for me to do with her as she has just turned three.

Go to the GP and insist (if you need to insist that is) on a referral to the ENT at your local hospital. I got DD3's appointment through within 3 weeks. I am in London, I don't know whether that makes a positive difference or not though. Your DD's tonsils sound remarkably similar to my DD's too.

With my older DD2, she did have endless bouts of infected tonsils, but they weren't so massive iyswim.

In the interim, it may help her breathing if you get those nasal strips - can't remember their name right now, but they do junior ones too. Those, and trying to get her to lie on her side (maybe a pillow behind her or something) should help ease.