How do I get my 2 year old's tonsils removed?

[JessJR23]

Hi all I am looking for some advice. My 2 1/2 year old son had massive tonsils which means he snores really badly, barely eats anything solid (he lives on milk, yogurts and I still have to puree his food) and he has had tonsillitis 4 times in the past 3 months (this is 3rd lot in 1 month). I think he has had it times before whwn i didnt recognise what it was. I also think it is affecting his speech somehow. Eveytime i have brought it up with health visitor they have said they are reluctant to take them out anymore. Last time I went to the doctor she said she would refer us to the hospital but 2 weeks on we haven't heard anything and the infection has returned. I am taking him back this evening for another appointment, what can I say to make them agree to take them out?? It is really starting to get me down seeing how poorly he is all of the time.

We got my son's done, fortunately we had private health so it was all pushed through relatively quickly. I just wanted to say that it's made a massive difference to the quality of all our lives, he was a very angry little boy and that turns it was because he was exhausted all the time. He's so happy and playful now it's been amazing. Even privately I had to push and say that this was what he needed as he was suffering from apnea, which would even happen if he was awake but really relaxed. Please do keep on pushing for an appointment, sometimes if you pay for a private consultation they will put you on an nhs waiting list afterwards which may speed things up for you?

Hi all, thank you for your words of advice. I spoke to the gp and she was really nice about it. She said there is either an error on the system and the letter has been sent but it hasn't shown up ir she will resend it and bump it up the line as will be dated from 1st July. My son's nursery have also written a brilliant (but very sad) letter about how they believe he is being affected by the tonsils so hope that will add some weight. I am.on the Isle of wight! Not sure how many private clinics there are here but we could travel to potsmouth or southampton easily.

*1st June sorry

Can I also ask, how did you prove sleep apnea? Did you record the sound of him sleeping?

Good luck, Jess!

Hi, I took videos of him sleeping, you could see where he held his breath and then he'd snort himself awake. The consultant said he would still have had to do a sleep study had it been nhs, but as private and considering the state of his throat he was happy with just proceeding with the op.

My son was 3 when he had his tonsils removed, he had all the problems that you describe. We actually went to ent for a hearing test, as soon as I told the doctor he holds his breath while sleeping the doctor said he needed to have his tonsils removed.
This has made a massive difference to him, he's no longer poorly all the time, his speech came on in leaps and bounds afterwards, he sleeps better and is generally just a happier child!

DS1 had tonsils and adenoids removed due to osa age 2.9yo. We didn't have to provide proof of his breathing stopping, nor did he have to undergo sleep studies (due to his age and the potential for distress sleeping in a strange place). We described his symptoms, how many times a night his breathing stopped, how long for, how upset he was each time (he woke after every episode, screaming) and the impact it had on him being tired, not wanting to eat, etc. He agreed the surgery needed done and he was booked within 10 weeks.

Surgery was a great success, his apnoea was resolved and the snoring stopped instantly. His speech made a sudden massive leap and he wasn't falling asleep everywhere any more. He's 4.8 now and we still have issues with him waking each night (we think it's a learned behaviour as he's got so used to it, with a bit of fear too as it did used to frighten him), but hopefully as he gets older it will get easier.

Hopefully your DS will get this sorted sharpish. Whatever you do, keep him topped up with pain relief after surgery even if he seems fine. It gets very painful at around day 5 post-surgery (starts scabbing over!) and encourage eating crunchy food to help dislodge the gunk that can build up and potentially cause infection. It's a hard week or two but totally worth it!