Adenoids removal

[Sunshineeee]

Hiya! my DD, who is 16 months, has always had trouble with breathing through her nose, and after some research I basically had to force our doctor to refer her (after many visits).

I’m just interested to see if anyone has any tips on recovery as from what I’ve read it can sometimes be a big struggle for the little ones?

I’ve been hesitant to go through with this because she’s such a happy girl anyways and I don’t want to inflict it on her, if that makes sense. But I would beat myself up if I didn’t encourage it and she turned out to be even happier than she already is! Her snoring can be heard practically all over the house 😂

Thank you x

My DD had them and tonsils removed at 3yrs. Bit older than yours so not much advice re age. She was actually not too bad, I was prepared for her having a lot of pain and not sleeping, but hosp will give you great aftercare advice! Obvs she didn't want food for a few days after, so had a liquid diet and docs advised giving her anything she asked for. Was the best thing for her, she was having sleep apnea and affecting her speech, so it's better to get them out if affecting her sleep IMO, plus another year and she might've found it more scary, the younger the better in that sense. Good luck!

That’s really helpful, thank you so much. That’s a good way of thinking about it getting it sooner whilst she’s younger. I believe my DD is showing a fair few signs that it’s better for them to be removed. Glad your little one is doing better.

My DS had tonsils and adenoids removed this year when he was 5. Honestly, he was absolutely fine after. I gave him paracetamol and Ibuprofen every 4 hours for the first few days but after that he didn't need any. He was eating about half an hour after coming round from the anesthesic. Might be different for a younger child but I was surprised at how unaffected he was. His sleep/snoring improved instantly.

Also, I totally get why you'd be hesitant about the op as I was too and really didn't want him to have it done but as I said before, the results were instant and I'm so glad we went through with it.

Have they agreed to remove them as she is very young for that proceedure

Also, it isn't just adenoids that can cause snoring. It could be an issue with a floppy larynx

@CupCupGoose thank you! I’m hoping it will help too due to the sleep apnea, and now she’s got a cold it’s just worsening.
@PrettyPurse She’s got an appt end of January to go and see (I believe) what our options are. But the dr said it’s likely to do with the adenoids or something in that area as I believe she gets ear ache sometimes. I’m going to give that a google now, thank you very much!

They may want to wait and see if they shrink as she grows. May also prescribe nasal spray.

Plus adenoids can grow back so they might not want to risk surgery without trying other options.

It's a complete PITA. We were in the system years before they took my son's out.

I expect initially they will do a sleep study to see what’s happening while she sleeps. I’d be really surprised if you get them removed earlier than 3ish unless there are very severe apnoea events. The risks of the operation are higher for younger children. There is also the possibility that she might grow out of it - my DC1 has sleep apnoea which he grew out of by the time he was 3-4. They might want to wait for this. My DC did have his tonsils out aged 5 but that was infection related. The adenoids has completely disappeared by then.

@PrettyPurse I was hoping there would be some sort of solution other than removal so fingers crossed they do offer this. I think I’m just preemptively worrying because I’d rather avoid her having it but also want her to be able to breathe normally haha.
@foxatthewindow yes from what I’ve read they get smaller as they get older, but it’s hard to see DD when she’s got a cold because she really struggles to breathe during her sleep, resulting in her waking up several times during the night. She also constantly has her mouth open and is always dribbling even when not teething. She still puts everything in her mouth, regardless of how icky it is, and wonder whether this is because she can’t smell. Other than that she’s such a happy girl and would prefer to avoid implicating that (even for a short time lol) so hopefully they can offer another solution. Thanks for all the advice :)

They will take a good look at what’s going on and make a decision. Sometimes they will remove them under 3 years if there is a good enough reason. Though I think 5 was the perfect age, he was able to understand and cooperate.