Tonsillectomy | Mumsnet

samwitwicky · 2021-07-16T19:02:56+00:00

My 7yp DD has to have her tonsils out due to a constant blocked nose. She also been diagnosed with sleep apnoea as the tonsils are so large. She previously had her adenoids out about 3 years ago (no idea why they didn't do tonsils at the same time!) and they are going to check to see if they've regrown. I feel terrified. Mainly because I'm worried about how much pain she's going to be in afterwards. Can anyone reassure me or talk me through it, if your child has had the same?

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IHateCoronavirus · 16/07/2021 20:11

Ds had it done when he was three, he had a rough week afterwards, but since then he has been as healthy as they come. Scarily quiet at night I quite got used to his snoring!

IHateCoronavirus · 16/07/2021 20:12

I think the hard bit for me was taking him in ‘healthy’ knowing he was going to be ‘ill’ during recovery.

IDidntFloatUpTheLaganInABubble · 16/07/2021 20:32

DD had hers done at the end of the reception year.

I found taking her in to the anesthetist the hardest bit. She was so little and I was so worried.

It was all very quick. When she came out she was quite distressed and in pain, she was always very dramatic though!. Once they had dosed her up again she was fine.

I stayed with her that night in hospital and we went home the next day. It was a long time ago now but I don't remember any problems or distress after.

I'm sure all will be fine, try not to worry

Original poster

samwitwicky · 17/07/2021 08:23

Thank you both

@IHateCoronavirus I think you hit the nail on the head. Taking him in healthy knowing he's going to be poorly

Hopefully he has a good recovery and I Dont regret this

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MissingThePoint1 · 17/07/2021 09:06

I remember having my tonsils out at 7.
I remember being on the bed about to be put to sleep and the nurse was talking to me about a lion king mural on the ceiling.. next thing I know I was awake and being offered ice cream. My throat was slightly sore but the icecream made it better. I remember the day very clearly but don't remember being in too much pain.
Kids are very resilient.. you'll probably suffer much more than she will. I hope it goes ok.

mizu · 17/07/2021 09:24

My daughter had hers out the day before her 5th birthday. About 2 weeks recovery, not going to lie, it's not very nice but very, very worth it. She was getting tonsillitis every 3 - 4 weeks!!

Now nearly 17 and not had a sore throat since

I had mine out at 19, I remember feeling very rough for a few days but again, so worth it.

Ineedaholiday1 · 17/07/2021 23:02

We had the same a few years ago adenoids and grommets out, they asked about tonsillitis at the time but we had no tonsil problems. Then lo and behold we had tonsil problems anyway they whipped them out at 2.5 years old adenoids and grommets done at 18 months ish. When we had adenoids out we were told they were the humongous and we had always had a loud snory sleeper. Was quieter after this and now a silent sleeper after tonsillectomy. Adenoids had started to grow back slightly when they checked but only marginally. 3 years down the line and we have had no ent troubles since. Also we were worried about the 2 week recovery post tonsillectomy but had no problems at all and no day 5 relapse like we had been warned about. Sorry for the mammoth post.

Original poster

samwitwicky · 17/07/2021 23:13

@Ineedaholiday1

We had the same a few years ago adenoids and grommets out, they asked about tonsillitis at the time but we had no tonsil problems. Then lo and behold we had tonsil problems anyway they whipped them out at 2.5 years old adenoids and grommets done at 18 months ish. When we had adenoids out we were told they were the humongous and we had always had a loud snory sleeper. Was quieter after this and now a silent sleeper after tonsillectomy. Adenoids had started to grow back slightly when they checked but only marginally. 3 years down the line and we have had no ent troubles since. Also we were worried about the 2 week recovery post tonsillectomy but had no problems at all and no day 5 relapse like we had been warned about. Sorry for the mammoth post.

This is really helpful; thank you. Hadn't heard of the 5 day relapse

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WeeM · 17/07/2021 23:37

Mine had her adenoids and tonsils out around age 5 due to sleep apnoea. They were enormous. She isn’t great with sore things and tends to be a bit dramatic so I was concerned about how she’d cope after it but she was such a trooper. The op itself was so quick. She was upset after coming round just as a side effect of the anaesthetic. When that wore off she was ok. She ate a pancake and cereal before being discharged the same day - they wouldn’t let her go home until they’d seen her eat. She also managed half a happy meal on the way home!
They told me to try and keep her painkillers topped even if she felt ok as this would help with the pain of eating and she did really well. As another poster said, there’s a slight relapse around 5 days but after about 7/8 days she was feeling fine again and was desperate to go back to school but was told to have 2 weeks off due to infection risk.
Her sleeping now is so silent and peaceful whereas before she snored so loud!

Reallyreallyborednow · 17/07/2021 23:42

I had mine out as a child. I don’t remember any soreness at all.

That was in the days where parents weren’t allowed to stay, i think I was in 3 or 4 days.

Original poster

samwitwicky · 21/07/2021 12:05

Thank you.

I've been listening to him sleeping and there doesn't seem to be any snoring or apnoea episodes / gasping for breath so now I don't know whether to go ahead or not.

A consultant told me a few years ago to never have his tonsils removed as he doesn't need it and now I'm wondering if he was right!

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