Hello all
I used Mumsnet a lot when I was researching the benefits of having my son's tonsils and adenoids removed and since he had his operation a couple of months ago now I thought it might be helpful to come back and write about our experience in case it helps others.
Our son is nearly three and we went to our initial consultation with the ENT consultant due to noticing that our son would pause breathing when sleeping (diagnosed in the consultation as obstructive sleep apnoea). He had also snored since being a tiny baby which we'd always found endearing until we found out that it really isn't healthy for a child to be snoring to such an extent. I will list the other general concerns we had about our son:
- recurrent tonsillitis, colds, sore throats. It started to seem like antibiotics weren't having an effect anymore. Everyone would tell us "oh it's normal to pick up constant bugs at nursery", but this was literally non stop, it felt like he was never free from a cold.
- constant runny nose - never had a break from it
- always tired, low energy, grumbly
- pale complexion and tired looking
- delayed speech and nasal sounding speech
- Poor behaviour; hitting, scratching
During our first appointment with the ENT consultant and surgeon we were advised to have our son's adenoids and tonsils removed and were told that there would be no benefit to waiting and seeing if things just improved for him naturally. We were nervous but we went ahead and booked him in for his surgery two months later.
At this point I should mention that we did have to go down the private route. The NHS route would have taken months/years and it might still not have been approved anyway due to their strict criteria. For anyone who is interested to know, the whole procedure cost us £3500 and they offer payment plans. We know that we are extremely fortunate to be able to go this route, but I would strongly advise anyone to look into it if they are concerned about their child because the payment plans are really flexible and, honestly, this decision has been LIFE CHANGING for our son.
We had read from other parents' experience that their child was totally different (for the better) post surgery. We hoped that this would be the case for our son and that he'd feel noticeably better but we didn't want to get our hopes up. But wow, the difference is incredible. This is why I have written this post.
I'll list the things we have noticed in our son:
- No longer snores AT ALL
- Has no runny nose at all
- Has tons more energy
- Is generally much happier and the low-level grumbling has just completely stopped, presumably because he feels better in himself!
- His speech has exploded!!! His pronunciation has drastically improved and he is picking up new words and phrases all the time
- Behaviour has improved. He is no longer lashing out all the time, he still does it occasionally but much less
Sorry for the long post, but having seen what an amazing difference this operation has made to my son's life, I feel so passionately about making other people aware who might not realise how much of an impact these horrible tonsils and enlarged adenoids can have on our children. I am so relieved and grateful that we went through with it, because he is 100% a happier child because of it, and it makes me feel so sad to think about how uncomfortable he must have been before he had it done.
I am more than happy to answer any questions here or privately.
Thank you for reading.