Adenoids - no operation stories

[ana7887]

Please tell me my sons breathing will improve with time?

My 4 y o is suffering with severe sleep apnea due to enlarged adenoids. He wakes up, skips breaths, breathes through his mouth etc... it began to affect his life, he is not as social as before, speech delayed, moody, tired all the times... I can go on

We went to see gp and were prescribed steroid spray which I really doubt will help..it looks like the approach to enlarged adenoids is to wait and see..

has anyone's child grew out of it and improved breathing, snoring, sleep apnea problems without operation and how long did it take? Is there anything you've done?

Just want to see if we are wasting time and if we should explore private option as I really doubt we will get referred to ent in the next year..

I had mine out when I was 4 and have breathed through my nose happily ever since. Apparently I was miserable before and couldn’t hear properly either. Sounds like it might be wise to get them out as it’s affecting his quality of life a lot.

My nephew 5 has just had his out they watched and waited since age 3 decided out was the way.

I had both tonsils and adenoids out when I was 11 in 1978. Constant tonsillitis and breathing problems beforehand (notably if I became distressed and was crying, could literally not get my breath) and they were willing to whip them both out, and they did. My daughter the same 30 years later, after missing half a year of school every year with horrendous infections. It isn't the nicest of ops, but a few days of pain which is managed anyway, and they are done forever with it. I would push for it if you can, and the earlier the better. xx

My son had sleep apnea due to enlarged adenoids, no problem with tonsils but used to have frequent ear infections as a toddler (not sure if related). His sleeping was horrendous. We were referred for the operation but were told since he's not in pain with tonsils he's going on the standard wait list which here in Northern Ireland was 2yrs at that time (2018). Then covid happened and the wait list got even further pushed back. By the time he was offered an appointment in 2022 he had completely grew out of it and sleeps absolutely fine with no snoring or skipped breaths except when sick with a cold type virus. We decided against the operation at this point.

This is very helpful, thank you.

Sound very similar to my son - snoring, sleep apnea, problems with hearing. I'm glad to hear that they can actually grow out of it. The last thing I want is for him to suffer through all this and still needing an operation couple years down the line.

If you don't mind how long did it take to improve, you mention 2022 you were offered operation but is this actually how long it took from 2018 or was your son better earlier?
Also, have you noticed does he breath through nose or through month now? I read that it usually one of the biggest problems that they become mouth breathers and it's so difficult to change..
I'm so worried about my son and it's only been a few months. Any advise would be very much appreciated! 😊

My son had these issues and had his removed, all resolved within a week.

I would say he'd grown out of the apnea by about the end of 2020 ish. He actually doesn't mouth breath during his sleep, definitely nose breathing. There wasn't anything we did to help it along it was just a natural process, their adenoids are so big when they're little it's actually a case of them growing into the adenoids rather than growing out of the apnea as it were.

@Nogodsnomasters
Thank you! This gives me some hope!

@ana7887 I'd look into myofunctional therapy - it's basically all to do with tongue and facial exercises. Enlarged adenoids or tonsils are usually caused by something - e.g a tongue tie leading child to mouth breath. Good luck

Honestly OP I'd push hard for a referral to ENT. Our GP was very much of the "wait and see" approach, and as soon as we got to the ENT specialist the attitude was completely different and DS1 had them out in a few weeks (thanks to a cancellation). The wait is so long to see someone once you are referred that there's no point not doing it - the way I persuaded my GP was to say "well, if it's a year to see a specialist then that's a year for us to wait and see if he grows out of it".

My DS was diagnosed with Sleep Apnoea at a similar age to yours. We went private to have his adenoids and tonsils removed. It was life changing.

He is now 16 and his nasal breathing seems to have regressed and he is blocked all the time. We are going back to his ENT to take another look.

The reason I am commenting though, is that our GP was very clear that steroid sprays are a temporary measure which, while it can be effective in the short term, can make the problem worse when you stop using it. GP allowed DS to use steroid spray to get him through GCSE period but GP won’t prescribe any more. If you can afford a private referral I would not hesitate.

My dd was a little white silent ghost when she was around 5/6 due to a combination of sleep apnea, constant glue ear and throat infections. Apparently she was so lethargic and sleepy, the year 1 teacher made a little bed for her so she could have a nap in the book corner!

After one particularly bad hospital admission we agreed to have her adenoids out. They were so large it resulted in bleeding that meant another overnight stay - we were so worried. But she was a different child overnight. Her breathing at night was so silent we had to check on her. Her face became pink and she was more alive and energetic. She stopped having ear infections so could finally join the world. I’m glad we did it.

I think this is great advice, the wait times for ENT referrals are absolutely ridiculous so you'll certainly have plenty of time to see if his apnea improves.
For context both of my boys have had tonsils and adenoids out due to obstructive sleep apnea, my youngest at 9 months as it was so severe.
You could also go the private route and have a chat with an ENT, take some videos of the episodes as that is what they need to see.
It's also worth speaking to a cranial osteo as there are some bits they can try to increase airflow.
Personally after I had done a bit of research on the effects of sleep apnea on development I was desperate for surgery. My youngest had the most incredible growth spurt after his surgery.
Good luck, it's quite the journey!

@Screamingabdabz my DS was the same! I remember those early days of constantly checking on him at night after the surgery because he was so quiet. We were so used to him snoring, gasping, spluttering all night. It was an amazing difference immediately.

I am a bit evangelical now about getting kids checked for sleep apnoea and pushing for treatment. It is literally life changing for them.

Just to add that most of the GPs we saw and even paediatric consultants knew very little about the long term effects of sleep apnea. I can't tell you how many times I was told that my 9 month old would grow out of it. They didn't even look at videos I had taken. He used to get blue lips when he fell asleep in his car seat.
We paid to see a leading paediatric ent consultant who told us that my sons apnea was some of the worst he had ever seen, he was given surgery within the month.
Trust your instincts, you may really have to push for the referral.