Tonsillectomy and sleep apnoea

[Glitterballofdreams]

Has anyone’s child had a tonsillectomy, for enlarged tonsils that cause sleep apnea? My child is 4 and has had tonsillitis 5 times in 3 months. Treated with 5 weeks of antibiotics.
He snores so loudly, pausing and gasping. The doctors don’t seem too concerned over that, but it’s quite alarming to listen to. Not only that, his poor sleep is now affecting his daily life.

I have made another GP appointment. I just wondered if anyone has experienced anything similar?

Yes. I would push for the tonsillectomy. I didn't fight hard enough and my son got to tween years and we had to go private. The NHS is so reluctant to remove tonsils now. But my son's were so big he had sleep apnea and couldn't breathe through his nose. If children aren't nasal breathing it can affect the shape of their face. I was shocked. https://www.badsm.org.uk/the-way-your-child-breathes-really-matters/

It's also much easier on them to have the op when they are younger.

He now breathes through his nose and sleeps through the night. It's changed so much in his life. He's no longer tired and grumpy and we also realised he couldn't smell or taste properly either and now he can.

Your child needs a referal to ENT. It could be their tonsils, are they large? Or also adenoids. When you say doctors aren’t worried about them gasping for breath do you mean the GP?

Video your child’s paused breathing at night. They will need a sleep to study to see if their o2 levels drop. Don’t be fobbed off. It’s affecting their day to day life being tired plus reoccurring tonsillitis. Once you get access to ENT they are usually pro active.

Thank, that’s really helpful. Yes I have videos of his laboured and paused breathing at night. His tonsils are huge, when swollen with tonsillitis, there is barely a pin sized gap

My son was the same although he never had tonsillitis just snoring and apnoea. The GP referred us the an ENT Dr and he had a sleep study wearing an oxygen monitor. As his oxygen levels were on the low side during that he had his tonsils and adenoids removed. It helped for a while and then the snoring returned, we went back the ENT Dr and his adenoids have grown back and he needs them removed again!

My son was exactly the same. He had tonsils and adenoids removed at 3 due to extremely large tonsils and sleep apnoea. He's six now and awaiting another ent appointment as we think his adenoids have grown back.
The surgery did make a huge difference, he was able to eat properly after the surgery, gain weight to a healthy size and was more confident and outgoing when he was actually getting sleep at night

Ds1 and Dd both had this. Ds1 we knew about the constant infections but not the sleep apneoa, as he was a terrible sleeper. He was just under 3 when they agreed to take his adenoids out after much begging. They were reluctant but he was on constant anti-bs. We got summoned to see the surgeon afterwards who told us that his tonsils were so large they were blocking his throat when he lay down and he couldn't breathe. Explains why he never slept! Of course rather than whip them out there and then, we had to wait another few months for a tonsillectomy.

Dd snored so loudly we could hear her from 2 rooms away. Much easier to get her a tonsillectomy. Recorded her sleeping and played it to ENT and told them to read her brother's medical history. Agreed straight away and tonsils and adenoids out in one go before the age of 3.

Yes mine was referred to ENT at almost 3, finally seen by them 11 months later and had surgery the following month. Had a 'traditional' surgery of adenoids and tonsils out. We took videos of his apnoeas to the GP who did the referral straight away. The consultant said sleep study was an option if we wanted one but they were happy to do the surgery based off our history and the videos.

The recovery was really rough for a almost 2 weeks, especially as he had a few small injuries as complications because the op was technically quite difficult. So he was in a lot of pain and distress even with regular morphine but afterwards it was totally worth it.

He has gained a load of weight in a short space of time and grown in height faster than ever before. He only snores ever so slightly when unwell now, no signs of apnoeas, his behaviour is sooo much better, no more laying around exhausted, no more constant tantrums etc cos he's not exhausted. My only sadness is that we had to wait so long for the surgery as it's been life changing for him.

DS1 had this age 3. He had severe sleep apnoea, multiple bouts of tonsillitis and speech delays (which was initially put down to his prematurity). He had tonsils and adenoids removed, and not only did the snoring and apnoea stop straight away (he used to snore like an overweight middle aged man!), his speech came on in leaps and bounds, tiredness improved and he had a massive growth spurt in the months after.
push the go for a paediatric ent referral - we were prepared to have to push for it but when we showed the gp the videos we had of him snoring, gasping and the lengthy pauses in breathing we got referred straight away.

Definitely push for an ENT referral OP. It’s a really alarming condition. Also, if he needs surgery for anything else, with sleep apnoea going on, the anaesthetic team will be very concerned about your child’s airway.
Please don’t be offended, but from a practical perspective, have you plotted your child’s height and weight into a centile calculator? Sometimes-not always- hence why I’ve said don’t be offended-very overly-heavy child are predisposed to tonsillitis & sleep apnoea.

Yes my 3 year old his tonsils out due to severe sleep apnoea. It was so bad he had difficulty breathing in his car seat sitting up. It was a life changer for him.

My DD had hers out at 5, ENT had to refer to another department for a sleep study to monitor blood oxygen levels overnight as she didn't ever suffer from tonsillitis, her tonsils were just enormous. Sleep study confirmed severe apnoea + tonsils and adenoids were removed. She was like a different kid after once she slept properly and was well rested, her speech improved massively and she began to eat things like meat which she really struggled with before they were removed.

My ds did when he was 4, my one gp didn’t take it seriously even though he was always tired or sleeping, I took him to see another gp who was quite the opposite and within 6 weeks he had an ENT appointment and his tonsil and adenoids removed not long after. He is now absolutely fine, so was absolutely the right thing to do for him.

Yes his height and weight have been following the 91st percentile since birth. He’s not overweight, he is a good height and has followed a smooth pattern since birth. But I get what you mean regarding obesity

Dd2 (4) is one week post surgery right now. Had adenoids removed and most of her tonsils. I can't believe what a massive difference it has made. Definitely definitely keep pushing for it. The operation is about 30 mins and just a day surgery. Total game changer, even down to being easier to brush her hair as she doesn't toss and turn so much now either.