Experiences of tonsil & adenoid removal in young children please!

[JumpingJellyfish]

DS (who'll be 4 in April) saw an ENT consultant for the first time on Saturday, who has recommended that both his tonsils & adenoids are removed (for various reasons- mainly as both are very swollen and causing possible sleep issues, snoring, dribbling etc.). I was a bit surprised as hadn't expected such radical action on one so young, but realise they have their reasons.

Could anyone else share the experience of their child's tonsil & adenoid removal, to allay my fears a bit? Thanks.

Also, the consultant seemed to think removing his tonsils could improve DS's eczema, which is an ongoing issue, and would be amazing, but had never realised there could be a link...anyone else had such an experience? Thanks!

Hi, JJ....dd2 had both adenoids and tonsils out in mid January, due to severe sleep apnoea (and eating less and less).

She had additional issues with a 'floppy larynx', which meant she had to spend a night in HDU as a precaution...but apart from that, it was a straightforward procedure and recovery process for her.

The ten days post-op were pretty rough for dd (it does vary), and I shall try and find my threads (and others' - several LOs seemed to go through it at the same time here) when I have a bit more time: there are lots of tips on them!

That said, she is a changed child - sleeps much, much better, eats much better, is growing and talking much better, and I no longer worry when she catches a cold. Honestly, it was the best thing in the world for her.

She was 2.2 when she had the op, and I was very scared beforehand, but was given loads of reassurance here on MN...rightly so, as it turned out.

Sorry not to write more now, I am sooo in need of my bed - but promise to come back tomorrow.

ps no idea re the eczema, but dd did have it, mildly, when younger....none at all now...so maybe a link??

My DD had her tonsils and adenoids out when she was 5. The operation only took about 20 minutes and she woke up very quick after it. It was great getting this done. She used to be bothered with tonsillitis regularly and snored a lot when she slept - and didn't sleep that well. When sick she stopped eating - her eating wasn't the best even when she was well. When she got them all removed it was amazing the change. She has hardly had a cold since and even when she does it clears up quicker. The snoring has gone, she eats well and is more rested in the morning. The doctor thought she might have sleep apnoea too. The only down side was that 1 in 10 child suffer a bleed after they have operation about day 10 and unfortunately this happened to my DD. She didn't eat as well as she should when she came home from the hospital and when they don't eat infection can set it. She bled a little and when taken to doctor they sent her on into hospital where she had to have antibiotics given via a drip. Please remember this only happens to some children and I don't mean to frighten you. Because we were an hour from our hospital it was a bit of a nuisance but she only had to stay in two days. All was well after that. The operation is worth getting done if that is what your doctor recommends - they know best. The doctor who seen my DD said it was best she got it done - it wasn't something she was going to grow out off. All the best and hope this helps in some small way. Even my DD who is by my side as I write this says she was glad she got them out and has told me to tell you.

Forgot about the Eczema - I never knew there was a link with tonsils and adenoids.

both my eldest dd's had this done aged 3...it made them much happier, healthier dcs

My little boy is now just 4 (last week) and he had both his tonsils/adenoids removed when he was 2 years and 8 months. He always ahd trouble breathing through his nose and always sounded like he was constantly blocked up and it was affecting his speech. We saw an ent registrar who basically said he was too young and would grow out of it so we decided to use DH's medical insurance and see consultant privately who said within minutes of us meeting him that they needed to come out.

Tbh it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be. DH went into the theatre with him cause I just couldn't do that bit but it was all over in about 40 mins. He was very upset when he came round but think that was because they let him wake up before getting us which was a bit daft really cause he was only tiny. The difference in him was amazing...his speech was so clear afterwards and it was like having a different child. he used to snore really badly and be constantly tired and now he is so much happier. He was in the playroom on the ward playing with the train set eating crisps which they gave him about an hour and a half after the operation.

Wow Elibean your dd was very young to have it done wasn't she? All the nurses were amazed that my little boy was so young to be hhaving it done so your dd must have looked really tiny.
Its so frustrating because I knew from when he was first born that there was something not right. He used to take an hour to take 3oz of milk simply because he couldn't breathe and drink at the same time and it too us that long to convince the drs so if they are saying to get it done then I would def say go for it.

DS had his done at 2.2 too ( same day as Elibeans DD actually )
He had sleep apnoea and ongoing problems with his chest/asthma. His tonsils almost touched despite never having had tonsillitus.
We too had a rough recovery. Even though he avoided infections and further bleeds, he was a very unhappy bunny for at least a week.
The difference in him now is amazing. It is so quiet now when he is sleeping, and he is still which is mind boggling. I never realised how badly his sleep was affected before. He used to literally roll over, kick and hit out every few seconds all night.
His chest problems have been dramatically reduced already. He has had no admissions since the op, in comparison to admissions every 2 or 3 weeks before.
We went for his follow up sleep study last week as it happens and he only set alarms off twice all night, compared to every 10 mins on original one.
Hope this is useful,
Mel x

Hello lubbly its great to hear how well your ds is doing!

Yes, my dd was little to have the op (like lubbly's ds), but they do it from 12 months onwards. I asked 'when do you start doing that operation' and the consultant at the time said 'as soon as the tonsils are causing enough problems!' - though they prefer over a year old. Sleep apnoea can cause all sorts of problems, and is very stressful for the LO and their parents...and as dd had larygnomalacia too (not severe, but still enough to impact her breathing when lying down) the combination was horrendous by the time she was about 20 months old.

I am eternally grateful that she is now tonsil-less, and adenoid-less.

She did have a lot of pain for just over a week post-op, and it was important to stay on top of it as much as possible with alternating paracetamol and, in her case, Voltarol. We had suppositories to use, as she wouldn't swallow the meds - or much else, for a while. I guess if the child is small, and the tonsils huge, the wound is very big in relation to their throat area...maybe easier at 4, though apparently much harder again as an adult!

We gave dd ice lollies (to hydrate her) as well as crisps/toast and watched a ton of Peppa DVDs to distract her (sometimes at 4am). She slept in bed with me for a week. It wasn't a fun few days, BUT....I would do it again in a flash, for the pay off.

When is your ds likely to have his op, JJ?

Thank you so much for all your replies, I am now feeling a lot happier with the idea of this op. We don't yet have a date- the ENT consultant wants DS seen by dermatology again just to see whether it's possible his eczema could be improved by tonsilectomy (sp?!), but even if not thinks both tonsils & adenoids are sufficiently swollen to warrant removal asap, so we're waiting for another pre-op apt to go through all the gorey details. As this is the NHS I know it could well not happen for a few months yet.

To be honest since we found out about this I wonder if it could explain some of his feeding issues when a baby- he used to take ages to breastfeed, in fact he seemed permanently latched on, and often because he really struggled to breathe through his nose- but as her was prem (born at 30wks) we thought these issues were due to that, which we also thought accounted for his snoring/restless sleep (although as this is ongoing even now we did suspect adenoids/tonsils). He is often tired, and also a very slow eater... So I am now secretly hopefuly some of this will be resolved. I am nervous about how he'll recover but we've faced worse when he was born so have to remind myself of that!

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences- makes me realise at 4 he won't be that young for such an op too!

Our DD is due in for the op to have both adenoids and tonsils out at the end of this month.

She is about 2.5 yrs old and has had poor sleeping for probably a year and a half with it getting particularly bad over the past 6 months. We have seen docs countless times since birth re watering eys, constantly snotty nose (more than your average toddler) and worries over her setting off the movement sensor monitor we had for her while in her cot.

She has sleep apnoea (although not drastically bad in terms of putting lots of pressure on the heart etc) and wakes up constantly through the night. If we only get up to her 3 or 4 times in a night, that's a good night. She has a stinking cold atm and is coming onto our bed every night in the early hours just so we can all get a bit of sleep at least and are not constantly in and out of bed....

Can't wait to get the op done although the wife and I hate the idea of our dd having to go through it.

JJ, I bet a lot if not all of the eating problem will be helped by the op too....dd's appetite since has been startlingly better. She was actually ok with latching and food early on, but as her tonsils grew - she basically ended up living on milk.

Wishing you, and DaftMule and family, all the best with the coming weeks - keep us posted

Elibean
They thought my little boy had largygomalacia as well when he was tiny...he used to make the most awful noises all the time and it wasn't until the gp actually heard him that they took us seriously. Thankfully it was ruled out but the noise/breathing etc was obviously all connected to his huge tonsils/adenoids.

None of my friends could believe how long he used to take to even have the tiniest amount of milk but looking back on it now it all makes sense...he obviously couldn't breathe through his nose cause it was blocked and couldn't breathe through his mouth cause he was trying to drink.

He used to be a really restless sleeper and was constantly tired but thankfully it has all improved dramatically since the op. I really wish these health professionals would listen to us mums some more lol!!

Good luck with the operations everyone and let us know how you get on

norfolklass, I can understand the confusion between the two - when dd was about 18 months her laryngomalacia was clearly getting better, so we were thrown when the sleep apnoea and eating got dramatically worse in the winter months approaching her 2nd birthday - and the GPs put it down to her laryngo! Luckily the ENT crew had told us a while back that her tonsils were on the large side, so we were on the look out. By the time they were taken out, they were nearly touching. Its awful seeing your LO tossing around trying to sleep and breathe, and getting thinner and thinner...its the most incredible relief to know thats in the past

Hi - not sure if you'll still be looking at this thread.

My ds1 (4 in 2 weeks) has just been referred to ENT for adenoids - his speech isn't very clear (very nasal) and he's also a snorer.

Reading through this thread has made me realised that it's probably been going on for a while too. He was incredibly slow at taking milk when a baby and only really became a good eater when he was weaned. But he was a huge baby (and still is huge) so never really worried about it.

Was reading on another website that bad breathe is another sign and can remember asking HV about it when he was a baby. Wish I'd gone to GP earlier - the guilt of being a mother isn't it!

Meant to ask if anyone had seen an improvement in speech after op? Saw that there could be a problem with speech with adenoid removal?