Anyone's LO had enlarged adenoids, apnea, etc PLEASE lend me an ear?? Need help

[mad4myboys]

ok my ds1 is 2.9 andi think he may have enlarged adenoids and want anyone whos LO has had any of the probs i will list in a min to please please share their experiences or advice etc,

when he was born he had very bad reflux. When he was a few days old we took him to hosp as he kept stopping breathing. They said he basically had sleep apnea and not to worry about it. Anyway he was off meds at 1 and seemed ok apart from various food allergies. He has been referred to an allergy specialist to have blood tests as there is something else he is allergic too. Anyway, for a few months randomly he has what appear to be night terrors. He is currently having one and its really upsetting. I did some research on what to do/how to help and on the baby center website (hope im allowed to mention it) it talks about this at the bottom of the page.,.

www.babycenter.com/0_night-terrors-why-they-happen-and-what-to-do-about-them_64971.bc

he still has the apnea and last few months his sleep has beenbad, waking very early and iin the night despite normally going to bed fine. Last few weeks he has been waking in the night asking for a drink which again is unusual. Im concerned there may be an issue of the adenoids etc and want to know what to do/if this is plausable? He is so tired and it is obviously affecting him in the day.

any replies i would be so gratful

also his nose is very bunged up/bogified particularly at night and we have bought anti allergy bedding, use a humidifier etc. He has asthma and now has steroids twice a day and dietician thinks nose is down to an allery..

also can a gp look inside a childs mouth and see if they were enlarged?

Hello, mad4, I'm so sorry to hear your ds/you are going through this...sounds v upsetting

My dd2 had reflux and laryngomalacia from birth (diagnosed at 4 weeks during hospital stay for RSV bronch) and both seemed a lot better by 18 months...less noisy at night, off reflux meds etc. Then in the October, when all the usual winter viruses/colds started up, she got really bad at night again - sleep apnoea, night wakings, noisy breathing/snoring. Fine during the day, or at worst a runny nose, but the nights were dreadful. She was about 20 months.

At 2 yrs old, in late November, we took her to the ENT specialist we had seen in the hospital over a year earlier - privately, because we couldn't get an urgent appointment on the NHS. He took one look in her mouth, listened to the short video we had of her snoring/gasping in her sleep, and said her tonsils were huge and probably adenoids too: she was booked in immediately for adenotonsillectomy. He would have done it at once, but there was no slot till January - and she needed an HDU bed as a precaution due to her larynx issues, which made it more complicated.

She had the op in mid January and is hugely better - no more sleep apnoea (she still snores and squeaks at times, but it doens't bother her or us!), eating very well, gained hugely in energy and weight. We had the follow-up apt on Friday, the surgeon said her adenoids had been vast and were almost certainly the main culprit for the sleep apnoea. We're so so glad we had them removed.

If your ds has apnoea, he needs to see an ENT consultant for evaluation, I would think - moderate to severe sleep apnoea is really not good if left untreated, and if adenoids are the issue, its really straightforward to treat! I wish you loads of luck, do let us know how you get on.

x-post: I don't think they can see adenoids by looking in the mouth, but an ENT doctor can look in the nose I think?? Not sure about that. But tonsils, of course, they can.

Try and get a referral to ENT if you can!

ps dd1 had night terrors, without any sleep apnoea problems - dd2 had the apnoea very badly, but no night terrors (possibly too young at the time). I would stress the apnoea and wakings to the doctor, more than the night terrors, in case they focus on the latter at the expense of the sleep apnoea - which is NOT normal at any age! HTH, hang in there...

my dd had breathing difficulties from day one. her snoring/gasping was awful, and her apnoea was worrying, her nose constantly ran, and she often had a hourse voice.

The Gp and consultant could see how enlarged her adnenoids and tonsils were and made arrangements too whipped them out pretty smartish.

It was all quite horrible - but it was the best thing to do she hasn't looked back since.

Sleep apnoea has been linked to behavioural difficulties and learning difficulties mainly due to the deprived sleep they are experiencing.

good luck
excuse all spelling - am knackered

thanks guys. elibean, not sure if you noticed but i was mad4mybaby? name changed as now have 2! we've had coversations about my ds2 who is 17 weeks? Im concerbed that they both hae these issues as ds2 is exactly the same as ds1was as a baby. ds2 is going in hosp next week and theyputting cameras in him, for stomach issues but they'd see the adenoids etc being enlarged if they were wouldnt they?

Hi Mad4! I did think it was probably you, but wasn't sure

Very rough to have the issues with both of them, I'm doubly sorry

No, I wouldn't think they'd see adenoids if checking stomach issues - adenoids are at the back of the nose, so they wouldn't be looking in the same area, iyswim? I would definitely ask the paediatrician and/or GP about adenoids and tonsils: at the very least, they could look at tonsils - they often go together, enlarged-wise.

And/or push the GP for a referral to ENT, maybe for both your boys, to at least have a specialist opinion on ENT issues - adenoids, tonsils, larynx - at least, thats what I'd do, I think. At best you'd have an answer, at worst you could eliminate those from your concerns...

i took ds2 to an ent specialist and he looked up his nose and down his throat and said it all looked fine,does that mean they werent enlarged? Not with camera, i mean with his eyes. Is that accurate enough do you think?

Yes, would think an ENT specialist wouldn't say that unless he was sure. What about ds1?

no, he hasnt seen anyone yet. I only thought of all of this last night. Ive had a nightmare (as you know) with ds2 and them saying nothing wrong with him so im trying to get him sorted (going into hosp next week for cameras and biopsys) before i start asking about ds1 as i honestly think they'll dismiss me and think im being nurotic going in there saying they both ill! Just dont know where to start!