Psyching myself up for ENT appointment for ds2 (2) tomorrow

[ABitStretched]

Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhh I really hate these appointments and always get worked up over it.
ds2 has had 17 ear infections in 2 years, including 14 ear perforations. His first was when he was 3 weeks old.
He's had loads of ENT appoinments and audiology but the outcome has always been wait and see because of the risk of General Anasthetic for child under 2. He's def getting worse and is really ill for days with these infections. Last infection was last week, he had temp of 39, got dehydrated and ended up in hospital with supra-ventricular tachycardia.
Sure grommets is best plan but really worried about anaesthetic as besides the scray tachycardia he also has asthma.

Any advice,suggestions for questions or general support - incl anyone who wants to tell me to pull myself together, get a grip etc etc.

Come on people where are you tongight? I am stressssssssssed

Not at all surprised you are stressed - and stretched - I would be nervous too. That said, anything that stops or reduces his risk of infection has to be good, so can you use the appointment to ask questions about how they think your ds would cope/how they would manage GA for him if grommets are the solution? You have every right to get clear plan for care of a child with asthma and tachycardia, and hopefully they will go to great lengths to make sure he is safe.

dd2 had/has a fair number of ENT issues, had an op last January aged just 2 and spent a night in HDU because she was at higher risk of airway problems following GA...it was pretty scary, but I was imprssed at how much care they all took to cover all possible bases. As it turned out, she had no problems with it at all and was home the next morning, but I do understand how nerve wracking it all is.

Let us know how it goes tomorrow - hope you get some sleep!

I doubt this is an option, but a heavy sedative rather than a GA given your concerns? Perhaps worth raising as a possibility. But I suspect they'll say it has to be under GA.

It just goes to show how different consultants are - ds's ear issues were less severe, but consultant decided to do grommets/adenoids next week because it's affecting his speech and hearing. ds is 2 next month. The risk of a GA for under-2s wasn't mentioned. Will have to look into that one.

Anyhow - back to you. Write down in advance any questions you might have. Really helps to focus my mind. And write down what he says - I'm hopeless at remembering things afterwards. Good luck.

Ok for anyone interested in an update - i took my mum with me for mora support - which was funny coz consultant wasn't really sure who was ds's mum! Put foot down and waited full 2 hours to see consultant rather than the SHO. Booked in for grommets in August. Consultant felt that it was time to intervene as already has some hearing loss and more was inevitable but was pretty frank in saying his history of infections didn't make him the best candidate for it. Off to drink wine to recover from days trauma

Hello abitstretched, DS2 had his first set of grommets at two years old. He had been hospitalised on many occasions with ear and respiratory infection and we were very concerned about the GA but like yourself felt that the op was needed.

Normally it is day surgery but they had arranged for us to stay in overnight and the aneasthetist gave him a nebuliser immediately before he went down to theatre. They should be very aware of his medical history and take all of this into account. The amount of GA they need for grommets is very small. It really is over very quickly, (although it will feel like eternity to you!) and the recovery is good.

We left with antiobiotics for a chest infection which he woke up with the next day, but tbh that was par of the course with him back then.

HTH

August has to be the best time of year to have an op, if you have to have one, due to lower infection risk from viruses etc....sorry he has to have one, but glad if its going to help in the long run.

I agree that hospitals take medical history very seriously with LOs, and should take extra precautions with yours

thanks for messages of support.
slightlycrumpled - as your ds grown out of all the infections yet. My ds2 is ill for about 1 week in 4 with infections and seems to be getting worse not better.

DS2 is 5 now and takes small dose antibiotics daily to keep infections away, and thankfully it does seem to work.

About eighteen months ago we got a diagnosis for him that showed he has a faulty chromosome 22q, which has affected his immune system hence the frequent nasty infections.

As Elibean said the summer months are perfect for this kind of operation as hopefully his ears will be nice and dry. It is horrible when they are poorly all of the time.

Thanks - I've requested that they run his immunology tests again. Done at 5 weeks and 9 months and said he was IgA deficient but would grow out of it by age of 2.Def getting worse not better so they've agreed to run more tests as they will be taking blood anyway at time of op.

Oh thats good. It's best to keep on top of that, has he ever had a long dose of antibiotic as a preventative measure?

It really has made a massive difference to DS2, (although I know long term ab's are not a great thing, but considering how he was....) he has not had a hospital admission for eight months, or a major infection for six! Thank goodness.

I hope he gets on okay, do remember to take some good magazines for yourself, as it is a long day, and when they come back they are still half asleep for ages. Also pack som food for yourself, chocolate always a hit here and his favourite cup to drink from afterwards, and a couple of pairs of pyjamas for him in case he is sick.

Let us know how it goes.

no hospital for 8 months??? Not even A&E?? The stuff of my dreams! lol.

Thanks for your kind thoughts crumpled. He was on fortnightly courses of azithromycin (once a day for three days then 11 days off) - not sure how much it helped but stopped as he had several infections close together at start of this year so paed felt it was unhelpful.

was hoping to take a big box of valium with me for comfort and support.

and yes he will definitely be sick - combination of asthma, throat and ear infections means he can puke phlegm like an Olympic sport. At least I am an expert in catching it and cleaning it now!