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Children's health

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Original poster

recurrent tonsillitis

21 replies

turtle23 · 01/07/2010 13:40

DS1 (2.3) has recurrent tonsillitis. The paed he saw was not worried at all by the 6 bouts he's had in the past year and said not to bother with ABs anymore...to just let it ride. I thought we were possibly in the clear as it has been three months since the last bout. This morningit came back again.
My GP decided last week (before this episode)to refer him to a different dr, an ENT, as he still has massive tonsils and was retching, etc even after that long. Will hopefully be seeing him soon.
In the meantime we have to go to GP today as DS is very poorly. Am in two minds about whether to insist on ABs as he gets SO POORLY with it and the last time we tried without I gave up after 5 days of 40 temp and him crying that there was a fire in his throat.

Has anyone else been through this? What did you do? Also, the penicillin they give him is beyond foul tasting (plain penicillin) is there seriously NO alternative to it? Try making a child who can barely drink swallow something that tastes of chemicals.

I'm so very sad. Poor DS.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

jenroy29 · 01/07/2010 14:06

Does he not have the (lovely, I used to lie to get it) amoxycillin (banana flavoured) medicine.
How come you haven't got the appt for the ENT specialist yet the billion pound computer system for the NHS makes the appt there and then.
I would be insisting he have his tonsils out as soon as you get to see the ENT doctor although he may still have bouts of flaringitis but that's not so uncomfortable.
All the best, I know how horrid it is.

Original poster

turtle23 · 01/07/2010 15:08

We can't have amoxycillin for his tonsils for some reason. It doesn't work.

Re the appt with ENT...letter has to be written up and posted internally from GP. They have written and sent it...it got lost. This happened 4 times with first paed before I got pissed off and picked it up myself (not allowed) and took it to them. I have been told it will be a wait like it was to see first one (we waited 6 weeks) and I am just in pieces not knowing what to do.

Not only have I been told that they won't take his tonsils out for YEARS as he has to have a longer ongoing whatsit and he needs to be older BUT the paed we saw doesn't even think he's had it an abnormal number of times.

OP posts:

Helinher30s · 01/07/2010 15:14

There is an alternative antibiotic medicine called cefalexin - which can be taken for tonsillitis - it tastes delicious and my DS who suffered with tonsillitis every 2 weeks for a year lived off the stuff!!! he had his tonsils removed at 4 years and 1 week but I had been pushing for their removal for a while.. i think the only draw back with the cefalexin is that it takes longer to work than the others but it is a good 'all rounder' antibiotic and worked a treat for my DS - good luck, I know how hard it is dealing with ongoing tonsillitis and ENT specialists etc..

Original poster

turtle23 · 01/07/2010 16:09

They've given erithromycin...or at least that's what we'll have tomorrow when chemist gets it in.. long night ahead...

OP posts:

Helinher30s · 02/07/2010 10:12

Hi, just a warning, the erythromycin medicine tastes disgusting - even worse, sorry. and it made my DS vomit every time - only telling you in case your DS vomits and you wonder why!!

Original poster

turtle23 · 02/07/2010 12:20

Noooooooooooo! Shit. Hoping for best.

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mummytime · 02/07/2010 12:30

Amoxycillin was the only thing that ever worked for my tonsillitus. I'm sue thats why I'm not allergic to it. I would complain, see a different specialist.

Back in the bad old days it too 9 months for me to see a specialist (and most of that time on Amoxycillin) but then only a few months to have them out. But they don't like doing it to under 5s, over 5 at least you can point out the amount of school time they are missing.

Aren't hospital appointments done online now?

Original poster

turtle23 · 02/07/2010 13:05

Luckily it tastes lovely!

Online...you are joking. My trust is only just working out how to use a telephone. Dr has just rung to say Mr ENT's secretary has been on hols and is back Monday. Hmmfh.

OP posts:

beammeupscotty · 02/07/2010 21:22

Hi
When my DS was around 5 he would get tonsillitis every 6 weeks or so. He would eventually after a few days get very sick with fever, not eating drinking, and need abx when I saw the gp. My DS told me it was starting up again, so instead of waiting until he became really unwell took him early. GP said see how he goes on calpol. Sure enough over the next 5-6 days he was feverish, temp never fully coming down, not eating and barely drinking. He just laid on his bed 24/7.

Every day I thought, thats it we're off to GP, but as a nurse thought I would see the signs of a really sick child so hung on. Anyway he eventually perked up and has never had tonsillitis since!!!. He's now grown up. Would I do it again or advise anyone else to do it. NEVER. When I look back at how sick he was and barely drinking for 5 days I think I was mad, he could easily have become septic and very sick.

Im sure this is no use to you but the leave it and see option is only for iron mummys.

PS. I left my 16 year old daughter at home with headache and fever and she had viral meningitis. Im a shit mummy.

Original poster

turtle23 · 03/07/2010 07:51

Thanks for that...we did let one bout of not-so-bad go without but I couldsee this one was a doozy and am not so strong as you!(Am also LP with a baby as well so feared midnight difficult dash to casualty.) Also GP we saw said that she would be very very uncomfortable not giving him ABs as he was so poorly.
I cannot seem to win. Hoping that we get some resolution soon. I HATE ABs.

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OooohWhatIfItHurts · 05/07/2010 19:58

As a little girl - about 5 or 6 I reckon - I would have tonsillitis several times per year. The doctors were all for whipping my (enormous) tonsils out but my mum couldn't face making me have an operation and so we just rode the bouts out but always with antibiotics.

There MUST be loads of different types of antibiotics. to hear that your DS is stuck with a foul tasting one. Is there any way the taste can be disguised? Maybe mix it with Ribena or something to make it sweet?

I was given erythromycin (sp?) and it was strawberry flavour and I quite liked it. Mum says that she would see the difference in me straight away. I used to live on ice cream and dairylea triangles. Sorry, this has turned into a nostalgia fest and isn't very helpful! But just wanted to let you know that my huge tonsils and I survived. I had a bad couple of years then outgrew it.

BlameItOnTheBogey · 05/07/2010 20:02

I suffered with recurrent tonsillitis all through my childhood with drs insisting that nothing could be done and I would 'grow out of it'. At the age of 22, when I was still taking antibiotics 1 week out of every 4, I insisted on having them out and haven't looked back since. Poor you because I know how awful this is. Please push to see the ENT chap and don't be fobbed off.

SleepingLions · 05/07/2010 20:18

My DS has suffered with this since he was 10 months. DP insisted on an appointment with ENT after our GP said the same.

We have gone through the last 2 bouts without AB's. We used a nasal spray which helps a little bit by drying up his nose.

We saw ENT dr and explained that he had it 6 times in the last year and seems to suffer from an almost constant dry cough in between. The ENT dr has approved DS to have his tonsils removed.

I always thought that they would refuse to remove them. They cannot say it will definitely stop the tonsillitis but we shall see.

BlameItOnTheBogey · 05/07/2010 20:41

Sleeping - the argument they used not to remove my tonsils was that the infection would just reappear somewhere else but in fact it went away totally and I haven't had any kind of throat infection since (some 12 years ago now). Hope it works for your son.

mizu · 06/07/2010 20:18

DD1 had tonsillitus every 3 weeks for well over a year. We pushed for her to have them out, saw a couple of doctors and was on different kinds of antibiotics. Had them out last October - on her 5th birthday - and we have never looked back, she has been so well and healthy and happy.

Original poster

turtle23 · 06/07/2010 20:35

Thanks all...we went back to GP today as he is still (TMI alert) coated in pus. They gave him Co-Amoxiclav this time. Ho hum.
Got appt with ENT on the 16th Aug now. Seeing paed one more time in 2 weeks and I'm sure she will brush it off as normal again.

I will push for the op I think.

OP posts:

Bonsaibab · 10/07/2010 20:31

Keep pushing and if you need to see someone else then do it.

Tonsillitus is just horrible and my son now refuses to take the penicillin. he is 4 and it is just impossible to get it down him. He even hates the banana one after being forced to take it so regularly!!

We saw several GP's after an average of 8 bouts a year and we were finally referred to an ENT specialist.

We have a date for his operation on 2nd August.

Goodluck x

kerrywells2006 · 23/07/2010 20:42

We went through this with my daughter last year. se had six bouts in speace of 3 months 2 of which caused her to be hospitalised.

We had an ENT referral where the registrar decided they did not need to come out despite them touching in the middle and causing confirmed sleep apnoea. After another bout we got a private referral where the consultant was adamant they shoudl come out immediately. This was done 3 weeks later and she is now a changed child for the better.

Keep puahing - the antibiotics are not good for them to be having so regularly. We had the suppport of a good doctor who saw what she was going through.

Good luck xx

Sooty7 · 24/07/2010 22:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

giraffesCanDanceInTheSun · 24/07/2010 23:05

Push to get them out - so much easier as a child. I am now an addult with recurrent tonsillitis and its a nightmare on work time off etc. Also with scarred tonsils you end up with tonsiloths etc. Ive been told that its 5x a year on nhs to get them out, I am only 3 times or so at the moment and even thats a nightmare and the risk of it seems to be always there and I worry about it lots if I have a busy week coming up etc.

Yesterday was my friends wedding - I have it at the moment - had to take painkillers every 2 hours (alternating co-cod and ibu) and managed to get through it on sheer adrenaline, had to eat sugar in church though as felt like I was going to faint.

Had a lot of time off school with throaty things as a child.

jaximax · 23/02/2011 08:34

me and my 5 year old have strep throat together. so hard to get her to take penicilin, also it contains E110 (sunset yellow) and other junk banned in usa and many european countries. So, she has my tablet (in this case it worked out as half) crushed in jam. This works.
I have friends with child on long term meds for fits, they now ask for capsules and mix contents with jam. they do this for ease of compliance and to avoid additives.
From now on i will avoid liquid meds, I am taking my daughter's instead, it tastes foul and taste doesn't go away for over an hour.

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