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Original poster

Adenoids - can anyone advise me?

18 replies

Lethal · 31/05/2004 06:59

Hi
I recently took ds (turning 4 in a few weeks) to an ear, nose & throat specialist, and it turns out that he has to have an adenoidectomy. His tonsils are very large but he doesn't have to have them taken out, only his adenoids.

I tried to ask as many questions as I could think of but the dr was in a hurry (typical!!) so there are still a few things I'm not sure about. Are there any adverse reactions/things I need to know about the procedure? Will anything be affected by having them out?

Also, ds has a slight overbite and the dr told me that his adenoids are probably making this worse. I can't see how the two things are connected, but would appreciate any help that anyone can give me on this. Thanks a lot.

OP posts:
Original poster
Lethal · 31/05/2004 23:21

Anybody?! I thought this would be a fairly common procedure.

OP posts:
mears · 31/05/2004 23:26

My ds had his adenoids out when he was 4 yrs without any problems (he's now 13yrs). He was a really noisy eater, very nasal and snored a lot. Once his adenoids were taken out he was much less noisy eating (still snores but not as bad). I can't see how getting adenoids out will make any difference to the overbite (!)
It was done as a day case and he didn't even appear to have any discomfort afterwards. HTH.

Original poster
Lethal · 31/05/2004 23:34

Thanks Mears. I couldn't see the connection either but then I did some research on the internet.. found this a bit disturbing:

"Adenoids usually shrink (regress) in the second decade of life. However, years of any of the problems above may be too high of a price to pay for waiting. In particular, blockage and sleep apnea may result in permanent adverse changes in facial or dental development...in addition to the adverse effects on growth and learning caused by chronic poor sleeping."

The facial development part is what the doctor was talking about. He said that his palate/overbite will probably worsen if he doesn't have them out. Plus the fact that he can't seem to breathe through his nose most of the time.

OP posts:
JJ · 01/06/2004 06:48

My son had his adenoids and tonsils removed when he was 4, also. He had them out due to obstructed breathing. It made a huge difference to his sleeping. After the op we spent many a night checking him while he slept -- we couldn't hear him breathe from our bedroom anymore!

Do you have any questions about the procedure? My son stayed overnight in the hospital.

suedonim · 01/06/2004 09:43

My ds had his adenoids out when he was nine. He was supposed to have had grommets put in, for repeated ear infections, but once they took a proper look, they reckoned the problem was caused by adnenoids. It was the best thing ever - he never had another ear infection after. Good luck!

Original poster
Lethal · 01/06/2004 11:49

Thanks for the responses. JJ apparently it's only going to be day surgery, so he doesn't have to stay overnight. The doctor normally does the procedure first thing in the morning so the kids don't have to fast for very long beforehand.

I guess I just wanted to know if anyone had experienced any complications with it, but it seems to be fairly straightforward. The general anaesthetic is the only thing I really don't like the idea of, but there's not a lot I can do about it.

OP posts:
Canadianmom · 01/06/2004 14:54

Our son is only two and is on the emergency waiting list to have both his tonsils and adenoids removed. Our biggest fear (apart from slight bleeding risk) is the general anaesthetic as well. I am somewhat relieved that the waiting list is as long as it is as this has given us a long time to think about the benefits and risks of the procedure.
Does your son sleep at night? Is he tired all day? How is his appetite? (my answers are no! yes. not great.)
I wish I could offer more advice/help.

Original poster
Lethal · 01/06/2004 22:48

Hi Canadianmom. Yes he sleeps at night, but breathes quite noisily. I've noticed lately that his voice is hoarse in the morning, probably because he's breathing with his mouth open all night. He does seem a bit tired during the day sometimes, but quite honestly I don't know whether he's had disturbed sleep or not - if he is waking during the night, most of the time he must just go back to sleep.

His appetite is ok - especially for junk food!! No he's eating pretty well but eating a meal must be hard for him because once again, he can only breathe through his mouth. I think he's just learned to live with it but I really want to get the procedure over with, so he can start to breathe normally. He's booked into hospital for 1st July so it's only 4 weeks away... a bit nervous but glad at the same time.

OP posts:
Canadianmom · 02/06/2004 08:36

Is the operation being done on the NHS? How long have you waited? Where do you live? (Do you want to play 20 questions?!?)
We are on the NHS and are in Central London (fools!) We have had our son on the waiting list since November. He is constantly sick and never seems well rested. Bless him. I think that he must still be too young to breathe through his mouth as he will choose to stop breathing before inhaling through his mouth. Very frustrating for him and us. 2 years of no sleep has started to take its toll on our entire family.
My mother assures me that my brother was the same and that he was 100% better after the op.! I hope it all goes well for your son. It must be very frustrating having to breathe through your mouth all of the time. Not being able to smell can affect the way food tastes so children with enlarged adenoids tend to like more flavourful foods. (seems true for our son)
Chin up!

Original poster
Lethal · 02/06/2004 09:47

Canadianmom I'm in Australia so it might be a bit different with regard to waiting lists, etc. Most people here seem to have private health insurance now, it was very strongly encouraged by the government a couple of years ago to take the pressure of the public health system, therefore it's relatively easy to have a procedure done if it's being covered by a health fund. Even the public health system here is pretty good, you generally don't have to wait too long to have something done. So I basically rang the doctor's office yesterday and was able to book him in for 1st July.

Sorry to hear about your ds, I hope you can get him in soon. I can imagine how you all must be feeling by now, it will probably make the world of difference to your son once he's had the operation (and to you!!) Losing sleep for that long is pretty awful.

You're right about the food too - ds LOVES potato chips & I've worked out that it's probably because he can taste the salt. Also probably why he doesn't like bland food much.

OP posts:
bluebear · 02/06/2004 19:39

Canadianmom - we're in exactly the same position as you with a 2 yr old ds on the urgent surgery list...sounds identical (also London NHS)

Lethal - Thoughts are with you..we didn't think to ask of anything except the anaesthetic risks..tonsilectomy has a bleeding risk but you don't need to worry about that.

Bettybloo · 02/06/2004 19:52

My son had both tonsils and adenoids out at the age of 3, one night in hospital and no complications whatsoever. I don't even recall him being in any particular discomfort after, though we were obviously worried about anasthetic etc - all was fine. It was the best thing ever for him - he had never slept from birth - woke up on average nine times a night, exhausted all day, then slept like a dream as soon as they were out.
HTH , sorry it's a bit rushed.

Canadianmom · 02/06/2004 21:48

Bluebear: Has your son always been unwell? How long have you been waiting? What hospital? We are lucky to have an amazing paediatric ENT at the Royal Free in Hampstead but she can't make the list any shorter...
Bettybloo: Thanks for the reassurance! Always good to hear from others in the same situation.
Lethal: We are heading back to Canada in September so the op will happen there in short order if it hasn't already happened here. Nice to chat with other mothers from around the world. Is your son nearly old enough to start school? It seems important to get this sorted out before then or he will be too tired to enjoy the experience.

Original poster
Lethal · 03/06/2004 11:28

Canadianmom, he won't be starting school until 2006 (first grade), so he's only pre-school age at the moment. I do really want to get it done as soon as possible, I think it's more of a quality-of-life issue for him now. If he can't breathe/taste/smell/sleep properly, it's best to do it sooner rather than later.

All the best to you and bluebear, & I hope you can get them in soon.

OP posts:
Canadianmom · 03/06/2004 11:45

ARGH! Rang the ENT this morning as ds is unwell (again!/still!). She is on anual leave and we have opted to take him to the GP but during our call my dh inquired about the length of the waiting list and after being bounced from dept to dept he found out that our son is NOT on the list. I am feeling so frustrated and confused. I really do not understand the health care system here... (Sorry for the rant-feeling somewhat better already!)

Original poster
Lethal · 03/06/2004 11:49

So what happens now?

OP posts:
Original poster
Lethal · 04/06/2004 03:15

Canadianmom I hope you can get it sorted out... sorry to hear that they've messed you around, what a disappointment. Can you possibly pay to have the operation done privately...? I don't know whether that's at all possible, it may be too expensive but it might be an option if you wanted to have it done sooner than later. Let us know how you get on - best of luck.

OP posts:
robinw · 04/06/2004 05:52

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