3 year old tonsils and sleep apnea advice

[Manth101]

Hello! I have 3 year old twins and a 6 year old. One of the twins is such a loud sleeper and always has been and when he was a baby I was told he'd grow out of it. He hasn't. He wakes in the night sometimes coughing and spluttering and when hes poorly its understandably a lot worse. I believe him to have mild sleep apnea. He also eats a lot less than his siblings. I've put this down to just being a bit more particular with what he likes.

Recently I've noticed how huge his tonsils are and was wondering how likely it would be for us to get a referral for his tonsils and/or adenoids removed? I am awaiting an appointment with his gp but given the time of year I expect to be waiting a bit.

Have any of you had experience with this and is a tonsillectomy common or is it something they're reluctant to do? Should I prep for his appointment by keeping a sleep diary whilst I wait or just wait and see what they say? Not worried, just hopeful as I believe it would solve a lot of his sleep and eating issues.

Yes made a huge difference for us.

The gp referred us (didn't seem to want to until we got to 3 yrs old)

We had dribbling, waking at least every 2 hours but the thing they were interested in was the old man snoring. And waking screaming.

They didn't care about repeated tonsillitis.

The ent person didn't really far until we'd done a sleep study (night at home with a little o2 meter on a toe) then they wanted to operate fairly quickly!

Was life changing for us.

That's really reassuring to hear and so glad it helped so much! I truely believe it will be a game changer for him and my instincts are telling me this is what he needs. They kept telling me at routine checkups during his first year that he'd grow out of it but like yourself we have the dribbling and night wakings which is a complete contrast to the other 2 kids. I'm hoping that going back at 3 years they'll take some steps now.

Am hoping for a referral to at least be seen by an ent specialist 🤞

We went private (had health insurance) after GP said nothing wrong 🙄

Private ENT said the tonsils looked large but ok, but then sent a camera up DC’s nose and could see that the adenoids were also large and the airway was basically squished between tonsils and adenoids.

DC has been transformed since the op to remove both - gone from child who lay on the floor most afternoons to sporty duracell bunny. DC also doesn’t get the awful winter coughs and chest infections any more (caused I think by phlegm getting trapped inside rather than coming out as snot). Also doesn’t snore.

My ds had his out when he was 6 (16 now) - both tonsils and adenoids out in same op. He only needed the adenoids out but doc suggested he have tonsils out as well. His symptoms were terrible snoring and constant dribbling of snot out of his nose. I probably shouldn't have had his tonsils out as the after effects of pain we're really bad and sad to watch. His adenoids grew back really quickly and he had to have a second op. They were massive apparently. The constant snot disappeared immediately and his sleep improved.

After being on a waiting list for a couple of weeks we finally have an appointment next week with the gp so am really hoping they nake suggestions to have them removed. Hes just come down from a cold that he caught off his twin so its extra prominent at night at the moment. Poor kid.

The GP won’t make that recommendation themselves but can refer to an ENT - that referral is what you should press for. Good luck!

Perfect I'll be sure to push for that then. Thank you so much!

Hi @SausageCasseroles
hope you don’t mind me jumping on this. Just wondering how old your little one was when having the operation?

My DS is 13.5 months and has had tonsillitis 7 times in 8 months, 4 times just in the last 8 weeks. Bacterial every time so 7 courses of antibiotics and 2 hospital admissions for dehydration.

We have an NHS ENT referral but the wait is 8-9 months just for the first appointment, so we are going privately. I do keep reading though about the risks of the operation in under 3’s so wonder how you found the recovery please?

He’s had a sleep study and just passed it, so they don’t think apnea but have confirmed even when not infected he does have very large tonsils (snores, sleeps open mouthed, dribbles too).

I am getting so worried about antibiotic immunity given he’s had so many courses now, and it’s awful seeing him suffer.

Thank you in advance

Just wanted to update. After a 9 month waiting list just to be seen, he had his tonsils and adenoids surgery on Friday. The procedure took a bit longer than planned because his tonsils were so huge but it's done and he's recovering. Days 1 & 2 he was bouncing around like nothing had happened. Today he's been feeling very rough after a difficult night. I think the oramorph had been making him feel a bit nauseous so we're letting off that now unless needed.

I can already hear a difference in his speech (clearer) and he sleeps almost silently now. I'm amazed at the immediate difference. Now just for some recovery and TLC until back to himself.

We are waiting on tonsil and adenoids removal.
needs a sleep study done first....9 month wait for that then if ok 2.5 year wait for surgery!
When is your son able to go back to nursery if he attends?

Thank you @Manth101 for the update and glad your son finally had the surgery, how amazing that it has made a noticeable difference already. Hope that he recovers well and quickly and is back to feeling himself soon.

My DS ended up having his tonsils removed at 17 months old in July and honestly it’s been life changing for him, I don’t regret it a single second. They also commented that the tonsils were absolutely enormous. He’s still never slept through the night but I know they can’t work miracles. It’s just been so much less of a worry not being on antibiotics every 2 weeks.

@Mrsmch123 my son had 2 full weeks off after the surgery at the advice of the consultant. We also kept him off for a week before to ensure that he was well enough for the surgery to go ahead (he was catching tonsillitis every 2 weeks so it was too big a risk that he could get it and have the surgery postponed). Really hope you get moved up the list quickly!

He needs to be off for 2 weeks to reduce the chance of catching any infections but his twin and older sister are still in school. Once he had a consultation (9 month wait) and they had a look at his tonsils they decided there and then that he needed the surgery and we only ended up waiting 6 weeks for an appointment.

that makes sense. We have been to ent and it was them who gave the timeline but hoping to get seen quicker. They initially said 6 month wait for ent but I called and got a cancellation.

Just been reading your original post and your update. I'm soo happy your little one didn't have to wait long and you can see such a difference.
My son had grommets and adenoids and the difference in sleep, eating, energy etc is crazy! I hope your little one continues to improve and doesn't have any further issues.