[Pudding]

Hey Forum Friends,
My son had a sleep study and the results are that he has severe sleep apnea. The next step is to see the ENT. He will be able to tell me if he needs his tonsils and/or adnoids(SPL) removed. Have any of your children had this surgery? I have heard that the tonsils are more difficult than the adnoids. What was the recovery time for either/both? Did any of your children experience difficulty with bleeding? How old was the child? I will take whatever information I can. Thanks for all your help!

Beth

[mommytoEli]

my non guatling had sleep apnea. in his sleep studies, he never ceased breathing longer than 13 seconds i think....so not severe....still troubling. when he was still doing it at 2, with LOTS of snoring...they decided to give him a t and a. BEST decision for him EVER! (should say that he did have an mri first to rule out central sleep apnea, this, coupled with the fact that he had tonsills 4 times too large, and many ear infections- often a sign of enlarged adenoids, the surgery seemed like the best choice). that night the snoring was gone. we never heard him stop breathing again after that. he sleeps much more soundly and wakes well rested. the surgery itself was easy for him. he experienced no complications. however, due to the apnea concerns and he also had reflux, i got them to keep him one night at the hospital. that was a great choice too. he was irritable and didn't really want to drink anything much, but he was on an iv...so that was good. when we brought him home, he laid for days on the couch watching the same video on a loop 24 hours a day. lol. he didn't sleep much, just ate popsicles and watched a baby einstein movie. lol. after a few days, he was "back to normal" and i slept better at night knowing he was sleeping better at night!

a year later, my brother had the same surgery. he did have trouble with bleeding. he was in his 20's. the doctors will say do NOT give your child any red food or liquids so that you can watch for blood, and they told us call 911 if you see any. they said you could transport him, but it was best for freaking out mommies to not drive. lol.

[becky]

Our good friend just had his removed last week (age 8). The entire procedure was less than 15 minutes. He was home the same afternoon.

He did have a sore throat for about 4 days and only wanted to eat cool, soft things. After about the 5th day he was back to eating almost anything, as long as he chewed it really well.

All in all it was very easy. He also has had terrible issues with strep, sleep apnea, etc. He really needed it done!

[crick]

My youngest had the same thing and had the surgery at age 3. It went well and I spent the night with him in the hospital. Wasn't a good night, but the nurses were very good about monitoring his pain meds.

Once home the worst day was the 2nd day and he really needed the pain meds round the clock. Didn't want to eat anything and I just kept giving him the popsicles and fluids. Basically just laid around for a few days and then he got his energy back, appetite back etc. and it was fine.

No bleeding issues at all. I was told that it's really not that common in children because they use the laser and there's no "true" cutting so that lessens the chance of bleeding.

I definitely recommend it earlier than later because of all the verbal and developmental issues. When you aren't getting your R.E.M sleep as is often the case with the apnea, it does affect the brain's rest and development.

[angelkisses0102]

My DS had obstructive sleep apnea and had his tonsils and adenoids removed at age 2.5. Due to his age he was required to spend the night in the hospital...and he almost didn't drink enough to be released for the second night. Dehydration is a big issue and my DS did not like cold foods or drinks at that point. Bleeding is the main reason, however they keep them in the hospital overnight at this age.

DS struggled on days 3, 7, and 10...due to the healing and scabbing. He would have been out of daycare for about two weeks but we decided I needed to stay home with him at that point. He was on pain meds and needed them...for about 10 days.

It was worth it...but it wasn't easy.

Good luck!!

[pjkay720]

My daughter had her adenoids out two years ago because of sleep apnea. She did great and has no issues today. She no longer snores and finally sleeps through the night. She was 5 when it was done.

[naca]

My little one had his out this spring @ 10months old due to obstructive sleep apnea. He did have to stay in the hospital overnite & like another poster said, almost wasn't released b/c he wouldn't drink enough. He was pretty miserable for about 2wks before he finally started eating/drinking and feeling better again (lost 2lbs). We're waiting on a repeat sleep study b/c although he doesn't seem to snore and I haven't caught him stop breathing, he still does not sleep well at all.

[lmvsmom]

Not all doctors use the laser. There are still some who use the old style, which is more painful (JMHO). Be sure to ask your doc which method he/she uses.

[Lauren57]

My son also had a T and A at 2 1/2 for severe obstructive sleep apnea. He stayed overnight in the hospital because of his age and also some respirtatory problems while in the recovery room. He had no problem the first 48 hours, and then had a lot of pain and woke up frequently for about a week. We spent a lot of time walking around and eating popsicles. He had no problems with bleeding afterwards. As others have said, the change was amazing....he began to sleep thru the night, had a HUGE growth spurt, and was much less cranky during the day (as was I!!) because of getting more rest. It was a tough week, but worth it in the end. I have to say the first month or so it was hard to get used to not "hearing" him sleep when the snoring stopped.

Lauren, Mom to Michael who is now 6 1/2

[mommytoEli]

Originally Posted by Lauren57

had a HUGE growth spurt,

yes! i totally forgot about the growth spurt! our ds also did this. he went from being a tiny peanut, to a VERY tall child. lol!

[sak9645]

I am an "old Mom". In my youth, T & A was done pretty routinely on kids, as there was a perception that it would reduce the number of respiratory infections they got.

I remember my own T & A well, even though it was back around 1950. At that time, I was brought to the hospital in the morning and assigned to a 2-bed room with another child having a T & A. I dressed in a hospital gown, and my parents stayed with me until an aide came to take me and the other child to the OR suite. We both sat on the same gurney; the other child was scared and crying, so I sang her a song.

In the OR, I was given anesthetic with a mask. I believe that it was ether, as it had a bad smell and taste that stayed with me for days. I can still smell it when I think about it. I don't remember anything else about the procedure or recovery room, but I do remember being brought back to my regular room. I do know that there were no lasers then; the procedures were done the old fashioned way.

Back in my hospital room, I got quite cranky because my throat hurt. I even declined ice cream, which was routinely offered to the kids post-operatively to ease the discomfort. And I LOVED ice cream. The other girl was even more cranky, but she ate the ice cream.

The doctor showed me my adenoids, which had been put in a jar. He asked if I wanted to keep them as a souvenir, but I was cranky and grossed out, and made him take them away.

I was allowed to go home that evening, though the other girl remained. She was crying a lot, and the doctors said that if you cried a lot, you were more likely to experience bleeding at the incision site. As a result, they wanted her to stay overnight.

I don't remember much about my first night at home. However, I woke the next morning in pretty good shape. In fact, I was demanding oatmeal cookies. I had been told that I could have only soft foods -- nothing crunchy -- or I would bleed. But I REALLY wanted those cookies, and my Mom finally caved in. I had no ill effects from them.

I don't recall how long I had a sore throat, but it wasn't long. I was pretty much up and about from then on. My main complaint was the continuing taste of the anesthetic.

My guess is that, if the doctors could do such a good job back then, without lasers and such, they certainly shouldn't make heavy weather of a T & A today.

Sharon



Sharon

[Pudding]

I can always count on my forum friends for answers. My ds is so cranky from lack of sleep. We have an appointment with the ENT to see if the removal of both is necessary. It would be nice if it was just the adnoids. I will let you know how the saga continues!! LOL!

Beth

[PackGirl]

Not a doctor... but... in my opinion, I'd have both out... I only say this cuz I'm one of those unlucky kids who only had their adnoids out as a child... and had to have my tonsils out at 31 years old... after suffering 5 years of throat infection after throat infection....oh...and for 31 years... I snored... horribly... havnt snored in a year....

My middle son had his tonsils out in june and it went great. He has attachment problems and I was more worried about that...but really... he did fab with the surgery... the doctors allowed me to be with him when he came out.... he drank two cups of juice and ate a popsicle in recovery...then went home...

One little trick I did...since I went through mine a year before my son... If you want your kids to eat/drink at 1pm...give them pain meds at about noon... that way they are nice and in relief of some pain so they can eat/drink.... also... I personally wanted cold stuff... my son... he lived on warm pudding and room temp cottage cheese... he didnt even want popsicles... room temp kool-aid/gatorade was perfect for him...

Since his tonsils have come out... he no longer snores... some of his behavior problems have settled... and he isnt grumpy in the morning.... all products of a better night sleep!
jmo

[dac_cincy]

I have not finsihed reading but as a sufferer of sleep apnea- it is important to note the following:

1. having tonsils and A's removed only corrects the underlying issue is 30% of cases.
2. It is important to have a post surgery sleep study to confirm that the surgery corrected the issue. Snoring can disaapear, but that does not mean that apnea is gone.
3. Bleeding issues are more prevelant in older children/teens/adults.

best wishes for success

Love to you,

[JustBarbara]

DS had t & a removed in February - just about a month before he turned 3. We had been monitoring his sleep apnea for the previous six months -the ENT specialist took one look at the tonsils, stepped back and said whoa those are huge ... then he took a look at the adenoids and declared them very oversized also. We stayed overnight, he was out of daycare for two weeks - he was fine day 1 and 2 but sore days 3 & 4 - after that he was fine. We just kept activity level very low, only soft foods for two weeks and it was one of the best things I did. He sleeps so soundly now - no sleep apnea at all - and he grew over an inch in the first three months post-op. The op went smoothly and I slept in the bed with him throughout the night - he was on a special monitoring floor (because of age) and there was one nurse assigned to him and his roommate. His roomy was four, having tonsils removed because of many colds/ sore throats but he was allowed solid foods immediately - eek! Good luck.