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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy Toddler Recovery



This blog has moved.  You can see this blog post here: Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy Toddler Recovery

73 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for this post. I was googling info and came across your blog. My son (3 y/o in June) will be undergoing this next month. I am truly very nervous. I know it's best for him. He has the exact same breathing/snoring issues as your son. He also has several nosebleeds a week. I have heard recovery for some is a breeze and for others can be quite terrible. I appreciate you telling about your experience, as I want to be FULLY prepared for anything!
Amy

Alison said...

I'm so glad that this was helpful! If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. It is scary but everything will be ok. It will be a tough week for you both but once it's over, you will realize how completely worth it, it was! Good luck =)

Anonymous said...

We are on day 6 post surgery and it's been kind of rough, so I was glad to see this post and know it's normal. I hope it starts getting better very soon!

Alison said...

Yes the days post surgery are kind of like a roller coaster. But you have probably come to the end or close to it by now and I hope everything went well! I'm glad this post provided some comfort for you!

Anonymous said...

Hi! I am going into day 5 after surgery with my 23 month old. Day 4 I didn't give him any pain meds and thought to myself that he recovered very quickly. He went to bed at a great time and didn't wake up after 2 hours looking for me (something he did before surgery), so I thought his sleeping got better too. Well... he woke up about 3 hours after he went to sleep crying. He is definitely in pain. I gave him his pain medicine and am laying here with him while he sobs himself to sleep. I can't wait until my little monster is back to his happy self.

PS. His breath is horrendous!

Alison said...

Oh that just breaks my heart! I'm so sorry he was in so much pain! There is nothing worse than having your child in pain and you as the parent not being able to do a thing about it! Hang in there, it will get better as each day goes by! Thank you for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for sharing this! My 3 year old son will be having a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy next month and I am extremely nervous!

Alison said...

You are very welcome! It is nerve wracking, but the most important part is to just be as prepared as you can and it will be that much easier to handle! Good luck and don't hesitate to ask questions if you have any!

Anonymous said...

We just got home from the hospital, my daughter had this procedure done. We stayed overnight and she seemed fine, but she's definitely in more pain today. I'll be reading your blog daily. I gotta say I currently have a sick feeling in my stomach thinking about the days ahead. Hopefully I'll feel like you when this is all over and it will be worth it!

Alison said...

I completely understand! Hang in there. The hardest part is just getting through each day and dealing with keeping your little one comfortable! Please read this as much as you need to in order to get through it. And know that it's completely normal to feel so worried you feel sick! We love our babies and this procedure will make their lives so much better and easier! It will all be worth it! Take care!

Anonymous said...

My son had his tonsils and adenoid out when he was 3 to correct sleep apnea. It was a solid 10 day recovery. What we did not know is that the adenoid can grow back! So, just under a year after the first surgery, my son had to undergo a second adenoidectomy. We are now in the early morning hours of day 5 post-op. Despite being told how much faster, easier, and less painful this procedure would be, we've had a very rough day 3 and 4. I'm hoping day 5 is better.

Alison said...

WOW! I was completely unaware of this! I had no idea the adenoids can re-grow! I'm so sorry you have to go through it all over again! I hope this is the final time! Poor little guy! Thank you so much for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this, we are on day four of recovery for our 15month old and it's been hard going, we only got released from hospital yesterday as she stopped nursing and wouldn't drink or have anything via her mouth. She has been kept on iv fluids plus morphine, codeine, ibuprofen and paracetamol to see her through. Today was the first day she has eaten some cold fruit purée a d yogurt. Thanks for your experience, it's been alot harder than I expected...

Anonymous said...

And I think she has self weaned from breastfeeding as breastfed post op and may now have a pain association :-( this has been really sad for me but I knew it would happen one day, just not yet!

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing your experience! My 4 year old is scheduled for the same procedure tomorrow morning. i am doing my homework and reading up on the recovery as much as possible. Some stories that I have read literally make me nauseous. I cant imagine seeing my little man in so much pain. I am dreading it but I know it is whats best for him. Reading everyones experiences on here has helped tremendously on understanding the possible next week or two for me.

Alison said...

I can't imagine how hard it must have been to have the procedure done on a child who's breastfed. I can completely empathize with how difficult that must be! I hope everything has worked itself out!
I'm so glad this post has helped you all. I hope my story hasn't scared you, but informed you. And another helpful aspect are all the comments left on here. Hopefully they are encouraging to you all and you know you will get through it and yes, it is the best thing for your child! Hang in there!

Anonymous said...

My 3 year old son is on his 4th day of havin his surgery for both things if you would see him hes been all smiles since we got out of the hospital they did a really Good job putting numbing med on that area before he woke up from anesthesia then he got a suppository for pain so he wasnt in much pain when we got home but hes been doin so well it looks like if he hasnt had anything done Hope he still feels like this until everything heels

Anonymous said...

I am now on day 6 with our 21 month old foster son. I really hesitated going through with the procedure before the surgery, but when the doc came out afterwards and told us his adenoids had been blocking 95% of his nasal airway, I was relieved we made the right decision.

The doc told us we'd probably stay in the hospital a couple of days because he was under 3, which was fine by me. Well, we ended up there for five days. He had some breathing difficulties...his O2 levels hovering in the low 80s/high 70s only at night (they don't don't want the level to go below 90). The weird thing was that he didn't seem to be in much pain. He wouldn't eat or drink the first two days, but he was on IV fluids, so I didn't worry. Day 3 he seemed like his normal self-- laughing, eating well--until that night his O2 plummeted again and we had to have 4 breathing treatments over the next 12 hours. They said that sometimes they have problems like this when they're that young. He had them scratching their heads because, like I said, he would be fine during the day. It was crazy to watch his O2 numbers drop when he would fall asleep.

As much as I know he hated being there, I'm glad we stayed those five days. I felt much more relaxed knowing there was a nurse available at the touch of a button. By the way, our experience was not all that common, so please know I'm not trying to scare anyone...just sharing our experience. I think there were other factors most likely causing the breathing problems, because they took a chest xray and saw some stuff in his lungs. My guess is that was probably the culprit, more so than the surgery, although the doc seemed to think it was combination of the two.

We are home now and I think he may be at the point where the scabs are close to coming off. He's been a lot more whiny, he isn't drinking as much and is barely eating, but is doing enough not to raise any concerns. I've been making sure he has the motrin and lortab, but like others, I really hate having to give him the lortab. I had asked the doc to prescribe a lidocaine lolipop, but he said that the lortab was best for now since it had a systemic effect. I know the lortab can be hard on their tummies, so I'll be glad when he no longer needs it.

I went through this same procedure with his 3 year old brother just this past Christmas. I can't even compare the two recoveries. They've been nothing a lot and their related.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for all the info. My son had the adenoids removed last Tuesday. He is being ok so far, a little irritable. I was wondering if your son could sleep through his nose since the 1st day or he started doing it later on (after 7 day recovery). My son still breaths most night through mouth, he feels congested and had nasal drainage every now an then. Is this normal? He still makes some sort of noise when he sleeps but the sound is different. He sounds like he is just congested for flu or mucus, before he sounded different like if his nose was just completely blocked. Great blog, thanks for sharing such experience!

Alison said...

My son's breathing changed pretty immediately. He had his tonsils out too and that was the most painful part so I didn't really notice the change until he was recovered, probably 10 days post surgery. But now he's 4 and is snoring so much again! Someone on here left a comment stating that the adenoids can grow back. I haven't done much research on that yet but I'm nervous that this is the case for my son. A 4 year old should not be snoring the way mine is! I would ask about all of your concerns at his check up appt. I am taking my son back in to get some answers!

Anonymous said...

We are on Day 3 after my son's T&A surgery (he is 2 years, 10 months old) and he is spiking fevers around 102 so I've been alternating Loratab (Vicodin) and Advil every 3 hours on his ENT's advice. That's been working great for pain control too...I'm surprised your ENT didn't tell you to give your son Ibuprofen if the Vicodin was wearing off after 3 hours!

Anonymous said...

Alison. My daughter had her tonsils and adnoids removed when she was 1. The doc told me they can both grow back! As itype this i am sitting in the hospital with my 2yr old that just had tonsils removed and his adnoids rescrapped bc they grew back. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

My daughter is scheduled for surgery on Sept 14 to remove both her adenoids and tonsils after her sleep study showed severe sleep apnea nearly 30 events an hour. I had taken her to her pediatrician that wasted time treating her for allergies, and the hospital ER where they did nothing to help finally we got a doctor to take some action after almost six months of this she is finally going to get the surgery and I am super anxious. Im glad I came across this post so that I have a better idea of what to expect.
I am a student in a medical program and I have to be very selective of how many days off from school I take because three absenses will result in a drop of a letter grade so I needed help determining which days to hand off to my husband. What worries me is I also had a prescheduled school trip to Seattle Washington 10 days after her surgery I am struggling with the possibility she will not be fully recovered before my trip. Any one experience a longer recovery than 10 days? My daugther is 3 and will be 4 in november.

Alison said...

I think 10 days after surgery she will be feeling much much better. My son was back to his old self by day 7 and I think every day that goes by becomes a bigger improvement in recovery after that first week so I wouldn't worry about it. I'd say the worse days for my son were the few days that the scabs were falling off. Good luck and I'm sure she'll do great.

Anonymous said...

My son (who is almost 3) had his tonsils and adenoids removed August 6, then 9 days later he bled and had to go back in for emergency surgery to remove a blood clot on his right tonsil bed and they re-cauterized him so that basically reset the clock on his recovery. We are now 11 days post-surgery (3 weeks after the original adenotonsillectomy) and he just started feeling better today and was able to return to daycare. So yes, it was definitely longer than a 10 day recovery for us (and it is for 1-2% of patients who end up back in the OR for bleeding)

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this! I was looking for info because my 4 year old will be having his procedure done tomorrow (9/10/12). I am nervous but it gives me comfort knowing that I'm not the only one that felt like this going into my child's surgery.

Anonymous said...

We are 6 days post-op after our 4-year old's tonsil and adenoid removal. I tried to prepare myself for a 10-day recovery. Overall he has been a champ! But day 5 and 6 have proven to be the worst so far. Mostly at night. He is unconsolable when he wakes up every couple of hours. We have continued to give him Ibuprofen and Loratab alternating every 3 hrs. What I did not know until today from research is that the Loratab burns. Which explains why he absolutely hates it! He has been great about drinking his fluids and eating soft foods. I am hoping we both get more sleep tonight! Thanks for starting this blog.

Unknown said...

my 19 month old has this tomorrow morning. best place i found. this is way more informative than any medical site even. ive learned as a parent the more ya know what to expect for these things the better ya are. thank you!!!! he is having a t & a. and tubes put in ears!

Alison said...

Thank you for the comments everyone! I'm thrilled that this blog has been so informative and helpful! I was in the same boat; scared and curious as to what to expect, with no informative websites to reference! I hope everyone's children are doing great and that the surgery made all the difference!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your blog my daughter is on day 6 and has done very well until last night she woke up 3 times crying and this morning. I've looked online but mostly found adult information. This the first thing on children. I'm glad to know that this is normal for around day 6 to start hurting again. Thank you for your information.

TracyandSean said...

Thanks for this - our 3-year-old is going in for the tonsilectomy/adenoidectomy Feb 14. This has been helpful! Our little guy has had pneumonia and bad asthma episodes in the past and just had pre-op appointment today - we were not aware about the effects that the anesthetic can have on breathing... We have to give the Flovent puffer for 5 days prior to the surgery - it makes us worried, but they will watch him close for 24 hours after surgery until the anesthetic completely wears off.

Anonymous said...

Hi Alison,
I've been reading this blog for about a week or so as our 2 year old is having his tonsils and adenoids removed in 2 days. I've made contact with the aneasthetist to enquire about pain relief (our son is super sensitive, sleeps badly and all around a highly sensitive child) Anyway the anesthetist has told us that we are not allowed to give him ibuprofen OR Codeine!
He says that in cases of sleep apnoea it is dangerous and can cause death in children.
I'm really nervous as I was counting on the pain relief and I am now very hesitant to go ahead with the procedure fearing 2 weeks of hell.
Is anybody able to shed light on this?
Lisa

TracyandSean said...

Hi all. To comment on Lisa's post, our little guy, 3 years old just had this procedure last Thursday as well as a bronchoscopy (scope of his airway, can be fairly rough apparently). He was in hospital longer than the expected 24 hours afterwards, since he was not taking to fluids and needed oxygen the first night... We were sent home yesterday with morphine and told to buy over-the-counter Tylenol to give in conjunction with the morphine. We were told the same, that apparently hospitals are not recommending codeine or ibuprofen (like Advil) any longer. The morphine dose is actually great because they used a high concentration so we only need to give 1.2cc at a time!
We can really tell that the 2 products we have work - he gets agitated usually 4-5 hours after the doses and not long after he is wanting to eat and drink again. Hope this helped!

Alison said...

I'm so sorry I'm getting this comment so late Lisa! I hope everything went well and his pain was relieved by some sort of pain medicine prescribed to him. If you see this again, let me know how it went. My son was prescribed the Lortab and while it did the trick, it also had it's side affects and if your son is sensitive to medicine in general I can see where the anxiety would lie! Take care!

lindsayeileene said...

My 25 month old son is scheduled to have his tonsils out on Tuesday. He had his adenoids out when he was 13 mos and had no problems with that. My son is a preemie (32 weeker) and as feeding problems so he still drinks his pediasure through a bottle 2-3 times a day (depends on how well he ate). I found out yesterday that he may not be able to have a bottle for the entire healing process from the preop phone call from the hospital. So, I called the doctor and he's out of town until Monday, but his assistant she thinks he can have a bottle. Do you know anything about this?

Alison said...

I don't know anything about having a bottle. I remember the nurses saying that even a sippy cup could cause some sort of suction pressure and could irritate the tonsils and scabs but my son was fine and so were his tonsils. He was on the sippy cup the whole time drinking something cold. How has he been? Maybe try to switch him to a sippy cup.

Anonymous said...

I'm scared shitless!!! My daughter is getting this done this morning and I can't be there. She is 3. She had to be put under for some oral surgery and was overdosed on the oxygen or anesthesia. So that's what scares me the most. I just hope and pray she comes thru safe and well.

Anonymous said...

Wow , my son is almost 6 and having his tonsils and adenoids removed in 2 days. Now I really am confused...lol he is overly sensitive and doesn't do well with drinking things that don't taste or feel good. Has anyone had an experience with a 6 yr old or at these ages it's all the same? Thanks for the blog Alison!

Alison said...

I hope both your children are hanging in there. I know you're probably in the thick of it right now. It gets much much better and has made such a difference for my son, I'm sure you'll feel it's all worth it! There are probably a lot of pros and cons to doing at the age of 6. They are more aware which can be good and bad, but it's no fun either way. Hang in there!

Unknown said...

Thank you for this. We are on day 3 with our 24m old. Hes been pretty difficult. He had probs coming out of anesthesia. And he's REFUSING to drink anything. At. All. I'm to the point of syringing pedialyte into him every hour. I give him 30mL's every hour. Then I'm also giving him Boost for the nutrients. The kinute he puts a cup to his mouth he starts crying and says oooowwwwiiieeeee. I'm watching for signs of dehydration though and he appears ok. Good tears. He's urine has slacked off a bit but that's expected since he's not drinking much. He's having a wet diaper every three hours, so he's ok there. I just wish I could help him drink. They gave us lortab but it was wearing off after 2 1/2 hours. They upped it while we were in the hospital; but when we came home they said we couldn't have such a strong dose. Hes hanging in there though when it comes to pain. If he would just drink!!!! I've mentally prepared for the next couple of days.

Alison said...

Crystal, I would suggest trying to get him to sip on ice cold anything, apple juice or water. If he can just feel it on his throat I'm sure he'd feel relief. Have you tried a popscicle? Maybe the lure of that will help him start to want to drink something. Definitely do the pedialyte if he's not drinking much still. Our son wouldn't take his mouth off of anything icey. Brought him lots of relief! Hang in there and good luck!

Anonymous said...

I see that this blog has being going strong for over two years. Wow.
Well I'm on day 6 with my 4 year old son and it's been bad. My coworker's daughter had her t&a about 3 months ago so fortunately I was well informed on what to expect from her. Her daughter is almost exactly the same age as my son as there is only a couple of days in age difference. What I haven't seen anyone mention is the kid who doesn't drink enough no matter how much you try to force them to drink. My son has had a fever since yesterday off and on. I strongly believe the fever is caused by dehydration as I was warned that if a fever is present 90% of the cause is most likely dehydration. He hasn't eaten well at all as he has always been a picky eater. I'm really losing it at this point because he doesn't like soup, applesauce, mashed potatoes, etc. I made him really soft mac and cheese and he literally ate 4 very tiny spoons. I looked in his mouth with a flashlight to make sure there is no bleeding and I see that the white scab is there with no blood and his breath is horrendous but I don't know what to do to get him out of this bad spot. I thought I would see some improvement at this point. I'm giving him pedialyte and juice and water but obviously it isn't enough. urine is dark yellow and no bowel movement since surgery so I'm pretty positive it's dehydration. I'll continue to be diligent to get him back in good health but I'm glad I came across this so I can share my experience and find out if anyone else is dealing with or has dealt with a fever at this stage. Alison since this is so long after your little ones surgery, any issues since? No grow back? I heard that the adenoids grow back if it's not cut from the root. Not sure if that's the case or not but my husband had to have his surgery twice for that reason. Once it was cut from the root, he hasn't had a grow back since.
Thanks guys for allowing me to share and thanks Alison for your bloh.

Anonymous said...

When i was a 4 years old kid i had that operation done. and i can still remember how difficult it was to swallow any thing. They were forcing me to eat ice cream but nothing calmed me down but video game hand held from the good old days. then i was eating ice cream it would hurt a little but kind of ignored it because i was too busy playing video games.

when my friends and cousins used to come around i would feel better automatically.


Now the doctor told me that my 3 years old son have to go through that as well.

So, I am gonna stacking up on some new cool ipad games for him and some of his favorite ice cream and soup. I will probably also use a juicer to feed him other things for those 10 days post surgery.

Tani said...

Alison, how fantastic of you to share, and stay with this post for over two years now. This is much needed info that moms aren't getting from doctors or hospital staff. We are at the end of day 9 with our inconsolable, 22 month old grandson. Im glad to be here & able to give his folks night off, and I pray that any of you moms out there in this situation have someone near by that can help. Our little guy still has the scabs, I saw when he was screaming at me a little while ago. I am worried about them taking longer to come off because he wont eat or drink hardly anything. He's down from 27 pounds to 19. So tomorrow, appointment or not, I am going to talk to his pediatrician, just to make sure, ya know? Hope I am not being "one of those grandmas", but 9 days seems like too many.

Thanks again for this!
Tani H. -Tani@Q.com

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for sharing! My 3year old son (part of a twin) has the same breathing/snoring issues that it has impacted his growth. He was similar weight to his sister when born but now am significantly smaller. We are bringing him to an ENT specialist next week for review and to better understand what our next steps are. Been reading literature online about the procedures and honestly, it all sounds very scary!

Alison said...

To the anonymous replies, I hope everything is getting easier. Tani, definitely get your grandson into the doctor. 9+ days of pain seems rather long without having had a follow-up. And that weight loss, if that's weight he's lossed in 9 days something should definitely be done. You can never be too careful! I hope you all continue to get the information and comfort here and that your little ones are improving.

Anonymous said...

Our daughter is Day 4 and is coping well. We were told no ibuprofen as well; we have been giving her Panadol regularly and holding out on the Oxycodeine (prescribed). We have been told to be prepared for days 5-7 so it has been great to read all these blogs and get a bit more prepared for the coming days ahead. Just re eating; we were told 'whatever' she eats is great; so as bad as it sounds we have been giving her custard, which she prefers alot more than ice cream as it is too cold. She is still very nasally and hard to understand so hopefully this will also change in the next month. Thanks for the great reading and insight!

Anonymous said...

Thank you providing your experience. My 16 month old and 3 1/2 year old are both having their tonsils removed tomorrow. I am afraid we have set ourselves up for a nightmare over the next 2 weeks. But they both have been diagnosed with sleep apnea (the 16 month olds was severe). Hopefully, all will go smoothly. But thanks to all the stories I think that we are as prepared as we can be.

Anonymous said...

Alison.. thank you so much for posting this.
My 4 year old had this 10 days ago and days 456 were just horrible.. She ran a 104.5 the first couple days and I had to keep giving her liquids in a spoon.. she refused to drink anything.. I didnt know the recovery was this hard.. Well her T&A were HUGE.. AND she had terrible sleep apnea.
she still wakes up atleast a couple times at night crying, but I think its because she got used to getting up and being held.. I'm scared to stop the pain meds and really hope she's better in the next couple days..

CR said...

My daughter is 3 and will need her tonsils shaved and her adnoids removed. Do you know the difference between recovery for a shaving or removal? I am literally shaking reading this because I do not want to see her in pain. I knowmit is best for her but it just seems unreal for her and me!!

Anonymous said...

We are on day 4 post T&A for my 3yr old son. It's been challenging. I feel like his pain control isn't adequate, especially since so many here are mentioning Lortab. His doc recommended Tylenol for pain, and nothing else. My son refuses Popsicles, ice cream and juice- all big treats in our house! There's lots and lots of crying and cajoling but I'm hoping it will be over soon.

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much on this info. My son is having tonsils, adnoids, and tubes on 10/9/13. He is only 2 1/2 so I am expecting a rough week. I have to keep in mind that he will be so much better off once he's healed. He has very large tonsils and it sick every month. He also has restricted breathing. Once again thanks for your blog :)

Heather

Anonymous said...

My son had T&A in Aug 2013 and for a few days we suffered as he refused to eat his medicine or drink anything. Dr and nurses were least helpful.

What helped me was vicks chlorosepctic spray. It numbs the throat. I diluted it with water since my son is 5 years and that gave us enough time to feed him his medicine and food.

Also we had tough time giving him medicine the first few days and then I found these chewable orange motrin for kids and it was a lifesaver.I crushed it initially and then my son would simply lick it slowly. I wish I had found these 2 things before. hope this helps others out there.

Anonymous said...

My son just turned 3 in September of this year and had both his tonsils and adnoids removed on Nov 7. I thought I was really prepared as I did a lot of research and talking with the ent doctor. Nothing can really prepare you for the road ahead. Everything went as expected on our arrival day. Surgery was over faster than I had anticipated. When he woke from recovery he was only groggy. Not mean or crying. We had to stay over night for observation since he is 3. The reason we had this surgery done was because my son had sleep apnea. After a sleep study it was found he had an oxygen level of 87 and 40 pauses of breathing on average per every hour of sleep plus he snored loudly. So that evening after surgery he slept so soundly that I had to get up and make sure he was even breathing! The next morning came....misery! He fought taking medicine. Me dad and nurses had to hold him down. Next we resorted to suppositories. His pain came every three hours. He was taking Tylenol with codeine and regular Tylenol. He complained his belly hurt so we removed him from Tylenol with codeine. The ent put him on motrin and regular Tylenol since they could be given every three to the and half hours. This was not the biggest hurdle though. It was the lack of liquids intake. An over night stay turned into a three night stay. So total of four days and three nights. We could not leave until he was taking in enough fluids to convince the Dr he would not wind up back in the er for dehydration. What a mess...He wouldn't take drinks of anything or eat. Finally on day day four he ate jello and pudding and started to drink a little. So we were able to come today...on day 4. I rotate Tylenol and Motrin to keep him pain free. Feed him anything he will take that will not harm his throat. I still have to fight him to take his medicine. I was told that as long as my son consumed 60 ml an hour he would dehydration. That breaks down to four tablespoons an hour. Very do-able! So I know day 5 and 6 should be tough as the scabs usually fall off around then. Not looking forward to tomorrow and the day after but ultimately I made the right decision for my son's health and development. He probably and hopefully will not remember any of this anyhow. I hope this helps someone out there. Just be there to love hug and kiss your baby through this scary time. Even if you cry with them...both your child and you will get through. This too shall pass :-)

Anonymous said...

Sorry...should say as long as he consumes 60mi per hour he would avoid dehydration.

Anonymous said...

ml not mi....darn smart phone

Alison said...

I'm so happy this has been a place for all of you to post your own experience with your children. Reading through these comments, I'm seeing how incredibly different and unique each of your experiences have been. I hope all of your children are doing wonderful and hope all of the tough hurdles were worth it. Take care and keep us all updated!
With love,
Alison

Unknown said...

Reading these posts makes me not feel so alone in this. My son is 3 and had his tonsils and adenoids removed on the 8th of this month. I had read a lot about the recovery and felt like I was prepared for this but I had no idea!! We had him there first thing in the morning and surgery went as expected. On the ride home I was able to get him to drink some apple juice which I was pretty excited about. The first few days went pretty well. He was eating and drinking-as long as we kept on top of the pain. I thought maybe this was a good sign and that his recovery wouldn't be so bad after all. After the third day is when things have started to get a little rough. Nights are definitely a challenge as well as mornings. Day 5 is when he stopped eating as much and is needing his pain meds every 4 hours like clock work. He is up every couple of hours at night and is very upset. I have never seen him so aggressive. Its so hard to get him to calm down. I wait as long as I can but if he refuses his medicine I have to hold him down just to get it into him. I feel horrible. I have been sleeping on the floor of his room with him. Or pretty much wherever he throws himself I am right there next to him. He kicks and screams until the medicine kicks in and then he is able to fall back asleep. We are going on day 7 and I'm hoping that we are on the mend. I have to say the days are ok its mainly at nighttime and morning where it's the hardest for him. After reading so many different blogs about this I feel better knowing that the way things are going for us and our little guy is completely normal. As hard as it is right now I'm sure we did the right thing.

Alison said...

Ugh, Lisa I feel for you! I'm sure by now he's doing wonderful. You definitely did the right thing. I'm so sorry it was so painful for him!

Anonymous said...

Hello...here with an update: I posted on November 10th that my son had his tonsils and adnoids out on November 7. Well here it is November 24 and he is doing great! Breathing well and well rested. Although I must add that he has had two episodes of waking from sleep screaming and crying. I couldn't find anything wrong with him and he wasn't offering any info either so I came to my own conclusion...maybe bad dreams. He has never had these before so I can think of only one thing to be bothering him- possibly memories of surgery or hospital stay. Has anyone else had this issue?

Anonymous said...

So useful thank you so much! I feel less alone. We are day 3 post surgery and my 18 month old is in pretty bad form. He's struggling to sleep at all and I've never known him cry like this. I too think he's having night terrors as he wakes completely panic striken and inconsolable.

Anonymous said...

Update from post on Nov 24...the night terrors have gone. Luckily it was only three episodes. I know I made the right decision for my son. The path was hard, but over now. It's as if nothing happened. He breathes great and sleeps even better. Hope my posts help others. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Although I think parents should be told it is really a three week process from start to complete end of healing process. I know it took that long for my son to return to his normal self.

Anonymous said...

I stumbled on this website while searching for information for my son's surgery. He had tonsils,adenoids, and tubes put in ears. He had surgery on April 16th. I am so stressed. He was prescribed Tylenol with codeine. I am having trouble getting him to take it. Today is day 6 and I am worried he will not get better because he gives me a hard time to take the medicine. He is 3 1/2. Can anybody give me some encouragement and words of hope here!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your honest recount of your child's op. My 2yr11m son is getting an adenotonsillectomy next week. I am feeling nervous about the recovery but I feel more prepared and equipped after reading your blog.
Thanks x

Jamie said...

My twin 3 1/2 year old boys are getting their tonsils and adenoids out in a few weeks on the same day!! Thankfully I have a husband that is extremely helpful. I am very nervous however this has helped me know what I need to get for them prior to coming home. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Alison, I am curious, did you ever hear anything more about whether your sons adenoids grew back? I am hoping not and that you didn't have to go thru that again. I am on day 10 with my son and your blog was nice to read. Thank you, best thing we have ever done! The silence at night is wonderful for him and us!

Alison said...

No, they haven't grown back. What I've realized are, the times that he snores a lot are mainly due to congestion. He was sick a few weeks back and I couldn't believe how loud he was snoring, but he was sick. Since then he's been perfectly fine. I think it's rare but can happen.

Anonymous said...

So my 3 year old son just had his tonsils out (Adenoids were already removed). Our facilities do not allow strong pain meds for children under the age of 7 so we are only allowed to use tylenol and motrin. He has put up a huge fight and we are now day 4 after surgery and he refuses to take the medicine saying it burns. He is in so much pain, just hysterical cannot sleep/rest at all. I was at a loss, thinking something was seriously wrong, but maybe its because the scabs are starting to come off. I feel so bad for him. We are going to try the chewables because he absolutely will not take anything else and I cannot continue to see him in all this pain! Thank you for posting your blog.

Anonymous said...

My 3 year old son had his tonsils and adenoids removed. Day 1 is great. Day 2 not good. Day 3 and 4 ok-ish. Day 5, 6 and 7 really bad. I just can't believe how much pain he is in. We give him Panadol and oxynorm every 6 hours and that is barely helping. I would have preferred nurofen (ibuprofen) over Panadol however there are risks of secondary bleeding with ibuprofen as it is known to thin the blood. Fingers crossed that day 8 is better. On a positive note, he now hardly snores and cannot be heard breathing from down the other end of the house.

Anonymous said...

Hi all im on day 8 post adenoid and tonsil surgery on my 6yr old daughter. I was terrified too before she went in. Shes had a pretty good recovery so far (touch wood) first 2-3 days were hard. Used panadol every 5 hours and gave her oxynorm twice throughout the recovery period. Noone warns you about the bad breath!! Its soo bad (im 6months pregnant so maybe im smelling it worse) but it is AWFUL. hoping it passes soon. I gave panadol once the past 2 days and shes fighting with her brother as usual. Im a bit scared about bleeding now that its healing but the reason we got it was for her nasal congestion and constant sore throats. She was getting tonsil stones regularly and dribbling which meant her teeth were rotting aswell. I see a HUGE difference in her nose already. Snoring is fairly bad at the min but shes eating the bare minimum but taking fluids a lot so always remember the reasons y your doing it. It'll be worth it in the end. PS i was advised to only give nurofen/ibuprofen in extreme pain when the other two werent cutting it because it can thin the blood. Under no circumstances can they have aspirin for the same reasons. I stopped any nurofen months in advance x good luck to you and your kiddies x

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much Alison & everyone else for all the information provided here, thought I'd share some tips that are helping us through this, it's very very tough! My little 5 year old has his tonsils out 6 days ago (Surgery was in the morning so I am counting that as day 1 is that right?) he came out of surgery very disorientated & upset, felt sick to my stomach watching him. We stayed overnight & the worst times are when he wakes from a sleep. After a horrific day 2 morning where he was demented with pain so much so I couldn't get his pain relief into him, I eventually had to get firm :0( I decided to put a dehumidifier on at night, right by our bed & oh my gosh it has made so much difference, he still wakes up very sore but nothing like the trashing around before, highly recommend trying it out as it keeps the air moist. Little towel on the pillow for drooling was a great tip I read too & plenty of tissues on hand for them to spit into, my little guy is still not swallowing his saliva. So far day 5 & day 6 (today) have been the worst because of the new "ear pain" went to our doc yesterday as he has a very mucusy nose which for me is a warning sign for an infection, did anyone else's little one get a runny nose post op? She gave me an antibiotic & steroid nose drops for rhinitis (the constant antibiotics & steroid drops are why we had to get his tonsils removed!!) Im hoping it's connected & will be our last set. Any way for the ear pain the otc meds don't seem to work so I read that rubbing Vicks behind their ears work for relief & it has worked so far for us. Off to get heatpads to see if that helps too. I'm nervous about the nurofen as we were advised to alternate between that & calpol & have been medicating every 3/4 hrs, the doc yesterday even suggested I increase the dosage on both!! Off to research now! Best of luck & love to all your little ones, I just can't wait to see a bit of light & sleep! Tks again Alison x Orla

Jackson said...

We are 8 days today post surgery and my daughter won't eat nothing and drinks very little we had her back to the hospital 4-days ago they gave I've fluids sent us home today and yesterday all she wants to do is sleep is this normal for day 8.

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