My daughter had hers out when she was three. Took her to the store first, let her get all the pudding, jello, soup and ice cream she wanted. All she wanted to eat when she got home was cookies. I let her, and she did fine. Only problem she had was with the pain medicine they gave her- that made her throw up. Gave her liquid tylenol after that, no problem. She had "kissing tonsils"- they touched each other, you could not even see her uvula. Stayed on an antibiotic for most of her life before the surgery, in fact, she was taking one when they did the surgery. She snored so loud you could hear her all over the house! The surgery was a miracle, she still has sinus infections, one or two a year, much better than chronically sick as she was before.
One of my daughters had her tonsils and adeniods removed when she was two due to sleep apnea. Maybe it wasn't as bad because of her age ... she wanted to do cartwheels in the yard the day after surgery :shock: She was back to her normal self in a few days.
My son had this done last year when he was 22 months old. He had suffered from chronic ear infections. The first few days were really hard for him, but he was allowed to go back to daycare after 3 days. However, it did take about 2 weeks before he seemed back to his old self as far as eating and sleeping well. Hasnt had an ear infection or cold since either.
Maybe you should see the laser dr - sounds like it might be the better way to go. My DD had them out in 1st grade (she's in 11th now) and we did it over Spring break. The tylenol w/codiene that they prescribed made her sick. She mostly had stuff like whats already been mentioned, ice cream etc. But all thru elem sch and ms, she seemed to have problems with her throat getting dry and hurting. The dr's have looked at it, and all they say is well, it newer skin, therefore more sensitive. She used to hate PE, because they wouldn't let her stop and get water when her throat hurt!
My 8 year old grandson... had them removed last summer. It does hurt, but if you give them all that love and attention it won't be bad. One thing to remember is that they will talk with a nasal voice for a while, but rest assured it will not be permanent. My grandson was out of school with sore throats many times prior to his surgery. He also snored so loud that I couldn't sleep with him before his surgery. I had him the day after surgery and he didn't snore at all to the point that I shook him a little to see that he was all right...LOL. He is much more healthy now, and it was a good decision made!
I am 31 and hod mine both removed a little over a year ago... Yes it hurt but my doctor (Raleigh Ear Nose and throat) told me to try to eat solids as soon as possible and not just stick to the ice cream jello thing. That was the best suggestion!! I had a hot dog the day after! Yes my throat hurt but eating solids helped so much with keeping the scabs (I know gross) from becoming hard and so on. My throat just felt like a horrible sore throat for about 3 days and then got better after a week and 1/2. My worst problem was the horrible taste is my mouth and dry throat feeling. Not sure if your Doctor will tell you this or not, but it was not "horrible". Hurt - yes.... but it was not the worst thing. I worked at the hospital when they were removed and read my report from the surgery too!!! They did like an acid deal and surgically scraped and shaved away the tonisil and used a vaccum suction the whole time and then sucked out my tummy to get the rest!!!! So things have changed! No longer just cut them out. the adenoids they did just removed though. I pray things will go well!!!
My son was 3 and my daughter was 9 when they had their adnoids & tonsils removed. My son was the worst because he didn't understand that if he took the pain medicine it wouldn't hurt so bad. My daughter did great expect she did do the throw up thing in recovery after the surgery, but that was just from the anesthesia. She understood to take the pain meds. Also, I found that giving them tylenol (they don't recommend ibuprophen because it can cause bleeding) around the clock was better than doping them up on the narcotics. Also, the 5-6-7 days after the surgery were bad because they are in a lot of pain at that time because the scabs are coming off. Once this has passed, it's smooth sailing. Just have patience and lots of hugs.
Hi, I worked for an ENT doctor for 16 years and just wanted to agree that T&A is not so bad for children. If at all possible, try to use a doctor and hospital that will use a laser and not cutting and cautery. It is less painful and less chance of post operative bleeding. Typically kids feel bad for the first 2 days, and then do well for 3 days, then have a relapse of tiredness and possibly fever for a day..which is normal. Most important is to make sure they do not dehydrate so they will not have to be admitted for IV fluids. Good Luck!
Do it now while she's young. The older you get, the harder it is on you. I had my out at 17 and thought I'd die before I could get anything down my throat. BUT it's the best thing I ever had done!
Both of my daughters had this done at that age. They were constantly sick before the surgery, with ear infections, strep, etc. and have been pretty healthy with very little sickness since. They had both removed, because they were so enlarged, it was causing sleep apnea. Both of my girls were only out of school for 1 week. They said their throats were a little sore, but that's about it. They both woke up from surgery requesting food, so I fed them. I kept plenty of soft foods around like mashed taters, pudding, ice cream, etc. and that's what they ate the first few days and then they were on solid food. It was a breeze, no problems at all. Actually my youngest got it done on a Friday and the next Friday we left for Disney for a week...no problems at all. Of course, I'm lucky..my girls are tough, they've never cried while getting shots or going to dentist, etc. They are like their Mom! :lol: Both my girls had Dr. Price with Capitol Ear, Nose and Throat. He is wonderful!
Dr. Jones put tubes in my son's ears twice and just put tubes in baby girl's ears this past Wednesday. I think he sooo cute too, with his bow tie. :mrgreen:
O M G I cannot believe you said that. I call him Dr. McDreamy. He is THE best....and I love his bow tie. :mrgreen:
She goes to Dr. Price as well, he did her tubes a year ago and I knew I wanted to see him again when she started having problems again. He is great! Thanks for making me feel better about. I got all my ducks in a row, my work and school, and now just making the appt to get it done. Sheri
Thanks everyone Thanks so much for the tips and all the information on what to expect or might not expect. Amber is very tough and if she doesn't feel good she will take meds, so I'm not worried about her not taking pain meds for it. So far they told me today that she can wait till Spring break to have it done, so that is the plan as of right now. I'm taking the full two weeks, cause well I have lot's and lot's of sick time I can use anyways. This way I know I'm avail. for her and not my parents during this time. Thanks again everyone! Sheri
My 18 year old niece just had it done over Christmas break. She was a little sore but nothing compared to what she had been through with her badly swollen tonsils. I remember my sister saying my niece drank a lot of water and kept herself hydrated (prevents the site from forming scabs). She went back early part of January for a follow-up and she is fine. I remember having it done when I was young and the only thing I remember is all the popicles I was allowed to have.
update. Well it was done this morning and so far so good this afternoon..she has done very well so far..not eating much..but she is drinking and I'm think if she has gone the bathroom a couple of times that is a good thing..means she is drinking. She isn't sleeping, but she is drugged up with pain meds. She is a good patient, and I'm very proud of her. She also had tubs re-entered as well, as the adenoids removed and toncils, so a triple whammy for her. Thanks again for all the tips cause I know they helped me make sure I was ready for anything and what to expect. Sheri
Our daughter had the laser surgery and had both her tonsils and adenoids removed when she was 4. The surgery was very fast and so was the healing. She was only out of day care a week. The doctor warned us about the smell once the healing started. That was the worst. We warned the day care that the reason for her bad breath was the scabs from the healing. She got a kick out of us making faces when she tried to breath on us. She had the surgery because she had sleep apena. The day after the surgery I had to touch her to make sure that she was breathing because she was sleeping so sound. It has made a world of difference.