Tonsils- Christine/Kevieb

[Anonymous]

Christine,

Alexis has had 6 double infections in a row starting in mid October and everytime she has had swollen tonsils and sometimes strep. We are going to go see and ENT next Monday and I know he is going to want to put tubes in her and most likely remove her adenoids and tonsils. She is a restless sleeper and has always been and she also snores. I remember that you said Sylvia snored a lot as well. I know she had her tonsils out, how is she doing now? I know she wasn’t much of an eater, did the tonsils being removed help? Alexis’ tonsils are huge as well, they are almost touching, when she is sick which now a days is all the time they do touch, I remember Sylvia’s was the same way. Did she have ear tubes too or her adenoids removed? Sorry so many questions, but I just want to be ready for this appt and ready for what is to come. Basically, can you tell me a little bit more about Sylvia and her tonsils? Thanks for listening!

[Anonymous]

sue, when sylvia had her tonsils and adenoids removed it made a WORLD of difference in her. we never really saw any improvement after her fundo(except her reflux was gone, of course) but we saw major improvement after her tonsils and adenoids were removed. sylvia’s ears were not a problem (only 1 infection)so no tubes. she had obstructive sleep apnea which caused the restless sleeping and the snoring—sometimes she sounded like she was having trouble breathing—but only when she was asleep, she sounded fine when she was awake. the ped ENT told us that her tonsils touched when she went to sleep. she also said they were full of food and debris—yuck. the ENT also told us that sleep apnea can cause failure to thrive because they never get into the deepest level of sleep, which is when most of the growth hormone is produced.(this is also part of the theory of what causes fibromyalgia)

we did have to spend 2 nights in the hospital with sylvia on an IV—and i was afraid we might have to take her back in because she wouldn’t take enough liquids in—but after about a week she was fine. i think she gained about a pound in the first few weeks after surgery.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much. I really think we are headed that way. Alexis is the same way with breathing troubles, only at night never in the morning. I’m glad to hear that things are going well with Sylvia. Now it is the waiting game, to see what the ENT feels that is neccessary for Alexis. I just rather her have everything done in one surgery vs. going back. Right now her main problem is her ears, most likelydue to her adenoids being so big causing the drainage into the ears and throat causing inflammed tonsils (not like that is needed since her tonsils are always huge). It would be nice to actually see her have a good nights sleep instead of tossing and turning like crazy all the time. Thanks again for sharing your experience it makes me feel hopeful! By the way how old was Sylvia when she had her surgery?Alexis’s mom2006-2-27 18:53:0

[Anonymous]

sylvia had her tonsils and adenoids removed one week after she turned 2. all of my girls have had large tonsils and have had them removed except for samantha. my boys don’t have large tonsils. daisy jane had her’s out when she was 17, and quit getting so many colds. kassie had her’s out at about 5 years old. i had tianna and molly’s taken out last fall (2004) and hoped ;they would gain some weight—-didn’t know we were dealing with celiac which is probably why they were so thin.

[Anonymous]

Sue, I’ve always had problems with my tonsils being too large. Pretty much every time I got sick as a child, they discussed removing them. Personally, I think it’s unfortunate that they never did. I still have problems with sleep apnea and snoring. Apparently, it’s also fairly normal for large tonsils to have “pockets” (not the right term, but it’s the closest that I can think of right now). These little pockets can catch food and hold onto it for quite a long time. It causes me to have a strange taste in my mouth and it also can trigger my gag reflex. The large tonsils have also caused me to have a much stronger gag reflex than “normal”. So, it seems like it is really possible that Alexis’s tonsils are contributing to her eating issues. I hope that the ENT is able to give you some helpful answers!

[Anonymous]

i’ve always had large tonsils, also—i had mine out at 24 years old. you know how bad they say it is when you are older——-it was worse than they say!!!!

[Anonymous]

Hi Sue,

We had Dylan’s tonsils and adenoids removed and the placement of the tubes. The adenoids came out and the tubes put in in october of 2004. They were going to take the tonsils then, but he was draining so much during surgery and they kept having to suction him, that they wanted to wake him up. We held off until September of 2005 and did the tonsils and a small piece of the adenoids had grown back, so they took that as well. We did go back for fluids once, but he wasn’t yet completely dehydrated, and the dr. agreed lets give him the fluids and stay ahead of it.

I have to say, since the surgeries, dylan eats better, is now (keeping my fingers crossed) sleeping better, and he is not as noisy of a breather. he was always a mouth breather and very noisy.

He got one double ear infection right after the tubes and has not had one since. He had many prior and also even with no infection, he had constant standing fluid.

The surgeries were hard, but all well worth it.

Hope it goes well!

Ann Marie

monty1232006-3-3 7:46:56

[Anonymous]

Ann Marie,

Do you remember if the removal of the adenoids, tube placement, and tonsil removal help with his speech? Alexis is pretty delayed in speech. I don’t know if it has to do with constantly getting ear infections and having muffled hearing all the time or something else. Anyways, Monday’s consult with the ENT just doesn’t seem to be coming up fast enough. I just want Alexis to feel better and hopefully this ENT gets us on the right track to her being in less pain. I’ll keep everyone updated on what the plan for Miss Alexis is.

[Anonymous]

Yes. It did incredibly! It was not instant, though. If it all sounded muffled for almost the first two years of his life, then that is all he knew. When he could hear clearly, he had to learn speech all over. I would say we got the adenoids and the tubes out in October and by january was starting to understand, and now a year later, 3 and 4 word sentences. Still delayed, but also a boy which typically I think (I’ve heard, not probably true in all cases) that boys are slower than girls in communication anyway.

After the tonsils, big improvement in that area as well.

I think if these babies generally don’t feel well, they are slower to learn………

I hope Monday comes quick for you! How’s the pregnancy going?

[Anonymous]

Pregnancy is going fine. Unfortunately, with everything going on with Alexis there hasn’t been time to really pay attention to what is going on and actually enjoy this pregnancy since I plan it to be my last. Thank goodness I haven’t had any problems, since I just don’t have time for myself. I just hope we get things solved for Alexis before this one comes along. How are you doing with your pregnancy? It is much harder being pregnant and have to chase a toddler.

[Anonymous]

That’s great you are doing OK. Alexis is a little over a year younger than Dylan, so I think I probably have it a little easier. I am working full time again, and he is pretty good at independent play when we get home, so it isn’t so bad with him.

I am have a lot of contractions and now find myself at the doctor for almost weekly cervical checks and we are doing weight checks every few weeks. Carter is not behaving already!! I am 26 weeks, though and hoping to make it to 30. That would be awesome! He was 1 lb 15 oz last check so almost 2 lbs!

Keep your fingers crossed!

[Anonymous]

Just got back from the ENT office, and my guess was right. Alexis is going to have tube placement, adenoids and tonsils removed. He asked me if I wanted to take the aggressive route or the non aggressive route (just tube placement). He felt too that the aggressive route would most likely be the most beneficial to her since she is not even 2 years old yet and has test positive for strep 2 times. It’s going to be a rough road for us after the surgery since she is so young, but hopefully it would be the best way of making her feel better.

Ann Marie,I keeping my fingers crossed for you to make it pass 30 weeks! The longer the better unfortunately it is quite uncomfortable but better! I’m trying to keep mine in until after the surgery which I am waiting for the nurse to call me to schedule it, and after Alexis recovers and feels normal again, then I will be so ready to have this child out of me!

Alexis’s mom2006-3-6 16:50:9

[Anonymous]

Good luck with the surgeries! Usually if they do tonsils before 2 they will keep them overnight. Trust me, much better pain meds by IV (she won’t have to swallow them) and they will keep her nice and hydrated. It will be a tough first week, and the second week will be better, but I would say it was a good 8 to 10 weeks prior to seeing the REAL improvements with sleeping, eating, etc… but she won’t be fussy nearly that long, just the first couple of weeks.

Hang in there!!!!!

Ann Marie

[Anonymous]

sylvia stayed in the hospital for 2 days and 2 nights when she had her tonsils out because she was so young and weighed so little. i was so glad we went to boise to the ped ENT, because our ENT locally would have sent her home the same day. he is an excellent doctor and is also our neighbor,and he has taken out three of my other kids’ tonsils, but i am still glad we went to boise. (that was a rambling sentence!) sylvia would not take in many fluids after we got home and i was a little worried we might have to go to the ER for IV fluids, but we managed to avoid it.

two of my 3 boys have been late talkers. ian didn’t talk until he was three—but there was something wrong with him,(he also had MANY ear infections. i think it was damage at birth, but he is fine now, very creative, but struggles with math. i can’t remember how late elliot was in talking, but he would use his own sign language for certain things. he is in the second grade now and he is brilliant.

kevieb2006-3-6 22:34:20

[Author]

Posts