Question Re: Tonsils and/or Adenoids

[Axl4Prez2004]

Hello Jungle,

? Do any of the parents of small kids here have any experience with tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy?? Have any of you had your tonsils and/or adenoids removed?? We'll be seeing an ENT (ear, nose, throat) doc this week for our 4 year old who has tonsils like his mom...let's just say they are huge!? ? She did well with hers, but from what we hear from her parents, she was always sick as a kid too.? We read that the average kid gets 6 to 8 colds per year...and I think know we're well above that.?

? We haven't made any decision yet because we haven't sat down with the doc yet.? ?We've researched the issue for hours and we are stumped.? Any input Gunners???

PS  I'm interested in hearing some responses from outside the US too if possible.  I'm always curious as to how things get done elsewhere.   

[GypsySoul]

I was in my mid-twenties when I had my tonsils removed.  At the same time and by the same doctor, there was a six year old having his removed.  The doctor told me that after the surgery I would have to stay overnight in the hospital and that my throat would be very sore for like ten days but he promised me that after that everything would be fine.  I WAS IN AGONY FOR THE TEN DAYS!!!  It was even painful to swallow my own spit.  When I went for my follow-up visit, I asked the 6-year-old's mom how he was after his surgery.  She said he was GREAT!!!  He went home the same day as the surgery and later that same evening he was up playing and eating!!!

The doctor said the recovery is much easier for young children to recover because the "bad" tonsils didn't spend years and years embedding themselves into the walls of the throat like mine did.

[Axl4Prez2004]

GypsySoul, yes I did read that as an adult, it is very painful and the recouperation time is much longer.  Were you having tonsillitis or just a lot of colds/strep throat/etc.?  How have things been since?  Better, worse, same?  Just curious.

[GypsySoul]

I was having a lot of colds/strep throat/etc. because my tonsils were basically "petrified" (like when an old dead tree turns to stone).  After the surgery and recovery, it's been significantly better.  I still get colds and sore throats but not nearly as many or as severe as they were before the surgery.

[Axl4Prez2004]

Cool stuff Gypsy...that sucks you had wait to be an adult to get 'em taken care of...were they large tonsils?  How big a pair did ya have???

[fuckin crazy]

As a child, I would get Tonsillitis at least a couple times a year. The Doc recommended that they be removed, but I put up one hell of a fight, and my parents backed down.

A friend went in to have his removed and he died from complications with the anesthesia. It was never an issue after that.

It is an invasive proceedure that has complications. I would think that proceedures are better today than they were 30 years ago, but there are risks anytime one undergoes anesthesia. I would get two or three separate opinions.

[Axl4Prez2004]

   Yes, I've heard those stories as well and it's scary as hell.  However, the worry comes into play with the goddamned cold/strep seasons.  We don't mind the illness factor.  Kids get sick.  It's the airway issue.  Nights are always worst when it comes to this stuff.  Which risk is worse, the decreased oxygenation due to a compromised airway or that off a tonsillectomy procedure?  We've got the appointment with the ENT tomorrow.  I have a bad feeling we'll be just as unsure of what to do after the visit.   

[GypsySoul]

Get the kid's tonsils taken out.  It's no biggie. 

[fuckin crazy]

Get the kid's tonsils taken out.  It's no biggie. 

Any invasive preceedure is a "biggie". I would get at least 2 opinions.

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

Hey buddy, I'm sorry to hear about this.

I had my tonsils removed this past June.

I had a sudden attack on Oscar night.  Changed my life forever.  My tonsils were almost the size of golf balls.  I saw a lot of different doctors and they all described me different medications.  Strong antibiotics to be exact.

The antibiotics got stronger with each passing prescription.  I missed a few weeks of school because of it, because the tonsilitis sapped a lot of strength from me.  Finally, I had them taken out after three months of hell.  I would have gotten them taken out in February if I had a say in it.  Those drugs really fucked with my head.

After I had my tonsils taken out, I lost 20 pounds, because I couldn't eat, or drink anything!  I was able to start eating Jell-O about 5 days after the procedure, and I graduated to solids about 14 days later.

I'm not a doctor, nor will I ever be one.  But I would think it would be better to get this out of the way while your kid is young. 

Hope everything turns out well. 

[Axl4Prez2004]

Thanks for the info. Eddie Van Halen.  I'm glad you're over that now.  It's good to hear these accounts.  I just wish my son had my tonsils!  I can't even see mine. 

btw, did you have your adenoids taken out as well?...or just the tonsils.  Sometimes they take out both.

Thanks again.    I'll let ya'll know what happens with the doc tomorrow.

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

Yes, they scraped my adenoids out.

[fuckin crazy]

What ever decision, you and your loved ones will be in my thoughts.

[GeorgeSteele]

My nephew had them taken out about three years ago when he was around 4; his periodic illnesses decreased substantially after the removal.  Also, I don't know if this just a coincidence, but he was always one of those kids that never ate anything, then after having his tonsils removed, slowly developed a man-sized appetite.  In fact, he's been gaining a ridiculous amount of weight.

Some more information that might be useful...

http://www.entnet.org/healthinfo/throat/tonsils.cfm

Good luck!

[JMack]

     The younger you are when you have them removed, the quicker the recovery and the easier the surgery for the doctor and patient.  My friend is a pediatrician and said the above.  He also advised me last year that I was going to suffer for a couple of weeks when I had my tonsils/adenoids and uvula removed in 11/06 because of sore throats and sleep apnea.  I lost 30 pounds in 4 weeks.  I was miserable for 3-4 weeks.  I haven't had any sore throats since and the sleep is much better.
     I would definetly get 2 opinions but having the tonsils and adnoids removed now would probably be a good thing.  My brothers had them removed when they were young due to cronic tonsilitis and they did fine after and I don't even think they had any problems with throat related illness again.
     Good Luck

[Axl4Prez2004]

Guys,
  Thanks a lot.  I haven't heard back from the fam.  I'm home walking the dog at lunch, so yeah, I'll admit, I'm a bit on edge.  Still no word.  I'll be dropping an update later today.  Thanks for all the support.  It doesn't go unnoticed.   

  All I want is a healthy family...and a GNR concert in my near future...is that too much to ask for???   

[Bandita]

I don't know if I agree to have them removed.  I was one of those sickly kids, sometimes having strep 3 or 4 times a year as well as having colds non-stop.  I didn't have them out and now as an adult I don't get sick like that at all.  Maybe I grew out of it, I don't know.  I'm not a doctor but I have to think those tonsils are there for a reason.  I would definitely talk to a few doctors before making a final decision.

[Axl4Prez2004]

^  Thanks for the advice but damn, the tonsils he has are almost "kissing."  The correlation with over-sized adenoids is well-documented so he probably has those too.  Personally, I had strep all the f'ing time as a kid.  I had everything under the sun...I even had mumps!  Who the hell gets mumps!  Wasn't that friggin eradicated?    Yes, the measles and chicken pox too.  But...I didn't have and don't have big tonsils.  My breathing wasn't compromised.  That's the difference here.  I don't care how many times he gets sick...I care about potential oxygen deprivation in his formative years.  He's a brilliant kid with one hell of a vocabulary.  I want him to stay that way, a smart kid. 

Also, there are some things out there we're born with that really serve no purpose.  From what I've read, the tonsils and adenoids serve their purposes at a very early age.

Here's a cool link that shows some useless human traits:   http://cbs13.com/slideshows/Useless.Body.Parts.20.462883.html?rid=12

Not that the tonsils and adenoids are useless...they're actually harmful to some folks, and they're harmful to my son.  When he gets sick, they become even more swollen than they already are and compromise his breathing at night.  I'd hate to be pissing away i.q. points over some over-sized lymph tissue.  We're 99% on board with getting it done. 

Thank you all for the input.  It's not a lot of fun...but much like a chick with low back issues who has a FFF cup rack, we gotta cut these things down!    

 

[Bandita]

I had the mumps too, interestingly enough and I had the shots to prevent it.  We are probably around the same age though, and I read somewhere long ago that there was a bad batch of the shots that went around at the time I had them.

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

Dude, does your son have white spots on his tonsils?  I had them, it was quite disgusting.

Also, I forgot to mention the breathing bit.  I had difficulty breathing sometimes, and I would notice my heart rate would increase rapidly at some points.

Keep us posted.