I need some help, I am going crazy. My son is 2.5 years old and his tonsils and adenoids removed August 24, 2012: about 8 days ago. He had them removed mostly because of sleep apnea, snoring, and constant upper resporatory/sinus infections. I saw 4 different doctors who all told me he needed it done asap because his adenoids were blocking 75% of his breathing. I am now thinking it was a mistake. We had to take him to the ER on Sunday due to dehydration. He is still not sleeping through the night. He wakes up every ½ hour to hour. He is crying and disorientated. He is not breathing at all through his nose and sounds very congested. He is now not eating and drinking again. He is very cranky. Can someone please tell me if this is all normal? When does the sleeping improve? When do they start acting like themsleves again. Thank you for your help.
Thank you for all the responses. I was hoping that this would make me feel better but it just confirms my concern. The doctors insured me he was not too young but I agree with the post that he was just too young to understand. But like she said what is done is done. I did take him to the dr yesterday and he said everything looks good, and that he is still swollen and that is the issue with the breathing. I only hope his fear and anxiety will end soon and that the sleeping improves because that was the main reason for the surgery. Thanks again for all your help.
It was not a mistake. He suffered from a major blockage and needed it done. Time will take care of things. He really is a baby and does not understand what has happened. Just keep him comfortable and give him whatever he wants to drink or eat. It will get better.
I think part of the problem lies in the fact that your son is so young and really doesn't understand what's happened to him.
What's done is done, so I don't think it's worth the energy to wonder if it was a mistake.
I think your little guy is afraid that anything will hurt his throat and he's probably wondering if he's always going to feel the way he does. Little ones have no concept of time or days, they just know they don't feel well and they get tired and cranky. Of course, if he's not back to eating and drinking regularly, that will lend to the crankiness too.
Keep in touch with the doctor. Try giving your son some warm things as opposed to cold. Perhaps some warm custards. My kids always liked warm Jello when they had a sore throat. You add warm water to let the Jello dissolve and sip it. Avoid flavors that are red so that the coloring can't be confused with inflamation. Maybe try some warm white grape juice or gatorade.
Hang in there. Hopefully in the long run, getting this over and done with and out of the way when he's so young and won't really remember much when he's older will turn out to be a really good thing.
Best wishes.
Check with your Dr.
Our son had his out when he was 4.
It was the best thing we ever did.
His tonsils were so large they had become an obstruction - they were not infected - but they were messing with his breathing, sleeping and swallowing.
He slept better immediately and was eating soft foods fine by the end of the week.
He had a pink liquid pain med for the first few days after surgery.
He had no trouble drinking cool liquids, so we had no trouble keeping him hydrated.
Your son's recovery is sounding a bit rocky, but he should be fine soon.
It is normal but call doc, just to make sure. This behavior can last for 2 weeks in a small child. I would offer a favorite fluid, every time he wakes up. I got my tonsils taken out as an adult & I preferred warm liquids over cold. I lived on broth. Maybe give that a try. Hope he feels better soon & you get rest.
the tonsils are what is hard on them. medicate him every few hours. offer a lot of popcicles (even just crushed ice). the tonsil removal makes it hard to swallow. push liquids like crazy. if the pain meds arent cutting it for him ask the dr for something else.
My daughter had her adenoids out 2 days before we moved out of state (driving 24 hours straight). she got home laid on the couch for about 2 hours then got up and carried on like it was nothing. hang in there it will get better.
Well, I had 8 kids and that pain was nothing to when I had my tonsils/adenoids out at age 7. I was a big baby and refused to eat and the doctor was going to put me in the hospital if I didn't start improving. I know that was years and years and years ago and it's a much better surgery now ( if that can be possible ) and yet it does hurt and I felt awful and most kids bounce back. I would get him in soon though to be checked and be sure it's going well as far as healing, etc. He has to get fluids down, try popcicles, and any way of distracting him during the day so he'll 'forget' about it if possible. See the doctor though and I would maybe agree with you about it having been 'a mistake' to do it this young. Maybe not.
I do not recall the recovery of being able to eat drink and sleep lasting 8 days.
Could you call into the Doctors after hour system and asking them to call you?
They may say it is up to 10 to 14 days recovery, but really all of the children we have known, within the week, were up and going and blowing.
I don't know what is "normal", but I can tell you my experience.
We had our daughter's T&A out at 2-1/2 because of sleep apnea as well. Her amazing pediatric ENT doc said they wouldn't let him schedule her as an overnight patient because it was just T&A, but that his plan was to do the surgery and then tell the staff she wasn't ready to leave and admit her to stay overnight. He had us drive to a hospital that was a littler further so she could have a pediatric anesthesiologist. I stayed over night with her in the hospital. I noticed improved breathing the very night that the surgery was done - even though she had swelling. The doctor told us that day 1 would be good, and that day 2 she would seem worse, but that by day 3 or 4, she would show marked improvement. Everything he told us was spot on. She was back to herself in less than a week. Her breathing and her eating improved tremendously. Our daughter will not eat soup, but ate a lot of yogurt while she was on the mend.
We have the WORLD'S BEST pediatric ENT. You're a little bit away from us, but if you're still having problems, I can't say enough good about our Dr. Perhaps you could get in with him for a follow-up. If you want any further information, feel free to PM me.
I know I'm a late responder but just wanted to let you know that I was upset about the exact same thing when my son has his tonsils & adenoids out. He was sleeping worse, snoring louder and still seemed to have sleep apnea. I was devastated that I put him through a surgery and nothing changed. But I gave it time (especially with adenoids...cause they cause a lot of sinus drainage and swelling), and in a few weeks I started noticing a big difference. Obviously it got better after a few days but it took a good 4-6 weeks for me to realize the surgery has worked. Hope my response helps you realize he's gonna be fine. But if you are at all worried don't hesitate to call the nurse!
