Double Tonsillectomy and Adenoid Removal..

Twins are like me. Strep non stop. I'm done. It's always always always abx resistant so we have to double the treatment time.. Just dumb. They snore and have trouble breathing too so we're doing a T&A removal. I think at least one of them are tongue tied so I'll have that snipped also.

Here's the thing: I REMEMBER MY TONSILLECTOMY like it was yesterday. I have had 2 c sections, a boob job 2 endo surgeries my tongue pierced 3 times..

NOTHING. And I do mean NOTHING even scratched the pain surface of what that T&A recovery was like. I missed 2.5 months of school. I couldn't eat or drink a thing and was put back in the hospital for dehydration. Now granted, this was 20 years ago and I am hoping things have improved but dudes!! I'm having them both done at the same time cuz I know by now that that's painful but faster. LOL. Like a bandaid, right?? Ya.

So, who else has had their twins done?

FYI not worried about anesthesia. They've had tubes twice (only gas, not intubated so I know it's a little different) but that part I'm okay with.

Sebi just had his tongue done last week and his first (lol so far at 8 months).. set of tubes.

Anyone?

 

None of my kids have had surgery of any kind. But I'd be nervous too! I hope it goes well and isn't too painful for them.

 

I'm the only one in the family who has had multiple surgeries. But, I would be freaking out too. I hope the surgeries go well for your boys and they have a speedy recovery. Please keep us posted with how they are doing!

 

How old we're you when you had it done? I had mine done when I was 22 and it was pretty horrible. It's easier for younger kids. I would expect the first week to be pretty rough and then one more week of them not being back to normal, but then things will be better. My kids haven't had it done, but I teach music to 400 elementary kids and those who have tonsils removed during the school year have pretty much bounced back within two weeks.

 

I was going to ask the same as the PPer, how old were you when you had it done? Jon has his tonsils and adenoids removed when he was just over 3. He was at the hospital at 6 and home by noon. One week post surgery, he was cleared to regular food and activity--the only restriction was no crunch french fries. The first night he was actually active and playing, then crashed for the next two days. There was an 8 year old having the surgery the same time as Jon, she had a much harder time than he did.

 

My one DS had his removed last summer at the age of 3 1/2. Pretty much since the age of one, he would snore and wake up multiple times crying in his sleep almost every single night. His tonsils were so big the were touching which explains why he had issues sleeping; the poor kid could not get enough air in. In April of that year he had strep for the first time.

Surgery was on a Wednesday morning and waking up from it was the hardest part for me. It took him a good 2 hours to come out of it and during that time he would thrash around and cry. Once he fully woke up, he asked for some apple juice. We came home later that afternoon and he was fine the rest of the day.

His Dr. had him on a strict3 hour alternating schedule of Tylenol and Advil 24/7 for 10 days.

From the very first day home, he slept through the night without his usual waking. :woohoo: It was difficult having to wake him out of a deep sleep to give him his pain meds since his throat would become dry and it was hard for him to drink it. It was hard first thing in the morning as well, but as soon as I was able to get meds into him, within 30 minutes he was fine. I ended up buying chewable tablets which seemed to make it easier on him.

He ate and drank without any problems. The worst part of it all was that he developed horrible constipation from all the pain meds.

When we had the initial consult with the Dr. she told me that it was going to be the worst 10 days of my life. When we had the follow up and I told her that it was fairly uneventful she admitted that she tells all the parents the worst case scenario because many of them don't follow the strict schedule of alternating the pain meds.

It's been a year and he now sleeps through the night and hardly ever wakes, has not been sick this entire year except for a few colds and is overall a more happy kid because he's getting a good nights sleep.

I have read that the older you are, the worse it is and that is why I wanted it done when he was still young.

 

I haven't had my twins done but my oldest son had his done last fall, he was 9.5. He was at the hospital at 5:30 am, and we came home around noon. The first 3 days are the worst. We had set up a bed on our couch for him, and had plenty of movies and mythbuster episode's for him to watch. He didn't do any eating for at least 3-4 days, just juice, a tiny bit of yogurt or pudding, part's of freezies. He couldn't go back to school until he had been off the pain meds for at least 24 hrs. He was out 10 days total. So, roughly 2 weeks on pain meds and then weaned to tylenol. Our dr said no advil because it can cause bleeding issues.

After 2 weeks he was feeling much better, eating mostly soft foods still but at least he was eating. He had his done because of a constant cough and chronic sinus infections, and 4 rounds of strep over last winter/spring. Surgery was in october, and he hadn't coughed since then, until about 2 months ago this spring. He's got a sinus infection again. But, with his horrible allergies, and small sinus passages, sinus infections are just going to be the norm for him

 

i'm putting down my dental floss to write to you, because you sound so nervous! and, i totally get it. was, too. both of mine had both done last year on april 14th (they were 3 and 4 months). i was scared to death, too. and, it was sooo easy! one of them even had a hard time coming off the aneths, but even still, it was easy. they were riding on their scooters the next day! now, yes, they got tired quickly and rested a bit. but, they were essentially fine. had it on a friday and they were back in school on tuesday. and back on solids i think in two or 3 days. the doc said to let them eat what they wanted and could take, so we did.

we got a curious george book about going to the hosptial and read it a lot in the week or so before. and a book about having tonsils out, too, which we read a day or so before (which is when we told them about it, cuz we didn't want to make them nervous).

it was all sooooo easy and sooooo fine! i know you're scred, but i hope that helps a bit. if you have any other q's or concerns or just need a shoulder, feel free to pm me.

best of luck and hang in there. it'll be over soon!

jeri lynn (going back to my flossing now)

 

Both of my girls are going to ENT next week because they also have had multiple cases of strep...Allison has had it 4 times just since March. I feel for you and hoping we are not in the same boat in a couple of weeks.

 

I think that if they need to have it done, now would be the time. I have heard so many awful stories of teens and adults really having tough times. I would be more afraid for my 18 yr old to have it done than for my preschoolers. As for the little ones:


I think it depends on the child. 2 of mine have had it done. Jared had it done before he was 2 it was a nightmare he had to stay in the hospital overnight, would NOT eat OR take his pain medication, started vomiting, got dehydrated back to hospital 3 weeks later he was still puny and not eating much. I swore I would never do that ever again to another child. So when Dawson had to have it done for breathing reasons I was TERRIFIED and very, reluctant. BUT Dawson was 4 and did great. He was in at 6 out at noon. Ate Popsicles immediately, a week later you would never have known anything had ever happened. I used to think it was the age difference that made the difference. Now I think it is the child and the personality that makes it. Jared had another surgery this past winter (he had his nose fixed) same thing he was down for weeks. He would not eat, he acted like he was dying it was AWFUL! Dawson destroyed his knee, the dr could not believe that he did as good as he did. I swear if he could have he would have walked on it the next day. Once cleared he hit the ground running. (i am not letting him play football this year, he totally would but the dr told us that another injury like that and he may not be able to walk his knee still gives out on him from time to time and i dont want him to have even worse life long issues because of something dumb) Jared will still use his nose as an excuse. They are j15 and D 13 now.

I am sorry that your guys are facing this. Jared was the same way. We could not get rid of Step - he has had ONE case of strep since his tonsils were removed. That was 13 YEARS ago. Dawson had terrible sleep apnea - he still snores some but does not have apnea episodes anymore.


Edited to add:

 

I did both my twins at the same time when they were 3 and I will tell you that first week was ROUGH. Part of me does wish I had done it one at a time.

 

Hi guys. So, it's day 4 now. This has been soooo much easier than I ever imagined. Seriously.

Day one: sucked cuz I was soo nervous for them. Nic was nervous cuz he had to go 2nd so that was hard. (He worries sick about Gabe.) Surgery took about 30 minutes but an hour between the kids.

After surgery, went into recovery for an hour each and then both went to hospital room. Luckily, it was same room. Nicolas was stoned out of his mind for an hour. Gabe had five ice creams, a chocolate milk and 2 popsicles in the first 20 minutes. He has felt GREAT from the very get go.

Nic had to keep his IV in for 2 hours cuz he was in pain and wouldn't eat/drink.

3 hours post-op they were running down the halls of the hospital. I was soo sick of being bothered by people asking to "take surveys" or "make a hat" or "plant a plant" that I decided we were going home rather than sleeping over. The Doc agreed we could go so we left.

We had Tylenol w/ codeine and had to wake them up (NO MATTER WHAT!!) every 3.5 hours. I am still doing this and alternating w/ Ibuprofen also. The key is to STAY AHEAD of the pain. If you get behind it, you're SUNK!

HYDRATION!! Gotta push it.

Went to bed that night, no sweat and slept 12 hours.
Day 2: , went to the mall etc. BOUNCING OFF WALLS. It was as if nothing ever happened.

Day 3: I was an hour behind on their 5 am dose and they woke up miserable. I MEAN MISERABLE!! Took TWO 3 hour naps. Lots of sweat this day. Soaking wet. Pale and swollen. Nic felt like puking.

Day 4: Back to normal. Breath smells like a dead animal. (this is normal).

Overall, it has been fine. I've been nervous and still am a bit- bleeding risk is day 7 when scabs fall off. If there is bleeding it straight to OR for more surgery. They can bleed out in a hurry. They've both had a few bloody noses. (I remember having those after surgery, too.)

Doc/Nursing Staff said how my kids are is NOT typical. Most kids are down and out for about 10 days.

Anyway, I'm sooo glad I did it. NO more strep and snoring/breathing issues.

I would recommend doing it sooner rather than later, for sure. My best friend is getting hers out in august at age 35. The ENT said "Wow." when I told him that! So, if it needs to be done, younger is soo much better. They are incredibly resilient!!

 

Thank you for the update and I am glad that your boys are doing well. My cousin had hers out when she was 33-34 and her doc did say that the recovery is much better when you are younger as opposed to older.

 

I do want to say that even after this surgery I still snore. Jess has huge tonsils and I've been trying to get the doc to take them but he won't recommend they be taken out with out a sleep study!

 

Thanks for posting! Allison doesn't get hers out until the 31st, so on day 7 she will be heading back to school...hoping that everything will be a okay for her first day!