Please weigh in if your child has had a tonsillectomy

[Mom2J112903]

If your child has had a tonsillectomy, how long did it take them to recover? Any side effects from the anesthesia or problems after the procedure?

 

I know this used to be done as an inpt procedure and honestly after what we have experinced with J, I wish it still was.

 

I kept hearing that after 4 days the child should be eating, we are no where NEAR ready to eat!

 

The doc said no later than day 7 the child should return to school. There is no way J would be going back to school on Thursday. We haven't even had formal school since last Tuesday.

 

J has experinced *severe* pain since the procedure, his throat is still very swollen and he started vomiting this afternoon. DH just dropped off his Dexamethosone and Phenergan.

 

DH was ready to take him to the ER Thursday evening because J's pain was so severe. He said he didn't know why it wasn't inpt anymore because not only could the pain be controlled better but they could also make certain the child was staying hydrated.

 

I had my tonsils out when I was 18, and yes, I realize that I was older and it was an emergency situation (they had abssesed) but I was in the hospital for a full 3 days *after* the surgery.

 

I would love to hear your experince with your child(ren) whom have gone thru this. Thank you.

[ChristusG]

My children haven't personally had it done, but I know of several who have. For several of them, the recovery was a very rough one. Dehydration, not eating, vomiting, pain, etc. I've heard this can be a very rough recovery.

[MariannNOVA]

DD's tonsils were removed on a Monday. She was in pain until Saturday night when the scabs came off. As soon as the scabs came off, she was fine -- like nothing had ever been done to her.

 

Prior to that, she took liquid tylenol with codeine, ALWAYS had old fashioned ice packs on her throat/neck, and only (maybe once or twice a day) had an ICEE or SLUSHEE or whatever those awful things are called.

 

We were at our beaach house when she had them removed so it was a hop, skip and a jump to a WaWa to get one of those drinks.

 

I am so sorry your little guy is having such a tough time -- I think the tendency is to make it sound like a 'nothing' procedure when really it is quite uncomfortable. My dd was kept in the recovery room for hours and was observed since she had bled alot and the doctor wasn't sure he was going to send her home same day. But, she did come home late that night, and we just kept the ice on and kept dosing with the tylenol.

Edited August 30, 2010 by MariannNOVA

[DianeW88]

Well, my kids haven't had the procedure done, but as a Peds nurse, I've treated children who have. The post-op pain can range from mild to severe. The younger they are, the easier it is. I've seen lots of pain in kids older than 10. The most severe pain is usually 48 -72 hours after surgery and then the throat can be sore until the scabs fall off...usually 7 - 10 days after the procedure. There may be a little bleeding when that happens, but then the child should be fine. Fever should never go above 102. If bleeding happens before 5 days post-op, call the doc...the scabs have fallen off too early and need treatment.

 

Encourage the child to drink and eat as much as possible. That promotes healing. Most kids should be ready for normal activities at 7 - 10 days post-op. Hold off on sports or anything too strenuous for at least 14 days post-op because bleeding can still occur. So, basically, in a nutshell, he should be completely better in 10 days. No pain, no fever, no problems with eating or drinking and the icky, smelly white scabs should be gone.

 

Diane W.

married for 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

Edited August 30, 2010 by DianeW88

[anneofalamo]

my son ate pudding pops for 5 days, and had poached eggs on 6th day, and toast on day 7! He looked so darn pitiful, and he was hungry, but no desire to put food in his mouth.

 

The vomiting of blood, is automatic call doc, as the incision is not healing, and blood is going into tummy and tummy doesn't like blood, it must be removed, and vomiting is going to cause the bile in tummy to irritate the esophagus.

 

My ♥ goes out to you momma, it was a sad time...but in the 4 years since the surgery NO strep throat, and zero ear infections!!!!! That is a good thing

[Jan in SC]

My ds was only two when he had his tonsils removed. He had to stay overnight because of his age, so I think it helped control his pain by having an IV with pain meds. He was fine after a couple of days. We actually went on vacation before his 10th post op and he never had any trouble.

 

I hope your son feels better soon!

[4kiddies]

I put this in your other thread as well but it was a full 10 days before my ds7 started to feel better--not normal. We were bordering on dehydration I'm sure. It was awful...

[Sukale]

My dd had hers out when she was 8. We had it done around 9 am and she went home that same day, about 10 pm. She was in a little pain the next day but that was about it. She drank water pretty much all day, we got he the Capri Suns flavored water. She drank at least a box of 10 a day plus lots of ice pops. She didn't use any ice packs. I did give her pain meds for the first 2 days even if she said she didn't want it. And I made her a little bed on the couch. She wasn't allowed up for 2 or 3 days. Sorry your little one is having such a rough time.

[Mom2J112903]

It hurts me to see all these kiddos that have had such problems for what is supposed to be a "simple procedure". Is it really that hard to admit a child for 48hrs after the procedure with an IV? I mean they already have the IV there its not like they have to have one placed.

 

J received a bag of fluid after his procedure because he was bordering on dehydration when we got there. He is very easily deyhdrated recently, we are not sure why either. He also has another sinus infection, which I am sure is compromising his recovery.

 

I can not see how J is going to be better by the weekend and unless something REALLY changes there is NO way he is going to be eating everything again by early next week either.

 

J's cousin had the same procedure done, by the same doc, she is a month out and she is JUST starting to eat without pain. She is smaller but a year older than J.

 

J had his out because of two very severe cases of tonislitis within 6 wks of each other. He has also had three sinus infections, just in the past three months. Three cases of bronchiits in a time span of 6 months as well. Not sure if the tonsils were behind all of this or not, but it would be great to have a healthy child for once.

 

And isn't Phenergan supposed to make you sleepy-it sure isn't having that effect on J. :tongue_smilie:

[Mom2J112903]

My dd had hers out when she was 8. We had it done around 9 am and she went home that same day, about 10 pm. She was in a little pain the next day but that was about it. She drank water pretty much all day, we got he the Capri Suns flavored water. She drank at least a box of 10 a day plus lots of ice pops. She didn't use any ice packs. I did give her pain meds for the first 2 days even if she said she didn't want it. And I made her a little bed on the couch. She wasn't allowed up for 2 or 3 days. Sorry your little one is having such a rough time.

 

 

How awesome, she did so well!!!!

 

J's procedure started at 930a and we were home before 12p. I do think, now that I look back on it, we were rushed out rather quickly. Then again we are used to staying for hours after an endoscope. It would be done early in the morning and we would not leave until dinner time. Different hopsital completly though.

[Jackie in AR]

My 4yo great-niece just had hers removed about a month ago. She had a rough week afterwards, with day 6 being the worst. She actually ran fever on that day, but her doc said that wasn't unusual. She started feeling better about day 8.

[sixpence1978]

My DS had his out at age 4. I believe we were in the hospital from about 9am until about 5pm. He took his tylenol with codeine and they had also given him a tylenol suppository in the hospital. He hurt for probably 2 days afterwards. Then slowly returned to eating normally.

 

It was a hard decision at the time, but we have no regrets now.

[specialmama]

My dd was 7 and had hers removed, along with major adnoid removal (they were beyond huge) and throat reconstruction surgery. She was in hospital for 2 days, and in bed at home for 7 more. She was on liquid codeine for the pain, and it knocked her out so she could sleep. The hardest part of it all was finding things with no citric acid as an ingredient. Almost everything has citric acid! :cursing:

[Whereneverever]

My DD spent 5 days (I think, it's been a couple of years) in the hospital after she got hers out. She ended up with pneumonia and was dehydrated, though, so that slowed her healing a lot.

 

If it doesn't feel right to you how he is healing please take him in- I was iffy and everyone kept telling me that some kids just heal from it slower, but my DD was really sick.

[Mom2J112903]

If J isn't better by Friday, we are definatly going in. He has three days of his oral steriod and that *should* decrease the swelling in his throat to the point he can start eating and drinking more. I just gave the first dose this evening, so he has all day tommrow and Wednesday and part of Thursday before he is done with it.

 

Of course if the phenergan doesn't keep the nausea and vomiting away, we will go in sooner.

 

J had his adenoids removed as a young toddler, he recovered *much* faster than he is with this surgery.

 

The child has not been able to take his allergy and asthma meds since Wednesday evening, that alone worries me. I need to call the allergist in the morning to see if he can get his allergy shots this week or not.

 

If J continues to be sick, we are going to literally kick ourselves in the butt for doing this to him.

[Whereneverever]

If J isn't better by Friday, we are definatly going in. He has three days of his oral steriod and that *should* decrease the swelling in his throat to the point he can start eating and drinking more. I just gave the first dose this evening, so he has all day tommrow and Wednesday and part of Thursday before he is done with it.

 

Of course if the phenergan doesn't keep the nausea and vomiting away, we will go in sooner.

 

J had his adenoids removed as a young toddler, he recovered *much* faster than he is with this surgery.

 

The child has not been able to take his allergy and asthma meds since Wednesday evening, that alone worries me. I need to call the allergist in the morning to see if he can get his allergy shots this week or not.

 

If J continues to be sick, we are going to literally kick ourselves in the butt for doing this to him.

:grouphug: Don't beat yourself up- he will recover and heal!

[Luckymama]

DsNow17 had his T and A removed when he was 6. He stayed overnight in the hospital. He was miserable the first 6 or 7 days and not himself for at least two weeks. But he has never had another sinus infection nor strep throat nor an ear infection since that surgery! He was the kid constantly sick from October until April before then.

[Joker]

I guess we just were really lucky. Both dds had tonsils and adenoids out around 6 and both did fine. They both came straight home from the hospital and ate mac n cheese with no problem (they were starving). Older dd hates taking meds and only took the antibiotic - not pain meds. Younger dd has asthma and small airway/bronchial tube so she had a few issues from anesthesia and needed pain meds as well as steroids for a few days. IIRC day 3-5 was the worst but they both bounced back pretty quick.

[TN Mama]

My youngest dd had hers out last summer. She still felt blah 7 days post op, but by day 10 was feeling much better. She only ate pudding, jello, popsicles & sherbet for most of that week. I gave her pain meds before she needed them and kept a full water bottle with her all day. It was rough at times, but she recovered without incident.

 

I had my tonsils out at 17 and it was an out patient procedure for me as well. I remember feeling lousy and that less than 2 weeks after I had to work at a summer day camp with 3 and 4 year olds. Argh!

 

Hope your son is feeling better soon! :grouphug:

[Disney Dreaming]

Dd had hers out right before she turned 5. TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE. She woke up from the surgery screaming, latched onto me and wouldn't leave my lap for 2 hours. She was in alot of pain, wouldn't eat so the meds made her sick to her stomach. We did vomit and she wasn't drinking so she got dehyrated and we took her to the ER. It was probably 6 weeks before she started eating normally. Please call your pediatrician or make an appointment if he is not doing well. Everyone else I have talked to had NO problems with their surgery, we are obviously some of the few whose children did not do so well. Good luck, my prayers are with you and your ds.

 

BTW, we had our tonsils out because we were getting strep all.the.time. Guess what, we are still getting strep-3x so far this year.:glare:

Edited August 31, 2010 by ugamom11

[Firestar Academy]

didn't read the other replies, but #1 call the dr if you are uncomfortable.

 

my dd had her TNA removed at age 6. i do remember it was forever until she felt better and was eating. I remember thinking she started to look like an emaciated kid with ribs sticking out. I don't remember dehydration being a concern so I must have been getting liquids into her.

 

Robin in NJ

[MamaAkins]

Two of my four children have had their tonsils and adenoids taken out. First, my oldest daughter had hers done. She was 9 at the time. She was able to eat (albeit mushy foods) each day after the surgery, despite some discomfort. It wasn't pleasant, but it was not as bad as we expected. Day 1-2 were not bad at all. Days 3-5 were the "low" points and then she improved each day after that and by Day 10, she was pretty much back to her usual self.

DD2 had hers done at age 4. She was not as good about drinking as much as my older daughter did and therefore, her recovery was a bit slower. Day 5 was still definitely the low point and by Day 10, she was back to about 90%.

 

Hope your son improves! Make sure he's drinking lots; avoid dairy products as they create more mucus which is not good in the healing process.

[crowscreek]

Just to preface, I haven't read the previous responses...

 

We went through this less than 6mo ago.

 

My 6yo, Aiden, had his tonsils and adenoids removed at the same time. I thought it would kill ME. ;)

 

He breezed through the hour-long surgery and then woke up in PAIN. We medicated w/ ice/popsicles/pain med for 3 days and then introduced applesauce/yogurt. After 2-4 more days of that, we were on to oatmeal, soggy rice krispies, and 1 (or 2) donuts.

:)

 

It took over a week for "real" food to go down the hatch. We were pale, we refused food, we were all-around disagreeable.

Aiden had moments that made me think I did the WRONG thing but I knew in my heart that the speech, swallowing, and eating problems would be resolved and it was the right thing, for us, to have all removed.

 

I hope "J" feels 100% soon!

[texascamps]

My ds, dd and myself had it don before Chrismas. On day ten we ate real food and it really hurt. Everything hurt and the pain meds we were given would not control the pain.

 

Its different for everyone, but we felt great for the first 3 or 4 days like this was going to be a breeze, then on day 5 when scabs start coming off the actual pain started. Horrible! We lived on gatorade. Even pudding and ice cream hurt.....for us.

 

Good luck! Hope it goes well and easy.

[Jamee]

Oh wow, I'm almost embarrassed to mention DS's experience. I'm SO glad he got both tonsils and adenoids out young, he wasn't 4 yet. I guess I have a wonder child. He was out of the hospital after only a couple of hours--we remained in the area though--as he didn't want to have anything else to do with it. He was more upset that he couldn't eat than anything else, and by that evening was eatting some mac salad carefully and other soft foods. His first night was a little rough, but by morning he was fine. Never heard another word from him.

 

Wishing you all the best, when in doubt, take him in. Go with your instincts. Do you still have pain meds for him?:grouphug:

[delaney]

I had mine out when I was 15 and it was nothing for me. I was back at my summer job in 4 days. The boy next to us had his out last summer and laid around for like 2 weeks! Of course when I had it done they told me no babying it. They brought me meatloaf for dinner that night! They said the sooner you get regular food down the faster they heal. I remember eating pickles the day after-lol

[DawnM]

Awe, poor kid.

 

My youngest had a tonsillectomy and his adenoids removed.

 

I can't really comment on the recovery because he also had BOTH hands operated on at the same time. There was an ENT specialist and a plastic surgeon in on the surgeries and they wanted to do it this way so he didn't need to be put under twice in the same month.

 

He was in a lot of pain, but it was his hands and his throat. He was able to eat ice cream and such the 2nd day and complained more about his hands than his throat.

 

Dawn

[Lolly]

Dd had a horrible time. I'm still glad we did it. It has helped her so much. She was 4 or 5. My memory is starting to get fuzzy! She wouldn't eat or drink anything after the surgery. I managed to get teaspoons of liquid down her for the first several days. I had to take her back in to see the ENT because she wouldn't drink, suck on popsicles, or anything. They told her that if she didn't drink this cup (about 6 ounces) of water at their office that she wouldn't be allowed to leave. Three hours later, they sent her home with maybe an ounce of water missing from that cup. (I am being generous here.) I have no idea how the child was not completely dehydrated at this point. The not very helpful doctor told me that if I wasn't able to get liquid into her within the next 24hours that she would need to be hospitalized to hydrate her. I took her home, and in a moment of parenting I'm not very proud of I threatened and followed through with some rather painful punishment if she didn't drink. She drank, but only the minimum required to keep her hydrated. I had to keep that up for the next week. With the backing of a spanking, I also forced her to eat some very soft/liquidish foods. It kept her out of the hospital. At about the 2 week mark, she went to the mall with my mother. She came back drinking a Dr. Pepper. From that point on she was just fine and ate and drank normally. I am sure it was painful, but honestly, this kid is just stubborn. REally, really stubborn. She would have been in the hospital in restraints to keep her from ripping the iv out. Those stubborn traits can be good sometimes. This was not one of those times.:tongue_smilie:

[JFSinIL]

I swear, it is the insurance not wanting to pay for an overnight stay for this "simple" procedure that is making the kids be sent home the same day! My then six-year-old was a pale little wreck afterward - they sent him home as soon as he was awake!!!

 

When I was six, I spend a few DAYS in the hospital. I remember the first meal I was brought there was ORANGE JUICE and COCONUT CAKE!!!?????:confused: which of course I did not eat.

[momof3sofar]

My DD was 26 months old when she had hers out and it was a horrible experience.

 

It took about 45 minutes for someone to come out to talk to us and then they just flippantly said, oh she's having trouble waking up. We ran into the surgeon in the hall about 20 minutes later and he said he actually had to reintubate her because they couldn't get her to wake up and were worried about her airway. BIG DIFFERENCE from the first report! I am glad I didn't hear the truth though at the time because I would have been an even bigger wreck!

 

She had a TNA and had the blood vessels in her nose cauterized because they break easily and she has temendous nose bleeds often. Even with the complications they had us out of there in 2 hours. She would throw up the pain meds and ran a high fever for 3 days. They said the antibiotic was doing it's job??? She too was unable to eat anything for close to 2 weeks and was miserable! It was a horrible experience BUT she no longer has sleep apnea and hasn't been nearly as sick as often so I guess it was worth it.

[Mom2J112903]

I swear, it is the insurance not wanting to pay for an overnight stay for this "simple" procedure that is making the kids be sent home the same day! My then six-year-old was a pale little wreck afterward - they sent him home as soon as he was awake!!!

QUOTE]

 

Yep, as soon as J was awake, it was out the door-literally.

 

Wishing you all the best, when in doubt, take him in. Go with your instincts. Do you still have pain meds for him?:grouphug:

 

Yes, we still have the liquid Lortab and we have been instructed to call back if he is still in a lot of pain once we are done with it.

 

didn't read the other replies, but #1 call the dr if you are uncomfortable.

 

my dd had her TNA removed at age 6. i do remember it was forever until she felt better and was eating. I remember thinking she started to look like an emaciated kid with ribs sticking out. I don't remember dehydration being a concern so I must have been getting liquids into her.

 

Robin in NJ

 

I do not even know if our pedi knows J had this procedure done. We took him in on a Monday for a high fever, pedi said he was fine. That night he had *another* high fever so we called the allergist (whom instructed us to call him if he was sick) and he saw him that afternoon. So Tuesday we took him in and found out not only did he have a nasty case of tonsiliitis but was also steps away from being admitted for dehydration. So, an injection of steriods and Rocephin. Sent us to the ENT doc only 2 days later, which was less than 2 wks ago now.

 

J was looking *very* healthy and yeah, now he looks pretty rough. I haven't weighed him recently and frankly nervous to, but I am positive he has lost weight.

 

Dd had hers out right before she turned 5. TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE. She woke up from the surgery screaming, latched onto me and wouldn't leave my lap for 2 hours. She was in alot of pain, wouldn't eat so the meds made her sick to her stomach. We did vomit and she wasn't drinking so she got dehyrated and we took her to the ER. It was probably 6 weeks before she started eating normally. Please call your pediatrician or make an appointment if he is not doing well. Everyone else I have talked to had NO problems with their surgery, we are obviously some of the few whose children did not do so well. Good luck, my prayers are with you and your ds.

 

The ENT nurse said that if the Phenergan did not help with the nausea and vomiting to take him directly to the ER. That and if he does not urinate-he is urinating about two or three times a day, but that means his body is not dehydrated yet going there. Thank you for the prayers.

 

We made it thru the night, but we did wake him much to our discomfort (we hate waking him because if he is sleeping, he must be comfortable) and dosed him with pain meds thru the night. He woke up very nauseated so I did apply the Phenergan gel. I just know when I take Phenergan I am out like a light for a few hours-this stuff sure isn't having that effect on J.

[Jan in SC]

You might want to ask for the doctor to call in phenergen suppositories. The gel might not be absorbed well by him.

[Anne Rittenhouse]

This is not a complete endorsment of the Nourishing Traditions cookbook, but The chicken stock recipe was a "life saver" in our house after tonsils and such. My son was on the verge of being readmitted and the usual doctor recommendations were not being accepted.

 

After having his tonsils removed, my son refused to take any liquids at all. No water, no ice cream, no jello not a thing. It was 24 hours after surgury and he still refused a sip of any liquid. I was getting very worried. He was now listless and very sleepy. I had some of this broth but was saving it for the next day because it did have some salt in it. I didn't think the salt would feel nice on his throat.

 

In desperation, I heated about a half cup of the broth and brought it up to him. He wouldn't take it. So I left it and the night stand and went to the kitchen to dig deeper into the cupboards. Fifteen minutes later my son was down stairs with the empty bowl asking for more. Another bowl later and he was awake and alert and playing quietly on the living room floor.

 

For dinner he asked for another bowl of "that resurrection broth". The recipe is now known in our house as resurrection soup.

[DianeW88]

They said the sooner you get regular food down the faster they heal.

 

That is 100% true!!

 

Diane W.

married for 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

[Mom2J112903]

I know if I can get food in him he would heal faster-but the child can not even finish a pudding or yogurt. He has to have a bowl for his popsicles because he can not eat them fast enough to prevent them from melting. He HATES soup, never has found one he likes minus homemade baked potato soup which he can not have right now since it has bacon in it. And no there is no making it without it, it changes the taste completly.

 

He has three things going on right now-his tonsillectomy, a sinus infection and now a stomach bug. DH feels awful because one of his co-workers had a stomach bug, so he feels that he brought it home to J. His body is worn out and I do not now how much more it can take. We are hopeful that with the oral steriod, the Phenergan and antibiotic he starts looking up. On the other hand though he has not been able to take any of his allergy and asthma meds in almost a week and that alone makes us nervous.

[lisabelle]

My ds had a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy when he was six. He had had one strep infection after another and spent more time absent from school than present (this was back when he was in ps). The spring of 1st grade he developed scarlet fever (strep gone into his bloodstream) and his pediatrician said, "OK, this is too much. He has to get his tonsils out." So we did it right after school was out. It was done in the ENT's surgical suite as an outpatient procedure. Matt was *very* agitated when he came out of anesthesia. Neither the dh nor I could control his thrashing so the nurse put him back under for a few minutes with pain meds and when he woke up he was much calmer.

 

The recovery was ROUGH. He took codeine syrup and phenergan for nausea. Would not eat. The only thing we could get him to drink was Slurpees. So every morning the dh would go out and buy two large Slurpees and bring them home to me before he left for work. He cried whenever he had to take his medicine. We were supposed to wake him up at night to give him more medicine and he'd cry. After about 4 days of that I couldn't decide if it was worse to wake him up to give him his medicine or let him wake up on his own once he was in pain and crying. Not to mention, his diet of Slurpees did nothing for his personality. He was sugared up and miserable. Finally, on Day 10, his friend's birthday party, I told him there was no way he was going if he didn't start eating. He ate some refried beans and a couple of nibbles of cheese quesadilla and some Jello, so I let him go (it was just a house party). From there, little by little he finally started improving.

[Mom2J112903]

So we are 10 days post-op today.....

 

Where his right tonsil is still has *a lot* of white exudate on it. Not much scabbing over. Left looks better, still not totally scabbed over.

 

He is eating minimal amounts, but at least there is no pain associated with eating.

 

I tried taking him outside today, no running around, just playing in his sandbox. Both times I had to rush him inside, he just got very flushed looking and weak all of a sudden. Yesterday we went outside, it was cooler, but today wasn't that much warmer, no problems.

 

I can't wait until Thursday and we speak to the ENT in person again. To me this is not normal.