tonsilectomy/adenoids how bad is it going to be? Hints?

[sbgrace]

My son is scheduled for tonsil/adenoid removal because of sleep apnea. It's a must health wise. I'm nervous.

 

The nurse was so nice, but the information they gave me on pain levels was unsettling. And then they said his voice will likely change, which made me feel a bit sad/scared too.

 

Did your child's voice change?

 

They are suggesting I do tylenol/ibuprofen alternating every 3 hours around the clock for the two weeks following surgery. I plan to do this--it will kill me but I want to do whatever I can to help. What else might help him? Should I get a humidifier (it's very dry here)?

 

She said push liquids. Cold? Warm? Anything in particular I should stock up on?

 

She said that they would say no school or outside activities for two weeks if he were in public school. I'm guessing this means homeschool will be too much for him too? What will he likely feel like doing? Is it that he will be in too much pain to do anything, or that he won't be able to talk or what?

 

I really didn't realize going into today that the recovery would take this long or hurt as much as they said it does.

 

I would really appreciate any hints or experiences.

[OneStepAtATime]

Well, when I had that surgery it was VERY painful. I was miserable.  Cold felt better than hot.  I know that probably isn't what you wanted to hear.  Sorry.  

 

As for school, maybe something he has genuine interest in that won't take a lot of concentration but would keep his mind off things?  

Good look and best wishes...

[Nart]

My son had his tonsils and adenoid out when he was five. It was a rough recovery. I am almost certain the doctor prescribed prescription pain medication. We had to make sure to give him the new dose before the old dose ran out because if we waited to long it would hurt him to much to swallow. He didn't go to preschool for two weeks because the Dr. said no rough play or hanging upside down on the playground equipment. He lost around four pounds which doesn't seem like much but he only weighed 40 pounds and it took him a few months to gain back the weight.

[Heather in Neverland]

It's bad. It's much worse than the doctor tells you. Both of my boys have had the surgery and it was very painful. The anesthesia made them vomit too.

 

Slurpees from 7-11 and Popsicles. NO ice cream. It causes phlegm which makes things worse. And the doctor gave them liquid codeine for the pain.

 

Praying for a quick recovery!

[Trish]

Sure, push liquids, but he will NOT want them! It's extremely painful to swallow. The only thing that helped me was teeny tiny ginger ale ice cubes.

[clarkacademy]

My son is scheduled for tonsil/adenoid removal because of sleep apnea. It's a must health wise. I'm nervous.

 

The nurse was so nice, but the information they gave me on pain levels was unsettling. And then they said his voice will likely change, which made me feel a bit sad/scared too.

 

Did your child's voice change?

 

They are suggesting I do tylenol/ibuprofen alternating every 3 hours around the clock for the two weeks following surgery. I plan to do this--it will kill me but I want to do whatever I can to help. What else might help him? Should I get a humidifier (it's very dry here)?

 

She said push liquids. Cold? Warm? Anything in particular I should stock up on?

 

She said that they would say no school or outside activities for two weeks if he were in public school. I'm guessing this means homeschool will be too much for him too? What will he likely feel like doing? Is it that he will be in too much pain to do anything, or that he won't be able to talk or what?

 

I really didn't realize going into today that the recovery would take this long or hurt as much as they said it does.

 

I would really appreciate any hints or experiences.

 

I would be demanding pain meds. Period. It is gonna hurt and he is going to need something else that is stronger.

 

[Ottakee]

I agree with the pain meds---get some prescription strength stuff at least for the first 5-7 days and SET your alarm clock for every 3,4, 6 or whatever hours they direct you to give the meds.  Staying AHEAD of the pain is the name of the game.

 

Liquids are key.  At that point I didn't care if it was jello, popsicles, pop, juice (no acid ones), koolaid, Gatorade, etc.  I would personally stay away from the artificial sweeteners but that is my thing.  Encourage sips every 15-20 minutes...........take a sip and we will turn on a video, take a sip and you can play a video game, take a sip and ............

 

It can be bad but I will tell you that we did it 4 times where---our 3 and a foster.  1 was medium recovery, nothing terrible but slow and painful. Foster boy was a bit harder as he didn't want to drink and then had a court ordered visit so was out doing more than he should have earlier than he should have.  1 was pretty mild.  Seriously she wanted to go swimming by day 3 and as long as we kept the pain meds up, she did fine.  My other one was a breeze.  Seriously, she wanted fast food on the way home, a salad for supper (didn't give it to her but she wanted it), wanted real food right away, had normal activity levels very quickly and not a lot of pain.

 

The 2 keys I see are :

PAIN MEDS---stay ahead of the pain and give the meds for at least the first week.  Don't want to see if he needs them first as it will be too late

LIQUIDS---get in as much liquid as possible in any form that sounds good to him (worry about nutrition later unless there are allergies/intolerances)

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

My 4yo got a partial tonsilectomy and a full adenoidectomy last summer.  It ended up being a no-big-deal.  I kept her on the pain meds around the clock for the first 3-4 days or so, then I only woke her as I was going to bed to dose her one last time and then let her sleep for the rest of the night.  By the end of the first week, I was dosing her closer to every 4 hours or so, but I did keep it up for the full two weeks because they say the pain is hard to manage if it suddenly breaks through. 

 

We did cold liquids, especially yummy treat-type things like capri suns and other sweet drinks.  The biggest complication to the surgery is dehydration, so I was willing to do whatever it took.  It was not hard.  Avoid acidic drinks like OJ or anything fizzy obviously.

 

You can put a bag of frozen peas on his throat if he is in pain, but we didn't find it necessary.   

 

 

[Mergath]

My dd had hers out last year, and the pain was so much worse than we thought it would be. :( We could barely even get her to swallow the liquid codeine. She lived on only popsicles for days, and looked like a walking skeleton by the time she could finally eat real food again. It was, I think, a good week and a half recovery. Like everyone else said, do the pain meds as often as you're allowed to, including at night.

[Lanny]

I had my tonsils and adenoids removed when I was 6 years old. That was *many* years ago and the methods for doing surgery these days are greatly advanced and surgeries are much easier for the patients.     However, I remember my mother telling me that she believed my problems with allergies began after I had the surgery. GL

 

ETA: Ice cream is always good  :-)

[Cera]

I had mine out in college which is supposed to be much worse than when you are younger.  It was bad but only for a few days.  If you are older it is an inpatient surgery so I was hospitalized for one day and given prescription pain meds.  I had percocet for the remainder of the first week and then was on just tylenol as needed.  

 

I was back in class on the third day and back on the practice field by day 7.

[Caclcoca]

I had mine out as an adult, and the recovery is suppose to be much worse for adults so my experience may not be relevant. I took prescription pain meds for at least a week. Cold food was too painful for me. I needed warm salty soup, but it had to be pretty bland other wise. The salt helped a lot. It was also important to drink lots of fluids. For me, the pain increased if my throat got dry. It was 12 days before I was able to eat real food. My niece was five when she had hers out. She was pretty much back to normal three days later (running around with cousins, eating Christmas dinner).

[East Coast Sue]

My dd had them taken out at 4 yrs old for severe apnea.  It was the hardest thing I have been through- much more difficult than pneumonia (even when she was hospitalized for it), but that is just my experience.  I agree with giving the prescription pain meds like clock work but my dd would not take the medicine. It had an awful odor & taste and she'd vomit at the site or smell of it after the first dose.  The good news is that she survived and doesn't have many bad memories of the whole ordeal.  Popsicles are a great suggestion if he likes them.  I'd even give him one before the surgery so he knows that he likes them- if he doesn't usually get them.  Unfortunately, my dd dislikes anything with fruit flavors so popsicles didn't help much.

 

I don't make it sound awful to scare you- just so you know that it isn't time to panic if he's in a lot of pain or having a difficult time with swallowing. (I had no idea how bad it could be and it really scared me. I wish that I had known upfront.)  It can be painful but plenty of people have an easier time and I hope that is your experience too.

 

Best wishes and remember that two weeks is all you have to endure- it will get better.

[KrissiK]

My dd sailed right through it. And she even got ear tubes put in at the same time. It did cure her snoring. She threw up a bit in recovery, but after that she was fine. The only day she was really "sick" was the day of the surgery. We did give her the Tylenol with Codeine that was prescribed for a couple of days, until it made her constipated. But she not once complained of pain. After the first day, it was all we could do to keep her down. They say no running for 2 weeks so they don't pop the clots. She watched a lot of tv and got totally addicted to Otter Pops.

[OH_Homeschooler]

The only thing I can add from my own experience (when I was19) is to avoid mashed potatoes. Felt like shards of glass going down, which I didn't expect. Jello is good because it slides down with no effort. 

[Luckymama]

Ds had his taken out when he was seven. It was during a heat wave. He was miserable for the first week and cranky for the second. The pain wasn't difficult to manage. I let him eat whatever he wanted (we made a special grocery run the day before to choose fancy popsicles and jello, things like that)----scrambled eggs were very popular.

 

We scheduled his surgery for the summer, on purpose. He attended a day camp three weeks after surgery.

 

His voice didn't change. His speech was much clearer, though.

[Joker]

Both of my dds had theirs removed when they were each around six years old. It wasn't bad at all. Oldest only took pain medicine for the first 24 hours, then it was only her antibiotic. Youngest took pain medicine for the first three days and then was good. I think the reason it was easy for them is that they ate right away. I know everyone told me not to expect them to eat and not to give them 'real' food, but they were both hungry as soon as we arrived back home and they weren't really in any pain due to the medicine given at the hospital. So, they both ate several bowls of mac n cheese. Their food after that was eggs, mashed potatoes, more mac n cheese, sandwiches with soft white bread, jello, pudding, and lots and lots of popsicles. Good luck!

[SLT]

I had mine out at age 23. It was easy peasy and I began eating normal foods the next day. I was in more pain around days 5-10 because the scabs come off then, but I had a nice two weeks to relax from being a pediatric nurse. Have broth and jello around the first day or two. No drinking from straws! GL!

[OneStepAtATime]

Well, hopefully, your experience will be smoother, like some posters here.  I will keep my fingers crossed.

 

 I did just want to add that besides staying ahead of the pain, like others have said, I agree to also stay ahead of dehydration.  If they are taking little sips all along, it seems a bit easier, or at least it was for me and for others I know who did this.  Once you go a longer period without sipping any liquid, the idea of starting again is just horrific (I was a child, though, not an adult) and I know I fought it mentally.  I really did not want to sip.  Then I dehydrated and felt even worse which made me even crankier and feel the pain more intensely and not want to drink even more, even though that is counterproductive.  When Mom kept me sipping just a tiny bit every few minutes it was actually easier and eventually I came to recognize that and not fight it.

[trulycrabby]

Gosh, he must have codeine prescription liquid for the pai, that's a hill to die on, IMO. Also, request zofran with the anesthesia so he will not vomit coming out of it. Another hill to die on, IMO. The docs will likely prescribe both, but please make sure to ask. Small ginger ale ice cubes as the previous poster mentioned are wonderful, gelato or sherbert, popsicles. DS10 took at least one week off from school, maybe two. As long as he needs the pain meds, he probably should not have school, because he would probably forget anything he learned.

 

Sending good thoughts for his quick and easy recovery.

[Hypatia.]

They originally said they were just going to send DS2 (3 years old) home with just Tylenol.  No.  That would not have worked at all, the poor guy was miserable.  Recovery was hell.

 

This is talking about toddlers, but overall the blog entry and comments were very helpful in preparing me for what to expect.  

http://typeamama.blogspot.com/2008/05/recovery-for-toddler-tonsillectomy.html

[bettyandbob]

my ds was 11 when he had the surgery. Tonsils, adenoids, part of his palate too.

 

Popsicles, lots of popsicles. I think we also had frozen fruit bars (like Edy's).

 

ds could not tolerate the pain killer they prescribed. I forget what it was called, but it was related to oxy codone and a month later a warning went out saying that particular pain killer was not be used with children having this surgery. Ds vomited the pain killer on the first dose. We stuck with liquid motrin and got through it.

 

They sent us home with a sheet detailing what the patient would be experiencing each day. It was very helpful. I referred to that to figure how to handle ds (my ds has disabilities and is not very verbal, so he could not communicate exactly what he was feeling). I think it was th 6th day the sheet said patient will smell like he's decay, like rotting flesh, because the scabs in his throat will be sloughing off. On that day and for a couple days after ds smelled awful. If the sheet had not said to expect that I would have taken him back to the doctor. I think that's why they gave such a detailed explanation of each day to each patient, hopefully you get something like that to help you through.

 

It took two weeks before ds could start to eat things beyond mashed potatoes.

[sbgrace]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. This has all been very helpful to me.

 

I will call the office and ask about the pain meds.

[Rjmakmom]

My 9yo dd just had hers out 2 days after Xmas. It was bad, but she refused the Tylenol 3 and was on Ibuprofen every 4-6 hours. For her, sweet tea was the best thing- I think she drank a case of it! Also, nights were the worst because of sleeping with her mouth open and her throat drying out. Jello jigglers were a huge hit, but after awhile she was sick of soft food and soup- she was hungry. For her, day 5 (counting the day of the surgery as day 1) was the worst pain, and that happened to fall on New Year's Eve. She slept a lot, rested alot, and got very bored. After the 5th day, the pain lessened and by 2 weeks post surgery she was back to normal. Good luck!!

[rmtzc2009]

My son had his out last June. He was a little over 3 & he was only really down the first day. He was rather frustrated about his eating limitations. It was soft food diet for two weeks. They did tell me don't give him anything red. If there's mucus or phlegm that comes out you don't want it to be red tinged since you'll be checking for any bleeding. We did yogurt, pudding and applesauce mostly.

[fdrinca]

I forgot about the smell! Yikes. I thought for sure something was dying in there.

 

Our recovery was tough. It gets better, then worse, then OK again. Hydration, pain management are paramount. Find what works for your kid - offer choices - and go with it. Ours only liked warm liquids. I made a tea with manuka honey, ginger, sea salt, coconut water. That helped with hydration (all the salts and electrolytes), plus he liked it and would drink it. I probably would have let him drink gallons of soda if it were the only thing that he wanted.

 

For us, the surgery was a complete health game-changer. He's a different (happier, healthier) person. 

Good luck!

[Ravin]

DD had hers out a few months ago. We were given codeine, but she couldn't keep much down the first four or five days and wouldn't take it because she vomited after a couple of times. She roughed through the pain without meds and stayed hydrated enough to avoid having to call the doctor.

[Splash]

My dd 12 had hers removed Dec 31. It was rough. She had Magic Mouthwash that she gargled first which is a mixture of Malox, Benedryl and Lidocaine to numb her throat before she ate or took her meds. Her pain medication was liquid Hydrocodone Bitartate and Acetaminophen oral solution 7.5/325mg (she has a kidney condition that prohibits taking Ibuprofen type drugs so we used this alittle longer than the average kid). Keep a humidifier on in room. She did this every four hours round the clock for first week, make them drink in middle of night when giving pain meds, drink a lot. Chopped up popsicles with some liquid added went down the easiest or slurpies. She slept a lot. Days 4 and 5 as well as 8 and 9 were the worst. Keep them hydrated, no matter what. DD ended up in ER on day 5 due to migraine we couldn't get on top of and to be hydrated. (friends ds ended up in ER on day 9 when he was tired of soft diet and ate tortillia chips and the scabs broke open and he started bleeding and had to be cauterized) Her cousin, age 20 got them out at the same time, also followed this pattern.

 

She feels so much better now though that she says it was worth it.

 

 

Hope your son has an easy time.

[fdrinca]

Re: voice change

I didn't really notice it, but we listened to a video of my son from just a few months ago, and his voice is different. It doesn't sound so "stuffy nose" sounding. He's also enunciating more, so he doesn't sound like such a little kid any longer.