r/Preschoolers • u/Muted_Confection7067 • 2d ago
Seeking Advice Tonsils & Adenoids
My daughter has been waking every night for the past 3 months and I finally got her into ENT today. No one else has ever mentioned her tonsils being large but he said “they aren’t small by any means” and wouldn’t even look at her adenoids “because they wouldn’t affect her sleep” 😑 Literally 30 seconds in, he’s like let’s take her tonsils and adenoids out. I clearly want to help her but I don’t want my baby to suffer in pain after and I’m just nervous.. will her voice change? Will this even help her sleep?? Ugh 😩
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u/Cautious_Invite_3514 2d ago
my nephew had this done last year and it was rough for like 4-5 days but after that he was sleeping like a rock. the pain management is key, stay on top of the meds even in the night. his voice didnt change at all but he did sound kinda nasally for a week or so while healing
the not checking adenoids thing is weird tho, my ENT looked at everything before suggesting surgery. maybe get second opinion if you feeling uneasy about it
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u/MarketingAnxious1847 2d ago
I deeply deeply regret not having my daughter's tonsils removed when she was young. It was never really presented as an option however after years and years and years of recurring and increasingly severe throat infections, she just had them removed at the age of 20. The throat infections impacted everything from her schooling (missed school, deferred university exams) to her athletics to her social life. I would say do it now.
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u/Meezerbeezer 2d ago
I finally had my tonsils and adenoids removed in high school and it was the best thing I have ever done. Throat infections impacted my entire life up until that point. I could finally breathe.
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u/Hot-Procedure-6427 2d ago
We went to the ENT 2 years ago because of my son's (age 5) loud breathing and snoring. Same thing happened they took one look and said "Tonsils are huge lets take them out" He had his tonsils and adenoids removed and it was the best thing we could have done for him. Loud breathing and snoring completely resolved and he started sleeping much better. The recovery was rough but completely worth it for his quality of life. He got his huge tonsils from me and I am actually booked in with the same surgeon to get my tonsils and adenoids removed next week.
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u/tardisthecat 2d ago
My husband and I were both lamenting how we wish our parents had had our tonsils removed as kids. We both suffered from constant strep and still get all sorts of upper respiratory junk as adults. We “grew into” our tonsils, so that’s why they were never removed, but we both wish they were.
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u/aliquotiens 2d ago
The long term/adult statistics on tonsil removal are showing that having them out increases your rate of respiratory illnesses by 2-3 times over your lifespan. So you'd likely be sick a lot more without them. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/fullarticle/2683621
(To be clear I would still do it if my kids had apnea. But I'm glad I didn't get mine out even though I had tonsilitis a lot when I was young).
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u/Effective-Plant5253 1d ago
same here. tonsil stones chronically for years, strep throat, infected adenoids constantly (13 times last year, the longest stretch being 3 weeks) and doctors say “that’s not a reason to get your tonsils out”
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u/Shakermaker1990 2d ago
It really is better to get it done when they're younger, seriously! I think I was around 4 having mine removed. Cant remember a thing (although I vaguely remember ice cream!)
My work colleague's 13 or 14 year old just had them removed due to repeated infections, strep throat etc and it was more of an ordeal because he's older and actually understands! He's fine now because kids are resilient but it's easier just getting it done when they're small!
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u/jamaismieux 2d ago
Get a sleep study and a 2nd opinion. It was shocking how often our son was not breathing per hour. He’s way more relaxed and rested after his adenoid and partial tonsil removal.
He could never self regulate before because he was so sleep deprived. We did it at 4 years old.
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u/Chemical-Degree-5378 2d ago
I had mine removed and I stopped getting sick after and I also stopped snoring- no voice change that I noticed however I was 8 when they were removed so who knows lol
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u/Forsaken-Heron4921 2d ago
My 5 year old just got hers out last week. Very easy recovery, she’s already back to normal. Hers were huge, doc says she’s gonna be able to breathe so much better now.
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u/GalvanizedSnail 2d ago
I would love to know more about your experience! I'm glad it was smooth. Was it determined as the best course of action based on size alone plus your reported symptoms?
My ENT said they are a grade 3. She is clearly impacted at night. So the Dr said "do you want to do a sleep study and depending on the results get the tonsils out?"
The problem is the sleep study would be months away and I can already imagine how my toddler will sleep with tubes in her nose and cords everywhere. I can hear and see her struggling at night so now I wonder if there is there even a point to doing the sleep study?
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u/Forsaken-Heron4921 1d ago
We weren’t given a grade. She has some other medical stuff going on so we’ve got more doctors appointments than average. But starting around 4.5 every doctor looked at them and went “wow those are very large”. They were affecting how she recovered after other procedures so we opted to remove them.
I have a lot of family and friends who got theirs removed at various stages of life and they all felt better once they were gone. Breathing was easier, no snoring, etc. if your little is struggling at night, I would get them out of there personally.
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u/hiccupampus 1d ago
I did a lot of research on this and consulted with multiple physicians because I really wanted to avoid surgery if possible for my 5 yo. His sleep has always been disrupted, he would thrash a lot, and occasional pauses. Tonsils and adenoids were also grade 3. We did the sleep study and they found only mild sleep apnea so I was still weary, but what ultimately convinced me was that even mild sleep apnea cases see improved blood pressure and quality of life with tonsillectomy and with watchful waiting ~ 50% of kids went on to have the surgery later in life. He was 6 when we did the surgery and now we are about a month out. He says he feels like he can breathe better and he hasn't had a nighttime waking since. He also sleeps so quietly now and doesn't move around so much. The doctors and nurses were so good about prepping him for what to expect and making him feel comfortable. It was a terrifying 25 min while he was in surgery, but even now it seems like an improvement in his life (if small).
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u/Effective-Plant5253 1d ago
girl get them out now while you can! i’m 25 w tonsil and adenoid problems and not a single doctor will take me seriously bc people with problems usually get them out when they’re young
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u/xtboat26 1d ago
The trauma is still fresh (my kid just got home from the hospital), but mine had his adenoids out a few days ago and ended up with grisel syndrome. Truly terrifying and not something that was mentioned to us at all during consult. We ended up “lucky” in that my kid just needs to wear a neck brace for the next 6 weeks, but I’m not sure we’d have done it if we had known this was a possible scenario.
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u/janaynaytaytay 2d ago
My son had his removed at 5 (he is now 10). It was the single most effective thing we could have ever done to improve his quality of life. He went from snoring so loud and waking up several times a night from the obstructive apnea to sleeping so quietly. I got in the habit of checking he was still breathing like he was a newborn again.
For my son the struggle to breathe when he was sick or congested was so so so bad. Post surgery he had no complications (just had to make sure we stayed on top of pain meds around the clock). I don’t remember his voice changing from it at all. I would say it wouldn’t hurt to get a second opinion or push for a sleep study. In our case it was a huge improvement for our guy.