Tonsillectomy

[looby75]

As some poster here might know from my previous posts my ds has a LOT of ent problems, he gets tonsillitis every 4-5 weeks, ear infections regularly and has missed a lot of time in school due to this. I am a single parent on benefits, and because of his illnesses I'm not in a position to get a job right now, doubt any employer would be happy with me being off work every few weeks to look after him!


Anyway we got fantastic news on Thursday, ds had his first visit to the ENT clinic at the hospital and the doc took one look at his notes, asked a few questions and immediately agreed to put him on the list to get his tonsils and adenoids out :j :T :j :T I've been told the waiting list is about 3 months, so fingers crossed that by the new year tonsillitis will be a thing of the past.

It's going to change so many things for us if ds stops getting ill, obviously he won't be suffering any more, I won't keep picking up illnesses from him (on my second bout of tonsillitis in just over 2 weeks right now :( ) and I will be able to go back to college/work again.

I don't think there has ever been a mother so happy to know her son is going to have a op before LOL

[rjh090384]

woohoo he will be a happy bunny now. i had mine out although i only had one bad case of tonsillitis but i stopped breathing they were so swollen so i got them out. feel so much better now!!1

[looby75]

i had mine out although i only had one bad case of tonsillitis but i stopped breathing they were so swollen so i got them out.

Yikes that must have been scary! My ds does have sleep apnoea when he has tonsillitis, which is probably why the doc agreed to put him on the list immediately. I had heard they made you wait at least 2 years before agreeing to take them out, I know my dd had to wait almost 3 years before they did hers.

[clarew]

good for you. Stock up on the paracetamol and ibuprofen for using when he comes out of hospital, will be sore for a few days. encourage him to eat as much as possible when he gets home, will reduce risk of infection. (just avoid things like fresh orange juice/salty things as will sting a bit).

Will make a big improvement in your lives though!!

[hjb123]

Glad to hear that your son is going to get the dreaded tonsils out. I had a lot of problems with mine while I was doing my A Levels - about 8 years ago now - and had had trouble with them for ages before that. The doctors kept saying that it would clear up and that I was on the older side for having them out - anyway in the end they gave in as it never cleared up. I was put on the waiting list and said that I could manage to make cancellations - I got one - was told about 2 days before to go in. Went in lunchtime one day, had the op at 3pm and was allowed home the next morning. A couple of hours after the op I was eating egg sandwiches - lovely (sarcasm) ones made by the hospital.

All the soup and ice cream etc that we had stocked up on for after my op wasnt needed as I was able to eat solid foods.

It will such a relief for your son - and indeed you - once the tonsils are out!

[Becles]

I had similar problems when I was a child. The doctor referred me to the ENT consultant and I had my first appointment with him on the Friday afternoon. My Mam explained everything and he examined me and agreed the tonsills needed to come out.

He then said "hang on a minute" and made a couple of phone calls. He came off the phone and said another child was sick and had cancelled their operation, so if I could be in hospital on the Sunday afternoon, he'd take them out on the Monday :eek:

I can remember living on cold soft foods afterwards, so stock up on yoghurts, jelly and ice cream!

[looby75]

Thanks everyone

I was told that an over night stay might not be necessary now! Apparently as long as my ds is eating and drinking ok they will send him home the same day, apparently they like to get them out of hospital asap now as one of the favourite places for MRSA and other nasty bugs to start is in the back to the throat. So fingers crossed that my ds is so used to having a sore throat by now that he'll have no bother eating and drinking lol

[looby75]

I can remember living on cold soft foods afterwards, so stock up on yoghurts, jelly and ice cream!
They aren't that nice now, they give you crisps and toast to eat and all soft stuff is banned! It's all to do with making sure that any bits of tissue that's left behind gets brushed off and doesn't cause infection, and believe it or not it also helps with pain control, the body produces natural pain killers better when you eat rough stuff.

My dd had her tonsils out when she was 5 (as you can see ENT stuff runs in the family) and she was eating raw carrots within hours of her op! I will admit that as soon as she got home I let her eat as many ice pops as she wanted though lol

[chloejane]

that is really great news my daughter had hers out when she was 3 best thing that ever happened to her as she would be ill, ok for a week, be ill, ok for a week and that pattern continuted for about 6 months refered to ent dept then they were removed in 6 weeks very good service she came round and ate everything in site as she was starving and only had calpol for a day then had no problems at all, we did have some antibiotics and good supply of pain killers at the ready but didnt need them! i think its much better to have them out at a young age as the child bounces back normally very quickly, unlike myself who had to wait till i was 16 and it was 3 weeks before new year to have mine out but being christams and new year a few drinks helped to ease the pain :)

[Becles]

It's changed a lot since I was little then. I think it was about 1982 when I had mine out.

I had to go in on the Sunday afternoon, and I can remember having a horrible bath. There was about 2" of tepid orange disinfectant in the bath, and a nurse sponged it all over me. It stank!

I had the operation on the Monday morning. At tea time they brought me some tomato soup and said I had to eat it. I protested because I used to be intollerant to tomato (have grown out of it now!), but they didn't believe me. So I ate it, then promptly threw up all over my bed, which they were not happy about!

I was on soft food all day Tuesday, then allowed out on the Wednesday.

[rjh090384]

thanks looby was scary. they still wanted me to wait 6 months for a consultation though then for operation. so we paid privately for consulatation £35 i think then went to nhs for operation less than a month waiting. panicked the anaethatist when he saw my tonisils though....he didnt know where to put the tube and also all the people were coming from fdifferent wards asking to see "the girl with the giant tonsils"
good luck to ur son anyway!!

[looby75]

ROFL when the doc looked at my ds throat he said "wow they are huge, and they aren't even infected at the moment" ds then went back to school and proudly told everyone his tonsils were huge lol

Becles, did you have yours taken out at Sunderland hospital? If so I think some of the same staff were still there when my dd had her tonsils out 8 yrs ago LOL There was on nurse who was a total old bag, really pushy and bossy and she started to tell my dd of when she was sick all over the bed....she didn't get very far though mainly because my MIL and I shouted her down LOL

(apart from that one nurse all the rest of the staff where lovely)

[oops a daisy]

my 12 year old DD had her tonisils and adenoids done a few years ago. Also they fitted gromits while they were at it. We were the same as you and she still gets sore throats now but not as bad as she used to and she also doesnt have to have the time off school that she used too. She used to snore like a pneumatic drill too :eek: but sleeps like a baby now.
Hope it works out well for you and your DS

[crispeater]

my daughter (2 at the time) went in to have her tonsils and adenoids out and grommets put in, when they got her into theatre they decided to leave her adenoids in as they werent big enough to cause a problem.
we was told to avoid all ice cream and soft food as it doesnt clear away the sloff (as they called it) from the back of the throat. it was lots of crips and fizzy drinks as it kind of grates the back of the throat an clears the rubbish away..apparently lol
watch out for extremly bad breath a few days after as this could be an infection my daughter had this and actually haemorraged in my bed and i had to call an ambulance. course of antibiotics and she was fine.

oh and have you been warned about the incubation period?? you have to keep your child indoors for 14 days, that was no picnic i can tell ya lmao

hope it all goes well :)

[emilyt]

Glad to hear that Looby75. I had my tonsils out when i was 6 i am now 38.
I too was always poorly and had lots of time off school.
Also was very thin. Once my tonsils had been taken out i was so much better. Could eat again and put on weight.
I remember that all i was allowed to eat was jelly and luke warm soup. I am sure he will feel so much better once he has has his op.

[looby75]

it was lots of crips and fizzy drinks as it kind of grates the back of the throat an clears the rubbish away..apparently lol
That kind of advice was coming in when my dd had her tonsils out but the emphasis was more on "normal" food than "rough food" I have to admit that I'm a bit worried about how aggressively they seem to be pushing rough stuff...I know that my idea of hell right now (as I have tonsillitis) is the thought of being made to eat a bag of crisps.....I don't even want to think about what it must be like to eat them after a tonsillectomy.

I’m sure he will be ok though. Dd was and she’s never looked back since her op :)

[charb]

That kind of advice was coming in when my dd had her tonsils out but the emphasis was more on "normal" food than "rough food" I have to admit that I'm a bit worried about how aggressively they seem to be pushing rough stuff...I know that my idea of hell right now (as I have tonsillitis) is the thought of being made to eat a bag of crisps.....I don't even want to think about what it must be like to eat them after a tonsillectomy.

I’m sure he will be ok though. Dd was and she’s never looked back since her op :)


it's not as bad as you think. i had mine taken out when i was 18 and it's not the eating that hurts. i personally had more trouble with earache for about a week afterwards. i felt fine and was (stupidly) out and about the next day.

[chiefpossession]

I had my tonsils taken out when i was 32. The operation is worse as you get older because of the scar tissue from repeated infections and I was very bruised and swollen and in pain. The food should not be 'rough' just normal - not just jelly and ice cream. But make sure that your son has painkillers in plenty of time for them to work before he eats - you don't want him to avoid food because it hurts. I also suffered from severe earache because of the swelling and I was told, by the nurses, to stock up on chewing gum and they encouraged me to chew straight away in hospital. It really helped to control the pain. I don't know how old your son, so I don't know if chewing gum is appropriate, but it may be worth a try.

I can honestly say that it was the best thing ever - no more sore throats and constant ear infections. I wish him a speedy recovery after the op - I will be thinking of him.

[mrs_mix]

My eldest had his taken out when he was 5 my youngest had his out last year at11
the child has to have at least 6 bouts of tonsilitis in a year before they will consider removal (my daughter is giong the same way) nowadays they don't stitch the places where the tonsils are removed they take them out with a heated cutter so the wound seals at the same time when my youngest boy had his done at 2 o'clock in the afternoon took about an hour and by 9.30pm I was taking him home
one thing I did do was get some soluble paracetamol (if your son is old enough check with gp) dissolved it in the smallest amount of water and as I used the syringe to gently squirt it in it helped numb his throat on the way past
the other thing that is recommended is they have two weeks off school with no contact with anyone accept immediate family
and since then he has'nt had one bad throat

pam

[Becles]

Becles, did you have yours taken out at Sunderland hospital?

Yes - it wasn't in the main building. It was in a building just over the wall that runs alongside Kayll Road. My ex had his tonsils out there in 2000-ish, and it hadn't changed since I was there in 1982 :D

If so I think some of the same staff were still there when my dd had her tonsils out 8 yrs ago LOL There was on nurse who was a total old bag, really pushy and bossy and she started to tell my dd of when she was sick all over the bed....

She was there! I was nervous the night before and couldn't sleep, so I put the bedside light on and was reading a book. She came in and yelled at me for being awake and I was told I was supposed to be sleeping for medical reasons, not treating the place as a holiday camp :confused: Still don't understand that one :o

[looby75]

She was there! I was nervous the night before and couldn't sleep, so I put the bedside light on and was reading a book. She came in and yelled at me for being awake and I was told I was supposed to be sleeping for medical reasons, not treating the place as a holiday camp :confused: Still don't understand that one :o

Sounds like the same nurse! lol I hope she has retired now, I really don't fancy round 2 with her :rotfl:

[looby75]

Well we have the date for T-day.....


22nd December _pale_ _pale_ _pale_

I just hope ds sails through it as easily as dd did or we are in for a rough christmas.

On the plus side it means he won't have to miss any school, the 2 weeks he need off will be covered by the christmas holidays :j

[methekidsandthecat]

Hi Looby

I had my tonsils out at the grand old age of 39, it was very painful but I am assured that children bounce back very quickly . I took me about 3 weeks and I found creme bruele very nice, creamy enough to swallow but not sour like yoghurts.

I am going in for an op on my nose on the 18th so I shall be thinking of you on the 22nd.....

Me

[looby75]

fingers crossed for you Me, (read your post on dfw) I really really hope it won't be as bad as you have been told it will xxx

[Becles]

Hope all goes well Looby's son and methekidsandthecat. Will be thinking of you xx

I had a laparoscapy on the 23rd Dec once, and it was quite good actually. All the nurses take pity on you being in hospital for Christmas and I got spoiled rottern :D

[looby75]

Thanks becles. I've told ds that santa will be bringing him a present to open once he wakes up from the op...he's quite chilled about it all at the moment.

Wish I could say the same. I know what to expect, btdt with dd but I'm still a bag of nerves. Pathetic really! :o

[Lorian]

My daughter had T&A's a year or so ago for OSA.

She was awake within an hour and home by tea time (she was first in).

The painkillers meant on the first day she hardly knew aything had happened. A few groggy days, and one bad day (about day 6) and she was fine.

Her voice was a little nasal for maybe 3 or 4 days, but this went away.

[Becles]

Thanks becles. I've told ds that santa will be bringing him a present to open once he wakes up from the op...he's quite chilled about it all at the moment.

awww - that's lovely :cool:

Wish I could say the same. I know what to expect, btdt with dd but I'm still a bag of nerves. Pathetic really! :o

You'll be fine! Are you staying at the hospital all the time?

My youngest was in Durham hosptial for a week when he had pneumonia aged 2. We had a private room with our own bathroom and a sofa bed so I could sleep there with him, then there were showers and a small kitchen for parents to use on the ward corridor too. It was quite a pleasant stay, all things considering!

[lauren_1]

DO NOT LET HIM DRINK COKE FOR 3 DAYS AFTER, it dissolves the stitches, my sister lost over a pint when her wound opened up. Are they takng the adenoids out too?

[Ladygrim]

When you get the letter from the hospital confirming he is on the waiting list, phone the consultants secretary and let her know that you can come into hospital with 24 hours notice. That way, if someone cancels, you may be able to get in earlier than you expected. It worked for me a couple of years ago, and I havent had any throat infections since!

[looby75]

You'll be fine! Are you staying at the hospital all the time?


I think so, I did with dd so I presume I will be able to with ds.

DO NOT LET HIM DRINK COKE FOR 3 DAYS AFTER, it dissolves the stitches, my sister lost over a pint when her wound opened up. Are they takng the adenoids out too?

Yikes, how scary :( Yes they are taking the adenoids too. Might mean we get some peace from him snoring at night LOL

When you get the letter from the hospital confirming he is on the waiting list, phone the consultants secretary and let her know that you can come into hospital with 24 hours notice. That way, if someone cancels, you may be able to get in earlier than you expected.

Do you know if that would work even if they have already given you a date? He goes for his pre assessment appointment on wed, and we have already been booked in for the op to go ahead on the 22nd, if we could get it earlier it would be great though.

[looby75]

I got a phone call from the hospital today, they have moved ds's op date to the 12th Dec :j :T :j :T

I'm pleased because this means he will have loads of time to get back to normal before christmas, and worried because it's only a week away now _pale_

[skintas]

my son reece is having his out 16 th january been waiting since august for appointment, he gets so ill, hot and irritable. when hes ill hes really naughty, having tonsils and adroids out too, been having it about once a month whioch is a pain. good luck g x

[looby75]

I feel your (and your ds) pain :( My has been getting either tonsillitis or a ear infection every 4 weeks or so for the last 18 months.

We have been so luckily, we had to push our gp to send him to the ENT clinic but once we did the system has worked fantastically well. We got a hospital ent appointment quickly and ds was referred to a ENT surgeon on his first visit. We have had to wait less than 3 months from his first hospital appointment to his op.

I hope all goes well for you and your ds too. My dd went through this 8 years ago and it was the best thing that happened to her, she's hardly been ill since.

[looby75]

Becles, that nurse is still there but she retires in Jan!!! LOL

Actually she was really nice this time, I wonder if the prospect of retirement has chilled her out a bit

[The_Bride]

Hope your DS's op went ok Looby, best to have them out sooner than later. I had mine out at 18 though my work's BUPA scheme as I was having 1 week off in 5 due to recurrent tonisilistis. The first day after the op wasn't so bad it was the following 2 weeks of the worst earache imaginable!

Hopefully DS will on form for Christmas :)

[Becles]

Becles, that nurse is still there but she retires in Jan!!! LOL

Actually she was really nice this time, I wonder if the prospect of retirement has chilled her out a bit

roflol :rotfl:

Glad the op went ahead early. Hope son recovers and has a smashing Christmas :cool:

[looby75]

Hope your DS's op went ok Looby, best to have them out sooner than later. I had mine out at 18 though my work's BUPA scheme as I was having 1 week off in 5 due to recurrent tonisilistis. The first day after the op wasn't so bad it was the following 2 weeks of the worst earache imaginable!

Hopefully DS will on form for Christmas :)

Thanks, it all went well, it was a bit touch and go as to if it was going to go ahead at all as he had a bit of a cold but they decided because he didn't have a temperature they could do it. He has been complaining of ear ache more than his throat hurting too, the nurses at the hospital warned us of this and told us to let him chew chewing gum as that's the best thing to get rid of the pain!


Glad the op went ahead early. Hope son recovers and has a smashing Christmas thanks :) same to you (about Christmas lol)