Tonsillectomy - Redwood City,CA

Hi M.,

Tonsils help with immunity and resistance to disease.

Can you try to shrink them? They might be enlarged due to bacterium inside the body. You could try this antibacterial for a month or two, before you schedule surgery. Everything in our body has a purpose or God wouldn't have put it there.

These are natural anti bacterials:
Cumanda
Samento

I also use Fulvic acid.
I get them online. They will reduce bacterial load in the body. Start with 1-2 drops every 3 hours (rotating each antibacterial) Samento-cumanda-samento-cumanda
As the bacteria die it will release toxins and he will get a headache. So watch for it and give headache relief.
The eventual dose on the drops are 15 drops of each , a day.

Since starting the drops with my daughter, I've seen her voice change from deep gruff to a soothing sweet voice. Aparently something was on/in the tissue of her vocal chords.

Hi M.,

Our 7 year old daughter had her tonsils out this past October.
For her it really was more of a two week recovery period. Be prepared to insist they stay overnight if there seem to be any problems. My daughter was sent home even though she kept throwing up, and we had to bring her in to the ER
that night. Also be prepared with paper and pens so your child can write to tell you how they feel and what they need. Once the anesthetic wore off, my daughter didn't want to talk for four days, as it was painful. It was ultimately worth it and with a few precautions you can make it a little easier for your child.

We had our 6 & 16 year olds' tonsils out during Christmas Break. The recovery for the 6 year old was very fast. Do it now, and let him get some relief!

M.,

When my older girls were 2 and 4, we had their tonsils and adenoids taken out. They did back to back surgeries. My oldest had horrible problems with sleep apenea and youngest had constant ear infections. I would recommend that you do it sooner rather than later. It took both girls 10 days to recover. The change in them was like day and night. Hope this helps!

Hi M.,

My name is K. and I have a 7 year old boy who went through the same exact thing. We had his tonsils/adnoids taken out over Thanksgiving break, and it was soooo worth it. He now sleeps through the night, breathes more clearly and hopefully will get less strep infections ( all of which are the reasons why we had the procedure). Anyway, the first week of recovery is the hardest; my son could barely take in any fluids due to the pain, got dehydrated, we had to take him to the hospital to get fluids in him, etc. BUT after the first week things got better everyday. I would recommend doing the procedure over a school break, like the spring/Easter recess coming up. The sooner you do it, the sooner he will be better. Make sure and give yourself a week for the recovery period, as it is ugly at first but well worth it in the long run. Good luck.

M.,
Our daughter had hers out on her spring break when she was in kindergarten for the same reasons. She went back to school the following week and did fine. The surgery went easy, she just did not like the fact that her throat was sore for a few days, but loved eating so much ice cream. I have no idea why he said 3-4 weeks for recovery. Little ones heal so much faster.
W. M.

My very good friend's 4.5 year old son just had the same surgery. It was much needed and for the same reasons that you mentioned. He had a very hard time sleeping at night and would usually try to do it while sitting up. He did need more than a week to heal and get back to normal or as much as he could. It has been about a month and he is doing just fine, and even sleeping better. I would weigh out the options on what is the best for your son and think about when the best time to recover would be. The most crucial time is about 10 days after the surgery. They really need to take it easy and not push themselves too much. Good luck with everything. M.

Hello,
My 3 1/2 year old just has his tonsils and adnoids removed because of sleep apnea and snoring. It took a full week for him to feel better and then he was back to normal. He suffered more than he needed to because he hated the taste of the pain meds and the taste was difficult to hide in food or liquids.
It was a very difficult decision to have the surgery and it was horrible to see him suffer. I felt like a terrible parent. However, now my son no longer snores, sleeps peacefully, is calmer because he is not overtired, and is cognition has improved. He also seems happier and is thriving at preschool.
Good luck

My daughter had her tonsils out at 6 as well becasue of sickness and sleep problems. Her recovery was about a week before she was up and moving. But to keep her form getting sick or run down we kept her quiet for 2 weeks. You could consider schooling him at home for the second week. There is a program for medical homeschooling that your school should be able to tell you about. He will feel better once this is done. IT is worth it. I wouldn't wait.
Stac

Hey M., my son who is now 5, had his tonsils out when he was 3, so I understand your concern. We had been to the doctor a million times for ear infections, and it seemed as if he had been on antibiotics his whole life. He had enlarged tonsils, too, and suffered from sleep apnea. The surgery appeared to be the best course of action for him, and it worked out really well. The surgery went great, though I was a bit aprehensive about the anesthesia. He was a bit groggy and unhappy coming out of it, but once we were home and comfortable, he was great. We were given codeine for the pain, and it really helped.

I took an entire week off when he had the surgery, and he needed it. By day 7 or 8 he was back to himself without the pain meds. He hasn't had any more problems with apnea or ear infections since, and he doesn't even snore anymore!

I understand your concern, but I think you might even have an easier time than we did because your son is older and you can explain it to him. Our 3 year-old didn't get it, and it was sad to see him be scared. I'm sure everything will work out, and you'll see that the end result is WAY worth it. OUr son is so much happier now...he sleeps better, is healthier, and it shows.

Good luck! E.

Hi M.
It sounds horrible having surgery for such a youngster but in the long run, it will make a huge difference. My 3 year old had the surgery last July and he’s been a different child since – a good thing. He was tiny, maybe 26 pounds at the time and didn’t eat because his throat hurt. He would gag if food got caught in his throat. We supplemented the only thing he would take regularly – milk with Pediasure just to get extra calories in him. As a baby, he constantly had ear infections and finally had tubes put in. The ENT said he’s never seen tonsils as large as my son’s: removed them and infected adenoids and resized tubes in his ears.

Every child recovers from anesthesia differently. Be prepared as it was not what we were expecting. It was an outpatient procedure and took just over an hour and recovery about two hours. We ended up using a cold water humidifier in his room for about a week after the surgery to help keep his mouth from drying out as he was an open mouth sleeper. Something we weren’t aware – his breath smelled horrible! The scarring on the back of the throat was white, expect to see that while he’s healing. Within two weeks our son was back to himself.

Best of luck!

Hi M.,

Don't worry about your son's recovery, I think he will be fine within a week :O) The Dr is just over-shooting the recovery time.

And, so what if he misses a day or two of school, he's only 6 :O) He won't miss Algebra or anything :O)

I would keep the surgery as planned, assuminghe doesn't get sick before it's scehduled and they would have to reschedule it anyway.

~N. :O)

I never had my tonsils out, but I did have sinus surgery, which is also pretty bad! Anyhow, they told me the same thing - 4 week recovery. I ended up getting cleared to go back to school a week after surgery. My face was still puffy and I had to take some pain meds, but if I'd had to spend one more day in bed, I'd have lost my mind! All in all, it was fine going back a bit early. My suggestion is to talk to your son's teacher and map out a strategy. I am sure she'll be able to give you your son's school work, and he can work on it if and when he's able. He may recover quickly, but if not, at least he'll have something to work on while he convalesces. I don't think putting it off any longer would really help him. He'll likely feel so much better after a short recovery period. Good luck!

Dear M.,

I went through the same operation with my son when he was 5 years old. He had his tonsils and ademoids removed. I don't know why you were told that the recovery period is 3-4 weeks. It was less than a week. He was up and around in 3-4 DAYS. The pain and difficulty swallowing took a couple of days and he was uncomfortable, but fine after a couple more days. I would definitely not postpone the surgery if I were you. Sleep apnea means that not enough oxygen is getting to the brain! It is very serious and you don't want your child to have this condition any longer. Besides it is not an big issue to catch up in school after missing a week or two for a 6 year old, especially for such an important health issue. Would you postpone heart surgery? Breathing is just as important.

Good luck!
L.

Three of my children have had tonsillectomies and none of them needed 3-4 weeks to recover. My middle child had hers out when she was 4 and was back at preschool within a week. My youngest had hers out on a Thurs. and was at a party the next night. She only missed a week of school and she was in 2nd grade at the time. My oldest we waited until summer, but she didn't take that long to heal either. I'd go ahead and have it done before spring break. The only bad part for me was when they first wake up-all three of mine were in a great deal of pain at that point and I would second guess my decision. THe nurses would give them some pain meds and they'd go back to sleep for a bit-wake up, eat a popsicle and be ready to go home. The oldest did have trouble with throwing up-but the younger two were fine. My youngest didn't even want the pain meds. She was back in school the following Wed. because it was Valentine's Day, but we did half days for Wed.-Fri of the week following the surgury. She had her birthday party on the 17-9 days after surgury. Good luck.

My daughter had her tonsils out at 5 yrs old. She did great and was recovered with in a week. The only thing that was hard was she had a bad reaction to the codiene. Once she got over her reaction to that and started her on just motrin she was feeling better in no time. We kept her home the whole first week but she was ready to go back within 3 to 4 days. Six years later she remember the whole thing as very easy and not painful at all. I wouldn't recommend waiting. My daughter was so much better within a short time. She has had no more ear infections, sleep apnea, snoring, and has been generally a lot healthier since the surgery.

My experience is similar to Betty R.'s I had my tonsils out when I was 7 (55 years ago). My brother, who is almost two years older, had his out at the same time. It was done over Christmas vacation so we wouldn't miss school, but I don't recall any great recovery time--just a slightly sore throat and scratchy voice for a few days. In fact, I think my brother and I played sick for a few extra days because of being spoiled with ice cream and apricot nectar, yum!! I remember enjoying Christmas that year and both of us had recovered long before we had to go back to school aftr vacation. The main thing I remember is that we were supposed to go home after the surgery, but because of a scheduling problem, we had to spend the night at the clinic. The nurse could tell that I was upset and made the mistake of promising me anything I wanted. However, she ended up breaking her promise, because what I wanted was my Yunka--my lovable, long-haired, white tomcat who always slept on my bed, and of course, there were rules against pets in a medical facility.

Hi M.,

I had my tonsils removed when I was in 3rd grade and had to take 3 weeks off. We had planned on two, but the night before I was to go back they started bleeding (out of my mouth and down my throat). The doctor said that the scabs must have come off and instisted on me laying low for another week just to be sure. I felt fine at that point, but was basically on bed rest so that it wouldn't happen again. Luckily, my teacher was our next door neighbor and a close family friend, so he brought all of my homework over and explained it to me.

It seems to me that if you scheduled your sons for spring break then he probably wouldn't have to miss much school unless he has any complications. Just talk to his teacher ahead of time and ask if she can help provide you with relevant activities and homework for your son....also be willing to pick these things up every few days - don't expect the teacher to have it all ready to go before your son leaves. I had a student who was out for a while for a surgery and it was really nice that I could email work to her every few days because when she left I didn't have all of my upcoming handouts and activities copied or even completely planned because they were dependent upon how the class progressed.

As a teacher, I would say have it done now. I had a student who had it done over winter break and she was back to her old self when she returned.

I had a student who waited until the end of that year too. He was tired and congested and so much better after he had the surgery. He wished he had had it done earlier.

Stephanie

Just my opinion, but I'd go ahead. A "full recovery" time period is not usually conservative. He could feel fine after that first week. He may be more tired as his body recovers from the trauma of surgery, but I'll bet the renewed ability to sleep well helps to compensate.

I haven't had any recent experience with tonselectomy, but from my own childhood experience with it, a month long recovery seems strange. What I remember from having my tonsils out at age six, (sixty years ago!) I was in the hospital overnight, then the next afternoon while my mother was trying to get some rest from her ordeal of sleeping in a chair beside my bed the night before, she was trying to get me to be quiet, because I wouldn't quit singing at the top of my lungs. I don't recall a bit of problem other than a slight sore throat for a day or so. And of course they said I must have "yucky" stuff like jello and ice cream to eat... and you know how much kids hate to eat that sort of foods! LOL! Somehow it seems to me that with the medical advances that have taken place in the last sixty years, the recovery from a tonsilectomy would be easier.

Hi M.,

We just did this two years ago when our son was 6. We did it one week before school started because that is the only time the doc could do it. The ENT warned us that it would take at least ten days but I thought that might be an overestimation because my son had ear tubes and adenoids out and was fine the next day.

6 days later we sent him to the first day of school. Tough tough day and he came home with a 101 degree fever after not really having had one that I can remember. The next day was his post op attp at 10:30 so I took him out early and kept him home after the appt. The day after that, he was fine to go to school.

The ENT told us that the most important thing is to stay on top of the pain. Our son is typically fairly hearty but the pain was pretty bad. Our doc suggested Tylenol over motrin and was definitely correct on this as motrin did nothing. If I kept the Tylenol on a tight schedule and even had to give it to him early a fwe times, he was okay for the most part. He could play a little and look fine but once the tylenol got close to wearing off, he'd be in quite a bit of pain.

My suggestions are liquid tylenol, popscicles and smoothies. I put frozen fruit and milk in my blender and made my son smoothies. He really didn't want to eat or drink anything but I could get him to take a sip here and there.

You really do have to be home and available to them for a fwe days. This is definitely more than a scratchy throat kind of thing but he should be very close to being able to go to school after the break for at least one half a day.

If he is having breathing problems, I wouldn't wait.

My son was almost 3 when he had his surgery. The doctor said he had the largest set of tonsils they had ever seen, no wonder he had sleep apnea. His recovery was pretty rough because the pain meds were so nasty tasting. They gave him penicilin and tylenol with codenie. Not even being three yet we could reason with him to take it. We tried to disguise it anyway we could and it wouldn't work. So we ended up just giving him plain tylenol and he was better with in just about 2 weeks. I think if we had been able to give him the stronger pain meds it would have been faster. So I think your son being older will do just fine. My nephew had his out at the age of 8 and his recovery time was only a week.

I would say go for it. The difference in their behavior afterward because they get better sleep is drastic. He will be a much happier boy especially in school.

Good luck

No matter when she has the surgery the recovery time will be the same. I have experienced many surgeries with my sons (8 & 21 months). I keep my oldest home for the first week or two depending on how intrusive the surgery is and then send him back to school and just have him sit at PE or recess. My oldest is having surgery on Match 16th, will miss school for 2 weeks and then go back even though he will not be fully recovered.

You could work with the teacher and get his work ahead of time to do at home so he doesn't get too far behind.

Hi M.,

Maybe this story will be useful. I am a high school teacher. I have a student this year who started the school year very unhappy and was on the road to being extremely unsuccessful. What I didn't know was that she was having the same problems you describe your son having.

In October or November, she was out for a while because she had her tonsils removed. I cannot tell you what a different person she is. She is motivated and smiling and even stays after class to ask me questions and share her thoughts. She is doing well in all of her classes (that she was previously failing) and is clearly a happy kid. It almost chokes me up to think about, and I'm not even her mom.

She's 15 and not 6, so I don't know how this relates to your son, but it was a good lesson for me about how important a healthy body and good sleep is for just about everything in life.

Best of luck to you and your son!

E.

Dear M.,

My daughter had her tonsils and adenoids removed at almost 8, and frankly I wish it had been done earlier-her breathing was dramatically improved while asleep in the recovery room! However, I would keep your child home as much and long as you can: surgery is a big deal to our bodies and resting at home is the best way to heal completely. I also want to tell you that my daughter had an especially wonderful doctor, and still had a completely unusual and unexpected complication: she had a heavy bleed 9 days after the surgery, which is well past the period when bleeding is anticipated. This necessitated an emergency treatment and stay in the hospital. Not to frighten you, just to remind you of the need for care and vigilance. (the bleeding was down her throat and into her tummy, so the only symptom was feeling ill and looking ashen and finally throwing up..) I think missing school is less important than getting the surgery done, and then staying home till you're good and well. I imagine you will be glad you did this, my daughter's sleep, breathing, and speech all improved so much it was like a miracle! Very best of health and healing vibes to you and your child!