hiya all...

i was wondering if any of your children had a tonsilectomy/adnoidectomy....??? my daughter is having surgery tomorrow.... and i'm beginning to freak a little.... she's had surgeries before, so i know she tolerates the anesthesia.... but, i'm still very worried, and not sure what to expect afterwards.... she's had 5 strep episodes in the last 6 months and needs to have them taken out......

any help??

worried mom...

My son had his tonsils and adeniods removed a little over a year ago. He tollerated it pretty well, the first few days were bad, but as long as you make sure she drinks as much as she can swallow (not getting dehydrated and keeping the throat wet is VERY important), also good pain control, don't wait for the meds to wear off before giving her more, whatever schedule the nurses/doctors give you keep it for the first week, if it's every 6hrs do not go past that without giving her more, if it wears off it may be almost impossible to get hre to take more...especially within in the first few days. Good pain control is the key, without good pain control then she may not drink enough liquids, and without enough liquids she is at a higer risk for bleeding andthings because the incision will be dry, it needs to be kept moist. For 2 weeks her activity should be kept to a minimum...no running, swimming, etc, according to the nurses the highst risk for bleeding is 10days after, i know with my son after the first week it was hard to keep him tied down, but do your best, rent movies, let her play on the computer, etc. They should go over all the do's and don't with you, i know at the hospital where my son had it done we went in for a tour of day surgery and they gave us a lot of info on the do's and don't's after surgery. If you have any questions feel free to ask..i know i'm a day late, but hopefully you'll get the info in time to get some use out of it...good luck, :0)

thanks for the response.... her surgery went well, but she wakes up from anesthesia very soon after surgery, (before they even had her to the recovery room)... so, by the time i got back there... she was in soooooooooooo much pain, cause they didn't give her any pain meds yet..... anyway, you're right about the pain meds, it seems every 4 hours she needs more... but, the in between times she's pretty good.... the first day all she did was drink and eat popsicles... but, last night she ate mac and cheese, and corn.... she was starving.... i'm hoping the worst is over... but, there's no way she's getting out there and doing anything till at least a week post op..... i know they said that day 3, 4 and 5 will be worst than days 1 and 2.... but, today being day 3... she seems to be doing fine....... i'll just keep the pain meds, and cold liquids pumped into her...... she's starting to get a little bored... but, we've been playing cards and watching a whole lot of tv.... we go on vacation august 3rd ... i'm praying she'll be 100% by then.... thanks again!

Hi, livenlearn. I was wondering if you had been to see an ent before her tonsils were removed? My son has had 3 cases of strept since may, along with ear infections. They are telling me that someone is giving it to him. I have been checked and naturally so has my son. But my dr told me that if someone is a carrier they would always test positive for strept. There has been times when he didn't test positive and I have tested negative. I was told he might have to have tubes put in or tonisls removed but I haven't got to the ent yet(waiting on last test of strept). I hope your daughter is feeling better and able to have a good vacation.

hi there !!!

my daughter had 5 bouts of strep from last october until may.... her pediatrician told us to make an appt with an ent doc...... what the ent doc told me was that she is probably a carrier.... and even when she doesn't have the "sore throat" that goes along with strep... she probably would test positive all the time..... she suggested to have her tonsils and adnoids taken out... to relieve this problem ... she shouldn't get strep throat ever again... (we'll see though)..... anyway, it's been 9 days since the surgery and she's FINALLY feeling better... almost her old self again..... (it's always a good sign when they start fighting with their siblings).... anyway, the doc warned me that days 3,4 & 5 post surgery were going to be the worst.... but, her experience was that days 5,6 and 7 were HORRIBLE !!! not to scare ya or anything... but, she wasn't feeling well the first 4 days... but, not screaming in pain.... but, days 5 and 6 especially.... she just was in so much pain... i guess the "scabs" were "healing" and it's just painful... but, so i don't scare you too much... the meds they give for pain work !!! so, just make sure you give the meds to him every 4 hours ... or whatever is prescribed... (including waking him in the middle of the night to give it to him)... it makes a HUGE difference making sure he has his pain medicine... but, here we are 9 days post surgery... and she's really really doing great !!!!!

hope everything goes well for ya !!

Hi. Thank you so much for responding to my questions. I am still waiting for the rest of his results. Hope all goes well. Not to scare you either but I have heard that they can still get strept even with the removal of the tonsils. It won't be as painful, that is what I have been told. Lots of luck. Good health.

I know this is an old topic, but I thought I would throw in my 2 cents... I had my tonsils out at the age of 18, after years of strep and other problems. My tonsils were always swollen--the first reaction I would get at the doctor or dentist (especially a new one) was "Whoa, look at those tonsils..." So my parents finally had them removed, and 12 years later, I have not had strep again, after having it 3 times in my first quarter in college. So my advice is--don't wait. Save yourself and your child years of misery and have them taken out if they seem to be causing problems. My parents were always told "Oh, she'll grow out of it" but I never did.