Kids Snoring & Adnoids?

Both of our girls snore, not only when they are sick but basically every night - some nights you can hear DD1 from her room with the door shut as you walk past.
I'd never worried about it much and just put it down to positioning or something until my mum mentioned that both of my brothers have had their adnoids removed.

DD1 is sleeping through and at times will sleep until say 7am (touch wood even 7:30) but DD2 is in our room by 5am (at the latest) every night and sometimes a lot earlier.
So i am wondering if their snoring & adnoids could be part of the reason they are waking and getting up so early?



The local GP said he would need to refer us to a specialist just to see if Adnoids are an issue, he said they do have large tonsils BUT not big enough to cause snoring problems.
He mentioned though that to go on the public wait list could take years and we don't have private health.

He said a lot of kids grow out of adnoid issues but if DD1 was still snoring at say 5 and her adnoids were large they would most likely look at taking them out if it's affecting her sleep.

So i am not sure what to do, do i pay to see a private speciaist x2 just to see IF they are too big and be told wait it out and see OR do i maybe pop the girls on the public wait list and just see how they go?

What issues have yours kids had with adnoids and did they snore wake during the night etc, any other symptoms i shouldd be looking for?

I had my tonsis and adenoids out at 8 years. My snoring improved post but didnt completely resolve. I was always awake at or before the crack of dawn at that age but not sure if it was related

My parents didnt have private insurance but decided to pay as a private patient in a public hospital, this reduced the wait to a matter of weeks.

Personally if it's a problem I would get the referral, get on the waiting list and if things have improved when you get the call for surgery you can always reasses and canel

Having adenoids removed has really helped DS2's snoring, although this was not the primary reason we had it done. We went public as a private patient and it cost us a lot less than going private. However we were told the public waiting list was only around 9 months, but that might have been less because he needed grommets too. It could be worth asking for a referral just to see how long the list is.

My 4 year old is in the waiting list for adnoids and tonsil removal. Her tonsils cover her entire back of throat and adnoids press into her airways. She snores like a trooper. I have also heard her pause while sleeping then restart snoring.

We had to wait 2 months for the initial app with the hosp and am currently in our 6th month of waiting for surgery. We were told within 9 months so hoping we hear something soon.

I might ask for the public referral for both of them then, being on the waiting list wont matter i guess as we've not done anything about it until now.
I just don't really want to pay $$ to have someone say - not an issue or wait and see if they grow out of it IYKWIM.

I just wonder if it's one of DD2's issues as some nights you can hear her wake up, fiddle around and go back to sleep.

Thank you ladies.

We just took DS1 to an ENT specialist this week who recommended removing adenoids and tonsils. He snores all the time, is always snotty and snuffly, but the biggest issue is the frequent ear and tonsil infections - at least six of each since March this year. I don't think though they cause him to wake up early, he oes have stages of waking early but mostly wakes about 7am.

If there are no serious health issues I'd say get on the waiting list for the public system and see how you go.

DD1 had her tonsils & adnoids out and grommits put in. She had tonsils the size of meatballs (surgeons words). She was a bad snorer and a mouth breather. I was told that if they continue to mouth breath it can effect their teeth and push them. I would get an appointment the younger they are the better they handle it. We went to a ENT that does surgeries at the local hospital. We went a a waiting list and were told 1 year. We waited 10.5months.

Now we will have to go through it all with DD2 as her tonsils look even bigger then DD1's.

Thank you everyone, she has another appt next week with the GP to check on her ear infection so i will get a referral to the public list then for both of the girls.

We went through this issue at the beginning of the year, and decided to go on the public waiting list. My GP told me the wait was long - 2 months after putting the referral in I got a call from the hospital to say that we were basically put on the "waiting list for the waiting list" and told that it'd likely be an 18 month wait to see a specialist, and another 12 months on top of that for surgery if she needed it. And this was with what my GP described as "quite bad" - recurrent tonsilitis, sleep apnoea, snoring, frequent night waking, and tonsils that are so HUGE that one touched the uvula and the other is almost halfway there and they actually stop her from being able to swallow food properly sometimes!

When the public hospital called it was becoming a huge issue, and I was so frustrated that it was going to be so long for someone to actually look at her. Eventually I went to the GP and got a private referral because I figured at least then she is looked at by a specialist, and the specialist can make the recommendation about whether it was very urgent or not. My plan, depending on the outcome of the consult, was to either wait it out, or get it in writing that it was urgent and get this added to our referral on the pubic list and see if it moved us up the list a bit.

The specialist was shocked at the size of her tonsils! And the list of symptoms we rattled off had him quite concerned. He gave us a few options, including a letter to get us up the list, but we ended up booking with him privately. We *don't* have private health insurance, however we DO have a health Care Card and this has meant that our doctor has classed our DD as an 'intermediate patient' (public hospital, but we are paying for the bed and private dr and anarthetist) and also the dr and the anaethetist has reduced our out-of-pocket fee's accordingly, and our expenses all up (without complication) are less than $1500, and almost $1000 out-of-pocket once we get some back from Medicare. We got in to see the specialist within a fortnight, and the time between initial consult and surgery will be 10 weeks (she is getting her adnoids and tonsils out on Monday).

Also, the intial consult, once we got money back from Medicare, cost us around $60, and I think if this is affordable for you then I'd go on the public waiting list and see how long the wait will be, and then see a private specialist to maybe get bumped up the list if need be.


(I notice may people commenting on short waiting times so I just wanted to comment that we are in South-East Queensland, and are on the waiting list for the Royal Brisbane Children's Hospital. We are in our 8th month of waiting, no news on an appointment yet - not that we need it now - and the person who rang said we'd get at least 6-8 weeks notice of an appointment time, so I am very happy that we decided to go private, because I would be worrying myself sick if we were still waiting on an initial consult with a specialist!)

My DD2 had her tonsils and adenoids out in march this year. She had massive tonsils, but never had tonsilitis. Her problem though was sleep apnoea from the snoring. It was unrelenting and she would even snore while laying on her side and even while asleep in the car sitting up! The sleep problems caused her to be constantly tired, she would wake often through the night and she tended to be more prone to illness than the other 3 were and she would take longer to get back to 100% well. Her eating was also affected too and she couldn't eat much and would take forever to eat. When she slept she was very restless as well and you could hear her tossing and turning all the time.

We took the wait and see approach too - she's always been a snorer but it got to the point where it was starting to affect her too much physically and emotionally to not do anything. I took her to the GP, then waited 4 months for the ENT appt and they were out 6 weeks later. I know it's expensive to pay for it yourself if you don't have private cover, but the waiting lists are just sooooo long, especially if they aren't having the recurrent infections or problems with snoring and I know of several people who have just paid for it outright and claimed it back from medicare later. Because of her age, they may even want to do a sleep study and find out if she stops breathing during sleep etc. Sometimes they wont remove them straight away in young children unless there is an urgent need to do it, like the infections or sleep apnoea.

It was the best thing we'd ever done though! Since she had it done she has gained a few kilo's because she's practically inhaling food now, she's sleeping 100% better and sleeps like a log and doesn't toss and turn and she is much better rested - she doens't get overtired and worn out and she is concentrating better which means that her schoolwork has improved hugely as well.

It certainly wont hurt to take her to a private ENT and at least get a specialists recommendation on what needs to be done, find out how much it costs - our ENT gave us a quote telling us exactly how much it would cost us and then go from there. It requires an overnight stay in hospital and if you have it done in a private hospital it will cost about $1000 for the overnight stay, but if you can have it done privately in a public hospital then you will only have to pay for the surgery etc.

if you go and get an opinion from the ENT to see what he thinks, you will get a % of the appointment fee back through medicare, and if you are over the threshold it can be as little as $10 (was for us). That part of the situation has nothing to do with private health insurance. At least that way he will tell you whether you need to bother getting on the public wait list (he might tell you nothing needs to be done), or how much it will be to go as a private patient in a public hospital (so no bed costs, just dr and anaesthetist fees). Or you can find out how long the wait list for surgery public is, but at least this is kick starting the first part.

DS just had his adenoids out today, and it was only a day procedure. He also had his grommet removed, but once I get the bills I can let you know what the fees were like if you want?

DP thinks its nothing & not to stress so I'm going to put them on the public list.

If you don't think it's affecting them too much, then it wont be a big deal to wait on the public list. I'm sure that if you thought it was getting worse or affecting them in other ways you'd act on it pretty quick

Nothing has changed in the last couple of months, we're all used to how they snore & DD2's restless sleep.
She's not tired etc so I think waiting is ok.

i had mine out when i was about 13/14. i had chronic tonsillitis and had them out younger. i couldnt breath through my nose ATALL! also had very little taste or smell, better now though! i have a deviated septum so my nose still isnt great. but its better.

we got a referral from our GP for DD1 to do a sleep study at MMC sleep centre to see how bad her snoring was (sounded very loud to me!) anyway we got her results back this week and everything is within normal range and she does not require surgery. her adenoids are on the larger side but not enough to cause obstruction and her tonsils are normal. the paed sleep specialist said as she grows her nasal passage will open up more(she has a very flat nose with barely any bridge ). id be asking for a sleep study before anything else

DD1 had her tonsils & adenoids removed at 5 & teh change was instant! She didn't snore all the time, but she was always a noisy breather in her sleep. & a mouth wide open sleeper. It actually took me weeks after it was done to sleep properly at night, because I was so used to being able to hear her from the other end of the house.