tonsils etc

Hi,

My 4 year old son's tonsils are massive (often nearly touching, or actually touching). He's always been a snorer and sleeps with his mouth open,still drools a bit, had lots of chesty cough problems, and has a cold more often than not (though that could also be childcare related).
We've talked to our gp about it a few times and she says that his case is pretty borderline. They are big enough and probably causing enough trouble to warrant getting them taken out. But they aren't such a problem that she would say definitely get them out, especially as mine are also very large and I seem to do ok. She says the decision is up to us. She added that the surgery will be easier the younger he is but that he could also grow into them so that could be a reason to wait.

I really don't know what to do. I feel really bad that it could be causing him quite a bit of trouble and that we could fix it, but I don't want to send him off for surgery unless he really needs it. The question keeps coming back to my head every now and again but I don't get any closer to resolving it. We've tried monitoring him for the last year and sometimes there has been real improvement where his tonsils are a bit smaller and he sleeps better but there hasn't been any overall improvement from last year till now.

So I thought I'd ask for the BB wisdom. Have any of your kids had similar issues? Have you gotten your kids tonsils out? Any advice?

Thanks heaps!

Get them out!

It's true, it's not a nice op or recovery, but it really is worth doing when they're much younger. Plus it could save a lot of pain in the future with a lot less sickness.

My DS had his out when he was 4, I had mine out at 10. I suspect dd will get hers out at some point maybe, as they are just large tonsils but without recurring infections.

Ditch the Gp and get a referral to an ENT (Ear Nose Throat specialist). The GP will always be on the conservative side, and they are not a specialist in this area - the ENT is. If they are touching sometimes and they are obstructing his airway when he sleeps making him snore, then they need to come out. My DD2 had significant problems because of them - she would snore loud enough to be heard from the other end of the house at night and would often keep her siblings awake at night. She was a restless sleeper - always tossing and turning and she was always tired. Out of all my kids, she would be the one to get run down and get sick. She had pneumonia at 4 and just other general minor health issues. That said, she never ever got tonsilitis or infections. So the tonsils themselves were asymptomatic, but they were causing a general disruption to her sleep. This was when she was nearly 7 and the problems had been going on since she was a toddler. Took her to the GP and he said they may or may not take them out and he referred us to a paed ENT who said they had to come out ASAP as they were causing sleep apnea which is why she was so restless and run down. Best decision we ever made. She had the surgery 6wks after that appointment (private health cover - on the public list you will be waiting longer or you can just pay upfront to do it privately) and she's never looked back. Gained weight, looked healthier and NO MORE SNORING!!! the difference was amazing. I had to go and check to make sure she was still breathing she was that quiet! She is also as robust as my other 3 kids and doesn't get sick.

One of my twins - who is 2 1/2 - is having his tonsils and adenoids removed on Monday.

He has never had tonsillitis but since September 2013 we have been to Emergency with him on 3 occasions (once after an ambulance was called) due to him having high spiking fevers which the hospital could never find an answer for - they all thought it was a UTI as he has kidney issues but all the tests always came back clear. It was his last trip on Boxing Day when he kept spiking almost 40c temps that the Paediatric Registrar noted his tonsils seemed swollen and inflamed, she advised me to see our GP to get a referral to an ENT.

Got in to the GP and got the referral and 2 days later was booked in with the ENT. We were there for 10 minutes maximum and one look at his tonsils and told me he needed them out sooner rather than later, so the paperwork was filled in and not even 4 weeks later and he is booked in via a public hospital.

The ENT told me he would be suffering from severe sleep apnoea as his tonsils are so enlarged - this explains why he wakes every morning with bags under his eyes and still has a 3hr to 4hr day sleep as he is sleep deprived. Also when he eats or drinks he always sounds like he has something stuck in his throat and has to keep trying to clear it. He is also still non verbal at almost 3 - even though he has been diagnosed with ASD along with his twin - and he are hoping that once his tonsils are gone that it may also help with speech as the poor little guy must have been suffering with a sore throat for a very long time.

Fingers crossed, it all goes well on Monday and that he has a good recovery and in 2 weeks time we have a happy healthier little man. I can let you know what happens if you like :)

I would get a referral to an ENT and get their professional opinion. If it is a borderline case I would get them out.

DS tonsils were so bad he barely had any clearance at all. It has affected his speech and as a result is in speech therapy and he had his out at 3 years.

We walked into her office and before she even touched him she said she wanted to take his tonsils out because the puffiness under his eyes (because of the size of his adenoids), she could hear his breathing and also the shape of his head/face. She took one look in his mouth and said they had to come out.

It wasn't nice seeing your little one go through it and the first 7 - 10days weren't great, some days just plain horrible and heart breaking, but within 2 weeks he was a completely different kid and his sleeping improved out of sight. The difference was absolutely staggering.

We don't regret it for a second and if either of our other 2 need it done we will not hesitate.

Good luck.

Thanks so much! It's great to hear your stories and hear how much it's helped your kids.
The GP did mention we should be on the look out for speech problems which would clearly tip him over onto the definitely take them out side but thankfully he hasn't had trouble there. I just worry that he isn't sleeping well because of it and that it's keeping him generally run down. He's never had tonsilitis either but soo many chest infections and has a cold more often than not. I've also been wondering about sleep apnea. I've tried to keep an eye on it myself and sometimes I hear/feel him stop breathing while sleeping but never for more than 10 seconds.
Anyway, I'll talk to DH and probably go see if we can get in to see an ENT.
Then probably come back and ask for advice about dealing with the actual op and recovery.

Good luck TaRhLi with your little one. I hope the op goes really well and the recovery is quick!

My DD did have speech problems and saw a speechie for nearly 2 years, but it was completely unrelated to the tonsils. Good luck with the ENT appointment.

Often an ENT will not remove them unless there is recurrent infection. Tonsils act as filters to other areas of the body so there are disadvantages to having them removed also. My 6year old is about to have hers removed. She has grade 4 tonsils all the time (touching) but the real problem is recurrent infection. She has had serious complications from recurrent throat infections (low platelets and neutropenia) she is unable to have them removed until her platelet count improves due to the risk of bleeding.

Thanks Mildez for the info it's nice to hear that ENT's don't always want to take them out.
I talked to DH last night and our real problem is that our GP has just told us that it's a borderline case and that the decision is up to us and we really don't think we have enough information to making such a decision. We want a specialist to look at DS and his case and give an opinion.
Personally I'd be very happy if they don't need to come out. But if they should be taken out I don't want to be making his life harder unnecessarily.

Ok so we saw the ENT yesterday and he said that DS's adenoids definitely need to come out, while his tonsils are indeed big he doesn't think they are too big and since they don't seem to be causing trouble (unlike the adenoids) he said better to leave them in for now at least.

I'm really not looking forward to the surgery (in three weeks) but so glad we finally got to talk to a specialist about it and get a real knowledgeable answer. It was SOOO much better than what the GP told us which I now see really seemed to be a jumbled mix of issues regarding three different sets of glands. I'd only ever really thought about the tonsils since they are the ones you can see. Very glad I finally pushed to see the specialist and slightly annoyed that it took me and the GP so long to get to this point.

Here's hoping this helps my DS.

Thanks for all your help getting us to this point.