T & A 
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T & A
My youngest DS will probably be having his tonsils and adenoids out within the next month or so. We go back in two weeks to find out for sure. Anyone's kids had this done in the last few years or so? I know a lot has changed over the years - just wondering what to expect in terms of recovery time, etc. I've done a lot of reaearch online, but it helps to hear *real* experiences, I think. TIA for any advice you can share
My ds had his tonsils out about 3 years ago. He came home that same day and was up and playing that night. His throat hurt for a few days and he had to eat soft food but he recovered pretty quickly. His main problem was before the surgery. He had a bad reaction to the first meds they gave him to put him to sleep. Instead of going to sleep he got very irritable and kept trying to get up but he was so drugged he would fall down eveerytime so we had to hold him down and it took them forever to get him into surgery after they gave it to him. I was in tears before they came to get him. But that does not happen very often. I wasn't trying to scare you. Sorry!! Don't worry!! It is a quick operatoin and he will heal very fast.
My DS was 3 1/2 when he had his tonsils and adenoids removed. He also had his 3rd or 4th set of tubes put in at the same time.
He had his surgery done on the Monday before Thanksgiving and on the Monday after Thanksgiving he was still not feeling well enough to go to daycare. He probably could have gone but I still stayed home to make sure he was OK. He would play and everything but I had to make sure he had pain meds in him because if they wore off, he was a bear.
Since your DS in older, keeping the meds in him won't be as much of a challenge. He should be feeling better in a few days. He will probably still feel tired and rest more than usual for the first few days after.
I will warn you now your DS will have the worst breath you have ever smelled on a person. It stays that way for a couple of weeks as everything heals.
My ds had his tonsils and adenoids out five weeks ago today.
The surgery went very well. In the recovery room he started vomiting and couldn't stop because of the anethesia. They gave him phenagrin (sp?) and he was fine after that. Two hours after we arrived home I had to call the doctor because my ds, who turned five two weeks before the surgery, was getting upset because he was hungry and wanted to eat (I was supposed to give him liquids only for the first 24 hours). So I got the go-ahead to feed him soft foods. He ate like a pig and then fell asleep for four hours. I was told to expect days 5,6, & 7 to be the worst, but he actually stopped taking pain meds altogether on day 6 and hasn't needed them since (he has a very high tolerance for pain though) and he was pronounced healed after two weeks although after one week he was acting completely normal. I had been told all these horror stories about how awful it was for the first two weeks, but honestly that wasn't my experience. It wasn't a picnic, but it wasn't bad either.
From what the doctor told me, my ds recovered so quickly and so well because he drank his liquids. She told me that another little boy who was a year older than my ds was not doing well at all at the one week point because he wouldn't drink. So...in my experience, give the pain meds every three hours (or as your dr prescribes) around the clock (set an alarm at night) for the first several days or until your child can handle the pain a little better. And for the most important thing - make him drink, drink, drink! I did everything I could think of to get my ds to intake liquid. I gave him whatever he wanted to drink and made games out of it too. He really loved when I would "put a sip" in a straw and let it out in his mouth (put a straw in the liquid, put you finger on the end and release your finger when the straw is in the child's mouth). When I let the liquid out I'd make a zziipp sound. Also, we had drinking races, popcicles, grape juice, anything that enticed him to drink. Also, we found that using a humidifier at night helped a lot because it kept his airway from drying out.
The biggest challenge was getting him to take the medicine. He hated the taste and it was a fight to the death every time I had to give him meds.
I HTH and good luck to you and your ds!
My ds had his removed in kindergarden 3 years ago. Bounced back so quick it was scary. Afterwards he slept so much better and all around was a much happier kid. The only rough spot was when he came out of anesthesia and he looked so emotionally hurt, like we had really been mean to him, it broke my heart. He forgave us and I dont regret having it done for a minute.
Hehehe!!! When I saw your title, I immediately thought of something else that some use that abbreviation for....
I have no advice, because thankfully, neither of my kids have had that done....yet....we think my ds(5) will eventually...
Good luck, I am sure your baby will be just fine!
Thanks I feel a little better now. Matt is actually to the point where he WANTS them taken out so he can breathe normally. His adenoids are so swollen that they are blocking his nose from behind...the Dr. told me to hold my nose shut, and then swallow. Wow! He said that's what Matt has been dealing with EVERY DAY in addition to his throat trouble because of the enlarged tonsils. I can't wait to be done with the antibiotic so he can have them out - I'm sure he'll be one very happy kid when it's over
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