Seriously, DS1 tonsils are so big! I took him to a specialist and all she suggested was removing them. Is there really no alternative to this? Could there be a cause such as allergies? But she didn't suggest allergies! I don't know why I'm kinda freaked out about having them removed...but I am! :( The specialist said that because he snores, sleeps with his mouth open, and holds his breath when he sleeps that he probably will have better quality of life if they are removed. I just want to be sure there isn't anything I can do on my part before I agree to take something like that away from him. It's one of those situations where I would feel bad if I didn't do it and I'd feel bad if I did? Ugh!

Anyone with experience?

We JUST went through this with Natalia about 2 months ago... and we were feeling JUST LIKE YOU! We didn't want to remove the tonsils ... I even called my doctor in Mexico (many times he would suggest something different than other doctors, less invasive and he is a Christian and missionary, etc) and even he said I had nothing to worry about and that removing them was definitely the best option, my concern was Natalia's age and he mentioned that her age is the very thing that makes it the best way to go... she heals faster and since the reason the tonsils were SO big was not infectious it just meant that she "could grow out of it" and probably around 9yrs. old could get better (getting bigger the tonsils might be "proportionate" to her size once she got older) but still, it might not be the case and in the mean time she would be miserable and we would too (Natalia also was snoring horribly at night, couldn't breath because there was no space between her tonsils) ... we also knew it was the right thing when we were in the waiting room right before the surgery and a lady came in crying because they called her as her 2yr. old boy almost died in the day care because he was choking with food (Natalia also had the problem of gagging when eating and even spaghetti noodles would get stuck to her tonsils) ... it's not about scaring you but the big tonsils at this age might be worse than the removal, the doctor also explained that the adenoids and tonsils are all from the "same tissue" and when they remove the tonsils and adenoids not only they don't remove it all but they CAN'T remove it all, there is more of that tissue behind our tongue, so it's not like the "immune system suffers a great loss", Natalia is happier than she was before the surgery, sleeping ever than ever, I can't even hear her at night.... could it be allergies? Yes it might... but the process of finding what they could be allergic to might be even more invasive or traumatic than the removal of the tonsils... I am just happy we did... and being this age, kids just "recover incredibly" to it all... Let me know if you can watch this video (just to encourage you) this video was taken about 12 hours after the adenoids/tonsils removal:

Natalia after surgery (http://journalofgratefulness.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=4UBWtDABAAA.QZtdWFIQn42OkDkz-K76MQ.zVWAnK_tW03_nPaLKG_w1A&postId=7581306561864766730&type=POST)

Big Hugs mommy!

Paloma.

They could just be naturally big and there's nothing you can do about that,, my oldest has huge tonsils but so does his daddy, he does not snore so for now the specialist said we will leave them alone and just watch them, but everytime someone new looks in his mouth they comment how huge they are and if we have seen a specialist about this, so his might be hereditary also but maybe his mouth is to small for them, like I am always concerned that one of my boys will get my small mouth and my dhs huge teeth(because not all teeth will fit way overcrowded), so maybe he got a small mouth from someone and large tonsils from someone else kwim? So if it is hereditary the only way to fix that would be surgery, just see a pediatric ent specialist to do it, my ds2 had adnoids removed and pediatric ent did it and it was day surgery (he was 3yrs old) and he handled it great, just lots of cold drinks, popsicles and stuff, so freeze some homemade popsicles up with his favorite drink helps too

Dittoing Melinda! I was going to mention also about the hereditary stuff.... that's what the specialist said too... anyway... about the popsicles, ice-cream and stuff that's the way to go...

Natalia didn't really want it though... so we had to make sure she would drink LOTS OF FLUIDS! because dehydration could happen if they avoid drinking from the pain... Luckily the nurses told me that the pain medication worked great after 20 minutes of taking it, so that's when I would give her her juice/water, that way she didn't get too much pain and relate drinking with pain...

Oh! BTW... For dinner, the very night after her surgery Natalia ate: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, buttery noodles, mac and cheese, chocolate milk, jello and a scoop of ice cream... LOL! I was really surprised... I thought she would lose her appetite... ;)

Paloma.

Take it from an adult who had bout after bout of tonsilitis, sore throats, snoring and other issues...and who did not get mine removed until after I was 40...the younger the better to get this done. My recovery was incredibly awful. I lost 3 weeks of work and then only went back half time for another week.

Tonsilectomies are now not done as routinely as they used to be--years ago everytime a kids had a sore throat, tonsils were taken out. Now, it seems there has to be good reasons for a doctor to recommend it and honestly, the reasons you listed sound pretty good.

Thank you so much ladies for your input. Next month, I need to give our pedi the yes or no to the tonsil removal. The last couple of months, I've been monitoring ds1 and he seems to snore and have moments of holding his breath when he's overly tired or coming down with a cold. My heart has been so heavy the last couple of months because I'm not ABSOLUTELY sure it's best to get them out since he only shows symptoms "some" of the time...kwim? If he was holding his breath and snoring all night, EVERY night...then I would say, YES, get those things out... but he's not and that's why I'm having such a hard time accepting the removal. However, DH is pretty sure he will insist we get them out when the time comes, so more than likely we will go ahead with the procedure. He's hoping ds1 will magically become a better eater and behave better! HAHAHA...LOL... I guess time will tell... I sure hope he's right! [praying]

Anyway, It has made me feel better to hear your experience in this.

I'll keep you posted on any new info I receive or else let you know how it all went.

Thank you!

jakob had huge tonsils and snored and would wake up gasping for air and then crying...the biggest thing we noticed after the fact was that because he was sleeping so much better at night he was much easier to deal with during the day ( he is on the sutism spectrum) he went from sleeping and waking up 3-4 times every night to sleeping 11 hours straight!!

I understand your worry and concern Israel... but if the tonsils are already giving trouble I'd say get them out... Don't wait for it to be an "all night, every night" thing... :) Praying for you and your ds whatever the decision is... I've been there and I know how is something we (as parents) don't look forward to ... at all! ... surgeries... no matter the kind of surgery ... are always scary and it's your and your hubby's decision... but I just hope our experience helps give you peace about it if you decide to go for it!

Hugs!

Paloma.

ETA: Had I known the results of the surgery and what I know now about tonsils removal I would've gone for itway before we did! Of course you always want to try everything else first! and we, like your dh, were hoping something would happen and the tonsils would get small on their own too...