I am looking to talk to other moms who have had a similar experience. Please, I really appreciate everyone taking the time to share their advice, but I've done my research and am not looking to be talked out of this.
My son, who is always sick, has failed his hearing tests for the past three months. We have since found out, that his adenoids are blocking the fluid from draining from his ears. Our ENT has scheduled surgery next week (due to an ear infection that will not clear up after three different antibiotics).
I've posted on here before about my son. He is always sick. Every time he gets a sniffle, it turns into a more serious illness. The doctors say he has asthma which I've never agreed with, but have followed orders on treating him for asthma. I really feel like this fluid being drained from his ears is going to solve all of our issues (sleep apnea, chronic infections, dark bags under his eyes, etc.)
We need to get him in speech therapy immediately. The doctors say he hears similar to underwater noises.
I am obviously nervous about the anesthesia, but feel like the pro's outweigh the con's in this situation.
Any mom's out there been through this (especially so young) and want to offer me any advice?
I just have to say thank you for everyone's response. I was literally crying to hear all of your support & kind words. His surgery is scheduled for Thursday & I'm now looking forward to having a healthy baby boy. You did get me thinking about the adenoids & I'm calling the doctor in the morning to discuss the removal a little further. (He did say it was for sleep apnea).
Thanks so much!!!
My niece had tubes put in when she was 2. Her speech improved greatly. She did, however, continue to have ear infections. My sister cut out dairy completely with both her kids, and neither one has had an ear infections since. I think tubes might be "putting a band-aid" on the problem. Best of luck!
Congratulations you have taken the first step to restoring your and your son's sanity and well being! I did it when my son was a year older than yours but would have done it at birth had I known what a joy it would have been after. Bring some entertainment for you in the waiting room, bring a camera b/c you only get to see your toddler acting like a drunk once (and yes I mean fall down crazy drunk acting) due to one of the medications they are given to help the sleeping process, and understand that this happens to MANY MANY MANY kids daily. And they treated my son for asthma too and he did not have it but with the fluid it kinda gets tricky and the best thing to do in this case is to treat for asthma, really what they are doing is preventing further sickness once it gets into the lungs you are looking at more NOT SO FUN sicknesses. So go, with a smile on your face, and no fear in your heart. And literally 6 months after the surgery my son had the vocabulary we all dreamed of, the only issue now is structuring the words better, we did hear a difference with in weeks of his speach development and I will never regret it.
YEP. I have three kids and all went through this....still are.
My twins had tubes only and they never fell out (supposed to take 3 years)
We had them removed. Then had them put back in and had the adenoids removed. My little one has only had tubes. (two sets)
IT IS AMAZING. My kids couldn't hear, had a slight lisp etc. Once these were out they were different children and the lisp went away on its own. I would wait for therapy unless something else is going on.....
We go for our, keeping my fingers crossed, last check up and hearing test next week. I think we have been dealing with this for a total of 8 years. (remember it takes a max of 3 years for them to fall out so there is a lot of waiting.)
Good Luck. You really will be amazed.
Hi M.M.,
So sorry to hear your little man is going through this. I'm not looking to talk you out of your decision as you'll need to do what works best for your family but after reading your post I can only wonder if you've asked yourself, "WHY, is he always sick?" I encourage you to seek the answer to that question.
Have you entertained the idea of having him seen by a chiropractor, osteopath, homeopath or naturopath? If he's recently been on 3 different antibiotics, his body is possibly in a candida like state and is unable to fight off any illnesses while under such stress. Is he taking a probiotic? Vitamin C and D are excellent for helping to boost the immune system. I would limit or possibly eliminate all added sugars and dairy from his diet as well.
An excellent reference is Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child; by J. Zand, et all. You can google it and search sections in the book to read what it has to offer.
Google Dr. Mendelsohn's book, How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of your Doctor as well. He has a section in here on tonsils and adenoids that you may find interesting.
When my daughter had dark circles under her eyes, we were advised to detox her body. We used a nutritional supplement called Cell Food; 5 drops/2x a day in juice or water and we saw huge improvements. Like your son, my daughter was having health issues where her immune system was stressed. We've worked at boosting her immune system by means of a healthy diet(no dairy or added sugars, no processed or preservative laced foods), exercise, staying hydrated and nutritional supplements when needed.
As I mentioned, I'm not looking to talk you out of your decision. You need to do what is best for your family. However, I tend to feel that his adenoids are inflamed due to a response to something going on in the body. Find the reason and work on boosting his body's defenses so that his body can heal itself.
I remember when my oldest had surgery(different issue but still surgery). He was in first grade and I was a nervous wreck. Try to stay calm and know that you are doing what is best for your family.
Peace & Light,
J.
My son had tubes put in when he was 18 months (he had ear infection EVERY MONTH until the surgery). He has not had a single ear infection since (almost a year later). I will say this though: my pediatric ENT opted to NOT take out the adenoids. It was a straight forward tube only procedure. My son didn't have to even have an iv - just gas to knock him out. Surgery took 15 minutes and he was awake in another 20. So fast!
He said that removing the adenoids is more trauma and would require iv and he believe it premature to do so. Adenoids don't always need to be taken out.
I nursed my son up until 4 hours before surgery and immediately after when he was awake enough (they wake up screaming and disoriented, but they are not in pain).
He nursed happily for 40 minutes, then we went home (he slept in the car) then went right back to being his normal self - as if nothing happened earlier in the day.
I would ask why the adenoids must be taken out as well. If your doctor says, "we might as well since we are knocking him out" I would look for a different ENT. If he says, "Because they are huge and causing air issues" then that is different.
Best of luck!
I have 2 friends that have been through this. One just last week with their 5mo and the other with their 18mo. Both of them have said that it was amazing how the kids responded after the surgery.
They could hear and process and react to their environments (and parents) like never before.
The 5mo just spent 3 days "talking" to himself and looking around because he'd never heard his voice before! Poor little thing!
So go for it. I bet you'll see a huge improvement in your little guy and you can just sit back and watch him rediscover the world!
I think you're oing a great thing by having this done. I have a nephew who always seemed to be sick, runny nose, watery eyes, cough, congestion and it never seemed to go away. It was all due to his ears and the tubes worked wonders. If you're gonna have the tonsils/adenoids removed, the earlier in age the better, it's Not hard on them when they're that young, as opposed to in their teens. (My granddaughter just had hers removed in August, and she's sooo much better. But, it was a rough week or two for her afterwards, SHE'S 14. Good Luck and Best wishes with the Surgery. C. S.
My son didn't have the adenoids out but he had the tubes put it. I had to fight a bit to get it done but after it was done the effects were immediate. He was the same with hearing everything like he was underwater. After the surgery when we got into the car I had to put the windows up because the wind was bothering his ears and when he went to the bathroom I had to turn the overhead fan off because of the noise. It took him awhile to get used to the noises that he wasn't hearing before but he is all good now. We actually have to go in for a hearing test in about an hour and see if one of the tubes are still in. He was a little over 2 when he had it done because I had to fight to get him to the ENT to have it done so he does have speech issues still. He started speech at about 18 months and he is still going now at 4 and he is in public preschool for extra help.
My son was 1 1 1/2 when we had tubes put in his ears and our ENT said we should have been there a year sooner! Our ped kept putting it off and finally I just researched ENT's and found one we could trust. I was a nervous wreck and I cried the entire time he was "in the back". But.....he came out just fine!! As with most little ones he was crying and angry when he woke up, but it wore off quickly and it was only b/c of the side effect of the anesthesia. We have since had his tonsils/adenoids removed too. They have both been 2 of the best decisions we have made for his health! Be sure to take his favorite blanky and stuffed animal, he'll need them when he wakes up. Good luck - it is definitely harder on us Mom's than it is the kiddo. He will be ok.
