My newly-turned 6-year old had her tonsils out last Monday. It went very well but she ended up staying overnight in the hospital for one night because she wasn't drinking enough and was pretty lethargic. She is doing well now, improving all the time. The past week or so, she has woken up at the same time every night, about 1.5 hours after she falls asleep, crying and upset, but she seems half asleep when she does this. The first few times, I figured her throat hurt, but now, she doesn't even open her eyes and she can't tell us why she is crying, she just cries. We have tried asking her if she is in pain, or having a bad dream, but obviously we can't get a good answer from her. I asked her yesterday morning if she remembered doing this, and what was wrong, and she didn't seem to recall! Is she dreaming, or is this a lingering side effect from the tonsillectomy? Or something else? She is normally a very emotional, sensitive kid who tends to worry moderately over things. I feel badly for her and I want to make sure she is okay... thank you!!!
Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. I never thought about the fact that it would change her breathing, sleep patterns, etc. That seems to be the one thing they did not tell me in the long list of recovery instructions and information. Just want to add that I am not an overly dramatic person; the title of this post might suggest that but I truly wanted moms to read it and not just pass over it, so I tried to make the subject more of a draw. The reason I mentioned "trauma" is that I do realize it WAS surgery and that is a big deal for her. I have had four surgeries with general anesthesia and I am no stranger to how it feels afterwards, how long it takes to recover, etc. She is just a little girl, so for her, it might well have been a slightly bigger deal than for an adult. She is emotional, yes, so I do keep things light for her and I do not hover around her, provoking more anxiety, as some suggested. However, I do validate her feelings and life experiences, and feel it's important to not just brush her off. Thanks to those who gave me some useful information.
I react really strangely to any type of anesthesia. After getting my wisdom teeth pulled I had anxiety/heart palpations for a long time. She sounds like she is really sensitive. She most likely just needs more time to recover, Just be with her so she isn't scared when she wakes and it will hopefully pass. Have you given her rescue remedy? It always helps my sensitive daughter with her stress level.
I agree with Jo. Ignore the night time wake up and it will go away.
I'm not so sure it's a direct "side effect" from the surgery. What I would suggest is that her sleep patterns are a little off because of the discomfort from the surgery, which in turn throws her usual sleep pattern off. My 6 and 4 year olds (girl and boy) both go through this as well from time to time. They aren't fully awake, can't tell us what's wrong, go right back to sleep, and can't recall it the next morning! My guess is that once she is fully recovered these episodes will stop. Keep us posted! Prayers for a quick recovery!
"Post traumatic stress"? Dramatic much?
Surgery for anyone is hard. You are pumped full of drugs, your sleep patterns are thrown off, oh and there is pain. It is usually more than a month before everything is back to normal again. If you keep hovering over her and making a big deal out of this you are going to give her reason to worry. So knock it off.
My son has had 4 surgeries. After each one, it can take a few weeks for him to sleep normal. I don't think it has to do with being traumatized, I think it has more to do with the change in their body. Having tonsils removed will change the way she breathes. Her body has to adjust for that. It may be waking her up at night. And like others have said, she likely has a bit of a sore throat. If you don't make a big deal out of it, it will pass.
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This happened to my 6 yr old in February. She woke up crying, miserable and had a horrible time going back to sleep. I think t was for pain, dry throat, etc. The anesthesia took a good week to ware off for her. That is something I didn't even think about and something they didn't mention in the long list of stuff they give you. The best piece of advice we received during he recovery was it will get worse before it gets better. Hang in there!!
I would offer her some Rescue Remedy (Bach flower essence) tincture before sleep. If you live near a Co-op or Whole Foods, you can find this gentle, vibrational (energy healing) medicine easily. Even better might be a pure flower essence of Clover, which is a sleep aid. A few drops of either will help. Note that these are tinctures (NOT oil).
Lavender oil rubbed on her temples and wrists before bed will also soothe-- a great produce is Badger Balm, which makes a version with lavender for sweet dreams!
My son had the same surgery last week and this is the same exact thing he's going through he's 7 and I totally understand why your worrisome because if its anything like my son had done the last few nights its very scary for you child to be so scared and upset and not be able to tell you what's wrong or remember doing so. The last few nights he's woke up crying in a panic saying something is wrong he couldn't stop crying it lasted about 45 mins. Tonight he woke up laughing I ask him what was so funny then he started crying non stop its very scary. If I knew it would be this hard on him I wouldn't have went though with it I hope it gets better soon
