Sleep Apnea, Snoring

[Rhonwyn]

Hello everyone,

My daughter has been diagnosed with sleep apnea. She is four years old and snores very loud. We took her to an Ears, Nose and Throat doctor who said she has very large tonsils and adnoids which need to be removed so that she can sleep more restfully. My daughter is often tired during the day and crabby. Her voice is very nasal and she sounds like she has a stuffed nose all of the time. We went on a diary free diet for a month with no change in her condition so I don't think she is allergic to diary.

I believe that tonsils and adnoids are important so I am reluctant to have them removed but I have been reading tons of stuff on sleep apnea and how bad it can be for kids. So I am trying to weigh sleep apnea vs. no tonsils and adnoids. Has anyone else dealt with this? What did you decide and why?

Thanks!
Rhonwyn

[amnesiac]

Not me personally, but a good friend of mine has a 2 year old that had been experiencing trouble with allergies, constant congestion like you described and sinus & ear infections as well. He had to have surgery to have the tubes in his ears replaced & the ENT sent him for an MRI to see if his adenoids were enlarged, which they were. He told the mother that the enlargement was contributing to the congestion & ear problems & that he would like to remove them. She agreed because she didn't want her ds to continue to have these types of problems or have them get progressively worse as he gets older or cause any permanent damage--this was to be his 3rd surgery. Anyhow, when they removed the adenoids, they found pus pockets behind each one that they weren't able to see in the MRI & the ENT said that this infection had probably been festering back there for a while & contributing to the boy's problems, so she was glad that she decided to have them removed. He still has his tonsils though.

If she's going to go to school when she's older, be really observant. One of my boys had a mold problem in his classroom that made his nasal congestion & allergies really bad & I didn't realize what was going on until I accidentally found out about the mold the last week of November. Maybe an allergist could help you with some non-surgical things to try at home that might help.

[mommy22]

My son had his tonsils/adnoids removed for the same problem. What a big help.

Yes, tonsils help keep germs out, but since the surgery, my son has only been sick 2 times. The surgery was 5 years ago. And since then we have all slept better knowing that our son is not gasping for air. We found ourselves waking up every hour or so just to make sure he was breathing.

I would definetly consider the surgery.

[Rhonwyn]

Surgery was a success!

We went ahead with the surgery and it has been a total success. My daughter now sleeps through the night and she is so quiet that I can't even hear her. Thanks for the advice!