<p>I did find one recent thread on this but am looking for people who have been or know someone who has been through a tonsillectomy as an adult. I’ve read some horror stories about recovery. My DS (college freshman) has been sick just about constantly since leaving home (he’s in student health this morning spitting up blood–ick), mostly tonsil-related. They’ve been a problem for years and definitely need to come out, but I’m wondering about the timing. We were going to hold off til summer–he plays a spring sport and is concerned about losing training time over Christmas break (absolutely ridiculous, IMO).</p>
<p>How long is the actual recovery? I know it’ll vary by person, but any chance he’d be up and around in a week? (I’m reading more like 1.5-2 weeks. . .) I’m just thinking he’ll likely have a miserable spring if he doesn’t deal with this.</p>
<p>Recovery is more likely to be 2+ weeks - and then you’re going to get varying levels of horror story warning/restrictions from your ENT/surgeon, re when he can start working out. (I don’t know what his spring sport is - if it’s lax or baseball, he probably would NOT be allowed to lift weights for more than 2 weeks post surgery; running might or might not be allowed sooner.)
Some other factors you may want to weigh: How long is his winter break? If he has a full month, it might be a good time. If it’s only a couple of weeks, you’re going to have a miserable kid on your hands, because he won’t feel up to seeing his friends, and it really won’t feel like much of a break to him. And he obviously needs a break. I know kids who have felt that even oral surgery (wisdom teeth) wrecked their breaks, and this is a lot tougher of a recovery.
Also, spring semester tends to be a healthier time on campus - the kids are indoors less, sharing germs less, etc. So he might not be so miserable, if you decided to let the surgery wait.
I’d think about making sure he has a flu shot (just to keep other miseries at bay), and seeing if you can’t hold off until summer.</p>
<p>HMW–you are a wise woman! It is lax, but the training he’d be missing is just whatever running/lifting he’s supposed to be doing on his own while he’s home. (Is my bias coming through?) One of the monkey wrenches is that, while he does have a full month off, due to too many kids going too many places in the summers, we’ve evolved into taking sometimes our only big family vacation over Christmas. We’re scheduled to be schussing down the slopes in Idaho until the weekend after New Year’s, so this would be the last two weeks of his break. I know it’d make those last two weeks suck.</p>
<p>That’s a good point about the spring possibly being healthier, and one I hadn’t considered. (The woman I spoke with in student health this morning said college freshmen are kind of like kids in kindergarten in terms of how often they get sick. She said it tends not to be as bad in their later years? Had not even thought that the spring might not be as bad.)</p>
<p>He will get a flu shot next week (his request–wouldn’t do it at school cuz he does have this needle phobia thing and needs his mommy to hold his hand) and also a general lookover by his pediatrician. He got himself tested for strep and mono (both negative), but he describes himself as “worn down” (I think he meant “run down,” but I gotta think there’s something Freudian in his choice of words).</p>
<p>My S just had one. Felt great the day of, and the next day. About 2 days later threw up a good bit of blood. Doc explained that was quite common, as some blood trickles down into stomach. Yes, vomiting irritated his throat as one would expect, but a couple days later he was back on track. It was 2 weeks before he felt 100%, but was feeling pretty good after 1 week.</p>
<p>Gosh, thanks - but I’m not wise, just have a D who has had a tonsillectomy (though younger, she was still furious at how long she had to miss soccer) and a handful of other recovery periods that drove us all nuts. And she refuses to have her wisdom teeth out over winter break, because she needs to be in the gym for lax. So you have all my eye-rolling sympathy.
That student-health person you spoke with strikes me as wise, though. It <em>is</em> just like kindergarten, and they do get much more resistant as the years go on.
I think with that ski trip planned, I’d hold out til summer if you possibly can.
Meanwhile, have fun hand-holding for the flu shot, and enjoy your Thanksgiving with him!</p>
<p>Another vote for over the summer. But you have to get through winter. Do some searches on the Musical Theater forum for voice issues and you will find a lot of good advice for taking care of throats in the mean time. Look for info from CoachC.</p>
<p>CC is awesome. I will follow up on the suggestions. (BTW–DS just called following an ENT appt. He’s on a different antibiotic+two weeks of prednisone. Ouch. Doctor said the tonsils definitely have to come out.) (And to my new BFF HMW–I’ve had two kids get their wisdom teeth out the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I know one was almost 100% by the following Saturday, and one was playing soccer (just pick up) on Thanksgiving Day (yes–two days later). I think as long as they keep up with the post-op care, the recovery isn’t awful.)</p>
<p>I had my tonsils removed as an adult. I don’t remember the recovery period, but I do remember being terrified going in, based on the horror stories I had been told. Personally I think it is cruel to tell someone vivid stories like that just before they are required to have the same procedure. I woke up (alone) and panicked because I couldn’t breathe. Turns out that I needed to breathe slowly through my nose, and that large breaths were causing something to close off. Everything turned out fine in the long run, but I am glad that I will never have to do that again. I still get the occasional strep infection, but not as often and they are never as painful as they were when I had my tonsils.</p>
<p>He’ll be much happier if you get those tonsils out as soon as possible. Not sure where you are, but here in the NE, it’s April before we realize any benefit of spring/warmer weather. I’ve always found the spring semester to be more problematic/‘sickly’ than fall.<br>
DS had his out as a senior in h.s. {after years of dear ol’ mom pleading to get them out while he was younger ;-( } and it took him only two weeks to get back to normal.</p>
<p>Unless there are complications related to the surgery, his physician will probably let him gradually get back into his training without much delay. </p>
<p>Bottom line: with kids who are so busy, there’s never a ‘good’ time to take off for surgery. Good luck!!</p>
<p>Hmmmm. . . he’s in school in Ohio. He is going in to see his pediatrician next week. I’m hoping he has some good advice. (And DS <em>is</em> just a freshman–I mean, it’s not like he’s starting on the team or anything.) (My secret weapon is to contact the coach and see what he says. Wouldn’t he rather have a player who’s a little slow getting started after they get back from winter break than one who’s sick all season?)</p>
<p>ingerp … my DD had her tonsils out last December 17. She was 20. Her tonsils were huge, and she had had numerous bouts with strep and non-strep tonsillitis along with many colds. The first 5 days post-surgery were no piece of cake for her (or me!), but her doctor said that typically day 5 is the worst. By day 6, I could see some life returning. Day 7, she joined a family Christmas celebration although she said it still hurt too much to eat and she only whispered. (Her brother said it was the best week of his life since she wouldn’t talk.). Day 8, Christmas eve, she was talking and eating tortilla chips. She returned to school 2-1/2 weeks after surgery for the start of the second semester. Her doctor said her recovery was very typical.</p>
<p>Hemorrhaging is the most serious post-surgical complication. That’s why D’s doc wanted her home for 2 weeks minimum.</p>
<p>DD would tell you that she is so glad she did it. Only 1 cold since then.</p>
<p>My suggestion–have it done at Christmas break.</p>
<p>cincy gal - I’m curious… since swallowing is such an issue after having tonsils out, how do they manage to take pain meds?</p>
<p>The reason I ask is because I know that some pain meds can be formulated into intensol drops that are placed under the tongue, and even some can be formulated into salves that can be rubbed in on the skin. Also, there are patches. How did your daughter manage her pain when swallowing was an issue?</p>
<p>teriwitt … DD took liquid oxycodone. It was still tough too swallow that, but she managed. I woke her every 4(?) hours for another dose, to keep the pain medication at a good level in her system. Might be worth asking about the other options you mentioned. I suspect that the patch might release the med too slow.</p>
<p>That reminds me of another suggestion–see if you can get the prescription for the pain med ahead of time and have if filled before surgery. We did not, and waited quite awhile at the drive-thru pharmacy. I didn’t want to leave DD alone, either in the car or at home.</p>
<p>Knowing how the medication from patches is absorbed, I think you could place it before whatever other pain medication is being used, is going to wear off, so that there’s no break in coverage. The good thing about patches is that they can last three days.</p>
<p>I would also think that if swallowing is that painful, staying hydrated is difficult, too.</p>
<p>Spring of senior yr after missing almost 6 weeks of school due to mono and complications the ENT insisted son needed his tonsils out. My son had been plagued with colds, ear and throat problems his whole life. Life was complicated and son was not willing to commit to a time to have the tonsils out. We decided to just wait and treat whatever infections came along.
Fast forward to soph year of college. He is living in a different area of our state. He has had relatively few problems. He has only missed class once due to sickness. Don’t know why. Maybe it was allergies to something in our area.
He might still need his tonsils out at some later date.</p>
<p>I had mine removed after college. Recovery was not as bad as I anticipated and improved my life 100%. I was quite sick at least twice a month all through middle and high school as well as college, but haven’t had a debilitating sore throat (unless as a sympton of the flu or a bad cold) since then. Best thing I ever fought for!
S2 had his removed as a junior in HS and had a tough time with recovery. It’s probably better to suffer through next semester and put off the operation until summer.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Best friends son had his tonsils out last Thanksgiving. He was a freshman then and had a terrible fall term with many illnesses. Took 2 mono tests which were negative. Was in the ER.
His recovery was long- at least 2 weeks. Then did well. Bled a lot and had to go in to be cauterized several days after the initial surgery. He has been healthy since though!</p>
<p>As far as being traumatized by the FLU SHOT… We just got back form the pediatricians where my HS son got the FLU MIST. It is a nasal spray (1 spray to each nostril). No shot at all. Call your pediatrician to see if they have it. (I also called my insurance co to make sure it was covered. It was.) The flu mist has been around for a number of years and many more insurance companies are now paying for it. From 2 of my “sources” the flu mist is supposed to work even better than the flu shot.</p>