child post tonsillectomy recovery age 6

My daughter just had her tonsils and adenoids removed. After surgery she woke well but then threw up twice. After that she slept for three hours, woke up fine and we were able to go home. I rotated Tylenol and Advil every 3 hours as per the surgeon’s recommendation. She was happy and alert and playing and eating. Same for day 2, though low grade fever started. Day 3 she was coughing more and by that evening developed a fever of 101.5. Headed to the ER and all okay with surgical site. Added viral infection for her to fight. And her breath - good lord - it is awful. The night was not great. She was up crying and disoriented a few times. Today is Day 4 and she is tired (looks) but won’t nap. She is refusing pain meds but says her throat doesn’t hurt so I am not forcing them. However she is not eating and barely drinking. Everything tastes funny she says. Her breath is even worse today and he voice is still so different from pre-surgery. I am not sure what to expect for the coming days but reading these posts have helped. And I see each child is different. Her recovery this far is not what I expected at all.

Hi there, hope she is feeling better now. Tonsillectomies are super rough! I went through hell with my daughters. She lost a lot of weight from not eating, just make sure that you push the fluids even if it is ice chips, popsicles, broth etc. because that will help her to heal quicker. Dehydration makes things so much worse. Wish you and her all the best!

Kate, it’s in the wee hours of morning that I am reading post hoping to find some relief for my little guy. My son just turned 7 in December. He had T&A surgery on Dec 27. Today is day #6. I remember when I was first researching this topic I thought the similarities in everyone’s story was interesting but mostly that everyone knew exactly what day they were in leading to that glorious miracle day where the pain is gone. I now know why.... everyday can be excruciating in some form. My son is mirroring your sons behavior. The only difference is my son will not take oral Meds. I’m helping him with pain only using a Tylenol suppository. He is deathly afraid of medicine and either spits it out or throws up (often before I can even administer it). I’ve forced him taking it of which he vomits. So I’ve been trying to talk common sense to him. I keep praying that at some point the pain will either subside or he’ll agree to adding Motrin to our pain relief regimen. This has been a huge ordeal. I would not do this again.... of that I’m certain. We were able to find a local pharmacy that mixes a phenagren cream that can be applied to your wrist for nausea. I think this has helped because all that mucus & drainage is gag worthy. I hope all is well with you and your little one. This mom job is rough but oh so rewarding.

My son of 3 years old got his tonsils and adenoids removed 4 days ago. He is doing bethher than expected. Since waking up from the surgery he has hasn’t cried or complained about anything. He stays hydrated and i continue to give him soft foods so it’ll not damage or scratch. Like if nothing ever happened and you can tell he feels way better than we was before the surgery. Yet again, he’s 3 years old!

I am in the middle of recovery with my 8 year old, and if I had the choice you are facing, I would actually choose to go ahead and brave the recovery with the two children at once. Don't get my wrong- it is a very intense and sometimes heartbreaking recovery journey, however, it makes sense to me to help them both when you are already "in it."

Thank you for this tip. My son is 6 and needs both his adenoids and tonsils out. I am a nervous wreck. I need to call to schedule. P.s I hope your lil one is ok now.

OMGoodness lovely.....I could have written your exact words. So comforting to read your post as I feel like we are on the right track. WAY underestimated the recovery here for my son .....Jeepers

Thank you for all the posts. My 4 year old will have the surgery tomorrow morning, and I am freaking out. I haven't even been able to sleep well this week. She is not good with pain, so I'm preparing for the worse.

My 4 year old little girl had her tonsils out on the beginning of the week. It is weekend now and she won't talk. She points but says it hurts to talk. Should I worry?

My son went in to Children's Hospital in Los Angeles (CHLA) to have his Tonsils removed in hopes of him being able to breathe better. He was born with Hydrocephalus and a few others. His Primary said, by him getting his tonsils removed he may breathe better. my wife took him in on Jan 12th 2021 for this simple surgery . Well, it wasn't so simple as, he was unable to breathe after surgery so, they put him on a ventilator. 9 day's later they tried to take him off of the Ventilator and he still could not breathe. 3 day's after that, they tried a bi-pap and that was a miracle . 3 days and then, a week went by and he still couldn't breathe on his own. So, Palliative care came and talked to my wife about my son and his end of life care. She had signed a bunch of papers before JJs surgery saying that they will not be held liable for his death in the event of. Jeeze, If I were the one taking him in for this I would have said NO WAY. And left. Not her, as she is from the Philippines and doesn't understand a lot of English words. More than likely, if it were me with him that day, he might still be with us,. 3 yrs old and he is gone due to Tonsil removal that other drs. had said this would not help him. So, no need. Our Son passed away Feb 17th at 12:25 am. Their next step would have been to put a hole in his neck so that he could breathe that way. Already my son depended upon us for everything as, he couldn't walk, talk, hold things or eat without us. My wife chose to let my son go after his oxygen level fell to 44 3 nights in a row at 3 am. It was horrible but, I had to go with what she wanted as I could've never took care of my son without her. It's been 2 plus years now and the pain is unbelievable.