UPDATED experience with a kid with enlarged adenoids?

[NandaB]

W has always been snorty and snuffley. He has seen specialists and had testing to determine the cause( GI, ENT), but the pedi had believed that it was a combo of his narrow nasal passages, having rsv, and having the bad luck to keep getting his siblings' colds. Today we saw an allergist because at his one year will check the pedi agreed that there was something else going on and that it could possibly be an allergy.

The allergist talks to me for two minutes and said, "can your take him for a ct scan now? I think it's his adenoids"

Sure enough, not only are they enlarged so much that no space is visible between the adenoid and his palette on the scan, but he also has a sinus infection.

We will see an ENT hopefully tomorrow and go from there. The Dr e saw today kept mentioning surgery, which is terrifying. Does Amy one have experience with this? Advice for me? Questions I should ask?

Thanks!

[lexus]

we never had to deal with this but one of my nephews had this surgery. I think he was like four when they found out. It cleared up what they thought was selective hearing, improved his speech, and he felt better.

I can only imagine how hard it is to have a little one so young facing surgery. Hang in there.

[usm]

DS2 had his taken out with his second set of ear tubes. It was NBD. It was described to me like tall grass, it's used to filter germs but when it gets out of control it can actually trap germs and bacteria so you end up holding onto illness longer or reinfecting yourself.

We've also had good luck with Flonase nasal spray daily. I'm not sure of the age requirements for that but worth asking about.

What are his symptoms? Do you follow up with a pulmnologist at all?

[chatterbox]

I had my adenoids removed as an adult. It was a very easy surgery and recovery. I totally get that any surgery is scary when it's your baby.

[abs]

DD had her adenoids removed at 2. The hardest part was coming off the anesthesia. She was scared and grumpy the rest of the day. By the next morning though she was 100% fine. She instantly stopped snoring and could breathe much easier. She still got sick though and still had speech problems. Still, it was worth it!

Don't be alarmed by bad breath after surgery. It's sooooo bad.

[NandaB]

Jan 5, 2016 8:03:40 GMT -5 usm said:

DS2 had his taken out with his second set of ear tubes. It was NBD. It was described to me like tall grass, it's used to filter germs but when it gets out of control it can actually trap germs and bacteria so you end up holding onto illness longer or reinfecting yourself.

We've also had good luck with Flonase nasal spray daily. I'm not sure of the age requirements for that but worth asking about.

What are his symptoms? Do you follow up with a pulmnologist at all?

He has always been snorty and congested sounding. From birth. It got worse after he got rsv, but he's always sounded lime he has a cold and has always had a wet sounding cough. He also throws up a lot. At so.e points it was after almost all feedings. Now it is usually once a day, but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the when. It used to be right after or during eating, so thats when he had the swallow study and upper GI series. That showed no structural digestive issues, and only mild reflux (we were also worried about aspiration)

There seems to be two types of vomiting going on. That which is proceeded by coughing and gagging on phlegm and looks like barfed up milk and phleghm (eww). This usually happens right after eating; and that which isn't necessarily proceeded by coughing and can happen anytime. This is often more bile-y and brown (double eww).

I'm not sure who else we will need to see. Yesterday was his first appt with the allergist because we suspected a milk allergy. He is the one who identified the swollen adenoids and sinus infection and is calling an Ent for us this morning to make an appt. He wants him to see that dr today, so he obviously thinks its critical.

ETA:he has also lost weight since his 9mo appt, so that was also concerning.

[NandaB]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I am trying to stay positive and grateful that we seem to have found the issue, but I feeling both frustrated that it didn't occur to his pedi IN A WHOLE YEAR to check his adenoids, and terribly guilty that I have somehow failed my son.

[Kcthepouchh8r]

If it's any consolation we didn't find out my daughters adenoids were oversized until 2.5. We did the surgery and they took adenoids out along with ear tubes. She had a surprisingly long recovery for how simple a surgery it is; I want to say we had to give pain meds for five days. It definitely helped her though so worth it.

[Deleted]

No experience but wanted to wish you good luck

[usm]

Jan 5, 2016 11:04:15 GMT -5 NandaB said:

Jan 5, 2016 8:03:40 GMT -5 usm said:

DS2 had his taken out with his second set of ear tubes. It was NBD. It was described to me like tall grass, it's used to filter germs but when it gets out of control it can actually trap germs and bacteria so you end up holding onto illness longer or reinfecting yourself.

We've also had good luck with Flonase nasal spray daily. I'm not sure of the age requirements for that but worth asking about.

What are his symptoms? Do you follow up with a pulmnologist at all?

He has always been snorty and congested sounding. From birth. It got worse after he got rsv, but he's always sounded lime he has a cold and has always had a wet sounding cough. He also throws up a lot. At so.e points it was after almost all feedings. Now it is usually once a day, but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the when. It used to be right after or during eating, so thats when he had the swallow study and upper GI series. That showed no structural digestive issues, and only mild reflux (we were also worried about aspiration)

There seems to be two types of vomiting going on. That which is proceeded by coughing and gagging on phlegm and looks like barfed up milk and phleghm (eww). This usually happens right after eating; and that which isn't necessarily proceeded by coughing and can happen anytime. This is often more bile-y and brown (double eww).

I'm not sure who else we will need to see. Yesterday was his first appt with the allergist because we suspected a milk allergy. He is the one who identified the swollen adenoids and sinus infection and is calling an Ent for us this morning to make an appt. He wants him to see that dr today, so he obviously thinks its critical.

ETA:he has also lost weight since his 9mo appt, so that was also concerning.

Yes! Sounds like you need an ENT. Sounds just like JH and pre trach he ways sounded like a snotty mess, even though nothing was going on. Adenoids would probably really help, I know a kid that was gtube dependent until getting adenoids removed so it can effect all of that. Has his airway ever been scoped? Maybe a little larynmalacia (floppy airway) contributing to the noise, that made JH's way worse sounding until he outgrew it.

DO NOT FEEL AWFUL!!! You were at the dr (multiple ) and addressing everything. I've never seen an adenoid so it never crossed my mind that they would cause such problems.

RE Vomiting: I do Zyrtec every day because of the mucousy vomit. Post nasal drip, if I miss a couple days we are in a mess. Most Drs say he doesn't need it but I notice a difference. Is he on anything for the reflux? It may need to be upped. That also made him sound more "upper airway sick".

[NandaB]

Jan 5, 2016 15:30:41 GMT -5 usm said:

Jan 5, 2016 11:04:15 GMT -5 NandaB said:

He has always been snorty and congested sounding. From birth. It got worse after he got rsv, but he's always sounded lime he has a cold and has always had a wet sounding cough. He also throws up a lot. At so.e points it was after almost all feedings. Now it is usually once a day, but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the when. It used to be right after or during eating, so thats when he had the swallow study and upper GI series. That showed no structural digestive issues, and only mild reflux (we were also worried about aspiration)

There seems to be two types of vomiting going on. That which is proceeded by coughing and gagging on phlegm and looks like barfed up milk and phleghm (eww). This usually happens right after eating; and that which isn't necessarily proceeded by coughing and can happen anytime. This is often more bile-y and brown (double eww).

I'm not sure who else we will need to see. Yesterday was his first appt with the allergist because we suspected a milk allergy. He is the one who identified the swollen adenoids and sinus infection and is calling an Ent for us this morning to make an appt. He wants him to see that dr today, so he obviously thinks its critical.

ETA:he has also lost weight since his 9mo appt, so that was also concerning.

Yes! Sounds like you need an ENT. Sounds just like JH and pre trach he ways sounded like a snotty mess, even though nothing was going on. Adenoids would probably really help, I know a kid that was gtube dependent until getting adenoids removed so it can effect all of that. Has his airway ever been scoped? Maybe a little larynmalacia (floppy airway) contributing to the noise, that made JH's way worse sounding until he outgrew it.

DO NOT FEEL AWFUL!!! You were at the dr (multiple ) and addressing everything. I've never seen an adenoid so it never crossed my mind that they would cause such problems.

RE Vomiting: I do Zyrtec every day because of the mucousy vomit. Post nasal drip, if I miss a couple days we are in a mess. Most Drs say he doesn't need it but I notice a difference. Is he on anything for the reflux? It may need to be upped. That also made him sound more "upper airway sick".

Thanks for the response. He isn't currently taking anything for reflux, but I think he needs to be. When they did the swallow study the GI kept saying that it was very mild, but either he was wrong, or it has gotten worse. So i think we need to address that too. Our appt is in an hour, so I will update then

[usm]

NandaB how was the appointment?

[NandaB]

Jan 6, 2016 7:40:35 GMT -5 usm said:

NandaB how was the appointment?

I like this Dr already. He prescribed Zantac because he said that most of his symptoms could be due to reflux, and he is a little young for whatever the enlarged adenoid syndrome is. He also wants us to come back in 3 weeks after the infection is gone, and the Zantac has had a chance to work to see if the swelling has gone down enough and the Zantac has made a difference with his congestion and vomiting. He agrees that there is obviously a problem, so that is nice to hear. I'm super glad he wasn't like, "yep, lets have surgery tomorrow!"

[NandaB]

Thanks for checking on us

[usm]

Awesome! The more I started thinking I was thinking TREAT THAT BABY's REFLUX!!!!11!!1! The acid can even enlarge androids and tonsils. That's wonderful the dr didn't jump to surgery sometimes specialist are so specialized they attribute everything to their body system.

Zantac worked great for DS1 and did nothing for DS2. We ended up on 30 mg of pravacid a day after trying 2 others so don't be afraid to ask for a different med if you think he needs it.

[NandaB]

Jan 6, 2016 10:31:12 GMT -5 usm said:

Awesome! The more I started thinking I was thinking TREAT THAT BABY's REFLUX!!!!11!!1! The acid can even enlarge androids and tonsils. That's wonderful the dr didn't jump to surgery sometimes specialist are so specialized they attribute everything to their body system.

Zantac worked great for DS1 and did nothing for DS2. We ended up on 30 mg of pravacid a day after trying 2 others so don't be afraid to ask for a different med if you think he needs it.

Lol he was like, "that's why I hate pediatricians, they're so conservative, why wouldn't we try zantac". I thanked him for not jumping right to cutting my babys face open and he was like, "oh, I love cutting faces, that's why I'm a surgeon, but lets try this first"

[Deleted]

That's great news! Also ds actually was on Zantac for about 9 months and it so helped him! His issue was spitting up accompanied by lots of crying and restlessness and the meds made a huge difference. Ours was a compounded version (liquid) and easy to administer. Total game changer! Good luck with the meds and yay for finding a good doctor

ETA his pedi (who I loved and miss) diagnosed ds with reflux and said reflux can be very uncomfortable and cause lots of other symptoms/issues.

[quesyrah]

I'm glad to hear the appointment went well!

[lala]

I'm glad you found a great doc! That makes all the difference. I hope the Zantac helps W!