Kids and surgery
DaBreeze21
Hi everyone!
It's been a long time but I know that I can always come here for the best words of wisdom.
My daughter has had issues breathing a long time now (most of her life, but the past year especially - she just can't breathe through her nose.) So we went to an ENT today and he explained everything he saw - and all three (ears, nose, and throat) are affected in various ways. Her ears definitely need tubes to drain the fluid that has built up and is affecting her hearing.
Her tonsils are huge - almost touching. And her nose indicates allergies (by the color of the lining I guess). So I think the Doctor really thinks we should take her tonsils and adenoids out. But she is scared of surgery (she's 6 1/2 years old) - and I don't blame her! I'm nervous about it too (especially the anesthesia). I don't think it's something we necessarily *have* to do, but I am thinking it might make her life a lot better - less sore throats, easier to breathe, better sleep. I do tend to the "natural" side, so her reluctance is making me think we should explore changes and diet and other alternatives more.
So if anyone has resources or research relating to this at all - the surgery, how to prepare a kid, how to be their partner in the decision process etc. I would really appreciate it. And of course any experience with your own kids - how you decided whether to do it or not, conversations you had etc.
Thanks in advance!
Susan May
It's been a long time but I know that I can always come here for the best words of wisdom.
My daughter has had issues breathing a long time now (most of her life, but the past year especially - she just can't breathe through her nose.) So we went to an ENT today and he explained everything he saw - and all three (ears, nose, and throat) are affected in various ways. Her ears definitely need tubes to drain the fluid that has built up and is affecting her hearing.
Her tonsils are huge - almost touching. And her nose indicates allergies (by the color of the lining I guess). So I think the Doctor really thinks we should take her tonsils and adenoids out. But she is scared of surgery (she's 6 1/2 years old) - and I don't blame her! I'm nervous about it too (especially the anesthesia). I don't think it's something we necessarily *have* to do, but I am thinking it might make her life a lot better - less sore throats, easier to breathe, better sleep. I do tend to the "natural" side, so her reluctance is making me think we should explore changes and diet and other alternatives more.
So if anyone has resources or research relating to this at all - the surgery, how to prepare a kid, how to be their partner in the decision process etc. I would really appreciate it. And of course any experience with your own kids - how you decided whether to do it or not, conversations you had etc.
Thanks in advance!
Susan May
erin_huffstutter
Hi Susan.
Have you tried taking her off all dairy products for a month or two and seeing what happens?
Some kids are very allergic to dairy and it makes them phlegmy and blows up their adenoids and tonsils.
Just an idea...worth researching, anyway, before you consider surgery.
Best,
Erin
Have you tried taking her off all dairy products for a month or two and seeing what happens?
Some kids are very allergic to dairy and it makes them phlegmy and blows up their adenoids and tonsils.
Just an idea...worth researching, anyway, before you consider surgery.
Best,
Erin
--- In [email protected], "DaBreeze21" wrote:
>
> Hi everyone!
>
> It's been a long time but I know that I can always come here for the best words of wisdom.
>
> My daughter has had issues breathing a long time now (most of her life, but the past year especially - she just can't breathe through her nose.) So we went to an ENT today and he explained everything he saw - and all three (ears, nose, and throat) are affected in various ways. Her ears definitely need tubes to drain the fluid that has built up and is affecting her hearing.
>
> Her tonsils are huge - almost touching. And her nose indicates allergies (by the color of the lining I guess). So I think the Doctor really thinks we should take her tonsils and adenoids out. But she is scared of surgery (she's 6 1/2 years old) - and I don't blame her! I'm nervous about it too (especially the anesthesia). I don't think it's something we necessarily *have* to do, but I am thinking it might make her life a lot better - less sore throats, easier to breathe, better sleep. I do tend to the "natural" side, so her reluctance is making me think we should explore changes and diet and other alternatives more.
>
> So if anyone has resources or research relating to this at all - the surgery, how to prepare a kid, how to be their partner in the decision process etc. I would really appreciate it. And of course any experience with your own kids - how you decided whether to do it or not, conversations you had etc.
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Susan May
>
shirarocklin
Hi,
When I had full eustacian tubes, I bought the 'earpopper' (earpopper.com). Its a device that helps with draining the ear tubes in children with chronic ear infections, and prevents the need for tubes to be put in. The earpopper feels really good too, after plugged up ears.
As a side to that, I noticed that as my ears drained, my lymphs in the area swelled up. The fluid in my ears must have been holding some infection there. So, perhaps if her ears were draining well, and if there is infection in the fluid, then getting rid of that might help with the tonsils being swollen?
Shira
When I had full eustacian tubes, I bought the 'earpopper' (earpopper.com). Its a device that helps with draining the ear tubes in children with chronic ear infections, and prevents the need for tubes to be put in. The earpopper feels really good too, after plugged up ears.
As a side to that, I noticed that as my ears drained, my lymphs in the area swelled up. The fluid in my ears must have been holding some infection there. So, perhaps if her ears were draining well, and if there is infection in the fluid, then getting rid of that might help with the tonsils being swollen?
Shira
--- In [email protected], "erin_huffstutter" <erinhuffstutter@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Susan.
>
> Have you tried taking her off all dairy products for a month or two and seeing what happens?
>
> Some kids are very allergic to dairy and it makes them phlegmy and blows up their adenoids and tonsils.
>
> Just an idea...worth researching, anyway, before you consider surgery.
>
> Best,
> Erin
>
>
>
> --- In [email protected], "DaBreeze21" wrote:
> >
> > Hi everyone!
> >
> > It's been a long time but I know that I can always come here for the best words of wisdom.
> >
> > My daughter has had issues breathing a long time now (most of her life, but the past year especially - she just can't breathe through her nose.) So we went to an ENT today and he explained everything he saw - and all three (ears, nose, and throat) are affected in various ways. Her ears definitely need tubes to drain the fluid that has built up and is affecting her hearing.
> >
> > Her tonsils are huge - almost touching. And her nose indicates allergies (by the color of the lining I guess). So I think the Doctor really thinks we should take her tonsils and adenoids out. But she is scared of surgery (she's 6 1/2 years old) - and I don't blame her! I'm nervous about it too (especially the anesthesia). I don't think it's something we necessarily *have* to do, but I am thinking it might make her life a lot better - less sore throats, easier to breathe, better sleep. I do tend to the "natural" side, so her reluctance is making me think we should explore changes and diet and other alternatives more.
> >
> > So if anyone has resources or research relating to this at all - the surgery, how to prepare a kid, how to be their partner in the decision process etc. I would really appreciate it. And of course any experience with your own kids - how you decided whether to do it or not, conversations you had etc.
> >
> > Thanks in advance!
> >
> > Susan May
> >
>
Brandynn Stanford
My son, now 14, had his adenoids removed when he was 10. The difference was night and day and I am glad we had the surgery done.
Before that, Robin was stuffy and drippy all the time, had to blow his nose constantly but hardly anything came out. He lived with a box of Kleenex nearby. He breathed through his mouth, which led to an overbite that we later decided to correct with braces.
His adenoids had been enlarged for years, but we didn't realize it. When Robin was 4, the dentist was adamant that we get him to stop sucking his thumb. Robin did not suck his thumb, but the dentist would not believe me. Years later the ear/nose/throat doctor explained that enlarged adenoids can cause mouth breathing which can cause an overbite. To the dentist, it would've looked like an overbite caused by thumb sucking.
We lean toward natural methods, too, for healing and we tried herbs and homeopathic remedies. Then we tried allergy medicines. Then we tried antibiotics. None of them worked. (We did not try diet changes, or cutting out dairy, though, so I can't speak to that.)
Then I took him to an orthodontist for an evaluation (because we didn't have insurance, and I knew they would do an X-ray for free) and their reaction was, "His adenoids are huge!"
That led us to the ENT doctor. He explained that in all of us, our adenoid tissue will be gone by the time we are adults. So we could skip the surgery and things would eventually clear up, but maybe not until Robin was 18. We didn't want him to deal with it that long. The doctor said his tonsils looked fine, it was just the adenoids causing trouble.
The surgery was quick, about 15 minutes. A short recovery period at home, and he was great. All of the problems were gone and it seemed almost miraculous compared to how he'd been living before.
We didn't focus on the drawbacks of surgery with him. We reassured him, explained the surgery simply and how it would help, and had him look forward to unlimited tv and ice cream (I was just beginning to learn of unschooling back then).
~ Brandynn
Before that, Robin was stuffy and drippy all the time, had to blow his nose constantly but hardly anything came out. He lived with a box of Kleenex nearby. He breathed through his mouth, which led to an overbite that we later decided to correct with braces.
His adenoids had been enlarged for years, but we didn't realize it. When Robin was 4, the dentist was adamant that we get him to stop sucking his thumb. Robin did not suck his thumb, but the dentist would not believe me. Years later the ear/nose/throat doctor explained that enlarged adenoids can cause mouth breathing which can cause an overbite. To the dentist, it would've looked like an overbite caused by thumb sucking.
We lean toward natural methods, too, for healing and we tried herbs and homeopathic remedies. Then we tried allergy medicines. Then we tried antibiotics. None of them worked. (We did not try diet changes, or cutting out dairy, though, so I can't speak to that.)
Then I took him to an orthodontist for an evaluation (because we didn't have insurance, and I knew they would do an X-ray for free) and their reaction was, "His adenoids are huge!"
That led us to the ENT doctor. He explained that in all of us, our adenoid tissue will be gone by the time we are adults. So we could skip the surgery and things would eventually clear up, but maybe not until Robin was 18. We didn't want him to deal with it that long. The doctor said his tonsils looked fine, it was just the adenoids causing trouble.
The surgery was quick, about 15 minutes. A short recovery period at home, and he was great. All of the problems were gone and it seemed almost miraculous compared to how he'd been living before.
We didn't focus on the drawbacks of surgery with him. We reassured him, explained the surgery simply and how it would help, and had him look forward to unlimited tv and ice cream (I was just beginning to learn of unschooling back then).
~ Brandynn
On Feb 14, 2013, at 9:53 PM, DaBreeze21 wrote:
>
> So if anyone has resources or research relating to this at all - the surgery, how to prepare a kid, how to be their partner in the decision process etc. I would really appreciate it. And of course any experience with your own kids - how you decided whether to do it or not, conversations you had etc.
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Susan May
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
CASS KOTRBA
Since she was 2 my daughter has had asthma & a chronically stuffy nose, both of which are inflammatory issues not too different in nature from the ones you've described. We have found great benefit to removing pasteurized dairy and replacing it with raw goat's milk. Raw goat's milk is anti-inflammatory while pasteurized dairy is very mucous and inflammation forming. It just tastes like regular milk & Jade loves it. We even have our own goats to milk now which is a hoot!
This book, which discusses the usefulness of medicinal grade essential oils, includes a case study on a young girl with symptoms similar but more chronic than those you've described for your daughter. http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Home-Health-Using-Essential/dp/2909531023<http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Home-Health-Using-Essential/dp/2909531023>. The child avoided surgery and improved her health through dietary change and therapeutic essential oils. I would seek out a copy from the library because for some reason this magical book fetches $90 on amazon.
We pursued NAET (Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique) for my daughter's chronic allergies which seemed to be helpful. It is done by a chiropractor or acupuncturist and there is abundant information available online.
We've done a lot of things to try to help her. Each appointment and each new idea has come with new hope and some encouraging results. We've tried so many things to heal her body and make it stronger but she's 10 now and some symptoms have lingered. A common theme that I have read while searching out ideas to help her is the idea that these "problems" are actually symptoms of emotional distress. It's something I've thought a lot about and have tried to understand on a deep enough level to create change but that change has been an ongoing process. I readily admit that I have had a lot of emotional turmoil around her health and issues surrounding it such as her diet (I wish I could say that my emotional turmoils ended there but sadly that was not the case). All of this was the backdrop to our lives before we started unschooling. As we have moved further into radical unschooling I have often wondered and hoped that we would feel benefits in the realm of Jade's health similar to those we've felt in other areas of our lives. The more I "read a little, try a little, wait a little and watch" the more her health issues are making sense in my mind. I'm realizing how deeply sensitive she is and how different aspects of her life (especially my behavior) are causing her emotional pain and anxiety. I keep trying to be more gentle, attentive, available, understanding and FUN. I try to help her live in a world that feels like a safe place. Four days ago she mentioned to me that she's been breathing out of her nose most of the time lately! Wow - that is a first!!! We have spent so much time, money and energy over the years trying to find ways of "fixing" her problems. We've been deschooling for about 6 months now and her nose is clearing up on it's own! In the past I have controlled and cajoled her into dietary changes, gagging down vitamins and a variety of treatments and the symptoms have lingered. After 6 months of unschooling her emotions are finally starting to heal and her symptoms are starting to subside. The piles of kleenex are still there but now they have been used to wipe up paint, pudding and the like instead of nose goop. I wish we had spent more of our time and money having fun and less on appointments but we are doing that now.
I have learned that different people experience negative emotions differently in their body. When I feel stress, for example, I tighten up my entire belly area and hold my anxiety there, causing shallow breathing & difficulty eating & digesting comfortably. What I had never realized until recently is that some people hold it in their chest and can experience it as a tightness in that area, often described as feeling like an elephant sitting on the chest. This is exactly what Jade feels! So I have finally realized that even a label like "asthma" is just a label. There has been a recent discussion on a different thread on this list about constipation. I wonder how much of these problems also come from the child's emotions. I think it's very important to give lots of consideration to a child's emotional world while trying to find ways of bringing comfort & healing to their physical bodies - even if it might not seem to be the most obvious connection. Radical unschooling is the best answer for healing emotions and relationships that I have found. It sounds like you haven't been connecting with this group regularly. Maybe finding a few minutes here and there throughout each day or several times a week might help you and your daughter as much as it's helping me and mine. Surgery and anesthesia are very serious things and once something is removed it can't be put back, even if you realize down the road that the real source of the problem was something else.
Best of luck,
Cass
This book, which discusses the usefulness of medicinal grade essential oils, includes a case study on a young girl with symptoms similar but more chronic than those you've described for your daughter. http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Home-Health-Using-Essential/dp/2909531023<http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Home-Health-Using-Essential/dp/2909531023>. The child avoided surgery and improved her health through dietary change and therapeutic essential oils. I would seek out a copy from the library because for some reason this magical book fetches $90 on amazon.
We pursued NAET (Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique) for my daughter's chronic allergies which seemed to be helpful. It is done by a chiropractor or acupuncturist and there is abundant information available online.
We've done a lot of things to try to help her. Each appointment and each new idea has come with new hope and some encouraging results. We've tried so many things to heal her body and make it stronger but she's 10 now and some symptoms have lingered. A common theme that I have read while searching out ideas to help her is the idea that these "problems" are actually symptoms of emotional distress. It's something I've thought a lot about and have tried to understand on a deep enough level to create change but that change has been an ongoing process. I readily admit that I have had a lot of emotional turmoil around her health and issues surrounding it such as her diet (I wish I could say that my emotional turmoils ended there but sadly that was not the case). All of this was the backdrop to our lives before we started unschooling. As we have moved further into radical unschooling I have often wondered and hoped that we would feel benefits in the realm of Jade's health similar to those we've felt in other areas of our lives. The more I "read a little, try a little, wait a little and watch" the more her health issues are making sense in my mind. I'm realizing how deeply sensitive she is and how different aspects of her life (especially my behavior) are causing her emotional pain and anxiety. I keep trying to be more gentle, attentive, available, understanding and FUN. I try to help her live in a world that feels like a safe place. Four days ago she mentioned to me that she's been breathing out of her nose most of the time lately! Wow - that is a first!!! We have spent so much time, money and energy over the years trying to find ways of "fixing" her problems. We've been deschooling for about 6 months now and her nose is clearing up on it's own! In the past I have controlled and cajoled her into dietary changes, gagging down vitamins and a variety of treatments and the symptoms have lingered. After 6 months of unschooling her emotions are finally starting to heal and her symptoms are starting to subside. The piles of kleenex are still there but now they have been used to wipe up paint, pudding and the like instead of nose goop. I wish we had spent more of our time and money having fun and less on appointments but we are doing that now.
I have learned that different people experience negative emotions differently in their body. When I feel stress, for example, I tighten up my entire belly area and hold my anxiety there, causing shallow breathing & difficulty eating & digesting comfortably. What I had never realized until recently is that some people hold it in their chest and can experience it as a tightness in that area, often described as feeling like an elephant sitting on the chest. This is exactly what Jade feels! So I have finally realized that even a label like "asthma" is just a label. There has been a recent discussion on a different thread on this list about constipation. I wonder how much of these problems also come from the child's emotions. I think it's very important to give lots of consideration to a child's emotional world while trying to find ways of bringing comfort & healing to their physical bodies - even if it might not seem to be the most obvious connection. Radical unschooling is the best answer for healing emotions and relationships that I have found. It sounds like you haven't been connecting with this group regularly. Maybe finding a few minutes here and there throughout each day or several times a week might help you and your daughter as much as it's helping me and mine. Surgery and anesthesia are very serious things and once something is removed it can't be put back, even if you realize down the road that the real source of the problem was something else.
Best of luck,
Cass
----- Original Message -----
From: Brandynn Stanford<mailto:brandynn@...>
To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, February 15, 2013 9:54 AM
Subject: Re: [AlwaysLearning] Kids and surgery
My son, now 14, had his adenoids removed when he was 10. The difference was night and day and I am glad we had the surgery done.
Before that, Robin was stuffy and drippy all the time, had to blow his nose constantly but hardly anything came out. He lived with a box of Kleenex nearby. He breathed through his mouth, which led to an overbite that we later decided to correct with braces.
His adenoids had been enlarged for years, but we didn't realize it. When Robin was 4, the dentist was adamant that we get him to stop sucking his thumb. Robin did not suck his thumb, but the dentist would not believe me. Years later the ear/nose/throat doctor explained that enlarged adenoids can cause mouth breathing which can cause an overbite. To the dentist, it would've looked like an overbite caused by thumb sucking.
We lean toward natural methods, too, for healing and we tried herbs and homeopathic remedies. Then we tried allergy medicines. Then we tried antibiotics. None of them worked. (We did not try diet changes, or cutting out dairy, though, so I can't speak to that.)
Then I took him to an orthodontist for an evaluation (because we didn't have insurance, and I knew they would do an X-ray for free) and their reaction was, "His adenoids are huge!"
That led us to the ENT doctor. He explained that in all of us, our adenoid tissue will be gone by the time we are adults. So we could skip the surgery and things would eventually clear up, but maybe not until Robin was 18. We didn't want him to deal with it that long. The doctor said his tonsils looked fine, it was just the adenoids causing trouble.
The surgery was quick, about 15 minutes. A short recovery period at home, and he was great. All of the problems were gone and it seemed almost miraculous compared to how he'd been living before.
We didn't focus on the drawbacks of surgery with him. We reassured him, explained the surgery simply and how it would help, and had him look forward to unlimited tv and ice cream (I was just beginning to learn of unschooling back then).
~ Brandynn
On Feb 14, 2013, at 9:53 PM, DaBreeze21 wrote:
>
> So if anyone has resources or research relating to this at all - the surgery, how to prepare a kid, how to be their partner in the decision process etc. I would really appreciate it. And of course any experience with your own kids - how you decided whether to do it or not, conversations you had etc.
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Susan May
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Karen
>>>>And of course any experience with your own kids - how you decided whether to do it or not, conversations you had etc.<<<<<My son had enlarged, nearly touching tonsils, trouble breathing
through his nose, snoring and asthma. He didn't have ear problems.
Our pediatrician ordered a blood test for allergies, and it showed
elevated antibody levels to several foods and a few environmental
items.
We eliminated the food (as much as we could) for several months, and,
gradually, Ethan's tonsils returned to their normal size. We treated the diet
change like a fun experiment, and made a point of sampling as many
foods as we could from the ones that didn't have the items that he was
allergic to. His asthma disappeared. Although at first he thought
the whole thing was fun, once he started feeling better, he was no
longer that thrilled with the diet restrictions, so we gradually began
adding the items back. It did become quite clear that dairy milk (not
cheese or yogurt) was, and still is, his biggest trigger. He will now
choose to drink it once in a while, and sometimes for a stretch of
time, but when his nose starts to get really plugged, he chooses other
drinks. He doesn't like that severely stuffed up feeling, especially
at night.
He is ten now, and has mentioned a couple of times recently that he
believes he is starting to outgrow his food allergies. He says he
feels better. He still has a loosely stuffy nose off and on,but he says
it doesn't bother him. We used a saline nasal wash regularly for
a while, as well as a quercetin nasal spray. That seemed to really
help keep the mucus moving when it was at it's worst, and he liked
using them. Drinking more water helped too. It also should be noted
that he rarely gets sick any more, actually. He used to get every
cold that was going around.
I had ear tubes as a child. I also had my tonsils and adenoids out
when I was five. I had allergy shots as well for a couple/few years.
Perhaps it's genetic. I seemed to outgrow most of my allergies as I
reached puberty.
lucy.web
On 17 Feb 2013, at 03:17, Karen <semajrak@...> wrote:
http://www.saltpipe.ca
I can imagine that it could be used while doing other 'normal' activities - on the computer, reading, etc.
Lucy
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> He still has a loosely stuffy nose off and on,but he saysI had been reading a lot about 'salt pipes' and my (adult) friend who has been hospitalised several times with her asthma tried one, and now uses it instead of her inhaler thingy: she swears by it.
> it doesn't bother him. We used a saline nasal wash regularly for
> a while, as well as a quercetin nasal spray. That seemed to really
> help keep the mucus moving when it was at it's worst, and he liked
> using them.
http://www.saltpipe.ca
I can imagine that it could be used while doing other 'normal' activities - on the computer, reading, etc.
Lucy
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]