Colin had his appointment with the ENT yesterday and DH said (I was in class) that within minutes, the doctor had a diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (it runs in the the family- I have it, my dad had it, my grandfather has it)..His tonsils aren't that enlarged but the adneoids are pretty big and so when he lays down at night its enough of an obstruction to cause him problems.
I had a hunch years ago but his old pediatrician shot it down and said it was allergies. I wish I had fought harder and then this would have been done ages ago...
Anyway- the tonsils and adneiods must go. He's terribly freaked out and we don't have a surgery date yet! He'll have to stay the night overnight b/c of the sleep apnea.
Are there any handy tips to getting him prepared from BTDT moms? I want this to be as anxious free and fear free as possible. I know he's worried about being put to sleep and feeling pain. I figured the night before we'd do movies and popcorn and homemade ice cream and try to stay light and carefree.
I didn't tell Gavin about the surgery until it got kind of close. But I just told him that they would give him medicine to drink to make him go to sleep. I also told him he wouldn't feel anything when he was asleep and that they were fixing him from being sick all the time.
I also told him it would hurt afterwards and be hard to eat but that he would be fine and I would be with him all the time. He did great. He was anxious about it but we didn't have a lot of time between ENT appointment and surgery. Good luck!
We did pretty much the same thing as Juni when Elizabeth had hers out. The big concern Elizabeth had was that she could feel it during surgery. As a mom, the worst part actually was when we went to see her right after she came out of surgery. It broke my heart, but after that the pain meds kicked in and it was manageable. I hope it goes smoothly.
We didn't talk about the surgery too much with her prior to either. Not that we hid it from her, of course-that is a definite no no, but there was no alarmist kind of talk about it. When she asked, we would tell her that we were going to take her there, they would put her to sleep so she wouldn't feel the surgery at all, and that while it would be uncomfortable afterwards, she would have medicine to make her feel better, and she would be able to eat all the popsicles she wanted.
ITA with Libby. The worst part was when she was waking up post surgery. She wasn't in pain at that time because they gave her pain meds through IV, but she was so disoriented and it was just sad to watch her. And she did need those pain meds for a while after-but she recovered so well. Her voice is different now, but I think she kinda likes that, lol.
I hope it goes as well for you as it did for us, Jennie!
We did pretty much the same thing as Juni when Elizabeth had hers out. The big concern Elizabeth had was that she could feel it during surgery. As a mom, the worst part actually was when we went to see her right after she came out of surgery. It broke my heart, but after that the pain meds kicked in and it was manageable. I hope it goes smoothly.
I agree. I opted not to tell Gavin about that part since I knew he wouldn't remember it when it was all said and done and I didn't think I could prepare him for it anyway.
Thank you for your tips! We've talked about it a little here and there. And he seems to be okay at this point but I know closer to the day he'll probably flip out. Our neighbor works at the hospital and she told him she'd come and visit and bring her daughter too. :)
Thank you again.
And, Lea, thanks! I didn't think of that! We might just do a movie then!
They told us no food past midnight the night before but your doc will give you that information well enough ahead of time.
Our ENT said the same. It was nbd. We went to Red Robin the evening before for dinner, and considering they go to bed at 8pm, having nothing after midnight was easy.
