Obstructive sleep apnea, anyone?

kcisthebombdotcom

My child has been dx with this and is scheduled to have her adenoids out to open her airway. How did your child do after the surgery? Did you see a lot of progress in resolving the apnea?

kar5162

DS has it and had his tonsils and adenoids out 1.5 years ago. His 2 repeat sleep studies were much better though he still has some sleep apnea - it is now considered mild. He sleeps so much better and less, but seems much more rested and happier. He did have basically PSTD post surgery - it was horrible and took a long time to resolve. I still think he is very anxious - far more than before surgery. No major developmental progress unfortunately, but a happier, more rested kid who didn't sleep 15 hours a day and still act tired all the time was worth it.

MirandaHobbes

@KC_13 and @kar5162 Where did you first go for your concerns? It has been suggested that DS should have a sleep study or have his adnoids/tonsils checked out because he, too, will easily sleep 15 hours a day and is always lethargic and ticked off. Who did you call first? What was the sleep study like? TIA!

kcisthebombdotcom

I would ask for a referral to the ent.

kar5162

We got a referral to pulmonary/sleep medicine after I really pushed for it (he didn't have the "typical" signs of sleep apnea like snoring). When we had our consult there they felt certain enough that he would have OSA and so scheduled his sleep study and an appointment (pre-op)with ENT. I think it might depend on how your local hospital/providers work. I know some ENT refer straight to sleep studies, but I am pretty sure they are all handled through the pulm/sleep group at DS's hospital. Since his issue is sleep and tone and his tonsils and adenoids are now gone, we see the sleep medicine team for follow-up work, not the ENT.

 

The sleep study kinda sucks. Sensors on his chest, arms, legs as well as under his nose and in his hair to monitor CO2, leg movements, brain waves, etc. It was really hard for him to get comfortable and sleep. But they have given us good information. His first study he got something like 16 minutes of REM sleep during the night. At an age when 25-50% of their night should be in REM sleep. It was very insightful into why he was such a wreck.

1+tripsmom

We just found out both my son and daughter have it. DS2 is mild so going to see if he grows out of it. DD1 has it bad and going to ENT. They both snore bad DD1 being worse she also wakes up most nights from it.

KelleyBean

DS had his tonsils and adenoids out for COSA this summer. The recovery was rough (took a solid two weeks with 2 ED trips for rebleeds) but the difference in his sleep is night and day. He made quite a cognitive leap after the surgery as well. I would absolutely do it again.