Tonsillectomy Confirmed for Tomorrow

Hi All,

took Isaac to see the ENT today and he said Isaac's tonsils are real big and definitely obstructing his breathing. Isaac definitely has sleep apnoea issues. He asked us loads of questions in regards to Isaac. Like, his behaviour, whether he was a restless sleeper, did he wet the bed still at age 6, is his a mouth breather, what is he like when he eats, how well does he grow and put on weight. All of that stuff.

Well Isaac has not put on weight in 6 months which I thought was odd and the doctor also thought was weird. He doesn't grow fast at all. He still wets his pull ups heaps even though we restrict his fluids to no more after 6 to 6.30pm. We also take him for 2 toilet stops during the evening while he is asleep as well as before bed.....and he still wets quite a lot! I always thought that was odd. He has trouble eating with his mouth closed. Also, at school and home I have noticed that he seems "young" for his age and thought it was always because he was premature by 13 weeks which can happen. At school he has trouble focusing and is always needing a sleep or huge rest around lunch time and after. He has been running around like crazy as well.

Guess what??? Sleep apnoea has been linked to excessive bed wetting. The doctor tells me that most children stop wetting once the obstruction is removed....his tonsils and adenoids. We should be able to help him with this bed wetting now. At the moment, because of the sleep apnoea, the adrenal glands are stimulated somehow and then the kidneys and so he wees without any control no matter how many times you take him to the toilet in the middle of the night! I won't go into the chemical reasons as to why the adrenal gland is stimulated or anything like that.

Also, because of the sleep apnoea and working so hard to get oxygen, Isaac sleeps restlessly, not allowing him enough rest and recovery from his day, making him tired and he doesn't concentrate. His cognitive development is affected because his brain isn't getting the time out. So the doctor said he can be delayed and seem "younger" than he is.....didn't I say that we thought Isaac was younger????

Also, the sleep apnoea causes the brain to suppress the growth hormone at night. Children do most of their growing then and so they don't gain weight or grow properly......and Isaac has trouble with his weight.....another connection.

Another thing is because he mouth breathes at night because of obstruction, his jaw has taken on a certain shape, and his teeth have crossed over or something at the back, because of how he holds his mouth. The doctor said this will correct itself once the tonsils are removed and he can breathe.

While eating he can't breathe so he has needed to have his mouth open and i used to feel frustrated that he wouldn't eat with his mouth closed. He hasn't been able to help it because of how big his tonsils are......he will be able to breathe again once they are out!

So Isaac will be sleeping better, less wetting during the night (hopefully none at all), develop properly in growth and cognitively and grow up a bit and be able to concentrate at school and calm down....and have plenty of rest and restoration during his sleep!

He is booked in for tomorrow (Wed) and we have to be at the hospital at 12pm and surgery starts at 2pm. He is about 4th on the list. Youngest child to eldest. I am pleased we are getting this all worked out. Wait til the teacher hears about all this! May be they will stop pestering me about Isaac and things will calm down.

Please pray things go well.
Thanks for checking in!
Love Charisse