Like father, like son?

[Wolfhound668]

We took my six year old son to the ENT yesterday to get his tonsils looked at. His pediatrician mentioned last year that they were a little large and the dentist also mentioned it a couple of weeks ago.

My wife mentioned that he snores and is cranky from being tired in the morning. The doc isn't going to remove his tonsils at this time but asked if we had ever heard of sleep apnea. I raise my hand and tell her that I am very familiar with that particular condition. She's recommended a sleep study to get him tested.

I hope he doesn't end up having OSA. This kid, even as an infant, fought like a rabid mongoose whenever we had to use a nebulizer on him.

[sleepmba]

A sleep study would be a good thing. It may be as simple as tonsil removal. Here's an article from Stanford University:

http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/childapnea.html

[Wolfhound668]

Great, thanks for the link.

[SleepingUgly]

I think CPAP is not often used in kids. The most likely first line of therapy is a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (a total tonsillectomy, ideally, to create as much space as possible). One word of caution, the usual ways of detecting sleep disordered breathing in kids are insensitive. If he has severe apnea, it will likely show up, but more mild sleep disordered breathing may not. Stanford is in-network for many insurance plans, if that's an option for you. Otherwise, just understand that a negative sleep study doesn't necessarily mean he does not have sleep disordered breathing.

[unadog]

Sounds like my son!

He had a sleep study and has sleep apnea. He is scheduled to have his tonsils out In July.

The way we realized it was through his school difficulties. Look up "Executive Dysfunction." He is smart, but very disorganized. We couldn't get him to turn in assignments, etc. It has been a real struggle now that he is in 6th grade.

Good luck!
Michael

[ilvsleep]

When my daughter was 2yrs old I noticed that she stopped breathing during sleep. She also snored terribly even as a baby! I took her to an ENT who requested that we tape her snoring during the night. The ENT told us she had sleep apnea and we had her tonsils and adenoids removed. Not sure if she should have had a sleep study too. She has had no problems since!! This was 12 years ago so things probably have changed but it is worth a try to see if it helps!

[sleepmba]

I think CPAP is not often used in kids. The most likely first line of therapy is a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (a total tonsillectomy, ideally, to create as much space as possible). One word of caution, the usual ways of detecting sleep disordered breathing in kids are insensitive. If he has severe apnea, it will likely show up, but more mild sleep disordered breathing may not. Stanford is in-network for many insurance plans, if that's an option for you. Otherwise, just understand that a negative sleep study doesn't necessarily mean he does not have sleep disordered breathing.

I said this same thing at http://www.apneasupport.org in the pediatric section. The moderator of that section wrote me a long PM telling me not to give surgical advice. Geeze Louise!!! That same moderator is telling people not to go to the doctor and do what she says, telling people that their kids with AHI's of 10 to 15 is normal, PLM's cause OSA, etc. Whoosh! Thanks for letting me vent.

Thank Goodness for CPAPTalk.com!!!!

[asleep@thewheel]

who did the surgery down at stanford? How did it go?

my 2 and half year old girl is scheduled aug 23 w/ dr. koltai at stanford children's.

The Dr.'s and I have figured out in regards to my family that it's more like "like grandpa, like son, land then my lucky daughter."