One month post adenoidectomy

It's been 4 weeks, and at long last, I think Monkeyman is back to what he was before the little operation. A whole month, can you believe that? To recover from taking out adenoids. Gosh, that would've told me there's something going on, even if I didn't know about the pulmonary hypertension. But yay, he's better!!!

Unfortunately, he's nothing better than before yet. Maybe, now that he's recovered back to what he was, he'll start to show improvements beyond that. Like the ENT believed would happen within 1 or 2 days. Yeah right.

I'm just relieved he's back to normal. His normal. He plays again, he runs around outside for bits at a time, he's yelling and screaming and being excited and HAPPY. We have our happy, friendly, giggling boy back. It was so difficult seeing him so down and depressed and tired.

He did crash after fetching him from the in-laws, like I was afraid will happen. We got him the Friday evening. Apparently, accordingly to my SIL, he was lying down in front of the tv the afternoon. Mr N also said he didn't do that much that day. By Saturday morning, he was soooo tired. We went to a restaurant with a cousin of his, and instead of playing in the play area like he usually loves to do, he preferred to sit at the table, colouring in. We forced him to go play, but he came back twice in less than an hour to lie down on the seat. Not even just sit, but lie down. Rest of the day home was spent between lying and sitting. Next day he was pretty much the same.

But on Monday, exactly 3 weeks after the operation, he had slight improvements. I heard it before I saw it. His voice had this little "tilt" in it again, and only then did I realise how tired his voice has sounded. Rest of the week just went a little better every day. Now, at 4 weeks, he's just about "normal"! I'm so relieved and happy! Now, for the next step. To see improvements beyond what is Monkeyman's normal. To see him act like a normal 5-year old. Being told off to be quiet for a moment, or sit still for just 1 second. To not jump on the couches or stop running in the house.

Something that I find strange, is the sleep apnea symptoms, or lack thereof in Monkeyman, before the adenoids were removed. From various sites, this is what they list as possible symptoms of sleep apnea in children:

• Snoring
• Gasping or choking at night
• Pauses in breathing
• Mouth breathing at night
• Mouth breathing during the day
• Noisy sleeper
• Night sweating
• Sleeping in unusual positions
• Restless sleep - tossing and turning at night
• Sleepiness during the day
• Fatigue
• ADHD or hyperactivity being very busy during the day
• Disruptive behaviour
• Inattentive
• Moody or angry
• Enuresis (bedwetting)
• Slow growth
• Worsening of academic performance
• Anxiety or depression
• Flexion of neck at night (sleeping with head arched backwards)
• Cranky behaviour late afternoon
• Poor apetite
• Headaches in the morning
• Going to the bathroom frequently at night
• Frequent ear, nose- and/or throat infections

OK, that's a looooong list. Some of the symptoms overlap. But yeah, looking at a nr of websites on sleepapnea, that's the list I gathered. I've highlighted symptoms that Monkeyman has experienced (on average, not when he's ill or when something else is up) in blue.

So yeah, shoot me for not noticing that my child has such severe sleep apnea, that it caused pulmonary hypertension. :-p Or for arguing with the cardiologist that I really don't think it's sleep apnea. Even if he just had snoring, it would've made just that little bit more sense to me. But the ONE symptom, snoring, that almost all cases of sleep apnea presents with, he didn't have. How could his sleep apnea have been SO severe, that it caused pulmonary hypertension within a few short years, without even the one main symptom? It just doesn't makes sense. And honestly, it's not because I don't know. Me and hubby, we go to bed about 4 hours after the kids. In that 4 hours, we regularly walk past Monkeyman's room (his door is open at night). I can also hear him from our room (also open door, and they're less than 2m apart). I check on him regularly EVERY night before I go to bed. Since his birth, always. So in 5 years time, would I not know if my child is a regular snorer? I know for a fact that Monkeyman DOES snore when he is ill with a cold or sinus. But NOT on normal, healthy nights. Wouldn't I have known that he snores, if I know he snores when he's ill?

The very funny (or weird) thing is, that AFTER the adenoidectomy operation, Monkeyman has gained a nr of those symptoms!!! Like:

• Snoring
• Gasping or choking at night
• Pauses in breathing
• Flexion of neck at night (sleeping with head arched backwards)
• Cranky behaviour late afternoon

I'm not listing depression or moodiness, because it does look like those are getting better as his fatigue is improving (they weren't there before the op). But just how strange is this? He had 4 out of 25 symptoms before the operation. Now, afterwards, he has gained another 5, leaving him at 9 out of 25! Most importantly though, is the fact that he has GAINED snoring!! Why??? What's going on???

We have another month to figure this out. It's really just all very strange, don't you think? At least, for now I'm focussing on the fact that he IS better than last week, and so much better than 2, 3 and 4 weeks ago. Let's keep our fingers crossed for more improvements in the next few weeks.