Hi, has anyone had any diabetic-related experiences with a tonsillectomy? My 13 year old will be having the procedure at the end of next month. He is currently using pump therapy. I was wondering if there were any do's or wish-I-wouldn't-have experiences anyone could share in regard to either pre-op or post-op.
Thanks,
Mark
My dtr had her tonsils and adenoids out at almost 5 yrs old (3 months after T1 diagnosis and the same week as starting the pump). I've heard post op pain/recovery can be worse for the older kids. You might want to take a Sprite Zero or a Diet 7-up so Post-op can make a slushie for your child. Our Post-op had NOTHING diet and we waited 45 min to get one...... Sophia had her pump on and operating the entire time which was nice. My only "wish I wouldn't have" would have been not to spend the night in the hospital. Her endo's wanted her to be closely watched due to just starting the pump but we had no issues. The nurses on that unit (Children's Hospital of Denver none the less) had no idea how her pump worked anyway and kept trying to give her sugar slushies. That being said, if they suggest an overnight stay because of the T1 diagnosis and you know you can handle it, I would decline.
My daughter 14 who is on a pump had oral surgery. The doctor doing the surgery had me talk to her endo about adjusting her basal rate prior to and during the surgery to have her run a little high during the surgery to avoid a low. Definitely talk to your endo before the surgery so they can guide you. Everything went well pre and post op thanks to the adjustment.
Many hospitals don't carry any diet options, so definately bring a can of diet gingerale (some kids get sick from the blood they end up swallowing) and make some crystal light popsicles. Most wards have a patient fridge/freezer when you can keep personal items. They will have things on hand to treat lows.
My teenage son had his wisdom teeth out last Summer. We did adjust his temp basal (+20%) overnight for his surgery in the morning. We scheduled the first surgery. If he had been low in the morning, we would have had to cancel because he could not eat or drink after midnight and do the surgery.
Since he was still lower than the surgeon felt comfortable with(about 120 which is actually a little high for him in the am due to the temp basal), he hung a dextrose bag on the IV instead of the saline. We tested right after the surgery (130) and had a real milkshake for which we bolused insulin. The surgeon suggested and endo agreed that we check BG more often and not be as low on our target ranges while he was on the pain meds for a few days since he could possibly not feel a low. But after that we really worked at keeping BG in target and pushed nutrition/vitamins to help with healing. He had no problems and healed by the normal return visit schedule.
Thanks, my son is having his wisdom teeth out this summer and I was wondering exactly these things!
My friend’s 4-year-old son hassle his taken out this year and she dealt with him throwing ketones while his blood sugar was LOW. It was quite a struggle to keep him out of the hospital, but he made it through ok.