2.05.2008

Tubes? Yes or no?


I want to hear from those of you with experience in this. In the last year, Cohen has had 7 ear infections and been on 7 antibiotics. Usually, he has to be on 2-3 antibiotics to even clear up the infection. Today, he got prescribed his 4th antibiotic since he still has the infection from the beginning of January. Not only has his ear been full of puss and fluid for over a month, but each time we see the doctor we pay $30 and each new antibiotic costs $15. He doesn't want to take a nap, he wakes up 2-3 times at night... Today is the first time the pediatrician talked about doing tubes. He gave me the name of an ear, nose and throat guy and wants me to make the appointment today to get tubes next week. Am I being paranoid because it just doesn't feel right to me? I asked the pediatrician about alternatives and he said there aren't any. I've heard of a chiropracter nearby that can drain the ears by pushing on the inside of the throat behind the tonsils. We did that today too, out of sheer desperation. We go back to him on Friday to see if the ear has drained. So I guess at the moment, I'm ignoring my pediatrician and not making an appointmet for surgery next week. I dont even know for sure what my objections are against tubes... in which case, should I just do it?

8 comments:

Emily Ruth said...

Jill~ I know that you asked for someone with experience with this, and I have none. BUT--I want to say that your intuition is more important than anything. I would trust that instinct to research more about the tubes. If after learning everything you can about them, it doesn't feel right to do them--I think that is your answer. But, if your feelings change--then you can know that there is nothing else you could have done and you won't ever look back wondering if it was the right decision. No one (including your doctor) is the expert on your child but you.
My 2 cents.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if this fits your problem, but we used this method when Mabel had fluid in her ears, which sometimes leads to tubes as well.

http://www.earpopper.com/

Robin said...

Tucker had chronic ear infections as well. I was so sick of having a sick, sad baby and went for the tubes. I have to say that I totally endorse them. He was two when he got the surgery. It was only like 15 minutes of actual "surgery" and the hard part was just waiting for that time to pass. He never had a problem again and it was definitely the route for us. Feel free to ask me any questions, I'll try to be helpful.

Jourdan said...

I hate those dang doctor fees, they really kill you.

I would get a second opinion. Something isn't right with his ears: maybe there is some sort of scan he can get to take a closer look at why he has so many infections.

My kids have never had ear problems, but when something keeps coming up again and again, there is usually a deeper problem we aren't catching.

Sorry if that doesn't help. Poor little guy! poor parents!

Anonymous said...

Tubes are no big deal, but they sure do make a BIG difference. The problem with not having the tubes is that Cohen's speech might be affected later. Because their little ears are full of fluid they hear things like you would under water. They miss out on all the growth of speech that 18 months to 36 months offer. So I say do the tubes, it keeps the child from having hearing loss and later speech issues. We have speech issues with out 4 year old now because we didn't do tubes when she was younger.

Courtney said...

I can't tell you what to do because I don't have any experience either way....but from what I hear tubes treat the problem and he won't have to deal with it again, which is a good thing for what the little guy has gone through over the past year!

Mary Postert said...

All of my brother's kids have had ear problems, they've all gotten tubes, and they're all fine now.

Anonymous said...

Hey Jill-When Jake was Cohen's age we had the same problem, we were always in the office with ear infections. We ended up getting the tubes put in his ear and it made a big difference. We weren't at the doctors as much as we were before. The only thing is we were afraid about getting his head wet because we thought they would fall out. Hope all is well with the family...keep an eye out on you email i'm sending you a yummy dessert...