I'm hoping someone can give me some advise. I would take him to a Dr but I'm having a difficult time finding a sleep specialist in Cancun or Merida Mexico where we are currently living.

-My Son is 9 years old
-very large tonsils since he was a baby, his pediatrition was always commenting on them
-when he lays down he says he can not breath through his nose.
-slept walk and night terrors from a very young age...still sleep walking and when we wake him up at night during his first few hours of sleep, he has no memory of it the next day
-enuresis ( usually during the first hour or two of sleep) we have moisture buzer that goes off when he wets but it doesn't wake him up...he gets up but in a daze
-having concentration problems at school now ( very smart kid) and getting frustrated and some days is extremely hyperactive and can't sit still. He may not pass this grade;-(
-I think he's a little depressed, tells me he's angry but doesn't know why
-if he drinks any milk or has ice cream he has mulitple accidents a night...so strickly soy milk now...
-when he has a cold he has more accidents as well
-as a baby he could not go to sleep laying down, we had to hold him and walk him...I now wonder if that was breath related

We tried a enuresis program, that is suppose to help but didn't cure him...the idea was to wake him up wit hte buzer to correct his sleep pattern that was putting him in such a deep sleep.

If anyone can give me any advise I would be so grateful.  Poor kid is so frustrated and getting angry about the accidents.  His 6 year old sister has had one accident in her life and its really hard to him.  His grandfather told me he bed wet but it stopped...he told me he had his tonsils removed and when I asked him if it was around the same time he said he thinks it might have been...

He needs to be evaluated for Tonsils and Adenoids. If they are enlarged, that MAY explain his symptoms, and once removed MAY cure them.  Then, again, he may have another reason to cause these symptoms.

If he has the Tonsils and Adenoids removed, and the symptoms remain, then a sleep study is definately in order.

From what you are describing, it needs to be done soon (Not as an emergency, but soon!)

Reasons:
   1.   Large Tonsils and can't breathe through his nose.
   2.   Sleep walking (somnambulism), Night Terrors, Enuresis (Bed wetting), excessive daytime sleepiness
         (hypersomnolence), lack of concentration (cognitive mental dysfunction)... these are all possible signs/symptoms of
         a sleep disorder, whether it be sleep apnea or one of the 70+ sleep disorders out there.  These will only worsen
         without treatment.


_________________
painless

Sleep Apnea is a Killer! Get it Tested!
Get it Treated! Use the Treatment!

thank you.  Its difficult because I'm in Mexico so I'm trying to find a sleep specialist....or would I be better to just find a nose,ear and throat Dr? Will the take them out even if he doesn't have tonsilitis and only that they are very large?

We have an appointment tomorrow with a nose, ear and throat dr. but today I just came across and article relating to food allergies and enlarged tonsils...he has and intollerance to dairy and is exclusively on soy but I'm wondering if the soy could also be causing the problem...Lately he has been complaining of excessive gas and is very constipated and he drinks a lot of water and fruit.  Could it be the soy milk?

Back from the specialist and he says he thinks that my son does have sleep apnea and that in many cases this is a result of reflux which can aggravate the tonsil and thus the enlargement (so something to that effect) ....so he is supposed to take Azantac twice a day and then Unicalr for the nasal passages as well as afrin.  He said that raising the head of the bed to make an incline will help with the reflux but my son really doesn't complain about anything relating to reflux so I'm not so sure about this....

If you don't think it's reflux, then don't give him the meds until they test for it. Isaac was on meds for reflux he didn't have a while back and it was horrible. Never did make him sleep better or feel better and just made him cranky and hard to get along with.

Reflux can be "silent" though, too. We know Isaac didn't have reflux 2 years ago, but we think maybe he does now, because he burps a lot for a 2 year old. Our ped also wants to just put him on meds, but we refuse to give meds for something that isn't wrong with him.

Mom's instincts are usually right. Don't do it unless you are really comfortable with it...

I would say the same thing as Tiffany.  Ask for a 24 hour PH probe.  That should help to determine whether or not reflux is an issue.  At 9, your child should be able to tell you (if s/he is verbal) if it feels like food is coming back up after it's swallowed.  Or at least have an idea if his/her throat is hurting.  I wouldn't give meds until you're sure that they're needed.  If the PH probe is positive for reflux, treat the reflux, wait long enough to see if the tonsils and adenoids return to their proper size (if that's even possible...??) and then push for a sleep study if apnea still appears to be an issue.  Good luck!!

As far as intolerance/allergies to soy go, I would completely eliminate it from his diet for 3-4 weeks and see if he starts to feel better.  My dd is allergic to soy (not anaphylactic) and has similar symptoms.  "They" say that 50% of people who are truly allergic to soy show symptoms and the others don't seem to react at all.  I don' know how long it can take to get soy out of your system, but milk can take up to 2 weeks (or so).  Hopefully you'll notice a difference.  BTW, soy is in everything that's processed, so it may be a hard one to eliminate.  Soy oil and lecithin are generally well tolerated.