Jaybird, if your pediatrician is provided antibiotics for “colds” then you should quickly switch away from him to one who does not put you at risk for overuse of antibiotics, which are supposed to be used ONLY for a documented bacterial infection. Otherwise there is a increased risk of creating superbacteria that the antibiotics are not effective in fighting. The cold is a viral infection and does not need antibiotics.
Are the adenoids and tonsils swollen to the point that they are affecting the health? For example, is sleep being interfered with due to swollen adenoids causing snoring and interrupted breathing? Are the tonsils infected multiple times in a relatively short period, meaning that antibiotics are not effective? How long after the last infection are we talking? Sometimes the swelling does not go down right away. Are both adenoids and tonsils swollen or just one set?
I would try to push off surgery unless there is a real affect on health because surgery has its own risks, especially if they take both adenoids and tonsils at the same time, in my opinion. I had just my tonsils out due to repeated strep throat and tonsillitis infections to the point where I was on antibiotics more than I was off of them over a six month period. But after the surgery I developed allergies to many things that I was not allergic to prior to the surgery. I think the tonsils filter out certain things and do not let them get into the body to the point an autoimmune response is generated. When the tonsils are gone, there is nothing to act as this filter. This last part is my conjecture alone and not medical opinion, but I have found that other people I know did develop allergies only after having these “unnecessary” organs removed. Sometimes kids will outgrow this problem and the swelling will go down on its own over time, so definitely don’t rush.