I got my tongue tie released today.  Immediately upon stating that, I was bombarded with questions.  I felt like blogging would be the best method of answering them all.  If you have any questions remaining at the end of this blog, feel free to ask them in the comments.

Why did I get my tongue tie released at 30 years old?

My reasons for getting my tongue tie corrected are manyfold.  First, because there are many symptoms associated with tongue tie that I experience.  Frequent headaches, digestive issues, shoulder and neck tension, jaw pain.  All of these things are or have been a problem for me in the past.  There is no proof clipping an adult tongue tie will help with these issues, but I figured it was worth a shot.

Second, because I have gotten two of my children revised (each twice!) in the past, and I want to know what I put them through.

Third, because of needing to have each of my children revised twice, I wanted to experience the process of healing a revision without allowing it to heal restricted again.

And fourth, because I’m a dork and I wanted to know what it would be like to have normal movement with my tongue!

What was it like?

Shew.  It wasn’t terrible.  They checked my mouth and took a few “before” pictures, then put some analgesic cream on the lingual frenum (the tight bit under my tongue).  A few minutes later, I felt numb and he injected numbing medicine into the area under my tongue.  We chatted for another minute or two until I felt like I was sufficiently numbed, and he started.  I closed my eyes, and I knew he was using a tool to lift my tongue although I couldn’t feel it at all.  I wasn’t even sure when he started cutting, except that I immediately could smell hot, burning flesh… but I still couldn’t feel anything.  No pressure, no pulling, no burning.  I didn’t feel a thing.

He clipped for 40 seconds?  Maybe just a little bit more.  When he was done, he asked me to lift my tongue up and back like he had before, and my tongue TOUCHED the roof of my mouth.  It was honestly the ODDEST sensation.  That part of the roof of my mouth had never been touched by the tip of my tongue before.  I laughed a little maniacally.

He took a few after pictures, and we talked a little bit about the aftercare, and then I came home.

What do I think?

This one is hard to be objective.  It didn’t hurt for a good while after.  Then the numbing medicine wore off, and it began to ache.  Then I did my first set of stretches, and holy mackerel.  It hurt.  It hurt bad.  I began sucking on ice, and trying not to move my tongue as much as possible.  I finally broke down and took some Ibuprofen.  Currently, it hurts but not excruciating.  There was no bleeding.  No stitches.  I can swallow with LESS effort than before I had it released.  Talking is a little painful, but my speech hasn’t been affected at all.  I can stick my tongue out nearly twice as far as I could before.  I can lick my back molars.  There may be more that I don’t know I can do yet, as I’m being a little hesitant about playing with it!

I’ll try to update at the end of this blog as it heals.  But here are some before and after pictures!

8 hours post-op:  My tongue feels swollen.  The area under my tongue feels swollen.  When I stretch it as hard as I can, it tears a little.  It is exquisitely tender.  I can chew, swallow and talk.  My breath is terrible.  The pain/aching is less.  All in all, still ambivalent about how I feel about this procedure.