tongue tie and reflux

[Beautifulbabyboy]

My BBB had a tongue tie which was clipped when he was 2 weeks old, or so I thought. He is now 5 weeks and I think he still has a bit of a TT, as his tongue is still slightly heart shaped and he doesn't ever stick his tongue out over his lips. He does drink a lot of milk, but has v bad reflux for which we are just starting on the journey of getting treated. The thing is I have read in places that reflux and tongue tie can be related. Is it possible to have an anterior and posterior tongue tie, and for the consultant to only cut the anterior part? Also, how would the way the baby is feeding affect reflux - which as far as I am aware is milk flowing back from the stomach?

[organiccarrotcake]

Give Charlotte at Milk Matters a ring milkmatters.org.uk/ 0845 26 99 57 4

She's the one in the UK who spotted the potential link between TT and reflux, and she's working with International TT specialists to try to work it out.

She's an expert in TT and can answer your other question too (this is a very specialist area).

She doesn't charge for phone calls or emails (unless it's for diagnosis in which case she offers a specific paid-for email service that she'd be able to talk you through).

[Beautifulbabyboy]

Thanks organiccarrotcake. Charlotte will be getting a call first thing Monday morning. :-)

[organiccarrotcake]

:) I'd love to hear how you get on.

[pizzaman]

Charlotte is expereinced in tt although she may be surprised to know she spotted the tongue tie/reflux link. There are many snippers in the UK and abroad who are aware/studying this correlation:)


PP your boy could have a posterior tie or the initial tie may have regrown, this happens sometimes especially in the babies who are slower to use their new tongue function or who also had a posterior tie. Sometimes toticollis or other birth traumas are involved too? A bit of cranial osteo can help sometimes although the research is entirely missing for that assertion.

[organiccarrotcake]

I stand corrected, OP, and I'm delighted to hear than many others are investigating this important link.

Nevertheless, I can highly recommend Charlotte. If anyone else knows of other contacts I'd be very interested to have them on my list.

[Mollcat]

Ann Dobson (whom I know OCC knows!) is also looking at TT and reflux and I know she is in touch with Charlotte (aka the Analytical Armadillo, whose blog is worth a read if you have time). I have a bit of a vested interest as Ann treated my son's TT, the CO she recommended is helping us deal with the tensions caused by TT and birth trauma (if only he could fix MY tensions caused by the birth trauma...) AND the poor lad is now being treated for suspected silent reflux. I'm hoping it isn't cow's milk protein intolerance causing the reflux as I lurve cheese and it was bad enough giving up "interesting" cheese for 9 (well, 8) months when upduffed.

BBB - yes TTs can reform, my son's did. An osteopath will tell you that it's more likely to happen if there is unreleased tension still there associated with the tongue and surrounding areas so worth seeing a cranial osteopath if you can find once who specialises in babies - you need a good one as the first one I went to see was, ahem, not very good. With posterior TT I assume it could be hard to spot if it's lurking behind an anterior one, or it may just be hard to get the whole thing in one go as it's so far under the tongue, but I'm not an expert and Charlotte/Ann are. Your BBB may have an "uncoordinated suck" and need so exercises. It really helps recovery if you're BFing though I think - we still can't unfortunately and he's 4 months old.

(OCC - we're still going here by the way, I'm now expressing almost enough for his requirements, he latches on about once a day but things aren't quite right yet. Might be positioning (he's had Sandifer's in connection with the reflux plus a lot of birth-related tension in his neck, shoulders and upper back) or he could be (fnar fnar) a "tongue-humper". Thanks so much for your support at the start of all this (and Narmada too if she's reading this).)