Has anyone had a tongue biopsy?

[vipersnest1]

I need to have one in the next six weeks due to a non-healing area on the side of my tongue. How painful is it and how do they / you keep your tongue still?
The information sheet I’ve been given has very little actual information on it.
TIA

Anyone?

I'm sorry you're having to have this and I hope all is well. I haven't had one but I used to work in a service where they were done. Ha e you had a preoperative assessment appointment yet? Hope you can ask all the questions then. Have you got a Maggies centre near you?

DM had one a few years ago. Not sure how they held her tongue but she said the biopsy was sore.

I've had an excision biopsy on the front of my tongue. Usual stingy anaesthetic jab then one doctor held my tongue out firmly whilst the other did the chopping and stitching. Not at all sore and only mild discomfort in the evening as the anaesthetic wore off (took paracetamol). Spoke a bit weird for a couple of days as it was quite swollen but didn't stop me working (teacher).

@PermanentTemporary, not a sausage. No idea when it will be (suspect far longer than six weeks).
@SabbatWheel, I’m a teacher too so need to be able to speak, so I’d like an idea of when it will be but guess I’ll have to wait to hear. I’m glad to hear your tongue was held though. I’ve had several painful things (injections into lumbar nerve roots and into my fingers and thumbs, some of them with barely any joint left), but have no experience of a more ‘fleshy’ thing being poked about, so I’m nervous and worried I might pull it back into my mouth.

I’ve had many - I’ve got lupus related mouth issues. They hold your tongue when they do it; you don’t have to worry about that at all. Being honest I’ve had a mixture of experiences- and I don’t know why. Some have been fine and healed quickly; others more problematic but I do wonder if that’s to do with my complex autoimmune issues (lupus, Addisons, anaemia, all sorts). Day 3-4 is the worst pain wise. Make sure you take regular painkillers. I could hardly talk on the first day and then 2-4 is more like you’ve bitten your tongue very hard. It’s quite difficult to talk and you won’t want to. So if you need to talk a lot you may need time off work. Make sure you keep up the salt bath rinses (adding salt to warm water to gargle etc with gently) as this gets it healing quickly.

I had one a few years ago for a mouth ulcer which wouldn't heal - I was referred by my dentist. The anaesthetic injection was uncomfortable rather than agonising though some people might find it mildly painful. The numbness helped in trying to keep my tongue still, especially when I had stitches.
The biopsy itself wasn't too bad but it was very painful later on when the numbness wore off. However I took to my bed with a hot water bottle and lots of co-codamol which helped tremendously and I was much better by bedtime the same day. I did have to be careful when eating and brushing my teeth for the following week.
The outcome of the biopsy was that I was intolerant of sodium lauryl sulphate in toothpaste plus a number of foods including citrus, tomato, cinnamon and dairy. I've also found that my tongue starts to ache when I eat fermented items such as balsamic vinegar and sourdough bread. I don't have to completely cut them out, can still have small amounts of tomato or cheese or dairy. The intolerances seem to have become more pronounced as I've become older.
I think that if your doctor was very worried about you you'd have a received a much earlier date for your biopsy.
Good luck!

Dh has one and was in a lot of pain afterwards and eating soft food for nearly two weeks, there's no way he could've taught/lectured so be prepared to be a bit sore OP. I seem to remember him taking Solpadeine for the pain.

Sorry, have only just seen this.
I had this procedure a few months ago and was terrified, but needn’t have been. The worst part was the anaesthetic injection that’s put into your tongue to numb it. They then hold your tongue to keep it still. The procedure itself didn’t hurt. A couple of stitches were put in, painlessly, but once in place, I did find the roughness of them intrusive but not painful and the ‘thread’ was a bit rough. My tongue ached a bit once the anaesthetic wore off.
I was told to eat things that don’t need chewing, and not to have anything too hot or too cold. (I had warm soup that evening). The next day, I was very careful what I ate. Porridge for breakfast, more soup for lunch (I soaked some bread squares in it for ‘bulk) and scrambled egg for dinner. Had very small bits off the tip of a spoon, made sure not to have anything that needed chewing. Gradually started introducing denser food once my tongue seemed to be able to cope. The healing time varies from person to person but I didn’t find it nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Please don’t work yourself into a state, but if you are still worried, why not ring the hospital and ask to speak to someone who can discuss your concerns? I’m sure you’ll be fine. Good luck.

Forgot to mention, you will need salt water rinses for a while after to help the healing, but they should go over all that when you contact the hospital. Haven’t you been given a pre-op appointment? It’s a while since my op and I’ve only just remembered that I’m sure I had one. You could ask about that when you ring.

Thanks all for the replies. It’s so difficult as whilst I’m trying to tell myself it’s nothing, it is worrying me as it’s been sore for so long and feels like there’s a lump in there.
The replies re moving my tongue are reassuring but I’m not sure of what to make of the speaking bit as it’s a mixed bag - I didn’t think to ask at the appointment, so will have to wait and see.

Obviously it depends on the kind of person you are as to whether this will help… but you can see videos of tongue biopsies on YouTube. I’m the kind of person who likes to watch any procedure I’ll be getting as it makes me feel better to know what will happen (eg in your case, how they hold your tongue, how long it might take), but I appreciate for some people they’d really rather not!!

@ShesTheAlbatross, I’m normally quite stoic (injections into finger and thumb joints - the small joints are the most painful, injections into joints on my lumbar spine and I even had two stitches with no anaesthetic after birth) but it’s something about something so fleshy being chopped into!
I'd also like to imagine that it will be a little bit taken but it could also be a punch biopsy (decided on the day), which feels a bit more brutal. In summary, I’m being a bit cowardly about this experience!

I had a punch biopsy and it was far less awful afterwards than I imagined.
The numbing injection was the worst bit of the actual biopsy, similar to being at the dentist. The biopsy itself was over in seconds - the nurse held my tongue for it and the stitch they put in wasn’t an issue either. All very quick and professional (as much as it can be with your tongue being held in someone else’s hands!).

I think I ate soup the same day and I could eat fine the next day, soft foods and care for a few days but nothing dreadfully restrictive. I could speak fine the same day although again tried not to as it felt funny and awkward more than sore.
A punch biopsy is a tiny bit of tissue taken so try not to worry too much although I know easier said than done!

Well, I’ve got a date now in just over two weeks, so reality is hitting hard. I’ve got to admit I’m scared. My tongue is still sore, still has a lump and the average waiting time for the clinic is 20 weeks so mine is obviously far less than that.