Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Thinking against tongue tie procedure?

48 replies

mumof2littlemonkeysx · 07/06/2022 15:48

I have a 7 week old son. Who is very very unsettled he screams all day long probably only sleeps for 2 hours a day split in little chunks. He will scream in car, scream in pram, scream in sling& baby carrier!! Nothing works not even holding him helps if anything hit makes him worse ! He is on omeprazole 10mg a day along with infant gaviscon and neocate formula for CMPA. Milk is fab but his reflux is awful the meds aren't agreeing with him at all and the doctors have said there will be no more help and that they have done all they can! To the point of this post is he has tongue tie and he has procedure to get it cut next week but I'm scared it will make him worse? Will it really be worth it? Everything we have tried up in till now has only made things worse:(

OP posts:
Galvantula · 07/06/2022 15:53

It is a very quick minor procedure, my DC that had tongue tie really struggled to feed and got it done at around 2 weeks old. It made a massive difference and they cried much less and started to put on more weight.

RandomMess · 07/06/2022 16:09

Honestly they did the procedure, DD fed straight away afterwards and that was it.

Lockdownmummy · 07/06/2022 16:16

It is over in a flash and DD was fine after the initial shock.

Have you thought about cranial osteopathy? There is a view that it is a load of rubbish but I do think it helped both of mine.

Fuuuuuckit · 07/06/2022 16:20

Do it.

My ds had tt that didn't finally get sorted until he was almost 4. He/we had so many problems with bf that I wish I'd have begged for it as soon as it was spotted. Left me utterly desolate due to pnd not helped at all by feeding issues, sleep issues, constant vomity kid issues.

Book it today. At that age it'll be over in seconds and with minimal upset, I can see no drawbacks, just advantages

LongBlobson · 07/06/2022 16:34

I used to work in a related area, and I had a kid with a TT myself. It's a really quick procedure, considered very safe.

I know of many cases where tongue tie division immediately improved things, many cases where it helped somewhat, and some where it made little or no difference.

Occasionally it makes things temporarily worse as the baby has to get the hang of feeding a bit differently. Like for a few days. But I don't know of anyone where it made it permanently worse.

Hang on in there. It's unbelievably tough with a baby who cries so much isn't it. There's no guarantee tt division will help but I think there's enough evidence to say that it's worth a try.

cottagegardenflower · 07/06/2022 16:38

Read some research recently about the massive increase in procedures to cut tongue tie, and it was very dismissive of the procedure and was mostly unecessary.. Sorry can't remember what exactly but it does seem every other baby now has tongue tie

orwellwasright · 07/06/2022 16:44

cottagegardenflower · 07/06/2022 16:38

Read some research recently about the massive increase in procedures to cut tongue tie, and it was very dismissive of the procedure and was mostly unecessary.. Sorry can't remember what exactly but it does seem every other baby now has tongue tie

It has been underdiagnosed historically though.

Paediatricians acknowledge it exists but are reluctant to link it to feeding problems (and therefore treat it) usually because moving to bottles solves most TT issues.

My baby had TT which was successfully treated at five days. It made a huge difference to breastfeeding, instant.

Whether it will help your baby I couldn't say. It seems a very different set of problems.

Hangingtrousers · 07/06/2022 16:46

2/3 of my babies had tongue tie. Snipped and they were fine after. Zero issues and happier babies.
Good luck with your decision.

APurpleSquirrel · 07/06/2022 16:50

DH had an undiagnosed tongue tie which had to be cut when he was 8!
DD also had one (there is a genetic link). Despite asking in hospital, we were told there wasn't one. Cue weeks of feeding problems till a midwife checked & saw the TT. DD had it snipped, quick & easy & it definitely helped.
It did reattach, so had to be cut again, but after that it was a lot better - breastfeeding was much easier.
DD also had silent reflux which took a few months to diagnose & sort out. Definitely get the TT cut, you've tried everything else & it can affect their speech as they get older.

Twizbe · 07/06/2022 16:55

I decided to not have my son's one cut.

It wasn't impacting his latch at all. He had some other issues but they were due to his CMPA.

I felt that cutting the tongue tie just wouldn't help him.

He's 5 now and it's stretched as he's grown. No issues now with it. Don't regret the decisions

Zpoa · 07/06/2022 17:53

We didn't even notice the tounge tie until I watched DC 12 lick an ice cream. In hindsight it did affect his speech as he wasn't able to form his words correctly - I always thought he just mumbled a bit.

We got it cut. Under anaesthetic. Do it now so it's quick and non evasive.

Kittycorn · 07/06/2022 19:53

DS5 has a TT... we didn't notice it until he was 18m and haven't done anything about it. He breastfed until 2y8m and I wouldn't have known if the dentist hadn't pointed it out. He has lived quite happily with it.

@APurpleSquirrel Curious to ask what made you go for the procedure at 8 years? We noticed some sounds have taken longer to master but they're all there now and the TT has very little impact (that we can tell, anyway).

Hunderland · 07/06/2022 20:19

Definitely do it. It's done in seconds.

Zero regrets here (as you can probably tell 😆)

TheKeatingFive · 07/06/2022 20:26

DS didn't even cry when he had his snipped at 10 days. It was over in an instant.

12Thorns · 07/06/2022 20:26

My son had a serious illness as a young child, which left him with a severe phobia of medical treatment. As a result his tongue tie wasn’t cut until he was 18. I wouldn’t say if caused him major problems growing up, but a steady stream of minor annoyances. The cur, eventually, took around 3 seconds, and he now says he should have got it done many years earlier

Soscrewed · 07/06/2022 20:28

One of my DDs had it done. The Dr asked us to pop our toddler out the room as she didn't want her to copy the procedure and in the 30 seconds it took for me to close the door behind her and DH the Dr had already done it. No real bleeding and she fed perfectly afterwards and started ro gain weight within days. DD didn't even cry.

artisanbread · 07/06/2022 20:28

We have a child on our Reception class at school who had a late-diagnosed tongue tie so it couldn't be snipped. She has quite severe speech and language difficulties and it is difficult to understand her speech. I also have an adult friend who had years of speech therapy and only discovered she had a tongue tie as an adult.

avocadotofu · 07/06/2022 20:30

Definitely have it done. It's a really quick procedure. Having it done allowed me to successfully breastfed my son.

artisanbread · 07/06/2022 20:30

Tongue tie also makes reflux worse.

SmartCar · 07/06/2022 20:35

My ds was exactly like your wee one. No one believed me he had toungie tie until he was 8 months old too late to do anything. He didn't stop reflux until he stopped feeding I fully believe the tounge tie was the cause. He just couldn't get a good latch.

underneaththeash · 07/06/2022 20:37

I know you're tired, but think what you're saying. Why would it make it worse? It will only improve feeding and that's really all babies care about (apart from cuddles) when they're really little.

Mangogogogo · 07/06/2022 20:38

Only found my tongue tie when I got it pierced! Required a few people to stare at my tongue and check it was okay to pierce and that’s the only time it’s ever been any kind of issue.

saying that I would get my child’s tongue tie snipped

Quail15 · 07/06/2022 20:43

Both of my babies had severe posterior tongue ties. They had the same symptoms you describe. Constant screaming, throwing up 80% of their milk. We tried gavascone and ranitadine but it just made them constipated.

My dd had hers cut at 5 weeks. She let out the most awful scream which still gives me nightmares but she was fine. it definitely helped with the latch but I developed an MRSA infection after an awful episode of mastitis so I had to stop breastfeeding shortly after. She was still a very sticky baby due to lactose intolerance until she started on solids but she seemed to get less pain/gas so cried less.

My ds didn't have his cut until 9 weeks old - delays in diagnosing due to COVID. I knew he had a tongue tie but it was a nightmare getting a face to face appointment. He didn't make a noise, no scream or cry at all. His latch improved immediately. He stopped being sick, stopped crying all the time , he was like a new baby. I went on to breastfeed him until he was 9 months old.

If I ever have another (unlikely) I would get it done as early as possible.

TestingTestingWonTooFree · 07/06/2022 20:46

I had both my DDs go for a TT division at a few weeks old. It was far less of an ordeal than immunisations. Glad I did it. Breastfeeding improved afterwards, although it didn’t instantly become easy.

ittakes2 · 07/06/2022 20:47

as an aside also second cranial oesto to calm unhappy babbys - the birth process is brutal so they can have uncomfortable issues going on. it also helps with feeding - health insurance companies like BUPA recognise the benefit of cranial and often pay for it.

Swipe left for the next trending thread