To ask to get my adult tongue tie dealt with?

[Blaengwnfi]

Hi,

I have an appointment with my GP tomorrow. I want to ask to be referred to get my adult tongue tie sorted.

It has always been extremely tight. For reference, I cannot even lick my lips. I look at images online and none seem to be as bad as my tongue tie.

Apparently it was never dealt with as a child because I had no feeding issues (bottle fed), nor did it impact my speech.

As an adult however, I feel it is responsible for a number of health issues I have, including recurrent tonsillitis, sore throats, mouth breathing, teeth grinding and headaches. I can’t even kiss properly 😕

I am worried I will get fobbed off by my GP as I so often do, especially as adult tongue tie is not particularly common or well studied.

Please reassure me in saying this is not an unreasonable request?

Thanks.

No, not unreasonable if you list the health issues it has caused you. I had mine done as an adult, glad I did. It was a while ago though so not sure what the NHS policy is on it now. Good luck

I don’t see how a tongue tie can affect any of the health issues you are having. For example a lot of people without tongue ties grind their teeth or suffer from headaches or even suffer recurrent tonsillitis.

I had mine cut as an adult as i felt i had a lisp when trying to say certain words and felt very self conscious. I was mid twenties when i had it done

My dentist said she had an oral surgeon that came in once a week to carry out certain procedures so i got booked in and paid privately for it. I can remember how much it was, I actually think it was less than £100.

The procedure was quick, they numbed under my tongue with injections which were a bit nippy but fine, however I could actually hear her cutting the tissue which wasn't nice.

I was elated once i had it done but after a couple of hours the injections wore off and I'm going to be totally honest, I found it excruciatingly painful. I had to take diazepam and all I could down was lie on the sofa and cry. The pain lasted weeks and they told me to exercise my tongue so the scar wouldn't form and tighten it again but i just couldn't with the pain!

I mean I'm glad it's done, it's still a little but tight and there's a little lump of a scar underneath, but I'm just preparing you as my dentist said it would be fine and i wish i had have know i

I had a friend who did this. I've watched tiny babies have theirs snipped and in seconds be completely fine, but her experience as an adult was in line with @ladygugu - excruciatingly painful for several days.

I know from my breastfeeding supporter experience that a TT can have an effect on things like how wide a baby can open their mouth, so I wouldn't be surprised if it does affect these other issues. My friend told me her TMJ (clicky jaw) went away afterwards.

Thanks everyone for the replies. Apols, I went for a late night dog walk!

@ladygugu & @nomistake Thank you for sharing your first hand experience. It sounds as though the procedure can be unpleasant but it seems you both think it was worth it in the end? If it really is that bad for everyone I might consider going for the private laser option but money is tight atm, as I am self funding a laser tonsillectomy.

@CocoPlum Interesting to hear about your friend. My jaw clicks a lot, I also get locked jaw every now and then. I wonder if it is related. I’ve not looked at any of the research literature on it but will do so now.

@RobinHumphries They definitely are linked. I’ve been looking at medical research journals so that I can go in informed. There’s of research to back up the link between tongue tie and tonsillitis for example, plus the other side effects I mentioned.

Hi OP, did you get this done in the end? I have all the same symptoms and am about to book privately however the other posters points about pain afterwards are concerning. TIA