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Behaviour/development

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Original poster

tongue tie - what to do?

18 replies

iamamummy · 07/12/2008 16:52

hi ladies

when ds was born we had huge troubles trying to get him to breast feed and the issue seemed to be latching on. after a couple of weeks and several attempts i gave in and he ended up being formula fed.
at the 6 week check i mentioned to the doctor that his tongue doesnt seem to come out and she said it looks like he has a slight tongue tie and not to worry aslong as it wasnt affecting feeding.
ds has recently had his 9 month check and the hv picked up on the tongue tie and said she would find out some information and the best procedure to deal with it.
tongue ties run in my family, i had one which broke when i was 2 and my brother had one and that broke when he was 3 but he has been left with a permanent lisp.

any ladies out there who have gone through this can you give me any advice? if it needs snipping i would rather have it done now while he is still relativelyyoung and would forget about the procedure. he is 10 months and the tie doesnt seem to affect him in anyway and it does now come out a lot further than before.

thanks

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turtledove23 · 07/12/2008 17:06

DS had his snipped when he was 8 or 9 days and it was really nothing. I think, though, that if it is done after 6 months that it isn't quite so straightforward? The woman at the tongue-tie clinic said that after 6 months it requires a GA. ???? My DH still has tongue-tie and seems to be able to eat/speak with no problems and his is apparently quite thick.

thenewme · 07/12/2008 17:09

Well it clearly did affect his feeding as he couldn't latch on.

We were told out son had a forked tongue which I took to mean tongue tie. He wasn't speaking so I took him to the GP who said he didn't have tongue tie in about 3 seconds. Months of worry for nothing.

mummyofboys · 07/12/2008 17:25

No personal experience, but had a mate who's son had tongue-tie. He had a speech delay and this was one of the first things GP looked at .... had a little snip, no big deal (not so pleasant for a 3 year old though)

mummyof2littlemonkeys · 07/12/2008 17:26

My DD was slightly tongue tied and it also effected her feeding. This was only picked up by a friends Mum who is a GP! I went to see the doctor and asked to be referred. We went to see a specialist but by this point she was 2 months old. Basically they will not do the operation until their at least one due to GA. luckily DD isn't to bad so it doesn't really effect her on a daily basis. I've been toldto take her back to doctors when shes one to check on it. If I was you I would go and see a doctor and push for a refferal. At least then you can get an experts opinion.

mummyof2littlemonkeys · 07/12/2008 17:26

NappiesGaloriaInExcelsis · 07/12/2008 17:29

where do you live?

i think the snip is a good option, the earlier the better imo.

the not affecting feeding thing is infuriating because it clearly DID affect feeding.

NappiesGaloriaInExcelsis · 07/12/2008 17:31

mummyof2monkeys
that policy is area dependent. some places will wort it and others wont. if you feel you want action sooner you can press for it.
cant remember the NICE guidelines but they might be worth a read and quoting to your gp.

NappiesGaloriaInExcelsis · 07/12/2008 17:32

wort it = sort it. sorry

mummyof2littlemonkeys · 07/12/2008 17:35

Cool. O.K. thanks for the advice. I don't think my DD's is to bad as she can really stick her tonugue out now and says mama dada and she sonly 6 months. She can certainly eat O.K. Will defo have a look though thanx

NappiesGaloriaInExcelsis · 07/12/2008 17:37

v welcome, glad she seems a-ok

Original poster

iamamummy · 07/12/2008 18:37

the tongue tie was not picked up in hospital or by the health visitor at the first visit after leaving hospital. every one was well aware of the issues with regards to breast feeding etc but being naive and a first time mum a tongue tie never even crossed my mind and i just out it down to ds not wanting to breast feed as when i tried to get him to latch on he screamed the place down, obviously looking back now in hindsight this would have been down to frustration and him wanting to feed but not being able to. i didnt even know i had one until i mentioned my ds might have one to my mum.

i am seeing the health visitor again tuesday so shall press for more info and a referral.

thanks ladies

OP posts:

thisisyesterday · 07/12/2008 18:56

hi lamamummy,
both my sons are tongue tied. ds1's wasn't picked up uintil we gave up breastfeeding, ds2's was, and was snipped at 3 weeks.

ds1 is, therefore, still tongue tied but it has caused him NO problems at all. he speaks beautifully and it just isn't an issue. I am tongue tied too, and it has never caused me any problems.

I know someone who had her 11 month old snipped and she said it actually wasn't that pleasant having it done. she did it because she is still bf, and it was painful for her. but she said it was pretty distressing for the baby as he had to be held down and have his mouth held open with something.

personally, in your shoes I wouldn't get it snipped unless it's very severe (just noticed you said it seemed to have improived already thouhgh). having TT does not mean ytou will necesasrily have speech problems, or problems with anything else. if they do occur, you can get it fixed later on

Original poster

iamamummy · 07/12/2008 19:02

thanks thisisyesterday. it has improved over the last few months and he can poke his tongue out a lot further it just makes a heart kind of shape where the tongue tie actually is. his words are coming out perfectly normal for example mama dada hiya yes etc....as mine broke naturally i am hoping his will too. just want opinions as its not something i know a lot about and would hate to not do anything and it causes problems further down the line.

OP posts:

thisisyesterday · 07/12/2008 19:10

ds2's is still heart shaped, even though he had it cut, so I wouldn't necessarily read too much into that

thisisyesterday · 07/12/2008 19:16

have just added a pic to my profile of him sticking his tongue out

Original poster

iamamummy · 07/12/2008 20:27

thats really helpful thanks, ds looks just like that and probably comes out that far too.

OP posts:

EmKathryn · 03/02/2009 18:29

Just thought I'd add my experience - I have a tongue tie (not cut and I have a lisp), SIL has one too (also uncut and she lisps), my Dad also had one cut when he was a toddler (on the kitchen table - he still remembers it!) so I was kind of looking out for it. DS1 fine, but I noticed DS2 had a tongue tie at a day old. Mentioned it to doctor who basically told me I was over-reacting.

Breastfeeding was agony (he couldn't stretch his mouth open wide enough so just hang onto my nipple, Arghhhhh) and I gave up at 2 weeks. Did lots of research and ended up going to the Lister privately as NHS waits too long, when he was 16 weeks. The process was pretty barbaric - no pain relief etc, but he stopped crying about 5 mins after procedure.

It was the right decision for us - the Consultant said the skin was very thick and it wouldn't have stretched much over time as some do. If it happened again I would want it cut immediately to give breastfeeding a better chance of success!

It's very personal

horseymum · 03/02/2009 20:39

my dh is a dentist and can snip them, not a difficult procedure,they won't remember it if they are young.

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