It was tongue tie release day today! It was a big day with a lot of nerves, but I did it and I'm so glad that I did. Read all about what happened during and after my tongue tie release procedure.
Ready for my tongue tie release! Pretty nervous but thankful for my hubby joining me for support.
I woke up a bit anxious for my procedure today, but went for a nice, long walk to calm myself. I actually channeled my hyponobirthing techniques of relaxation before and during my procedure. There is one part of the course that I took where the meditation is all about "riding the blue mist of relaxation." I tell my husband I need "the mist" and he knows to start the meditation. Gotta love him for knowing what to do after all these years!
All of my prep work with Julia using myofunctional therapy took such a long time that I was honestly glad to be at the point of the frenectomy to quite simply just get it over with! It was a very long drive to get to BKS Dental where I was having my procedure done. Thankfully my husband was able to join me to keep me company.
We got put in an exam room right away with the dental assistant going through consent forms and aftercare. She demonstrated the wound stretch on me and I also had her do it on my husband, Aaron, so that he could feel the pressure needed in order to get a good post-op stretch. It's more than you think!
The dentist came in and did a great job answering all my questions and explaining the procedure, we all got our safety googles on and got started. For adults they use the topical numbing gel, but then they also use a needle to completely numb under the tongue. This is not what I'm used to as with babies only the numbing gel is used. I have a bit of an issue with needles so this was the part that I was most nervous about. Honestly I felt almost nothing so that was a huge relief.
Once I was completely numb the dentist used her Light Scalpel CO2 Laser to release my frenulum. It was super fast! You can watch the whole thing here:
During the part of the procedure where you see the dentist going back in to get a little more on one side of the diamond shaped wound I felt an amazing release of tension all the down to my right ankle! It was really cool. I have had trouble with that foot and ankle for my whole life. The pain in that foot was completely gone after that. Because our tongues are connected all the way down to our toes with the deep front line of fascia it sort of recoiled as soon as she released it.
The worst part of the whole thing was about 1 hour after the procedure where the numbing wore off and I felt all this pain that started under my tongue, base of my jaw, into my TMJ, around to under my ears, in my ear canals and down to the base of my neck. This was INTENSE! Because all of those muscles had been compensating for so many years due to the tight frenulum it was very sore when it released. It almost felt like I had done a really hard strength workout with resulting muscle fatigue, only much worse.
That lasted about 1 more hour. I will admit I'm on some good pain meds thankfully. I am currently 6 hours post procedure and I feel no pain unless I'm talking too much. I can't handle eating anything with chunks in it right now so I've just been doing soup, smoothies, milkshakes, broth and ice water. The ice water feels really nice.
I've been trying to move my tongue around, hold suction and get my tongue to spot every 30 min or so. My tongue is so shaky when I do these movements. It gets tired very quickly too and gets sore. I almost don't want to do the movements, but I know I have to so I keep going.
I do have stitches which I am also not used to. Babies do not have stitches after a frenectomy. The stitches are placed further apart than normal with some skin glue in between just so I have better range of motion and can do my exercises and stretches easier. I opted for the dissolvable stitches just so I did not have to drive back to the dentist office next week to get regular stitches out.
I have to start wound stretches tonight before I go to bed and then stretch 3 times per day. I'm going to see Molly and Julia in the Milwaukee office tomorrow, as long as I'm feeling alright, and I'm making them do my stretch for me while I'm there!
I think the best part of this whole procedure so far is that I can move my neck without pain. I have not, in recent memory, as an adult been able to move my neck with ear to left shoulder without so much tension it hurts. That tension is completely 100% gone. Even if all I get out of it is the elimination of pain in my neck and foot I say it was worth it.
My niece got her frenectomy today too!
"Kitty" and I will be recovering together. She also had her adenoids and tonsils out at the same time with a local ENT at Alliance ENT. She is working with Julia, our OT, at Wisco Lactation, for myofunctional therapy, feeding therapy and bodywork. I'm so proud of this little one for being so brave today for her surgery. She is doing well watching lots of movies, coloring and sharing milkshakes with me. :)
Alright, signing off now so I can go and rest. Stay tuned for another blog post on my aftercare!
This blog post is in no way medical advice and just my personal experience.
Local to the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area? Need to get your older child assessed for oral ties? Book a visit with our Occupational Therapist, Julia!