tongue tie - but can feed - should I still get it cut?

[dibden]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone else has had a baby with a tongue tie but has been able to breast feed no problem.

My 1st baby had a tongue tie and was unable to feed, it was a total nightmare and we got referrals for him and he had it cut at the clinic in Kings at 2 weeks old.

My 2nd baby born recently also has a tongue tie, however she has been able to breast feed no problem. I know it can effect speech in the future but usually doesn't.

I am wondering if I should go private and get it dealt with to avoid future problems or should it be left alone? All info I can find online is only about dealing with it if there is a feeding problem.

I had a tongue tie as a baby but was able to feed, speech was not effected but had to get it cut as a teenage due to dental issues.

anyone got any experience of this ?

[MoysieC]

My daughter had a tongue tie and I didn't get it cut as she was (breast) feeding fine, although Clare at Kings said she could hear her tongue slipping as she fed! She is now 3 1/2 and does not have any speech problems or even a lisp. She had quite a stretchy tongue tie so I guess the type may make a difference? I'm glad we didn't have it done.

[minder]

Interesting full page article about tongue-tie and feeding in the Daily Mail today.

Web address is tongue-tie.org.uk but not sure if it has info about later years.

[Sa16]

Hi,

My son had a severe tongue tie (we were told 100%) but managed to feed well. We deliberated over whether to get it cut or not for nearly 6 weeks and then decided to get it done privately at home (because we thought they wouldn't do it at King's, which in fact was wrong). We haven't looked back since. Very hard to know how/if it will affect things later, but as it was severe, we felt in the end that it could end up causing problems that could be avoided by a quick procedure.

[FlorenceRedbird]

Like you, my first baby had a tongue tie that made it very difficult for him to feed until he had it cut. My second son also had a tongue tie, but fed much more effectively so we didn't get it cut initially, but it gradually got harder and harder for him (and more painful for me), so we had his cut too at about eight weeks. Both done by Mr Patel at Kings. So perhaps you could just wait and see how you get on... If it gets worse, you could get it cut at a later point.

[shaunag]

My son had/has tongue tie but still managed to feed no problem. Six months on and no problems with it. I would avoid doing it if unnecessary, as it does hurt them, and it's enough to get through all the jabs! If at a later date problems develop then go for it as necessary. My son will need surgery for something else (diagnosed later)-I'm glad I didn't put him (and me) through another procedure (however minor and straightforward). Ultimately it is up to you though...

[Ellie78]

We didn't have ours diagnosed until he was about 3 months and I decided to do it because I was trying to save breast feeding and it also struck me that if it might cause problems later it was worth doing now, whilst it was still a very minor procedure.

I would say that you may not notice any problems now, but that doesn't mean they may not arise. My son was feeding absolutely fine until c. 7 weeks. Or, at least, I didn't notice anything that would give me reason to worry. After that his feeding times never extended - he was still feeding all the time (because he wasn't feeding efficiently I guess) and at 10 weeks his weight started dropping very fast. It was then that we got a pro to have a look at it. turns out it was quite severe. But even though we did it to try to save breast feeding I think it came too late for us - my supply, after that, wasn't enough and at c. 6months we'd had to wind it down despite extensive support and advice from BF pros. My theory is that that period he wasn't feeding efficiently impacted on my body's supply and that he'd learnt bad habits in feeding because of the TT that we couldn't get him out of.

if you have the opportunity to do it whilst they're still very very small- I would. Personally, I didn't think my son was discomforted really at all by it at 3 months - it was so quick, and he didt seem put out afterwards. But he was certainly more aware than the other small bundles there of what was going on.

[wellington]

DS3 had tongue tie but we chose to not have it treated. The reasons we didn't have it snipped is because of the pain to him, the aftercare not being very straight forward (and painful according to the TT specialist), it not being guaranteed a success or to solve all the problems, and me not being in any pain. I don't know about the weight gain as I didn't have him weighed but felt he was thriving.

It was not easy or straightforward breastfeeding him, he would slip off, we had trouble feeding lying down, trouble feeding in the dark, etc. but all of this was overcome by about 4 months with practice and persistence from us both. I saw a speech and langue therapist for their opinion on the impact on his speech but they didn't think there would be any problems.

My boy could never stick his tongue out so you can imagine my surprise and pride when he started sticking his tongue out at about 7 months - I was absolutely over the moon. I think the adhesion has stretched out.

[dibden]

Thank you everyone for your messages!!!!!!!

Im going to have it looked at anyway and see what the experts say. If anyone would like to suggest who to take her to that would be great.

Shes feeding ok now but still extremely regularly, around every 1.5 - 2hrs day and night and the feeds dont last long, max 10mins, so Im wondering is feeding tiring for her. I haven't had her weighted since we were discharged by the community MW but shes "chunky", seems to be getting bigger for sure and not damaging my nipples while feeding so it doesn't appear to effect her now but as some people have suggested it may in a few weeks time.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. It means a lot to hear stories from other local people.

Much appreciated !

[FlorenceRedbird]

What you describe sounds very similar to my experience with my second son and it was well worth it. I went to the Peckham Breastfeeding Cafe (10-12 pm I think) every Thursday at Peckham Library and the lovely midwife there diagnosed it and referred him to Mr Patel's clinic at Kings. That can all take a while, so if you'd prefer to get it sorted quickly, Katie Fisher (who works with Mr Patel) can do it for a fee. A quick Google will give you all the info you need to get in contact with her. (Sorry... I'm on my phone and so links are a bit tricky!)

[egoode]

Just thought I would add my opinion as someone that is tongue tied and I'm now in my mid 30's. My mum decided not to get it cut when I was a baby as I was feeding fine. I don't have any problem with my speaking either.

The main thing I can't really do is poke my tongue out although I can sort of get the middle section of my tongue to come out a bit that's about it. I also have issues occasionally with trying to 'clean' my mouth after eating as I can't always get my tongue to get to the places I want it to.

The main issue I had was when I became a teenager and was interested in boys but was really worried about not being able to 'tongue kiss' him. However I've managed to kiss lots of boys with no complaints ;-) Although one of my friends did say I might have had more issues with it if I was a lesbian!

However I find there's always a way to still do everything just maybe not the same way as someone that's not tongue tied. I have occasionally had moments where I wished my Mum had it cut when I was a baby but generally I tend to forget I'm even tongue tied.

[dibden]

Hi, I just wanted to thank everyone for their comments and let you know how we got on.

After contacting the clinic at Kings I was told I would need a lactation referral to get it done so I decided to go to one of the breastfeeding cafes thinking there was nothing wrong with our feeding. In the few days before we were due to attend the breastfeeding my babies feeding did start to get worse, the feeds were short and very close together and I she wasnt draining my breast properly. The lactation consultant took one look in her mouth and refereed us on the spot and we had her tongue tie cut a few days later.

Turns out it was quite sever and although I didn't think it was effecting her feeding the sensation during feeding after was so different. They told me she wasn't covering her gum when feeding but I thought the slight pain was all part of the feed.

Although shes was a chubby baby it was still effecting her feeding so I guess not all tongue tie babies show poor weight gain as a result. Im glad I ignored her weight and got it checked anyway the difference has been amazing although I did have to re-train her to feed correctly.