If you lived in chronic pain would you do
anything to fix it?
I did. I had my tongue tie revised and my chronic pain vanished.
This is part 2 of my series about having my tongue tie released. You should read part 1 in the series first. This blog post was originally written by me in October 2017 while I was going through the process of diagnosing, fixing, and healing after my tongue tie revision.
I found out in adulthood that my tongue was tied and having it revised might be the answer to my chronic pain.
Did you know?
Adults have tongue ties just like babies. They do not go away once you hit adulthood.
I made my appointment to have my tie revised after learning about the signs and symptoms of tongue ties in adults. 3 weeks later as I was driving to the office I started to get nervous.
Some of the thoughts flying around in my head were “how bad is this going to hurt,” “why did I not eat anything,” “what if I can not eat for a week,” “am I going to have to life off of jello?” The answer to all of that would be no. I would be perfectly fine to eat a burger 15 minutes after the procedure.
I walked into the office, told the receptionist my name and filled out new patient paperwork. A
few moments later I was taken back where another staff member kept me company. Turns out,
she had had her tongue tie revised around 7 months ago and said her life was completely changed.
Her constant migraines completely went away and so many other aspects of her life improved as
well. She told me exactly what my brain needed to hear. I could not have been more sure that
I wanted my mouth fixed.
Dr. Thomas came in for the consultation and confirmed my self diagnosis. I had a class 2 tongue
tie with a posterior component to it. She then asked me if I wanted it revised and I could
not say yes fast enough.
Before we even started the procedure I knew I finally found ‘IT’
IT. The reason I was in pain. The pain that no one really knew I felt. The chronic pain that woke up with me and went to sleep with me. IT was about to be gone.
Not every provider is created equal. Some dentist go through extensive training to perform revisions correctly.
Dr. Thomas trained under a preferred provider and then became one herself.
The 2 minute procedure to end my chronic pain
About 2 minutes later I was reclined in the chair and a numbing gel was applied under my tongue. At this point I was given special glasses just in case I looked at the laser. Once I was numb, I was told to place the tip of my tongue as far back on the roof of my mouth as I could. I found this comical because I couldn’t really feel my tongue and I didn’t think I was doing a good job.
Not that it mattered, Dr. Thomas had a tool that helped hold my tongue up and it helped visualize the skin that needed to be cut. She used the water and laser method and I did not feel a thing except mild pressure.
The whole procedure (minus the time for my tongue to become numb) took about 2 minutes. It takes 30 to 60 seconds for babies since they do not have as much skin as adult.
Fun Fact
Tongue and lip ties are midline defects. Midline defects are very common.
The count down
Now to back track a bit. When I was in the dental chair leaned back it put a lot of strain on my neck. That was the time when the other staff member was talking with me about her revision. I was having a very hard time looking up at her because of the intense pain in my neck.
I had a headache that morning like usual. The headache and neck pain were becoming quite intense while reclining in that position. At that time, Dr. Thomas came in and started my consultation and I was able to relax my head a little bit. Once I told her yes, to revise my tongue tie I had probably been in that position for 6 to 9 minutes.
Just to make sure we are all on the same page, I went into the revision with an intense headache and neck pain. During the revision I could feel all of the tension melt away. By the time my 3 minutes was up, my headache was gone and my neck did not hurt.
Chronic pain GONE!
Can you believe it? I couldn’t. I sat there answering their questions making sure I was okay and I did not know what I was feeling. Later I discovered that I was feeling nothing.
I felt nothing at all.
Nothing. No pain. No throbbing. Nothing.
I felt the absence of pain.
After so many years of constant 24/7 pain I felt nothing. Nothing! Hallelujah!
They went over the stretches with me, gave me some aloe to apply with the stretches and sent me on my way with my promise to come back in 1 week.
I was so nervous before the appointment that I forgot to eat.
Half a mile down the road I stopped and ate a burger with a still half numb tongue. That was hysterical. I’m glad no one was around to see that and I’m really glad I did not bite my tongue.
The path to healing
The first stretch I did felt really weird. Touching that wet spot in my mouth grossed my out at first. It was a weird feeling and it was uncomfortable but it was not painful. None of the stretches that first day hurt.
In case you were wondering, I did not have any food aversions. I did have to take smaller bites depending on what I was eating but that was all. Dr. Thomas advised that I avoid beverages with carbonation and really hot (temperature wise) foods for the first 3 or so days.
The amazing preferred provider that I reference here is Dr. Thomas at Enclave Dental in Texas. People travel hours, even from out of state to see her!
Want to hear about day two post revision? Go check out “My Adult Tongue Tie Revision Pt. 3″ Coming soon”
