It's always better to get the release done as soon as possible..

Just want to share my story.  This week 3 of my 4 kids had their tongue ties released, at ages 10, 10, and 5.  I EBF all of my kids when they were babies, and they all gained weight and thrived.  As babies, they all had excessive gas, spit up after every feed (a couple of providers considered it "reflux," but I refused medication), 2 of them couldn't sleep well, couldn't settle, and I had moderate nipple pain, although it never occurred to me or any of their providers that there was anything "wrong" with breastfeeding.  After weaning, the twins developed recurrent ear infections, and continued sleep issues.  One of my twins had an h. Pylori infection in his GI track, both had continued mild respiratory issues--snoring, upper respiratory infections, which then developed into asthmatic symptoms (not "true asthma.")  The twins still, at age 10, wet the bed nearly every night, which, after extensive tests to rule out all other causes, have been attributed to likely sleep apnea--likely due to their tongue ties.  This has impacted their social development, as they don't like to have sleepovers, and last year they didn't want to go away on a school trip because they were embarrassed.  My middle son wasn't nearly as symptomatic, he only had issues with frequent URIs and dental caries.  He had his tie released first, (age 5) and he did great.  Our provider used nitrous, topical anesthetic, and electrocautery to make the release, which minimized the bleeding.  My 10-year-olds freaked out.  The nitrous didn't work because they wouldn't breathe it in.  They both had to be restrained.  They screamed bloody murder.  In retrospect, if I had known their anxiety levels would be so high, I would have asked for an anti-anxiety pill to pre-medicate them.  Now, it's likely they will need anti-anxiety medication for any future dental procedure.  Our provider and his tech were very kind, gentle, and understanding, the ties were completely released, and all 3 of them are healing perfectly.  But the ordeal was so traumatic for my older kids, and their health suffered for so long, if I had it to do over again, I would have had them all assessed and released in the first few weeks after birth.  10 years ago, that wasn't really an option, no one even mentioned TT to me.  5 years ago, I had become a lactation professional, but my middle son's breastfeeding symptoms were so mild, I didn't think it was possible that he had a TT.  In the past few years, as I have taken more training on oral assessment and become more educated about TT/LT and the lasting effects, I've seen what a huge difference having a release makes.  As an LC, I've even held babies while providers performed the release, then helped mom put the baby right to breast and seen the relief that comes immediately to both mom and baby.  The procedure was so simple and fast, but my kids' older ages made it so much more traumatic than infant release.  As an LC, I always tell my clients that it is completely their decision about whether or not to release, and I fully support them in whatever decision they make.  But having seen what problems follow tied kids through their lives and into adulthood, I definitely am of the opinion that it's always better to get the release done as soon as possible!
~ Amy Smolinski