My Tongue Tie Release Story Continued.

First of all, I can't believe I'm not embarrassed to share this post! But I did say I would share the rest of this story so here goes...

Heads up, the photos below, yes of my mouth, are graphic. I'm actually sharing the images I sent my doctor at 4 days, 1 week, 2 weeks and 6 weeks post-surgery, for the curious among you.

I so wish I had a before shot, but I entered this so nonchalantly that I didn't bother documenting anything because I hadn't quite realized what I was getting myself into. You can find my first tongue tie release blog post here.

So now at 6 weeks post tongue tie release, it's obviously a whole different experience. In fact the pain I described during that first week ended within a day of writing that post.

It still hurts to do my stretches which I continue to do 3 times daily, but at a tiny fraction of the original intensity.

And the deeper healing has continued. What this experience has connected me with is just how much our bodies hold. The way our whole lives are stored in our tissues. I mean from muscle memory to neurological patterning, it's all in there. In here.

As a bodyworker and acupuncturist I've of course witnessed this connection countless times and the kinds of emotional release and healing that can occur when our bodies are touched.

To illustrate this part of my experience, let me take you back to day 8 post-surgery. In another attempt to relieve my pain I decided to needle a new acupuncture point. It's called GV-26 and it's located on the midline between the nose and mouth.

Immediately after inserting the needle I began to cry. I mean, out of nowhere, huge wails of grief and then walls of frustration dismantled. I felt the movement of my tongue free up in a totally new way and I knew this is what I had been trying, struggling to do as an infant, to nurse, 43 years ago, to no avail. To simply and freely be able to suck, swallow and receive nourishment. It was powerful and intense.

I later shared this with the cranio-sacral therapist who's been helping me integrate these changes and she noted how much more emotionally freed up people often feel after a tongue tie release. That a lifetime of being restricted and held back in even this small and seemingly insignificant way can actually have a much larger than imagined impact.

A therapist of mine once called it my "low frustration tolerance". Not sure if I can get away with pinning my tendency to short-temperedness on my tongue tie alone, but seriously, it might, ha! I can say I do feel more ease overall.

This process has also helped me come to better, more viscerally understand the nature of compensation. That we do adapt and find workarounds in our bodies to dysfunction, which is amazing by the way, but that when healing takes place we will inevitably go through a period of de-compensating as we recover and learn how to function properly. Sometimes this is referred to as a healing crisis. In any event, it feels miserable, but it's ultimately a good thing.

I had also been curious to know if the initial release I'd felt right after would return once the pain subsided and what I can say is that truthfully and unfortunately it hasn't. What has been restored is the ease I feel around my sacrum, but my neck sort of feels back to normal. Not particularly tight on most days but not like butter the way it was that first day either.

So that's the story.

In the end I'm very grateful I did the release. I'm grateful for these insights and pieces of healing. The effects have run deeper than I ever could have predicted and were totally worth it.

I'd be happy to hear any thoughts you have on what I've shared here. Related to tongue ties or otherwise. I hope my experience can shine a light on something in your life or at least inform you of this lesser known occurrence and wacky procedure.

I'll leave you with the images of this healing process below. Crazy!

Day 4, Week 1, Week 2, and Week 6