4 months of pain...lip tie?

[@llli*avesnovuelan]

I've been treated for thrush, fought with her latch and most of all tried to ignore and deny this pain away but it isnt working. I hurt all the time. I can feel myself slipping into depression from the chronic pain. I love nursing my baby but something has got to change.

Anyone think this looks like lip tie? She was not happy about me taking this photo so the angle is a little off.

photo.JPG

[@llli*mommal]

In my non-expert opinion, that certainly could be a lip tie. Dentists seem to know more about lip ties than pediatricians- if there's a pediatric dentist in your area, that might be who I'd see first.

[@llli*tclynx]

Yes
here is a page from the web site of the dentist I took my LO to
http://www.sierradmd.com/#!tongue-ti...evision-/c22gd

does your LO flange the upper lip out easily or tend to purse upper lip?
It was hard to get mine to flange out even when I tried to do the Flipple when getting him to latch.
I just got a posterior tongue tie and upper lip tie corrected for him a couple days ago at 8 weeks old, at that age he has already learned to latch and suckle to compensate for the reduced muscle movement and therefore it takes longer to see an improvement in the pain so plan to do some extra excersizes with your LO and don't expect as much instant improvement immediately after the procedure, find a good lactation consultant to help you after the procedure.

[@llli*avesnovuelan]

Sometimes she flanges her lip ok, but other times when I try to flange it she pulls off and then wants to latch back on with it tucked in. She'll do that over and over again.

[@llli*usafreat]

My girl has an upper lip tie, and yes that is what it looks like. sorry mama. We didn't correct it and fortunately i can bf fine, after months of pain (still feels pinchy every now and then but I can deal) ... but I understand you. Please don't allow yourself to feel defeated. You are such a strong woman for dealing with everything that you have til this point.

[@llli*avesnovuelan]

Yeah I am on the fence as to whether or not I would do anything about it. My milk supply is fine, she is gaining weight fine, It's just painful. I have an appointment Tuesday to see an NP who also does lactation (recommended by my midwife), so I am going to see what she says. The thrush treatment took my pain from 9/10 down to about 5/10 and that is where it has stayed, so maybe between keeping the thrush under control and helping her latch as good as she can I'll be able to survive...

usafreat, how old is your little one? Has it gotten easier as her mouth has gotten bigger? That is kind of what I am hoping will happen.

[@llli*tclynx]

nursing shouldn't be painful so if you can find some one to treat it, I would definitely consider it. While the pain may be bearable now, it is still a sign that you may be suffering injury that could lead to further complications. Hopefully the NP can help you out.

[@llli*usafreat]

My baby is almost 5 months old. I definitely think as she got older her mouth got a little bigger so she was able to take more breast in, and her gag reflex toned down. and/or she got better at sucking. I also had thrush for about the first 2 months and that made the pain so much worse! So it has gotten easier. I will reiterate that it can still feel pinchy at times when she is sleep eating or cluster feeding so my nips feel tender at these times. Sandwhich method/ flipple method saved me. My baby always gained fine, and never had a milk supply issue. That was my driving force, I had great milk supply, I knew I could do it. I think of all the moms out there that can't bf, but want to, so I consider myself fortunate.

[@llli*bfwmomof3]

Yeah I am on the fence as to whether or not I would do anything about it. My milk supply is fine, she is gaining weight fine, It's just painful.

I don't have any experience with lip tie, but I just think it would be SO hard to continue nursing if it's always painful. I've gone through a lot of painful bouts due to plugged ducts and it is always such a relief when the plug is gone and I'm back to pain-free nursing. Hope you get some good answers.

[@llli*avesnovuelan]

Just an update - I finaly saw the NP/LC today (had to reschedule a couple times because she wanted a long enough time spot with me). She was super nice and understanding and thorough - and didn't actually give me any solutions. She agrees that there might be a slight lip and tongue tie, but R is gaining weight fine and transfers milk OK (1 2/3 ounce in a relatively short, distracted feeding, it was the first time I'd ever done a weigh-feed-weigh so it was reassuring to see that she is getting enough). She had another doctor look at her tongue as well and it wasn't anything that they were comfortable clipping. There isn't much of a frenulum visible - the doctor who saw it said if he cut it he'd be cutting her tongue, not the frenulum. She thinks that my pain is mostly vasospasm, and didn't have any suggestions apart from what I am already doing (magnesium, calcium and keeping warm). She also recommended I see a local pediatrician who is also an IBCLC (and highly recommended, even by the LLL leader that I am in touch with).

So I've got some mixed feelings. She was encouraging, didn't just tell me "you're doing it wrong" (which is what I was afraid I'd hear), and didn't seem to discount my pain either which was nice. And actually over the last week I've had less pain with nursing than usual anyway. She also seemed to think that if anything all of this is going to get better with time and as R gets bigger.

This doctor can take 3-4 weeks to get in with, but I think I'm going to at least call and try to get on her schedule and if things improve on their own between now and then I'll be able to cancel.