honey and sting

tongue update (it feels so wierd to type that) --

I didn't post about this before, but 2 weeks ago I had a "frenectomy" to correct a posterior tongue tie that was implicated in sleep apnea as well as a host of other lifelong issues including a lisp, swallowing air (a lot), and aspirating saliva a propos of nothing (also a lot, leading to asthmatic reactions).

So, they made an incision under my tongue and went in a bit to snip things (the "posterior" tongue tie inhibited the contact of my tongue on the back part of my palate, which led to all the trouble with swallowing and snoring, etc). Since then I have been doing all kinds of movements/exercises (aka Myofunctional Therapy, google it), to keep the tongue from healing in too tight a scar, and building up muscles that never got used before because the range of motion just wasn't possible. I'm basically doing what a baby does when their palate and tongue develop in the course of breast-feeding. And it HURTS -- both a muscle ache deep in my throat -- the base of the tongue -- like you'd get with any new exercise program, and from stretching the still-healing incision so it doesn't heal too tight.

That said (and it's going to take months before I really see results, because there is a whole lot of repatterning of a lifetime's worth of tongue/palate relationship to do), I am waking up more often now with nose- rather than mouth-breathing. THIS IS PROGRESS. Another thing that seems to be helping is the use of a "nasal dilator" -- a doohikey you put in your nose that spreads the nostrils to help with nasal breathing. It essentially does what Breathe Right strips to but without the pesky skin irritation, plus it's a one-time purchase that lasts a while. (see "ultimate nasal dilator", also google, for more info) Charming, I know, right?

Keep me in your prayers. I'm ornery as shit about this, but I am persisting. :)