Hello, wise ladies. This is my first post, as I've wanted to respect the lactnet rule that this forum is not intended for addressing personal issues. Everything I've encountered in 9 months of LLLL accreditation (and a year of leader applicantship) has been easily answered by searches of the archives or other readily available literature. I've been following the tongue-tie discussion with great interest as many of the potential sequelae of TT have been issues in breastfeeding and beyond with my own three children. Besides, in my work as a LLLL, I wasn't entirely comfortable with giving information about tongue tie as I was in no way sure I understood its presentation (God forbid a mother should ask my opinion on her baby's oral anatomy!). So after reading, recognizing some symptoms, and perusing a hundred or more online images, I started looking in my family's mouths. My 18-year-old daughter, who had early latch difficulties I'd always attributed to positioning and early bottles (first child, accepted the standard recommendations) and has minor articulation problems (tongue thrust diagnosed at age 12, but not vigorously treated as we were told it was a specialty SLP issue with a 6-8 month appointment wait, plus it responded to at-home exercises and careful attention to mouth movement; words can sound rather slurred when she speaks quickly) has three bands tethering her tongue to the floor of her mouth. Using only online pictures as a guide, I'd guess that it looks like a type 2 or 3 tongue tie, as she is able to extend her tongue beyond her lips, and the frenulum is attached about 1" behind the tip of her tongue. I compared my own and the frenulum is attached more like 1.5-2" back. The frenulum (or three frenula?) does not have a lot of play in it when she pushes on it with her finger. She has also needed extensive orthodontia and her teeth have moved back quite a bit after completion of orthodontia. The real clinker here is that her father has the same anatomy. I have yet to find an online image with a tongue attached by three bands. My ex-husband and his three brothers all have a characteristic speech pattern-I and some friends call it "the K********* mumble" (I'll preserve the family's anonymity)-that my son by this man also has. I always attributed it to laziness (mean, and yes, I feel guilty). All affected family members are able to articulate more clearly when they concentrate, presumably better utilizing their limited range of motion. I have not yet had an opportunity to look at my 14-year-old son's mouth. We had a very difficult breastfeeding history, with premature (28 week) birth, borderline weight gain, and long-lasting thrush. He did nurse until age 4, but that may well be more due to my persistence than his ability. He also suffers from malocclusion and currently wears braces. I'd love to hear from any lactnetteers who have seen this structural anomaly. How did it affect your patients? What interventions were considered or undertaken and what benefits or problems resulted? Finally, is there anyone in the Los Angeles area you'd recommend to assess adolescent/adult tongue-tie issues? I don't know that I (or my family) has the energy to shop around with medical professionals who will just tell us our concern is misplaced and bill. Many thanks for your indulgence in addressing a personal issue. Ellen Chase, LLLL *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome