Tongue biopsy - not as bad as I thought it would be

Hi 

Am 32 and have had two lumps on my tongue on the side for probably a year or more , I have a fear of the dentist/needles in the mouth. so I had the lumps cut out the back of my tongue yesterday and I was so scared especially because am tongue tied. A really nice lady on here gave me some advice for after it and what pain relief etc  

I just want to let everyone know it's actually not as bad as you think it will be, the needles doesn't hurt as much as getting one for a filling. After it I did feel like I had toothache in all the teeth on the right side but I took some dissolving over the counter medicine and it was fine, feels awkward to eat but I just have had yoghurt and  tried cereal to go soggy.

so don't do what I done and read all the horror stories of Agonising pain for weeks, it's abit of pain then you get used to it's and it's easily controlled pain relief you can buy. 
The other plus your told no cleaning/work etc just to relax for few days. 

  • Hi Lj1403,

    Thank you so much for sharing your positive experience here - these sorts of posts are really valuable and I'm sure this will be helpful for people reading the forum in future.

    I'm also glad to hear you found some support from the forum too.

    Wishing you all the best,

    Ben
    Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Thanks, so great to come across this - have a tongue biopsy on Friday and am getting very anxious from reading about the more challenging experiences people have had. All the info sheets are pretty upbeat about it - paracetamol, back at work next day etc - so there was a big dissonance there for me. I'd like to think in most cases, and certainly for smaller lesions, it's a fairly manageable procedure. My partner points out that, after all, people get their tongues pierced just because and it must be at least somewhat comparable.

    Can you tell me what advice you received re: afterwards, pain relief etc?

    Thank you ever so much for sharing!

  • Hi Jeedee and welcome to our online community.

    I noticed you're having a tongue biopsy tomorrow so I just wanted to wish you good luck and let you know we'll be sending all our support your way.

    I know you were hoping to get some advice from Lj1403 on how to prepare and cope after having this procedure but unfortunately they haven't returned to the forum in almost 2 years now so I'm afraid you may not hear back from them.

    Hopefully some of our more regular members who have had this biopsy will pick up on your post and offer their tips to you soon but if you have time before your appointment tomorrow, you're very welcome to give our cancer nurses a quick call on 0808 800 4040. Their phone lines will be open from 9a.m and they'll do all they can to help.

    Kind regards,

    Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator