Ellie,

With Thomsen's MC we can get quite severe stiffness in our tongue. We also tend to have more trouble with stiffness related to our eyes, face and throat. There were times in the past when my tongue was so stiff I sounded like I was drunk when I tried to talk :-)

One of my concerns would be the constant irritation of the tongue muscle. There is something called percussion myotonia that doctors use to check for myotonia of the tongue (they tap it with a little mallet). The tongue responds by seizing and I'm wondering if having the post constantly get jarred from eating or talking would set off frequent stiffness because of that response. It wouldn't really be dangerous, just annoying and inconvenient.

It is important to use the correct anesthetic. Ask for Carbocaine or Marcaine, not Xylocaine (lidocaine) because it has epinephrine which will make the myotonia worse for a while.

My main concern about tongue piercing is the toll it can take on your teeth. It's inevitable that you whack a post or barbell against the back of your teeth and it can wear away the enamel.

Hopefully someone else will respond that has dominant MC and a tongue piercing.

Jan

Type of Myotonia: Thomsen's

Country: USA

Ellie:

I have to be honest. Getting my tongue pierced is not on my lift of things to do in life. I don't know if it will precipitate the myotonia in your tongue or not but there's probably a chance it could.

As Jan said, I'd be more concerned about your teeth. Dental work is expensive...at least here in the US.

Type of Myotonia: Becker

Country: USA

Hiya,

I've had Myotonia since i was a toddler. I get bad tongue & facial cramps too but i have also had my tongue pierced for 5 or 6 years. The cramps in my tongue have never been stimulated by my tongue bar to my knowledge. When i do get tongue cramps my tongue bar doesn't get in the way really either. So I wouldn't fear the Myotonia as a reason not to get it pierced but your MC might be different and/or worse than mine so its all what you feel comfortable with & what you feel is right for you. You can always take it out if it doesn't work for you.

If you do go ahead, make sure you choose a respectable piercer with a good reputation & clean environment etc but im sure you know all that. When mine was pierced i think they just used some kind of numbing spray or gel which didn't cause me any problems.. & it never hurts as bad as you imagine either!

As for your teeth, having your tongue pierced is a risk you take. I've taken a bite out of mine a few times but my teeth are still ok. At first its hard to leave it alone like an ulcer your tongue wont stop playing with it! But now its like a part of my mouth. I have more trouble with repeatedly biting my cheeks than i do my tongue bar!

Hope that I've have helped.

Happy Piercing!

Type of Myotonia: Awaiting DNA results

Country: England - UK