My symptoms are getting worse, pain along tonsil-area from the left ear/temple to the throat. Still severe dizziness and dullness left ear.
I went to my family doctor with a ES case report especially about vascular ES and told him about my dizziness. He ordered duplexsonography of the neck arteries and everything seems to be ok with the blood flow. I told this also to my ENT who diagnosed ES and specially about vascular ES but he has no suspicion of vascular issues. He found a CT is not necessary.
Is a duplexsonography meaningful in Vascular ES cases?
He is a young talented Dr. but I think he is not really familiar with ES. He is in leading position and I get only a short appointment every two months.
As I told him that I suffer really bad he suggested a cortisone/anti inflammatory injection.
Is it worth a try? Any experiences?
And my family doc. want me trying Lyrica (pregabalin). Has anyone of you have also experience with that?
I have been on Pregabalin. It takes off the edge of the general feeling of ache and pain...but makes you feel very tired...and sleepy!! It hastens up the heart rate and also cause bloating!! I stopped voluntarily. Always read the side effects first! Most doctors do not care about the side effects!!!.
MAny people get injections of types to help with pain but they at only be good for a short time. Cortisone is hard on bones when used excessively. Worth it if you need relief right now! Lyrica is for nerve pain and is worth a try. My opinion is to see a doc familiar with ES or you may be headed down a long road of bandaid fixes
I have been getting steroid injections and they are helpful. It especially helps on the side where the styloid can be felt in my tonsil area with the pain chewing, swallowing and neck pain. I am concerned about long term risks of continuing them, and am getting a second opinion…best wishes to you!
Is a cortisone injection also helpful to diagnose exactly ES???
I mean if it helps than it is clear ES?
My ENT said “yes your problems may be caused by the calcified ligament but we have to be sure about it”.
So far Swallowing problems are clear which caused by ES.
Unfortunately no one believes that ES causes my dizziness!!
@Ivy, yes the Dr.s tend in this direction. I still couldn’t find a doc which were familiar with ES.
I put pressure on my family doc to see a radiologist in person and try to have also a contrast CT.
Thank you Kay good to know!
I have more pressure/dullness than pain. I heard cortisone has also decongestant effect. So I hope my doc knows what he is doing. I am scared of this injection because my tonsils were removed 10 months ago and the injection will be in this area.
Kay said:
My 1st ENT did a lidocaine injection initially, to help confirm the diagnosis, then did a steroid one.
let me chime in about the steroid injections. My surgeon had Eagles himself. He tried the steroid injections and told me it was not worth it. He did not recommend them for me. He did my surgery and I am happy with it. 2 years ago. Still doing well. My recovery from surgery was pretty long. 11 weeks before I felt like it might be successful and about 6 months before I was feeling really good. I had some lingering neck issues for the last two years, but after several types of treatment, my third chiropractor seems to have fixed that problem at least for awhile. Intraoral surgery is hard on the neck especially if you have degenerative disc disease. Anyway, I digress, the steroid injections really don't do much, some doctors might want to try them because they have never experienced Eagles themselves.
Thank you for your response. I thougth also, not experineced doctors tend to try injection. I read in some medical reports that the first step is the steroid injection. I am still looking for an experienced doctor.
Perhaps is an injection helpfull for ES confirmation. I am still unsure but it seems that I have no other choise at the moment.
emma said:
let me chime in about the steroid injections. My surgeon had Eagles himself. He tried the steroid injections and told me it was not worth it. He did not recommend them for me. He did my surgery and I am happy with it. 2 years ago. Still doing well. My recovery from surgery was pretty long. 11 weeks before I felt like it might be successful and about 6 months before I was feeling really good. I had some lingering neck issues for the last two years, but after several types of treatment, my third chiropractor seems to have fixed that problem at least for awhile. Intraoral surgery is hard on the neck especially if you have degenerative disc disease. Anyway, I digress, the steroid injections really don't do much, some doctors might want to try them because they have never experienced Eagles themselves.