2 weeks post-op and picture of my 4cm+ styloid

It’s been a little over two weeks since my surgery and my healing is going well. I still have very tight muscles on my right side, but I imagine that will take some time to resolve after two years of tightness. I am trying a few stretches, but trying not to overdo it. My previous symptoms have lightened, but have not totally disappeared. I know it’s still early in the game to tell if the surgery was a success or not. My post- surgery ear pain has almost disappeared, but occasionally rears its ugly head for a few minutes and then goes away. Overall, I think I’m on the right track. I’m still in some discomfort that is muscle related, but I hope that corrects itself with some exercise and time. I’ve attached a picture of the styloid process that they resected. My surgeon was impressed by its size.
114-image.jpg (131 KB)

TranquiliTea, I am so glad to hear your healing is going well. Hope all your previous symptoms go away soon!

Glad you're seeing improvements! The picture is good, it didn't think to get one. It is still early days, thinking of you, and praying for swift healing!

Thank you all for your well wishes. i am really anxious to be pain-free. I know I need to be patient. So, I keep waiting.

Yes, patience, patience...I'm not very good at it! As I said to Bear_Al, I had a not so good time about week 4-5, which coincided with 'getting back to normal' and doing more, but now I'm 7 weeks post-op and things are really improving. Still taking amitriptyline though.

It took a solid 2 months for me to feel "back to normal" after my surgery (Nov. 2014). I'm still experiencing first bite syndrome but that may be ongoing for sometime yet. I understand that some nerve healing can take up to a year. As Jules said, "patience, patience". Be confident in your body's ability to heal and listen to it carefully so you can take care of it in the manner in which it requests. This will enable faster and more complete healing. We are such doers in this day & age, it's really hard to be still when we need to.

Impressive styloid, by the way. My doctor said he wouldn't take a pix, but he will show me my second one after he removes it.

:)

Thank you all for your responses. It really is helpful to read your experiences and know that my journey is not out of the ordinary. We are in the middle of moving, so I’m sure I am aggravating my healing and should probably take it easy. I’m grateful for your responses. I took a few days off from packing and feel much better today.
Did any of you find massage balls and stretches helped with your pain?
Thanks again. I am very happy to be a part of this amazing group.

Gentle exercise & stretching are good for recovery. My surgeon wanted me to start taking short walks the day after surgery. He also said I should start gently stretching my neck muscles so they didn't tighten up & make head turning difficult. Fortunately, my muscles were pretty loose so stretching wasn't painful. If you're going tu use massage balls, make sure they are very soft to start and work up to firmer ones as you can tolerate it.

TranquiliTea said:

Thank you all for your responses. It really is helpful to read your experiences and know that my journey is not out of the ordinary. We are in the middle of moving, so I'm sure I am aggravating my healing and should probably take it easy. I'm grateful for your responses. I took a few days off from packing and feel much better today.
Did any of you find massage balls and stretches helped with your pain?
Thanks again. I am very happy to be a part of this amazing group.

Yes, I did the gentle stretches, but only a few, a couple of weeks post-op. I have a massage ball, but I found I was wriggling about so much to try to get it to the right spot I made my neck worse- or is it just me being a wally?! I have found massaging gently with one of those oils for scars etc is helpful to stop the scar tightening up. I still notice the nerves ache and tingle if I lift anything much that side, so helping with the packing probably won't help! Hope the move goes well though!

I saw a Physical Therapist after surgery to help me gain mobility in my neck, it was really stiff. She did neck massage and gave me exercises for my posture to get shoulders back (most of us tend to hunch forward). Having correct posture really helps when turning head left and right. Also, if back muscles are tight, it afffects neck stiffness as well. I would highly recommend seeing a PT if you can. I am now 4 months post-op and the stiffness has improved tremendously thanks to my PT. I have also been massaging my scars to avoid scar tissue, and that has loosened up the muscles in my neck as well. Every AM I massage the scars then do gentle neck movements & back stretches before I start my day. Do not massage scars until incision is closed up, then begin with gentle massage at first (use Vit E ointment or Mederma) then get more aggressive once completely healed up. I hope that helps!

Wow, your picture is impressive,the part that my doc removed was 2.8 cm. I have a picture as well, but never posted.

2.5 years post op and my residual neck pain is from degenerative disc disease, but I do have some twinges on the right side. I anm not to the point of needing surgery and hopefully never will be.

Hope you all continue to improve. My initial recovery to get rid of daily pain took 11 weeks. It took over a year to finally not have pain. I do still have some ear pain occasionally, but it seems to be more related to acid reflux at this point. When I keep the acid under control, my ear pain goes away.