Surgery went well. Went in yesterday around 3:22 got to recovery about 5:30. Bilateral styloid were 5cm. Got to hospital room around 9 last night.
I had drains in each side which stayed in for about 23 hrs and been icing nonstop. Keeping pain under control. I could have gone home today but since I live 5 hrs away couldn’t imagine that car ride quite yet.
I have numbness on my right lip and tounge. Dr said should clear up in a few days maybe longer. I am eating soft food s. Tried chewing tiny piece of sausage and got hung up towards the back of my tounge.
9 Likes
Thank you for the update! Wow 5 cm that is insane!! I’m sure bilateral surgery is a doozy. Please rest up and take care of yourself. Can I ask what your main symptoms were pre-surgery?
I had headaches, neck pain, ear pain, face pain, tmj issues
Recently it was causing a feeling of a sore throat because the right side was poking into my mouth. I was noticing trouble ununcicating certain words, trouble swallowing, excessive salivation, twitching in my eye and lip.
I was diagnosed because the styloid looked like a mass in my mouth. Ent ordered a CT with contrast. Radiologist said I had swollen tonsils which I had removed 18 yrs ago. Luckily my ent wanted to read the disc himself he found the styloid calcified.
1 Like
Interesting. I’m glad you got them out! My most debilitating issues are vagus nerve type issues but I also have near constant tingling and stroke like symptoms on the right side of my face. I also get the lip and eye twitching.
I pray you find relief very soon!
So great to read your update, @Suzzetteas! Please know that you’re in the surgical “honeymoon” phase right now & your pain & swelling will get worse over the course of the next few days & will peak during days 3-5 or 6. It’s critical that you keep to your pain med regimen & ice a lot in that time frame. Since you have such a long trip home, I recommend you request an Rx for Prednisone to help control the swelling in your throat as traveling may possibly make it worse.
I had the problem w/ swallowing & w/ my tongue (but not lip) after my first surgery. I was on a soft diet for several weeks because my tongue couldn’t move my food around in my mouth (had to use my finger or a spoon to help w/ that). I had lots of smoothies & even put salad in the blender w/ dressing & a little water to make salad shakes. At night my husband would make dinner & put my meal in the blender w/ some almond milk, & I would drink it. It looked awful but tasted great.
It can take a few weeks to some months for the lip & tongue problems to heal so don’t be discouraged if Dr. Hackman’s prediction doesn’t ring true. Our nerves do heal but can be a bit pokey about it.
I’m so glad your surgery is done & you’re on your way back to feeling more normal! 
1 Like
I have the vagus stuff also. I wore a heart monitor, nothing wrong. Shortness of breath and constant cough.I had chest x-ray and lungs checked with no problem. Digestive issues like constipation
Oh really? I’m sorry to hear that. I think those symptoms bother me more than any of the pain or other nerve sensations. Please do let me know if you see improvements to those. That is my highest hope that I can somehow reverse those issues. It would be life changing for me and my family.
They didn’t give me a rx for prednisone.
I had a rough time getting them to give me a different pain rx because I couldn’t tolerate the oxy it made me really wired and my mind was racing And couldn’t sleep. They wouldn’t give me anything other then oxy to take home. I got two tylenol as I was leaving the hospital and the toradol they were giving me every 6 hrs
1 Like
I will let you know. I am hoping those issues will resolve also. I am assuming I have had this undiagnosed for many years and all the random stuff will disappear.
Thanks for the salad in the blender idea. I do love my salad. I had mashed potatoes for dinner last night but felt like they were hung up on the side of my throat way down there.
I woke up this am felt like a lump in the back of my throat. The Dr said it looks normal and must be the swelling.
1 Like
My God I hope so! I will be praying it works out for you.
I got that lip and eye twitching also one_day. I eventually figured out it was trigeminal nerve irritation as well as super tight temporalis muscles. Of course the Eagles didnt help either. It is sometimes hard to figure out what causes what.
Suzette, I had lip and tongue issues after my 2nd surgery. It took a good month to improve and another 8 weeks to subside. Im with Isaiah, prednisone makes a huge difference in the swelling. After day 2, I rarely had to take any pain meds because of swelling managed so well with a 10 day course of prednisone.
1 Like
Hopefully your surgery will help all those symptoms resolve. My vagus nerve issues (heart/blood pressure especially) went away after my styloids were removed. I never had digestive trouble (except from the post op pain meds 
) Remember that nerves heal slowly so it may take some months & up to a year to see what all goes away. Patience is key when recovering from ES surgery & w/ bilateral surgery, your initial recovery will be slower because both sides are healing at once.
Hope that you can keep the pain under control, & that the swelling stays down, the drips will have helped with that. take care of yourself, God bless & gentle hugs to you 
1 Like
I got the post-op pain med issue also. They gave me Miralax when I left the hospital yesterday. They didn’t give me it while in the hospital even though I told them I still needed to go. UGH
I have used the ice around the clock since the surgery and I think the swelling is doing good. My throat feels open again. I was able to remove the jaw bra at 48 hrs but the dr at my discharge said to feel free to leave it on for a few more days. Tonight is 72 hrs.
Wondering if anyone left theirs on longer. I don’t have stitches just the derma bond so no need for wound care.
So glad you’re doing so well! Dr. Hackman is the only doctor I know of who uses a jaw bra & perhaps it’s only when he does bilateral ES surgery or other types of bilateral neck surgeries? I think it’s a brilliant way to help reduce inflammation & does reduce or eliminate the need for steroids for some people.
I hope you continue to recover at a quick pace. We look forward to your updates, Suzzetteas!
