My right styloid came out first, & I had about 3 weeks of relatively pain free days from the left one after my first surgery. I think that was because of the post op prednisone & percocet. Once I was more or less done w/ those, the pain came creeping back in & got progressively worse over time. I did have better days & worse days but usually had some sort of symptoms even on my good days.
Your concerns are valid about making a wrong move & having the pain on the right flare up again. It’s the unknown that’s so maddening w/ ES & having to make a decision about removal vs. living w/ symptoms.
I think most of our members who’ve had bilateral ES surgery have done so out of necessity. I know of one person who did the preemptive thing & ended up in worse pain afterward, partially because not enough styloid was removed & possibly because she had underlying issues that flared up from the surgery stress & those are what caused her poor recovery.
I don’t know the answer regarding getting a CT on a usb drive. That would be one to ask at the radiology office. I wish they would send soft copies as that would be helpful, too, but giving it on a CD is the norm.
Here’s a link to the program suggested on our site but it’s a bit old now. I can’t remember the name of the one recommended for Macs in particular. Hopefully someone who knows will reply.