Thank you CONATIVE ! I hope today is a brighter and more comfortable day for you, the sinus surgery is an entirely different kind of pain! Every day is a little better, I promise! Be sure to use the cool mist humidifier, i still sleep with that and I’m 10 weeks out from the last cranial leak repair.
Unfortunately my angiogram did not make the COVID cut and has been cancelled indefinitely. Insert BIG sigh here. I know i am not the only person who needs medical care and cannot receive it, it is the way of the world right now. So I am just taking it one breath at a time, in solidarity with everyone.
Thank you everyone for your support and care, you all make this world a better place. Keeping my face turned towards the sun, be well
I am so sorry to hear the procudure has been delayed. I can understand your disapointment for sure. Please hang in there and know I am thinking of you. I want you all better
Me, three! I’m the third to feel sorry that you’ve been put on hold. You’ve been through so much for so long & borne it w/ such patience. Hoping things will open up sooner than expected, & you’re at the top of the docket.
In the meantime, we pray for your strength & good health. You’re such a positive person. You keep me inspired.
Hi @JustBreathe
I thought I’d ask you how things are 1.5y after the second surgery? I hope the improvement lasts without any hiccups or any new symptoms?..
Both of my styloidectomies were very successful in addressing my vascular congestion / cerebral vascular insufficiency. It was a large part of my situation and I am still incredibly grateful to have done it! As with many others, however, it is only part of my story and I continue to work towards a full recovery in these aspects which are proving to be incredibly complicated. Learning a lot and grateful for an amazing team of physicians to guide me.
I hope this is helpful in some small way and I wish you the best in your journey. I am always happy to answer any questions.
Be well!
Really happy to hear that your ES part of the story is a long-term success, and helped to get rid of the ES-related symptoms. That gives me a hope
And just out of curiosity, have you noticed any changes in your posture following the surgery, e.g. the shoulders being easier to lift up/hold, or easier to keep the back straight while sitting on a chair without back support? Or any changes in gait?
I’m trying to figure out if a proper (to the skull base) surgery might help with loss of cervical and thoracic spine curves, given they are likely directly or indirectly related to the elongated styloids.
It all depends on your individual anatomy and how the elongated styloid is - or is not impacting the other structures. For example, both of my styloids had elongated along to styloid mandibular ligament and attached to the mandible itself compressing the IJV and carotid artery. The effect of this was every time I looked down and/or turned my head completely the vascular compression caused near immediate light headedness and brain fog, stumbling if done while trying to walk on a trail or chewing crunchy food like popcorn. It is important to note this was not visualized on extensive pre op imaging but only found in surgery. In my case I do think this affected my upper cervical spine motion.
If, for example, the styloid is elongated and there is calcification of the stylo-hyoid ligament the change to the cervical spine may be different. I would be hard pressed to think there would be thoracic spine postural changes directly related to the elongated styloid other than the muscular changes that come with forward head posture which we all have to some degree without severe health detriment.
Posture is multifactorial and an elongated styloid would only be one piece of the puzzle. I happen to have lateral x-rays of my cervical spine which shows the lordosis before and after my styloidectomies. There was no change in the curve.
I hope this is helpful! Hang in there, it is all very complicated - surely not black and white!
One other thing to keep in mind is the possibility of Thoracic OUtlet Syndrome (TOS) which can affect posture and the vascular structures feeding into vascular congestion and many overlapping vES symptoms.
