Dagger Alert

I am scheduled to have this dagger styloid removed May 26. I am glad it is finally happening. I have a lot of symptoms, but the big one is not being able to breath when I bend down. My question is, do you think my hyoid bone also has problems? It is much larger on one side and it is not level. Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.
right side


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@Cody ~ Your styloid is amazingly long - almost to your hyoid bone. It’s possibly what is making your hyoid out of balance. I’m wondering if the calcified stylohyoid ligament that extends up from the lesser horn of the hyoid is giving the appearance that the hyoid is thicker on one side than the other. I’m also thinking that getting the styloid removed, may allow the hyoid to return to a more normal position. Have you asked your surgeon about the thickness & angle of the hyoid & what he thinks about both issues i.e. will you need to have your hyoid worked on as well or will it take care of itself once the styloid is removed?

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I’m not nearly as experienced at having an opinion on the impact of mechanics as others here but WOW…hat SP is nothing short of impressive! What little I do know, it would indicate to me that once it’s removed you’ll see a notable improvement as Isaiah has already noted!

Congrats on your upcoming date! Seeing folks here getting surgeries scheduled and an opportunity to get their lives back in order is a gift! Blessings to you!

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I did ask the surgeon and he is going to look at the CT again before the surgery. Getting this removed has only got to be better, since it is not supposed to be there. I may be a whole new person! ! ! !

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I had two ENT specialist tell me WOW that is impressive. That is really not what you want the doctor to say, but yes they are long. The left side is only 5.2cm, which is not short. Maybe it will be removed later in the year.

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Will be good to get rid of that! Hopefully removing it will help your hyoid too…will be praying for you- who are you having surgery with?

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Dr Mannion at Vanderbilt in Nashville. He is an otolaryngology surgeon. He is on the list.

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Thanks for the prayers

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I have no expertise to add but wanted to say, Holy cow!! That is huge!!! Wishing you the best in your upcoming surgery!!! I am happy for you to get relief!!
Edited due to typos!

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Surgery was yesterday. Right styloid was removed. It was 7.2 and longer than they thought, and so thick. They would not let me keep it, oh well I had it long enough. Throat and neck are very sore with some difficulty swallowing. They think it was compressing my carotid. I think I can breathe when bend down now, which was my main problem. Too early to tell about the other symptoms, but so glad it is removed. Thanks for the prayers.

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Wow, that is a long styloid! Hopefully you’ll feel the benefit of being rid of it soon…will pray for a good recovery for you :pray:

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Hi @Cody!

I meant to send you a message yesterday & forgot! I’m so glad that styloid is no longer a part of you & you already notice a difference.

Your throat is likely sore because of the intubation during surgery. It should feel better in a few days. Your neck will take a bit longer to recover. Please remember days 3-5 are when post op swelling is the worst so symptoms can flare again during those days. Let ice packs be your best friend this week & use them for 15-20 min. every couple of hours. Keep your head elevated when you sleep as that will help reduce swelling in your neck & throat. With a styloid that long, I hope your surgeon Rxed Prednisone to help reduce post op swelling. You’re now on the winning end of this proposition but patience is key. We’re here for you all through your recovery. :hugs: :gift_heart: :pray:

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@Cody - how are things going for you? I’m glad surgery went well and you’re seeing a few of those symptoms fade away. I hope they stay gone for good and don’t flare during your healing! Be gentle on yourself the next few weeks and keep those ice packs handy!
Best always!

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Yes ice packs are your new best friend. Things are improving. The neck poking and pain in the shoulder and shoulder blade (TOS) are gone. My neck is still really swollen, so I can not tell if the breathing is better. I still have ringing in the ears really bad but over all things seem to be improving. I know I have to be patience because it has only been 8 days.
I hope you are improving also. Thanks for checking on me.

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Good you’re seeing improvements Cody, still praying, & for @Tjmhawk01 too :pray:

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HOORAY for improvements! So glad you’re seeing some good improvements. More will come as you continue to heal! :sunflower:

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It’s great to see your optimism and positive outlook. Happy to see there are improvements. I hope your recovery is still going well!

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Hi I’m new to the forum and glad to be here. That being said I have an impressive styloid too. Mine is as long as my jawbone and almost as thick. On 12-24-2019 I was lying in bed and did a half push-up and whipped my neck. Immediately, I started having a flowing sound or sensation in my head. This accompanied by throbbing headaches. Additionally I had a time where electrical pulses would come out of my eye. At times just pains in my head. From the angiogram venogram balloon occlusion I’m told that when I touch my chin to my chest that one of my jugular veins is about 97 percent compressed and the other is about 80 percent compressed hence about doubling the pressure in my head compared to other head positions. The thought being when I whipped my neck the physiology changed. It has been said that maybe a blood vessel is up against the styloid and the sound is being transmitted in my head. Originally I believe the doctors thought they would find a stenosis (venous sinus or other) however they didn’t. Since my styloid was so impressive they were drawn to that. Just wondering if you would share with me if you have had any pulsatile tinnitus do to your condition or other symptoms? I can’t help wondering if my pulsatile tinnitus is caused from something different then my styloid. Rather do I have two different things going on or is this all being caused by my styloid. It’s great to be in this group and can’t believe how much good information is available. I can’t tell you how many mis-steps I have taken before getting here.This is a tremendous resource for people with our condition.

Thank you,

Bc2

@Bc2,

Pulsatile tinnitus is one of the key symptoms of IJV compression. Most of our members who have/had IJV compression have/had pulsatile tinnitus as a symptom. Jules wrote a couple of comprehensive posts about ES symptoms. If you haven’t read them, you should as you may find you have other symptoms caused by ES that you may not have recognized as such.

Thank you…I will check out Jules posts

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