Slept well last night and made sure to stay on pain med schedule. Starting to swell under the jaw area so I’ve been icing for 20 mins at a time. Drinking through a straw is easier than regular. Almost choked trying to sip off a spoon. No appetite. Bought a pill crusher for meds I have to take. That works well and I dissolve the slurry in some warm water. I also been breaking open a vitamin E cap and letting that ease down my throat. Hard to swallow but pain me sleep things ok. Ears hurt a bit since the swelling started so I think it’s important to keep that under control. Don’t even want to brush my teeth yet!
Oops suppose to say pain meds keep things ok
You sound pretty upbeat Ivy- hope that that continues! Did you have both sides done? I found cleaning my teeth pretty daunting too. Keep up with those pain meds and get lots of rest!
God Bless!
Yep both sides but I had no tonsils and narco is a great drug!
That's great to hear you're doing well. I'm sorry, I haven't been keeping up - who is your doctor?
I had Dr Michael Bove at Northwestern in Chicago, Illinois . My daughter lives there so I flew in from Michigan. I saw Dr Barrowdale at Layola, ( outside Chicago) and liked him too. But I ended up choosing Bove. My ES was pretty straightforward . Nothing super complicated.
Glad to hear that you are finding some techniques to manage in these first days…prayers for continued healing…are you still at your daughter’s or back in MI?
Glad to hear all went well, Ivy! Did the doctor take out the ligaments as well as shortening the styloids? Hope your recovery continues to go smoothly!
I did not appear to have issues with ligaments. Just the long styloid. That’s how I understand it. If you look at my ct scan you just see about over a cm he was going to snap off. From there I really don’t know!
Well I guess that may be ligament involvement… But both sides were a clean removal of about an half inch or so. He said he ‘snapped it off’
Still in Chicago Kay…fighting a killer headache today
Rest, get adequate fluids and enjoy your visit with your daughter! Hope each day gets easier for you…gentle hugs from MI to you…
Hi Ivy,
My ENT said days 3-4 would be the worst pain & swelling-wise. I'd say days 3-6 were pretty intense for me. You should start to feel some improvement by the end of week 1. As everyone else has noted: Stick tightly to your pain meds regimen (I'll add - keep icing - it really made a difference for me) as keeping your pain under control definitely contributes to quicker healing. As Kay said, make sure to hydrate. "Well watered" tissues also heal faster (thank goodness you're not in California with the drought ;)
I'm praying for good rest and quick recovery for you.