Well it’s been about 4 months and I’m in so much discomfort and pain on the area worked on. When I take deep breathes I feel pressure in the area where surgery was performed and when I speak around the incision I feel slot of pain. In the neck area by the collar bone I also feel some discomfort on like a ligament. The pain is dull and sharp when I press it. I also find that pressing into the area where ensition was made it actually feels a little better.
Could this still be inflammation from surgery?
I felt like for some time I was improving but now I feel worse. Has anyone ever heard of post operation pain 4 months from surgery?
Any suggestions?
symptoms update: istill don’t have any relief to the symptoms I had before the surgery which are ear pain, facial pain, eye pain, now throat and neck pain is worse.
You have bilateral ES & often having both styloids removed is what’s necessary for the symptoms to go away. My symptoms did get worse some months after my first surgery, & these were caused by my remaining styloid. You can even get crossover symptoms from the remaining styloid i.e. to the side already operated on. We have speculated that having one of two elongated styloids removed leaves an imbalance in the neck caused by the remaining elongated styloid’s pulling & pushing on nerves, ligaments, tendons & other soft tissues which then respond w/ pain, etc. It may be that having the remaining styloid removed is what you’ll need to do in order to reduce or resolve your current symptoms.
I was a complete mess because my symptoms were so bad by the time I had my second styloidectomy - 9 months after my first one. Getting that second styloid removed gave me my life back.
Hello isaiah well my issue is more right now with pain from the surgery. Like I still have difficulty opening my mouth all the way because then I feel slight pain. Under my jaw line I still have some pain and below the ear in the corner of my jaw and that’s from surgery. Plus I also have a slight click now and I notice it more
I thought by 4 months I would have been slot more recuperated with the surgery pain!
Here are some images of the insition which from the looks of it doesn’t bother me at all. Around my jaw line I find myself massaging it slot because it still aches from the surgery.
My stylomastoid also is bothering me as of late. And after I noticed that I began to get slot of discomfort in that neck area from the styloid mastoid aching
Thank you for the picture. That is helpful. Your incision is almost invisible! That’s great! The symptoms you’re currently having are likely to come & go over the next 6-8 months. As the nerves heal, the pain can ramp up again from time to time. If the pain does continue to get worse, please call Dr. DeLacure to discuss it w/ him. Another option is a pain management doctor who can give you some ideas as to what can help reduce or alleviate pain. I expect it’s a matter of your body needing more time to recover from the surgery though.
My jaw was stiff for quite awhile after surgery but that should continue to recover as well. If not, getting some PT for that area might help.
What is clicking or when do you hear clicking? Do you know if you had any calcification on your stylohyoid ligament, & if so, did Dr. DeLacure remove your s-h ligament, too? Also, is it your SCM (sternoclydomastoid) muscle on the side of your neck that is bothering you? If so, you can gently massage it w/ some lotion, coconut oil or Bio Oil. I’d also try icing it when it’s achy & if that doesn’t help then try heat or alternate ice & heat.
So sorry that you’re still in alot of pain after surgery, very hard for you…I do agree the gentle massage might help, I do get a little tight & achy around my incision, the massage helps, although it seems to be tension with me & the muscles are getting knotted. I’ve always found warmth better for me than ice, but that’s me!
There have been mentions in discussions about cold laser therapy for scar tissue- that could be a problem possibly, so might be something to look into- you could search for info about that.
If the pain you had before surgery hasn’t improved, it might be worth trying nerve pain medications, if you haven’t already- I’m sorry, I can’t remember what you’d had before surgery. There are quite a few different ones, so it’s worth trying something else if one hasn’t worked.
I hope you can find something which helps you, thinking of you…
Hi Anthony,
That is the same area I had that was swollen for quite awhile. 6mths out now and it is still sort of numb. I had TMJ and jaw problems before I had surgery and some significant trigeminal irritations. I found that all the muscles and ligaments were tight and locked up I think from all the pain and irritation from the ES. I was warned this could flair and worsen for a period after surgery and it did.
My stylomastoid and temporalis areas have been like hard rocks and super tight but they were flaired before surgery. Ive been having a variety of modalities starting with massage and some acupuncture. The acupuncturist actually attached a TENS unit to the needles in the mastoid area (2 x week for a month) and I think it helped release the muscle some. I saw a pain doc too who supported botox injections into the mastoid. Ive have had a series of botox, steroids and nerve blocks. A few weeks ago, he also did some botox in the pterygoid muscles. Its been feeling alot better but it takes a series of injections (about once every 3 months). I had him increase the amount of botox this last time due to my massage therapist indicating she didn’t find the muscles very relaxed.
Im scheduled for other in early December. Im hoping this side goes better and I can work to get it all in balanced. I can share I already had clicking in the jaw and do have osteoarthritis in the jaw. Once this is all done, Ill see how it goes and will probably take another run at an oral appliance and keep up with the injections. Give your self some more time as 4 mths out isnt real long. If you can get RX for PT and massage, it might help. That mastoid muscle is a bear to deal with. Hope that helps.
