I applaud your willingness to be in recovery mode for the long haul. I had symptoms that didn’t fully recovery for more than 12 mos & have First Bite Syndrome that is still diminishing 8 years post op. It can be frustrating when a symptoms goes away for awhile then comes back then goes & comes back again. I went through that cycle over & over during my ES post op healing. I had two surgeries (one for each side) & that scenario played out more after my first surgery.
I’m glad you’ve noticed some improvements & as Jules said, you’re still in the (relatively) early stages of healing.Three mos post op, may not be your “magic number”. For me, it was at 6 mos I really noticed significant changes w/ gradual improvements along the way, & again at 9 mos, even more positive improvement. Vascular compression is a toughy & can take more time to rebound from & as you’ve read here, can also require ballooning or stenting later if the tissues don’t re-open on their own.
Good plan to really consider the research on & results from alternative therapies before diving in head long. @Snapple2020 has give you some good information based on her experiences over the years.
I will be praying for your recovery to continue forward & for the remaining unchanged symptoms to begin to resolve.
@Isaiah_40_31 Agree that it’s a patience game! It’s frustrating having to take it easy for so long, but I’m looking at it as short-term patience for a quicker recovery. Given that I am only (not quite) 2 months out, I’m still hopeful that the numbness will recover (especially ear canals, cheeks, neck, etc.). With regard to the CCI, I am most-definitely going to be careful with selecting the best treatment, but I have also had 2 upper-cervical chiropractors, as well as Physiatrist, confirm the diagnosis, so I’m hoping that I can an option that will help. Shooting up prayers that the IJV’s are opening up to avoid more trauma to the area!
my surgery was 8/13/21 and the biggest improvement in the feeling of pressure and fullness in my ears happened around January 2022! I just (in April 2022) started being able to wear my usual glasses, as they really made my ear/head hurt when I tried to wear them before, I assume there had been swelling around my ear that’s finally subsided, so it’s hopeful you’ll continue to see improvements there too.
@tp12 thanks for sharing! Did Dr. Hackman do your surgery as well? Having the incisions near the ears definitely creates some issues, but so great to know that it started to feel normal again. It’s okay been 2 months for me, so I’m hoping it normalizes in the next few months!
@Dobbs the scar at the lobe of my ear was rough and kind of poked out for a long time, but it’s smoothed itself out at some point? didn’t pay enough attention to it to know when that worked itself out
@Msdstc my case is a complicated one bc I have 2 concurrent health issues, vascular Eagles (my IJV was very bad, one side totally closed off, the other over half compressed, and also vagus nerve compression) and craniocervical instability. These conditions mirror a lot of symptoms, but we elected to release the IJV flow first of the risk of stroke if blood flow from the brain reduced too much.
I had MANY symptoms: insomnia, anxiety, twitching eyelids, muscle twitches, visual snow, tinnitus, fatigue, dizziness, GI issues, POTS, muscle tension, neck pain, throat pain, and more. Thus far, my insomnia has improved, anxiety has improved, and throat pain has completely resolved. Still dealing with visual snow, neck pain, POTS, tinnitus, GI issues, and still not sleeping as much as normal.
I am still experiencing some issues post-op from the surgery itself, but most of those are starting to get better, and it sounds like they can take MONTHS to resolve, so just trying to be patient.
a few years ago I had unexplained shoulder pain and a sudden loss of hearing in my right ear.
in 2021 I had a car accident, where I slid on ice head on into a guard rail. Dr Hackman believes the accident shifted around my neck, so that my styloid was on my carotid.
following the accident I experienced an explosion of pain in my ear that was immediately followed by:
increased right shoulder pain
right neck pain
elevated blood pressure and pulse
eye pressure
waves of dizziness
inability to bend over without extreme pressure in my head
non stop chattering of my teeth/jaw
pain so intense in the back of my head I couldn’t lay my head on a pillow
jerking myself awake when I started to go to sleep
post surgery: my neck has a baseline of mild ache at all times. it shifts now randomly, which results in bursts of more intense pain until it shifts somewhere else. the shifts can sometimes cause a milder version of the chattering again and a milder version of jerking myself awake, but overall everything is improved. my level of pain and my struggle to exist was severe between my accident and my surgery. I didn’t sleep more than short bursts of time that combined into a few hours for the entire time post accident until surgery. so, for me the surgery was very much life improving. I recently followed up with a local doctor and am in the process of getting new imaging of my neck to see whats going on in there now.
I tried to put mederma on them one time as soon as I got the all clear from Dr. Hackman and it made my skin itch so bad I thought I was on fire, so I didn’t use anything else at all.
@tp12 i’ll be super interested to see if you have CCI as well (somewhat common with whiplash, but underdiagnosed). From the sound of the onset after the accident and the neck pain & neuro symptoms, that may play a role. My MRI was “normal” other than a loss of lordosis, but I was found to definitely have CCI upon further work up. That required a digital motion x-ray (DMX).
Hi all! Just wanted to share my 8-week post-op photos - definitely coming along, it’s wild how much they change week over week - can’t wait to see how they look in a few months! Dr. Hackman definitely does a great job with the neck incisions! I’m still having some issues around the ears, but hoping those keep getting better with time.
Your incisions look AMAZING!! Thank you for posting pics. They will virtually disappear as the months pass. Mine looked like I had a caterpillar on my neck when I was about 3 weeks post op & I thought I was sunk as far as having them become “invisible”. Can’t even see them now!! You’ll get there, too.
They look absolutely amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing and keeping us posted on your recovery! Much appreciated! Praying for the ear issue to resolve ASAP!
