Did you have the whole parotid gland removed @MGORNEAU ? One advantage of that is the you might not get first bite, as it’s thought to be the parotid gland & nerves to it irritated following surgery…
I hope that your surgeries go well, are you having them a couple of days apart like Dr O usually does? Praying that all goes well, & let us know how you are when you can 
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I did have a total right parotidectomy with the accessory parotid. The saliva duct had sealed over and all the saliva was backing up into my face. They reopened it a couple of times, but it kept sealing again within about 10 days. The pressure from the backed-up saliva was hitting the trigeminal nerve, so I was relieved when they took the gland out. Parotidectomy can cause first bite too, but thankfully that did not happen.
Because of my work schedule, Dr. Osborne is doing one styloid on Tuesday and the other on Wednesday, which I am really relieved about. It’s a lot, but so is the travel, and it lets me start healing both sides at the same time.
I will provide an update once I am able to, I truly appreciate the prayers!
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You know, they told me what position, and from what I recall… don’t quote me on this… I believe they have you laying flat on your back.
I am also hypermobile with hEDS and I was concerned about being laid on my side while deeply anesthetized because I have bad subluxation of my jaw where it goes completely off the hinge and it’s very painful to snap it back in place… I believe they told me I’d be on my back so it probably wasn’t a concern.
I’m not sure if you’ve checked Dr. Osborne’s YouTube channel, but he has videos where he performs the surgery in graphic detail, if you like to see that kind of thing. It’s actually not that bloody, but they do show the process of accessing and removing the styloid. If you wanted to see what position someone was in, maybe check his YouTube channel. There are several eagle syndrome surgery/patient testimonial videos. Heartwarming AND good marketing, that’s Los Angeles doctors for ya. Doctor and TV star all in one. Not sure if you caught the fact that Osborne used to be the star of TLC’s “Take My Tumor” on cable TV. Funny stuff.
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Interesting tidbits about Dr. O, @loki. Famous surgeon turned TV & Youtube star!! 
BTW - The youngest person on our forum to exhibit ES symptoms was 8 when they started. His mother was a moderator on here for a while about 11 or 12 years ago. He didn’t get accurately diagnosed until he was 12 & subsequently had surgery. His mom wrote a book called Connecting the Dots about her journey w/ him as she traveled around the country trying to get a diagnosis for his symptoms. Because he was so young & began a rapid growth period after his surgeries, his styloids regrew so he had to have a second round of surgeries around age 16. As far as we know, he’s had no problems since then.
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I wanted to share a postoperative update following my bilateral styloidectomy with Dr. Osborne last week.
All things considered, I feel like I’m healing as expected for a surgery of this nature. The right side, which has been my most painful side, with facial swelling and excruciating nerve pain since 2016, was done on Tuesday.
The left styloid was removed on Wednesday. One of the most painful parts overall was leaning back when lying down. I found it helped a lot to support my head with one hand to take pressure off the neck muscles while leaning back, and sleeping at an incline made a huge difference, something I’ve read repeatedly on the forum.
On Thursday, when the right-side drain was removed, within a few hours the extreme pressure I’ve had on the right side at the back of my head was gone, completely gone. This was especially meaningful for me, as I had vascular compression, and this was the first time since 2016 that pressure fully resolved.
The pressure did return during my flight back to the East Coast, and I believe I’m now in the postoperative swelling phase that many people describe. Still, the key takeaway for me is that the pressure did go away, and I’m holding onto that, expecting it to resolve again as swelling subsides.
I do continue to have constant facial nerve pain on the right. Dr. Osborne was very clear and realistic that nerve pain often takes time to improve and that it can take several months. I am staying optimistic.
It took me a long time to figure out what was causing my pain, and even after I did, through a Stanford second opinion, I couldn’t find a surgeon willing to help. I don’t know if it was the complexity of my case or the fact that a couple of well-known institutions didn’t identify it, but I was losing hope. That changed after I sent my imaging to Dr. Osborne and he recognized the seriousness of what was there.
Everything Ioki has said about Dr. Osborne is true. He is a genuinely kind person who also happens to be a highly skilled skull base surgeon, and his entire team is compassionate and skilled. I am very grateful he was my surgeon.
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I’m glad you’re home & can heal properly now, & really hope that the pressure eases up again, as well as the nerve pain disappearing for good! Take care of yourself, praying that your recovery is smooth 
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Wonderful update, @MGORNEAU! Thank you for sharing your optimism & the glimpse you had of what will be in the future once your swelling is gone & your nerves can really begin recovery in earnest.
I’m so glad you were able to see Dr. Osborne. Another thing to remember during recovery is when you have good days, don’t jump in running, but approach them with baby steps initially. Starting back into the things you love gradually will help keep your recovery moving at a more steady pace. Many of us have discounted the “baby steps” approach & have paid for it w/ increased pain/symptoms that set us back for a couple of weeks. That is discouraging.
Some of my nerve pain took quite a number of months to disappear completely so you’re right to expect that. Some will disappear quickly which is a great relief, too.
I will also pray for your recovery to progress smoothly. I look forward to hearing periodic updates from you.
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Thank you for saying all of that, I can really see how easily that can happen. When you start to feel good, it’s so tempting to feel a bit invincible and take on too much, so the reminder about baby steps is helpful.
I know you and I had very similar nerve pain, and the eye pressure that feels like it’s going to pop right out of your head. I know everyone heals differently, but I’m curious how long it took for that pressure to resolve for you? And in your experience, how long does the post-op swelling usually take to dissipate?
There’s also a question that’s been lingering since I learned the styloids were the source of my nerve pain. Has anyone ever not fully rebounded from nerve pain after surgery? It has been so long, over 10 years with the nerve pain, that I wonder if they will be able to completely heal themselves.
And I always appreciate prays!
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My eye pressure was gone when I woke up from my left styloidectomy. That was one symptom from which I had immediate relief. I gather you’re still feeling eye pressure. I’m sorry if that’s the case, but your surgery was fairly recent so there is still plenty of time for that to go away.
Post op swelling usually takes 6-8 weeks to fully resolve. Just depends on the person. Mine was on the slower end. My nerve pain continued up & down for probably 6 months with gradual disappearance of symptoms bit by bit. I had some symptoms that took closer to a year to fully go away & my first bite syndrome has taken 11 years but is finally nearly gone! Who’d have thought nerves would keep healing for that long?!
Full recovery from nerve pain happens for some people, but most of us are left with a little residual intermittent but tolerable pain (which I’ve always considered a reminder of how far I’ve come). @Jules has trigeminal nerve pain that persisted after her surgeries so she takes a low dose of Amitriptyline which helps reduce that sufficiently for her. Some of our members have chosen to take nerve pain meds while healing from surgery then gradually wean off of them & that has helped them cope w/ severe post op symptoms until they’re reduced or pretty well gone.
We do have members who’ve had long-term ES symptoms & have had good post op nerve recovery so it is reasonable to think you’ll be among them. Just know that you’ll need to be patient. I found that some of my symptoms that hung on beyond 6 months disappeared at some point w/o me noticing at first. It was pretty sneaky of them! You may experience that, too. I’ll pray for your full recovery & patience as you await the disappearance of each symptom.
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As @Isaiah_40_31 says I do still have some nerve pain- it’s improved since surgery & I don’t get the numbness & tingling that I had before surgery, but it’s not gone completely. I do have other neck issues though, & this has caused a flare up of nerve pain recently, so it’s probably not all due to ES…
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Thank you both for sharing your experiences and knowledge. The main takeaway for me is patience, which I’ve learned a lot about over the years. @Jules, I’m praying they’re able to address your other neck issues and calm the flared nerves.
I’m truly grateful for this forum and for everyone who gives their personal time to support others along the way.
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Thank you…I think alot of mine is muscle tension which I need to work on, myofascial release has helped lots too…
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