Hi everyone
It’s day 21 after my bilateral styloidectomy and partial C1 resection.
From the symptoms: the pressure in the back of my head is gone. I can now sleep through the night without those terrifying awakenings and without the feeling of suffocating. The brain feels calmer.
My hematocrit, which used to be 51–52%, dropped to normal values. It looks like it was a compensation for chronic oxygen deficiency in the brain — the blood was thickening to deliver more oxygen. Hemoglobin and red blood cells also went down; they are still slightly above the upper limit, but much closer to normal now.
Ultrasound showed normalization of venous flow in the internal jugular veins. On the left, it was 110–120 cm/s at the top and 80 cm/s at the bottom — now it’s around 40 cm/s. On the right, it was 120 and 105 — now about 80. That’s a clear shift.
There are still muscle spasms in the neck and a feeling of tension in the back of the suboccipital area. I think this is due to biomechanical adaptation after the removal of the styloids and part of C1. I added light torso and leg exercises to take pressure off the neck, and it seems to be helping. I still sometimes wake up from muscle pain, but it’s not nearly as frightening as the suffocating feeling I had before.
But tinnitus remained, and although brain fog got about 30% better, it was still far from ideal. So I kept searching.
I noticed that my fasting glucose had always been high, but my HbA1c was low or normal, and my triglycerides and HDL cholesterol were very low. That made me think that there was a problem with how my body uses fuel. Glucose was in the blood, but my brain cells probably couldn’t access it properly or burn it effectively. At the same time, fats were also unavailable due to low levels and possible bile issues.
I tried a microdose of trimetazidine (8.75 mg), and after about 3 hours, my brain fog significantly decreased. My head felt clearer, calmer, and more stable. Tinnitus has also decreased by about 30%!
Trimetazidine helps cells switch from using fats to using glucose more efficiently. In a situation where the brain is under stress, or where oxygen supply is limited, this mechanism helps neurons produce energy in a cleaner and faster way.
I’ll keep experimenting with it and also work on improving bile flow, since that’s clearly another weak point for me.
Right now, my daily support includes:
- Rhodiola rosea extract (5 drops in the morning) as a mild adaptogen
- Trimetazidine 8.75 mg in the morning and at night (though I might reduce the evening dose as it seems to stimulate vivid dreams)
- Ursodeoxycholic acid (Ursosan) to support bile flow
- Light morning exercises to improve posture, circulation, and unload the neck muscles
I also stopped taking gabapentin - before surgery it used to give me a sense of stability and “life,” but now it just creates mental fog and heaviness. I tried citicoline as well, but it caused too much stimulation and internal tension. I’ll bring it back later, once the system is more stable.