Whiplash accident in 2022, slowly getting worse and worse, I think adjustments at chiropractor right after whiplash worsened everything. My right side wouldn’t crack and he was a bit aggressive with my neck.
currently seeing dr misfud usf, he wants me to try other medications for trigeminal neuralgia. I was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia after whiplash and I’ve been on pregabalin for it, it helps the Paraesthesia in my face maybe 30%… I don’t think I have trigeminal neuralgia. He says both styloids are elongated with the right a bit longer. He says I won’t know I have eagle syndrome until after I have surgery ( IF I have surgery ) I’m more and more miserable by the day, no great doctors in network in Tampa. I feel so lost
Neck
Stiffness, worse on the right side.
Throbbing sensation in the neck (right-side ~30% of the time).[1]
Overall “tight band-like” sensation around the right side of head/neck.
Head & Face
Scalp burning, especially if sitting too long.
Tingling and pressure in the right temple, cheek (under-eye), and periauricular region.
Pressure/tingling in the right eye.
Intermittent twitching above the right lip.
Slight confusion / foggy feeling when sitting too long — feels similar to low blood sugar, but not actually related to blood sugar.
Ear
Persistent fullness and intense pressure in the right ear.
Sensation “like someone shoving a pencil into the ear.”
Tight “band-like” sensation involving the ear region.
Weakness & Function
Weakness and unwell feeling when sitting down or lying flat.
Improvement with standing, walking, and physical activity.
Unable to sleep on back (symptoms worsen).
Must press pillow into right side of head/face for counter-pressure in order to fall asleep.
Throat & Swallowing
For 1–2 years: choking sensation with solid foods (3–4 times daily), as if food gets stuck at the very beginning of throat.
No difficulty with liquids.
Respiratory / ENT
For 9 months: phlegm does not drain properly; must force cough to bring it up.
Antibiotics and inhaler tried (for presumed chronic bronchitis) — no relief.
Hello @Figuringitout welcome to this forum. I am sure @Jules & @Isaiah_40_31 will come back to you in more detail soon regarding your symptoms. There are other members on here that have had whiplash or accidents and now experiencing ES symptoms. My symptoms started with Trigeminal Neuralgia and ear fullness & pain on one side. I also have many of your other symptoms, worse when sitting better standing etc. Would you be able to upload the CT slice of your C1 vertebrae, its the bone with wings. I have included mine below for reference. I can’t quite make out if your CT includes contrast or not. I have been diagnosed with Internal Jugular Vein compression between C1 and styloid which ear fullness is one of symptoms including pulsatile tinnitus. The left side of the slice is your right. Other members are very good at spotting problem areas and will label your images.
Certainly your symptoms fit with ES, I also had a whiplash injury & had traction & manipulation treatment by a doctor which made symptoms a whole lot worse! Mine did settle down though & so it was quite a few years before it flared again & I got diagnosed. I had TN as well, ES is a cause of TN, where you’ve marked on your scalp is one of the branches of the trigeminal nerve, I had (& still do occasionally) get a sort of pressure/ boring/ burning feeling in that same place. The trigeminal nerve also has branches which go to the eyes and the lips, as does the facial nerve which is also commonly affected.
The glossopharyngeal nerve can also cause pain in the ear, this & the vagus nerve can cause trouble swallowing , choking etc.
I wonder if you might have internal jugular vein compression, as you mention feeling unwell laying flat; this can cause dizziness, an off balance/ rocking boat sensation, head & ear pressure…
Looking at the images, it looks as if you have an elongated styloid one side, & calcified stylo-hyoid ligament the other, although they don’t show up very well on the scans from what I can see
Hopefully others can chip in about that…
Unfortunately the only way to see which symptoms are caused by ES is to have surgery & see what resolves; no doctor will guarantee that surgery will cure everything, but if you see an experienced doctor then you’ll have the best chance of a good result. Have you looked at the list? I’ll put a link here in case you haven’t, but it’s worth travelling further afield to someone who’s done lots of surgeries, I don’t think your doctor is on the list? Some members have had to fly across country to see the best doctor…
And as your symptoms sounds like nerve pain from the trigeminal nerve, it wouldn’t hurt in the mean time to try some other medications as your doctor suggest, they might help you more with that.
Hi it looks like your styloids are clearly showing in these images, but unfortunately I cannot pick out your IJVs or ICAs. Maybe someone else better and reading CTs can help. Did you have your CT with contrast?
I’ve pointed out your styloids, C1, and what could be your IJVs. I can’t confidently label vascular structures (i.e., arteries and veins) because your CT didn’t involve contrast unfortunately. It’s hard to differentiate them from soft tissues (i.e., muscles) because they give off the same intensity of glow.
If you can, I’d download Radientviewer and open your CT imaging in there and clicking the button that turns your imaging into a 3D model to help us see the length and angle of your styloids. They appear they could be a healthy distance away from your IJVs but that your IJVs could be pancaked against C1. Won’t know until you get a CT with contrast though. The length and angle of the styloids are important when considering nerve irritation/compression, so we should at least be able to get an idea of that if you can post a 3D model!
Thank you for this info,dr misfud said both are elongated but didn’t say anything about calcified stylohyoid ligament. How would this change or would this change anything about my condition? Again THANK YOU
The stylohyoid ligaments, especially when calcified closer to the hyoid end, can cause their own set of symptoms as they can contact the nerves that often are irritated by the styloids but further down the line. Lower s-h ligament calcification can also run into the internal &/or external carotid arteries causing vascular symptoms that way.
I’m guessing that in the image I annotated, left is actually right & right is actually left which means the elongated styloid is on your right side. Since the ligament calcification is discontinuous on the left, it may be allowing your s-h ligament to retain the flexibility it needs to have in its connection to your hyoid bone whereas the right side is causing greater rigidity & thus the symptoms you have.
So sorry to hear that , I’ve been having similar symptoms like you , right side worse also I get pressure in eyes , pain back , headache right side only and pain shoots down to upper back. What I found that helps is dry needling in upper shoulder , acupuncture , and deep tissue massage or Thai they do a lot of stretching.
But chiropractor didn’t really help me much , like you said it makes things worse.
Have you tried using heat pad on that area ? Heat pads help sometimes .
Did you check out Dr Ryan Osborne ? Might be helpful
@OMM9420 That’s a crazy styloid , especially on the right! Getting up there with one of the worst we’ve seen, although not a competition you’d want to win!
I’m supposed to get it done Friday 12th but I’m seeing Mr Hughes tomorrow because I’ve been having ulcers on tongue , feeling sick , fatigue my gastroenterologist thinks it might be h pylori , I feel Mr Hughes will decide to postpone it again it’s 3rd time now, first time may 23 he postponed it because he was having a procedure himself then 6th June I got a flu . Now I might have h pylori, I don’t sleep at all because of the symptoms. But who knows he might decide to do it.
it’s 3rd time now, first time may 23 he postponed it because he was having a procedure himself then 6th June I got a flu . Now I might have h pylori, I don’t sleep at all because of the symptoms. But who knows he might decide to do it.
such bad luck .