I had my 1st styloidectomy with shaving the C1 back in 2014. I looked over my discharge instructions I was given at the time. No driving or heavy lifting (more than 10 pounds) for 2 weeks, which was when I had my post-op. I was supposed to only spend one night in the hospital, but unfortunately I had complications. The doctor said it was really tight in there and he had to tug on a bundle of nerves. As a result, I was unable to swallow at all, not even my saliva. That lasted about a week, so I ended up staying in the hospital with a feeding tube (not fun). I was released once I could swallow things like pudding, yogurt, a single noodle from Mac and cheese. I think this complication is extremely rare - and it didn’t last forever, but it did take months before I could eat regular food. I didn’t have a drain, unlike a lot of the people who have this surgery. Also, after the surgery I had first bite syndrome which started out every time I ate and got less and less frequent over the course of a year or so. But getting rid of my 24/7 headache was well worth all the complications.