Need a help with a doctor for differential diagnostics of IJV compression or possible formation in carotid sinus

I don’t know about the sigmoid sinus & what symptoms would be caused by that, but the carotid sheath which emerges from the jugular foramen contains the IJV, ICA and vagus nerve, so these are commonly affected by styloid compression, which is why often members have vagus nerve compression symptoms along with IJV compression. The accessory nerve also exits the skull base through the jugular foramen, as does the glossopharyngeal nerve, so these could be responsible for your ear and arm pain. The occipital nerve can be irritated if there are collateral veins in the back of the head, & that goes over the top of the head, also the Trigeminal nerve which again is commonly affected has 3 branches & one of those goes to the scalp at the side of the head. The only way to see the nerves is with a FIESTA MRI/ Ciss MRI, which are very hard to get…

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@Jules I still don’t reject styloids as possible cause of this, and even if they are not the main reason they still make an impact. But honestly I haven’t read about anybody who had all these at once…

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@eggisnotaplant - We’ve had a number of members who’ve had symptoms similar to yours all at once. It’s somewhat typical that ES symptoms can appear suddenly then disappear just as suddenly either after a few minutes or after a few days or weeks. We don’t know why this happens, but it does. In some cases, people have figured out the trigger(s) for certain symptoms but in others, there seems to be no rhyme or reason.

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@Jules @Isaiah_40_31 I’m sorry, I was not very clear on my last reply. I’m skeptical not about ES causing such severe symptoms in general, but my styloids in particular causing such symptoms and strict asymmetry (3 points simultaneously) - mine are not crossing IJVs or ICAs, and my IJVs only look a bit pancaked as @TML said. I understand that it is physiologically possible but logically there could be some more probable explanations for that.

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I actually managed to take a look at my jugular foramens on my temporal bones CT scan with 0.5 mm slices. And the right one I would say looks pretty suspicious

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I wouldn’t know the ‘average’ size of the jugular foramen, but there’s an obvious difference with yours, I just did a quick google search and there is a jugular foramen syndrome, did you find that?

Not that it would be easy to treat though :cry:

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@Jules I’m more concerned about the structure - the canal on the right side is not smooth at all with a lot of sharp protrusions (which likely also narrow down the space). And this area is strictly diagonally opposite to the area I had 60 kgs blowed into my head, i.e. in the root of the nose on my left side… The symptoms with pressure from the inside and pain in occipital area had started since then (20 years ago).

Thanks for the link - I’m digging into it right now… Haven’t seen about this syndrome in particular but about various kind of venous stenosis in the base of the skull.

Perhaps it is reasonable to consult also with neuroradiologist…

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Yes, looking at it & knowing that nerves & blood vessels have to pass through there, it’s easy to imagine them catching on those spiky bits! :hugs:

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@eggisnotaplant - Those look like little fangs in your jugular foramens. :scream: Definitely not a nice thing to find there but good for you looking closely at what else might be causing your symptoms!

The information about Jugular Foramen Syndrome is a great find on @Jules part! I hope you’re able to find a doctor who will take the time to consider this new finding as well as to help with your ES & vascular compression.

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