Hello! I’m a 29 year old female from Canada. I’ve been dealing with severe pain now for about a year. My pain started on left side of my neck in the mid section under hyoid bone. It doesn’t hurt too turn head or swallow. I get left eat pain. When I push into my neck I can feel a “sharp like object” in my neck pushing against the esohogus. It’s farther down by the larynx. I had a ct scan and it stated… Extensive ossification of the stylohyoid ligament, left greater than right. The left stylohyoid ligament measures 4.1cm and right 3.4 cm. I’ve had this ct scan 6 months ago and not one doctor or my ENT told me about this… I just went on Friday too a new ENT and he told me this about old my report but never said I truly had eagle syndrome. But the ct scan suggested I did. He never talked about it after. He pushed on my tonsils and they never hurt and he said they would normally… I’m so confused and in pain I have no idea what’s going on. The doctors here are useless!!! This information about eagles and the calcified ligament was in the consultation report but not in the final report… So I’m also confused on why that information wouldn’t be in the final report… Isnt that important?
I don't understand either why it wouldn't have been mentioned in your final report.... all I can say is that your case isn't unusual, if it's any consolation! Many members struggle to get a diagnosis/ find a doctor to take them seriously. There seems to be much ignorance as to what symptoms can be caused by ES- I never had the classic pain on swallowing- and what length of styloids can cause ES, plus ignorance about how calcified ligaments are also classed as ES! You've mentioned the length of the ligaments- it's normally the styloid processes which are measured, not the ligaments? Sometimes doctors can press on that area around the tonsils, and it can cause pain, which helps in the diagnosis, but if it's more the calcifies ligaments causing problems rather than the styloid processes, then it might explain why it didn't hurt when he examined you.
It might be an idea to have a look at the list of doctors members have put together who are familiar with ES(on the top menu bar), and try a different one. If you search through past discussions, there's also the results of a survey one member did which shows the variation in symptoms we have, plus also in the research info section there's some useful reports showing symptoms depending on where the styloids are pressing. I'm not sure how many doctors there are on our list in Canada- if there's none near you, otherwise I would suggest reading up as much as you can on this, and taking stuff with you, either to a new doctor or the one you've just seen. Don't give up!
This is so frustrating!!! If I lived in the states I would have had to claim bankruptcy for all the specialists, physicians, xrays, ct scans, blood tests, ultra sounds. It’s been a year of hell and hundreds of appointments!!!im not quitting until this is figured out!! Whether it’s eagles or something else! I just had this pain in my damn neck!!! Where is eagles pain mainly located exactly!!! I’m having trouble trying too find out where the pain should be
It really varies- I'm sorry! I think my styloid was pressing on nerves, so I have pain under my jaw, toothache, ear ache and painful pressure in my ears. If you want to have a poke around in your mouth, sort of where your tonsils are, sometimes you can feel the styloids as lumpy bits, and usually gently pressing on them will set pain off. I also had pain when I moved my tongue much as the muscles for controlling the tongue are attached to the styloids. Often people have sore throats too, especially when talking for long. I also get pain and have a really tender spot left of the hyoid bone. It did seem to have improved post-surgery, but has returned recently, so not sure whether it's related or not! The calcified ligaments can cause a different pain to the styloids.
if you search for:
** NEW** ES SURVEY RESULTS- May 17, 2014
in the discussions section, you can find all the various symptoms members have had- and the journeys they've been on to get diagnosed will make you feel less alone!
I have trouble with my salivary glands, and also a slipped disc in my neck, so sometimes the different pains just merge into one blur, and I'm not sure what's causing what!!
Kelx - I agree with everything Jules told you. And yes, this is very frustrating to go from doctor to doctor and have test after test and they still don't understand or believe you have eagles. Lots of us have been there and can totally relate to what you're going through. Stand your ground and don't give up. Keep going until you find a doctor who will help you.
There are a lot of common symptoms with Eagles, but lots of us also have varied symptoms as well. Like Jules indicated, look at the results of the symptom survey one of the members sent out and look at the research information. Read back through the forum discussions too and learn as much as you can.
Thanks everyone for your support! One thing that really caused me too have severe anxiety was reading you can have a stroke and die from this!! Is this true?! I don’t get dizzy or anything. Maybe a slight headache here and there
There have been a couple of documented cases where the styloid process or calcified ligaments have partly blocked the carotid artery and caused a stroke. It's very rare, thankfully. If the blood vessels are being compressed you tend to get symptoms like dizziness, feeling faint, or blackouts even when the neck is in certain positions. I know it's a worry, but if you don't have those vascular symptoms then I'm sure you'll be fine. A CT with contrast, or an MRA (magnetic resonance angiogram) can show the blood vessels and whether they're clear.
Ok… I did have a CT scan with contrast, so hopefully they looked at all that, you just never know