Just a healing timeline perspective for you - I had 7th cranial nerve damage during my surgery, disabling one eyelid and affecting tear ducts and drains on the both eyes. It took 3 months before my eyelid returned to normal function, and 6 months for tears and draining returned to normal. I also got wound up with anxiety pretty quickly, which I think is pretty normal. Nerves take a long time to heal. My surgeon said whatever is going on 9 months out from surgery will probably remain. Also, elongated styloids are not necessarily the cause of all symptoms, which my surgeon reminded me of before surgery. My styloid removal fixed some important things, even things I wasnāt expecting like neck and shoulder pain, but it did not resolve everything, like balance issues and migraines. So, I am seeing other doctors to address those issues. I am so happy not to start to faint when my head is turned that for me the surgery was worth it. There are some vitamins that reportedly help nerve recovery, like B6 (first recommended by my hand surgeon), which I still take. Be very careful with Motrin and other NSAIDs, because they can cause stomach and intestinal bleeding, which I learned the hard way. Steroids after surgery helped me, as did lymphatic drainage massage around my face and neck.
@Catmd - thank you for sharing your experience! Itās important for my mental health to know the reality of what to expect.
Anxiety jumped in when things didnt show early signs of improvement. Much like being the person who thought, āEagles Syndrome? Not me!ā So too did I feel, ābut I recovered so quickly every other timeā.
Iām learning and this is all very much a point of growth for me. Maybe itās part of a grander plan.
I have been staying up on my B complex vitamins and it was also suggested to try hemp cream for inflammation which Iāve ordered because ibuprofen isnāt really a good idea - for the reason you share but also because Iāve had reflux surgery (misdiagnosed prior to getting ES diagnosis).
Like you suggest, I do have appts on the books for lymphatic drainage and Iām betting my PT will also consider neural manipulation in addition to any fascia work. Sheās truly amazing at what she does. Itās just unfortunate it takes weeks to get in to see her. Maybe this too is a blessing. So recovery has more time.
So with all this, I think Iām doing all things right and will just remember to refer back here when my concerns start to wane 
Thank you tremendously again! This really isnāt for the weak.
Hi folks!
So 5 weeks post op today. I began having some good days peppered in with not so good, but not unmanageable as where my original post derived from. This is good! Itās roller coaster-esque in that Iāll have 2-3 good days where I feel 80% human and then 2-3 days where I flare up and am less than comfortable. The oral burning is all over the board. Sometimes in my throat, sometimes the back of my tongue, sometimes both. Sometimes in a good day it feels like heavy grit sandpaper, sometimes like pins/needles, sometimes itās a burning but not an angry burn like pre-op.
Iāve had days of long-lived energy which is awesome! Amazing how much chronic pain takes us down. I notice the not-so-great days that Iām back to the couch early evening but in good days Iām a party animal often staying up until almost 10:00 at night! Woohoo!
Im massaging my incision a lot between vitamin E, Vaseline, hemp lotion and using silicone gel before I go to bed. The incision looks great, has flattened and even my son was surprised at how barely noticeable it is at 5 weeks. Although still ropey and I had one little suture that resurfaced that felt like a whisker - it took me days to get that bugger out but oh, so much better! I donāt know how men do it when they dont shave, lol!
I had a convo with my PCP regarding meds. Iām just not convinced that the Gabapentin is or ever has done anything for me so Iām tapering that and will begin Lyrica next week with hopes that it will help me through this nerve recovery. So thank you for the thoughts on the Lyrica.
This all brings some questions I think about and seek answers for that I was wondering if you could share input on:
Inflammation- thereās no definitive thoughts on how long inflammation can occur under an incision like this. To me, I feel inflamed still and it feels like itās putting pressure on the side of my throat and my inner ear making it feel like itās still full.
Is this even possible at 5 weeks or would it be more likely related to nerve recovery or possibly the numbness from the facial nerve being irritated a bit during surgery? Which brings me to my next question, what causes that feeling of ear fullness that we all experience? I thought Iād read that this too is caused by the Glossopharyngeal nerve but I canāt find the post Iād read that in.
I hope all are well. Thank you for all being truly an amazing bunch and sharing journeys! Peace & love!
So pleased that youāre having some good days! And having a bit more energy, thatās great! I had ear fullness (like when you swim underwater) & pressure but that was the vascular symptoms from the jugular being compressed- for me this went away quickly after surgery, although for others the swelling I think has made this symptom last longer. After my second surgery was when my ear & the side of my face felt like concrete had been poured down it, I think that improved after a couple of weeks. I would guess that maybe yours is still an inflamed nerve, which could take a little while yet to heal? The glossopharyngeal nerve could be the culprit or maybe the vestibulocochlear nerveā¦
I hope that the Lyrica does help you when you start it 
I was tender in the area for probably six weeks to three months, only when the area was touched (noticed it when my hair stylist was washing my hair at a hair cut) but not visibly swollen, so personally I do think inflammation could extend to five weeks. My doctor put me on Celebrex in the weeks following surgery, it did help but unfortunately I had an allergic reaction to it so had to stop. Easier on the stomach than ibuprofen and Tylenol. I had my surgery in mid October and then didnāt start feeling better until mid December probably. Hang in there!! It feels like forever but it does take a while to heal and notice improvements.
Sometimes it can be clogged Eustachian tubes or swollen soft tissue around. Also there is a chance the skull started moving in different patterns following the surgery ( 1, there is less restrictions after the styloid process not in contact with soft tissue or spine anymore when moving your head; 2, some muscles might have been āreleasedā; 3, swollen neck simply might prevent you from doing certain movements for now), and the soft tissue covers the Eustachian tubes more often.
P.S. The picture is just associative one, showing where exactly the āEustachian tubeā is and how/why it might be directly affected following the surgery ā itās near the soft tissue that is quite close to the styloid processes in anatomical terms.
@vdm - oh, these are all interesting thoughts. I donāt feel as though itās a clogged eustatian tube rather more like pressure being put against my inner ear whether nerves or tissueā¦or maybe some sort of inflammation. The area is very consistent with where my incision is too so thatās why I wondered what could be going on under there
Blossom, thank you. This kind of describes what Iām thinking. I even have some little pops or like bubbles that I hear that if inflammation had a sound, this is what it would sound like. Itās so hard because thereās just no way of knowing yet if I did known I could address and treat it accordingly.
Hopefully I follow a similar pattern as you and will see some more positive changes in the next few weeks.
Thank you for the positive words
Thank you Jules! Just when I think I have all the terminology down, āvestibulocochlear nerveā gets thrown into the mix. Yet another I should explore so that I understand better
Hang in there Hawk. Try not to over do it on the good daysā¦or you will pay the days after. I know this is easier said than done when you want to get things done.
I tried to get things accomplished in the am, then took one pain pill around 2 and chilled out the rest of the day. I had the benefit of steroids immediately after surgery which really helped and kept me to one pain pill a day (oxy). I found improvement in 2 week intervals. 8 weeks I felt was a big hurdle, then 12 weeks. I never found gabapentin to be helpful either. I hope Lyrica helps. If it doesnt, may want to consider a round fo steroids? or another med. I was given Pamelor (nortriptyline) in the past and it was very helpful. Unfortunately, its trial and error as not all drugs react the same in people. Give your self some time to heal. Take it easy and give yourself another 6 weeks. Hope that helps
Thank you Snapple- itās so terribly frustrating. I feel like even though Im advised I need patience, Iām also feeling like racing against the clock with all the āwhat ifsā and deciding on waiting for the pain to get better or pursuing more professional opinionsā¦it still feels relentless. I canāt understand the pressure under my incision - itās like itās putting pressure against my throat and inner ear. If I massage it, I might even get some very temporary relief of symptoms. Iām not feeling like Iām in a very good place at nearly 6 weeks post op.
You may want to consider setting up a follow up video chat with the doctor. I canāt say I agree with him on the prednisone vs the motrin. I have had many surgeries and I swear the prednisone after my ES surgeries were like magic dust and made everything so much more tolerable.
If your that miserable, I would suggest trying another round of steroids. If that helps, then you know its internal swelling and inflammation. I have never tried it but I have heard that cold laser therapy (some physical PT offices have it) is very helpful for inflammation. Also are you still icing your neck? Ultimately, if your not getting anywhere with the surgeon or PCP, may want to seek out a neurologist. I surprisingly found acupuncture with a TENS unit attached to help wake up the nerves in my neck after surgery. I had never had that before and I was shocked how well it workedā¦for me. Just some thoughtsā¦I hope that helps.
@Snapple2020 - I appreciate the time youāve taken to offer help and encouragement. Iām sorry itās taken long to respond. I certainly do value you!
6 weeks yesterday. Iām wiped out. Iāve tried to ease up on the forum a tad for I feel sometimes it stirs my anxiety, yet I find myself still seeking answers and confidence. Still end up in a pool of anxiety with really no answers. What a vicious cycle this is!
I feel certain all my symptoms are directly related to the glossopharyngeal nerve. Ear fullness, burning throat and back 1/3 of tongue- and it still seems to occur more positionally (more prominent sitting vs up and moving around). Still having that crackly noise that I hear in my left earā¦again, if inflammation had a sound Iād imagine this is what it sounds like. But Iām no longer comfortable suggesting this would be inflammation. Not sure what it could be. Was present pre op and was hoping it was just post op air bubbles from the incision that would go away.
Iām feeling pretty lost for lack of something more concrete to go off. Iām not expecting a solid diagnosis as in āthis is what you have with certainty and this is what will fix itā, but I question if I have taken ALL the right steps to make the best decision I could with whatās available to me? And what next? I feel like I need to pursue āsomethingā that makes sense so Iām not wasting time waiting around should this not be the answer. That is so dauntingā¦again. I found a capable surgeon who did his job. Whatās left is not within his wheelhouse.
I guess it feels right that the next step for me is to get a referral to a neurologist. For a couple reasons:
- Hopefully they will have far more insight on what Iām dealing with. Maybe even reassess my brain MRI and specifically review CN IX where the past review only looked at my ear canals and CN VII and VIII. Maybe Iāll get lucky and theyāll know something about ES, too. This goes back to giving me a better sense of security that Iām addressing the right thing.
- They may be able to better address medication and dosages than my PCP can.
I think itās time I establish a relationship with a neurologist anyway now that I have this better understanding of whatās going on.
I did spend a little time on Bens Friends. Thatās a difficult path for me to explore for knowledge. As if ES isnāt rare enough, should there be an issue elsewhere with GPN, thatās twice as rare! 2-7 people/Million? Wouldnāt THAT be just my luck, huh? Would be time to pick out some lotto numbers for certain!
I do continue to journal on my own and note how I feel each day. I review them often to try and regain some sense of clarity in that there have been a few good days/days of improved pain- not gone, but improved. I also refer back to this very thread and re-read the encouragement. Itās definitely not wasted words that have been shared here!
Anyhoo- itās just a bit of a downer lately and little sleep doesnāt aid in the outcome. This is an emotional ride that I wasnāt prepared for.
As always, much love & gratitude 
@Tjmhawk01 I agree with you that you need to take further steps in order to rule out other possibilities but because you had surgery recently, I would start with Dr. Omile by asking him whether he saw your GPN nerve being compressed by the Styloid or the Stylohyoid ligament or whether he moved/repositioned it in anyway during the surgery to decompress it. Any calcifications on your ligament that was not removed could potentially also mess it up. This, at least, will ensure that surgery is not to blame for this. Also indicate that it is postural so hopefully no scar tissue after surgery is messing with the GPN. If he did not do any of this and has not seen any compression of the styloid on the GPN, then it is time to ask your neurologist to do Fiesta MRI to rule out any other compressions of the GPN inside the skull.
@KoolDude - I agree. I have a phone call with Omlie next Thursday to ask these questions. The ligament was a plaguing question in particular, wondering what heād found because the op report is challenging for me to inderstand. Iām going to include it here just in case anyone is interested or maybe can make an assessment to help me ask the right questions. To me, it seemed to be a very uneventful surgery.
@Tjmhawk01 Hopefully you can ask him any mobilization of the GPN nerve. The only nerve that was mobilized/repositioned is auricular nerve according to the surgery notes. He also mobilized/repositioned branches of arterial loop of your eternal carotid artery. However, as is typical of Styloidectomy surgeries he dissected a number of muscles and divided stylohyoid and stylopharyngeal muscle/tendon which is not far away from the GPN path. In theory if these muscles are still swollen (due to dissections/divisions during surgery) inside the wound, they could be irritating/compressing the GPN. Perhaps, this is the best case Scenerio and plausible since you said when you press the wound a bit you feel a little relief if I remember well. if GPN was compressed inside the skull, any compression on the wound would not produce a relief is my logical assumption but I could be wrong. This should dampen your anxiety a bit as it is still early to rule out the healing wound as cause. Remember the older you are, the longer it takes to recover from these surgeries. It is also ok to pursue additional imaging on the wound just to see if there is still some swelling/inflammation inside. I also agree to get Fiesta MRI to rule out any compression of it inside the skull just in case. We have seen this with other patients as well.
This is an image from the internet showing you how close the GPN nerve is to the Stylopharyngeal muscle which the surgeon divided in order to strip the styloid from ligaments and muscles.
I agree with you & @KoolDude that a FIESTA MRI would be helpful & a referral to a neurologist. Aswell as asking Dr Omlie about the Glossopharyngeal nerve, Iād ask about the auricular nerve, & whether that could be inflamed after being moved during surgery- I donāt know if this is where youāre feeling the pressure, & that could be a cause?
I understand that youāre questioning GPN as itās so rare, alongside ES, but ES is a known cause of GPN, so in that sense itās not unusual. It could be that the styloid has irritated it, & maybe youāll get your answer if Dr Omlie saw it near the styloid. If it was, any damage caused by the styloid could well take quite a while to heal.
Hopefully a neuro would be able to help with medication. Keep strong, & a good idea to journal good days. Hugs & thinking of you
@KoolDude - some day I hope to meet each of you and just hug you tight like family! I appreciate an outside and logically reasoning perspective so very much. And you have so much knowledge on the location of all these muscles/ligaments/nerves, etc. This is valuable for me to hear someone share what lies where and in relation to what. When I tried to Google them, I just confused myself more.
I know what I feel but I cant completely place it. Even just shifting or pulling lightly on the incision at least gives me peace with the discomfort inside my neck though maybe not the burning. Iāll address this at PT next week-perhaps her magic hands will feel something that makes sense.
In the meantime, Iāll wait, Iāll ask more questions of Omlie and Iāll meet with the neurologist.
And take a much needed nap
@Jules -
The pain/fullness discomfort/feeling of a small golf ball in my neck is right where the styloid was. Right under my earlobe & behind the curve of my jaw. I canāt quit tell if itās pressure being put in that area or if itās nerve related. If I just lightly stretch my skin in any direction from the incision, I get relief there. Even my inner ear no longer feels full so maybe itās not nerve related? Then again, I all but had my finger stuffed in my ear pre-op to relieve the fullness then too. You can see my dilemma when trying to separate pre op vs post op symptoms.
Iāll get there. I have to!