I think if you can it’s best to see someone with more experience- just taking the tip off would be unlikely to help reduce symptoms. Sending the scans to Dr Samji is a good idea, & well done again!
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I second Jules opinion 100%!!
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Sent them off today. ETA is Friday and his assistant said it would be a couple weeks before they would contact me.
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Just an update. I heard from Dr Samji’s office that I have been approved for a consultation. That was quicker than I thought. @Isaiah_40_31 can you give me any info on the phone consult and what to expect? Thanks!
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HOORAY! I’m glad you got a timely response, one_day! Because I live near Dr. Samji’s ofc, I haven’t had a video consult so don’t know exactly how they work. I suspect it will be something like a Zoom meeting except it will be just you & Dr. Samji. I have heard his consults are 45 minutes which will give you plenty of time to discuss your CT scan & ask him any questions you have. It’s wise for you to write down your questions ahead of time so you don’t suddenly remember something important you meant to ask after your consult is over. There have been many discussions on our forum about questions to ask. You can search for them by using the magnifying glass icon. If you have trouble finding any, please let me/us know, & we’ll provide some links for you.
We’d like to know how the consult goes if you’re comfortable sharing some details when it’s done. 
We know that he does external surgery, so you don’t need to ask about that…we suggest that you ask doctors how much of the styloid process they remove (back to skull base is the best for a positive outcome), if any’s left if they’ll smooth that off. We also suggest that you ask about your CT- ask if there are any calcifications on your stylo-hyoid ligaments, & if so, will he remove them. We suggest that you check that nerves will be monitored during surgery, and ask about post-op care- if you’ll be given steroids for example, & what pain relief you’ll have.
As you might be travelling it’s a good idea to ask about when you’ll need to go for a pre-op, and also when he’ll do a post-op consult, as obvs you’ll have to stay close for that. It has been discussed in other posts, but that was pre-Covid, so I don’t know if anything’s changed.
Hope that it goes well!
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Thank you both for the advice. I’m a little discouraged today. I got the email yesterday and was told they would call me yesterday afternoon to schedule the phone consult. I still haven’t received a call and I did email this morning to inquire. I’m sure something came up, but I hope I will still be able to do the consultation. I felt like I was making really good progress.
Hi one-day,
Don’t despair. Unfortunately, there does seem to be some lag time w/ Dr. Samji’s ofc. I’ve heard more than one person comment that they didn’t receive a call back, email or some promised communication on the day expected. I’m glad you followed up w/ an email. That lets them know you’re on top of things, & I’m sure helps push the process along. There can be various reasons for a delay in appointment scheduling w/ the main one being the doctor’s schedule isn’t perfectly set for a given week, so they want to make sure you’re scheduled when he can give you the expected amount of time for your appointment. Keep applying gentle, friendly pressure until your date is set. 
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@one_day - Welcome to the Club! I am so glad that you will have a virtual appt with Dr. Samji. Hopefully, you are on the road to recovery with the right doctor. Those are pointy styloids!
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Just an update. I was devastated yesterday to find out that Dr. Samji has to reschedule my consultation this Friday. They pushed it back another week. I broke down crying which made the pain worse, but sometimes we just have to let our emotions out. I was counting down the hours to this appointment and am truly not ready to wait an additional 7 days. I wish there was something I could do. I will be making some phone calls to people closer to home now since I have another week to do so.
Hi one_day -
I’m sorry your appointment was moved a week later. I totally understand how frustrating that is! I had a bike accident one week prior to my second ES surgery w/ Dr. Samji that postponed my surgery by 3 months. I cried & was totally devastated for a few days. I was in as much pain from ES as I was from the cycling injuries.
Here are links to posts for Dr. Cundiff & Dr. Miloro if you want to check them out. You can send a private email to the members who made the posts to ask questions about their experiences. Any ENT skull-based surgeon (usually a cancer specialist) will be familiar w/ the area of the neck/skull where the styloids are. You could at least get an opinion from someone closer to home, but w/ COVID19 precautions still in place, you may not be able to get an appointment any sooner than next week.
https://forum.livingwitheagle.org/t/latest-doctors-list-2017/2412/2
So sorry that you’ve had another delay…it’s really frustrating I know (I had my 2nd surgery cancelled the day before & then had to wait another month), but in the grand scheme of things it will pass & you’ll get through this time- keep strong, you have to keep fighting for yourself. Sending you a gentle hug
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I got a call from Dr. Samji’s office that they could move my appointment up one day. So I’m now scheduled to do my zoom appointment with him on Thursday evening (my time). I’m so anxious mostly because if he agrees to do surgery I’m really scared. But the truth is I spend almost all of my time confined to my chair and it’s really difficult for me to even get my mind off the pain for even a few minutes. This is not a way to live so I need to get on with it.
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That’s great news! A step forward, for sure. Agreed that when pain gets to the point a person can’t function, it’s time to take drastic measures (such as surgery). Getting your life back would be very wonderful. I hope he offers to help you. Please let us know how your appointment goes.
Thank you. My pain is less in the mornings so now I’m sitting here thinking I don’t need surgery. I just don’t know. Do you think there is a chance he won’t offer to help me? I was kinda thinking that since he saw my scans and is charging me $500 for a zoom call that I was pretty much gonna be approved for a surgery. I’m hoping I’m not wasting my money.
Dr. Samji won’t consult with someone for ES if he doesn’t see ES. I think you’re safe in that regard.
ES symptoms do come & go & then come back. Sometimes they’re bad then less bad. The only cure is getting the styloids removed so you’re on the right track. 
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Thanks. Today has been awful. I have so many odd things going on that I can’t help but feel like there’s more to it than this. I have read so many posts here and it seems that others have more intense pain than I do, however my other symptoms I can’t quite find anyone to match them. I feel so unwell, I just can’t understand how I could feel this badly and no doctor can find the answer.
one_day,
That’s ES for you!! It can be a “whole body” experience for some people. It can make you feel completely awful.
Other ppl have more localized pain. Just depends on what the styloids are irritating & how your body responds to that.
It’s truly amazing how surgery can transform all that back into feeling good again. 
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Oh I so hope you are right! I know you have first hand experience with this and I really appreciate you taking so much time to reassure me. I read other posts about people like working out or whatever and I’m like okay I can’t even grocery shop. I just physically can’t make it through it. I need help with pretty much everything and I’m in my 30s. It’s so hard to feel this way and it’s getting worse every day. I’m praying this is the miracle I’ve been waiting for.
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I think having your styloids removed will make a huge difference in how you feel one_day. It takes awhile after surgery for things to settle & since you have bilateral ES, it may require two surgeries (one for each side) for your symptoms to really go away or mostly so but the healing/down time after surgery is worth every second when it means your life is being restored to the way it was before ES.