Hi all! My name is Sam, and I was diagnosed with Eagle Syndrome officially in March 2024 after many different potential diagnoses over the three years prior. I was first informed about Eagle Syndrome in 2023 and have been doing research since then. I have read many posts here over the last few years but only just decided to make an account officially, as I am coming up on my surgery date and could use some extra prayers and support from people who understand what I am going through. My surgery is August 8th with Dr. Cognetti, and I could use any prayers, support, recovery tips, etc. that anyone is willing to give.
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Praying for you and the surgery goes well!!!
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Hi @Sammi - Welcome to our forum! Here’s a very thorough post our moderator @Jules wrote regarding surgery. If you scroll down a ways there is a section on surgical recovery which will be helpful for you:
I’ve put your surgery date on my calendar & will be praying for you that day in particular. We’re happy our site has been helpful for you on a general level, & now we hope we can be helpful on a more personal level. 
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Thank you!!
Thank you so much! I look forward to reading that post! Your prayers are so appreciated 
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Glad that you’ve been able to see Dr Cognetti for your surgery!
In the section @Isaiah_40_31 has posted a link to, there’s also a surgery shopping list which one of our members put together to help members… The past discussions can be helpful as well if you want to search for recovery/ what to expect after surgery…
I’d say firstly get pillows prepared to sleep propped up which helps with swelling, to have ice packs as well for that. Be prepared that chewing or opening your mouth wide could be tricky so smoothies & soft foods might be needed. I couldn’t drive after my first surgery for a few weeks as it was too difficult turning my head, so that’s something to consider, although all our surgery recoveries are a bit different. Symptoms may well take a while to go, so don’t panic if they’re not gone straight away, and also the general anaesthetic drugs can mask pain/ symptoms initially, so sometimes members feel great, but as these wear off the pain can return & people start to doubt what they’ve done. Days 3-5 can be the worst for swelling. And symptoms can come & go for a while, so recovery is up & down, & don’t overdo it on the good days!
Praying for a successful surgery!
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Thanks so much for the reply! I have been looking through some of the recovery shopping posts, and they have been really helpful. I’m definitely looking into ice packs and am thankfully used to sleeping elevated, as I already have a wedge pillow for my reflux. I already told my mom, who will be my primary caretaker following my surgery that she gets to boss me around because I know I will try to do too much when I am feeling good. I’m usually very active and a very “go go go” kind of person, so I told her she needs to not let me do too much too soon. I also told her it is her civic duty to get me ice cream the first few days 
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@Sammi -
Your reflux may go away after your styloids are gone. That can be a symptom of vagus nerve irritation. Hoping for that for you! I am go, go, go, too, & ran a 15K race 6 weeks after my first ES surgery. Ended up walking the second half because my throat started swelling & I was having a hard time breathing - too much too fast! It was 2-3 months after surgery before I could start doing more aerobic type activities & even then I had to ease in. Couldn’t jump back in with both feet.
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I will mark my calendar to pray for you on August 8th.
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Ice cream sounds very good, I’m glad that you have your Mum for support afterwards!
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Thank you so much!
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Me too! My mom is the best!
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Small update: Upon everyone’s recommendations, I ordered some supplies. I ordered two neck ice packs yesterday that will be arriving shortly. With those, I will have three to cycle between. I also started ordering some items to help protect my scar from the sun since it is still summertime and I am so fair. Dr. Cognetti warned me to be very careful with the sun due to my complexion, so if anyone has recommendations for coverings, best sunscreens while healing, etc. I’m open to those suggestions as well.
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That would be so great if my reflux lessens. I plan to go back to personal training more quickly than the rest of the classes/cardio things that I do, so my trainer can help me ease back into everything and give me some less intense but effective workouts as I build stamina again. I primarily focus on powerlifting and Olympic lifting so I want to make sure I don’t lose too much progress while still being cognizant of not doing too much too soon.
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@Sammi - You should wait at least 6-8 weeks post op to do anything w/ heavy weights. There is lots of healing going on internally that won’t be visible to you, but you’ll definitely know it if you overdo w/ exercise too soon. I know it’s super hard to let training that you’ve worked hard on go for a while, but if you give your body the healing time it needs, you’ll come back strong & regain what you’ve lost w/o as much effort as it took to achieve it initially. I speak from experience. I was a marathon runner when I was diagnosed w/ ES, & I pushed myself to do a 15K run 6 weeks after my first ES surgery. BIG MISTAKE. It brought on some scary symptoms during the event & set me back for several weeks.
Re: scar/incision protection - My surgeon recommended Mederma Scar Gel w/ Sunscreen which I used. He said to protect the scar for the first year post op. I used the Mederma for several months (don’t remember exactly how long). A number of our members have used Silicone patches. Cica Care Gel Silicone Patches & Scar Away Silicone Patches have been mentioned here among some others. I think they’re all available on Amazon. A few have bought themselves some cute neck scarves to wear.
My incision looked like a caterpillar on my neck at 3 weeks post op but healed is virtually invisible. Surgeons tend to put the incision in a neck crease which helps hide it once healed.
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All good advice! Dr. Cognetti said not to be discouraged about how the scar looks initially because it will be very apparent especially with my fair skin, and he showed me the crease where he will put it so it should heal nicely. It’s good to hear that others have had good fortune with scar healing though rather than just hearing about it in theory.
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@Sammi - everyone has given you great advice for recovery! For the scar, my surgeon recommended the silicone scar sheet after all the stitches are gone. She said to use them daily for the full 8 weeks. I put mine on overnight (8-10 hrs) and used a scar gel during the day. My scar has flattened out and once the slight discoloration goes away, no one will know. As so many have recommended, don’t do too much too soon. If you have general anesthesia, you need rest as you will most likely tire easily. Go back to training slowly. You will thank yourself later! Prayers for successful outcome!
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Thanks for the tips! I already told my trainer I want to come back and work on things more related to stretching and not losing mobility needed for harder movements rather than on the actual big lifting things. It seems like it will be stretching, light walks, and light weights for at least a few weeks instead of the high level classes I will be taking. I’m comfortable with many of the trainers at the gym and have a whole group of people to holler at me if I’m going too hard
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A couple of things I found which aggravated recovery after surgery were hoovering/ sweeping, & ironing, so that might give you an idea of how gentle you need to be with yourself afterwards!
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