Makes me feel normal Isaiah.
Youāll need it! Hope it goes okayā¦thinking of you
Thanks Jules, Iām off to cbct today. When I woke up this morning I felt a disturbing muscles spasm from the right side of my head down to my right shoulder. Is it ES related. My ENT doctor rx me norgesic forte as muscle relaxant last week so I guess itās related.
Bongty1,
It absolutely could be caused by irritation to your accessory nerve. Not uncommon w/ ES. In turn the muscles from your shoulder into your arm & even down to your hand can be affected, but letās hope yours stays right where it is or goes away completely.
Thanks for the info Isaiah. Iām traveling now for that cbct.
Disaster at cbct. I gave them the request my ENT doctor made and specifically emphasize the styloid. Assistant canāt seem to know how to operate the scanner. Iāve been scanned 7 times and I feel like Iāve been over radiated. Canāt see my right styloid at 3d generated. The dentist/owner insisted I have tmd/tmj. Quoting me the cost of plating. He order his assistant to re scan. Assistant making errors because she cannot target the right spot six TIMES. The first one was supposed to be ok coz I already saw the right styloid. And it was long And angled or bended. I told the dentist thatās the one. But the dentist is still discussing me about tmj. Didnāt care about the SP. I told him Iām only here as per my ENT doctorās advice just for the scan and send her the result. When she saw my scan she canāt find my right styloid. Error she concluded. And I told her the story about the dentist. Iāll post here the last scan they did. I need your non medical professional opinion.
You can definitely see the styloid in the first image- very long & and angled, & quite a point to the end. In the second image if thatās the styloid, again itās at quite an angle, although not long, but the angle can cause symptoms as well as the length.
Such a shame they were not very competent where you had your cbct, but it does show the styloid, so not a waste! A CT with contrast is only necessary if you have vascular symptoms- dizziness, fainting, head pressure for example. Many doctors donāt worry about seeing that, they just want to see the length of the styloid.
We do see quite a few members who do have TMJD as well as ES, but ES is certainly a potential diagnosis.
So what are your next steps? Is your ENT willing to do surgery, & do they have experience? Itās quite a tricky surgery, so a good idea to see someone who knows what theyāre doing if you can. If they donāt have experience, a skull base surgeon is a good bet, or a head & neck cancer surgeon, as theyāre used to operating in that area.
2nd update. The dentist assistant messaged me that she retrieved the first scan she sent me the photo and I sent the photo to my ENT.
what do you think guys. My doctor requested for a raw file so she can do the measurement. Assistant already left the office. Too bad maybe tomorrow.Itās not the longest, but is longer than āaverageā Iād say, but the angle is interesting & could potentially cause symptoms, plus itās quite wide at the skull base.
The last post was my right styloid the one causing me the symptoms.
Hi Jules
My doctor is contacting some doctors with first hand experience on ES. She will give me a go if itās a go. Maybe youāre right Jules, the bended ended part might be the one causing these awful symptoms. Maybe some nerves are irritated? Thatās why Iām having trouble turning my head in any directions. Made me dizzy all the time.
The dizziness could be caused if in turning the styloid compresses a blood vessel, although not always. Some people have had dizziness caused by irritation of nerves in the ear, & it can be from jugular vein compression.
I hope that your doctor can find out some info- if you do think surgery might be an option, she needs to remove as much of the styloid as possible, ideally to the skull base. If any is remaining it can still cause symptoms. They also need to remove all the pieces, and smooth off anything thatās left. Itās easier to do this if the surgery is external, although members have had successful surgery with intra-oral. The nerves should also be monitored during surgery to make sure that theyāre not under too much stress. If sheās not confident, it would be worth you trying to see someone with experience.
Bongty1,
I agree w/ everything Jules said & do also suspect its the thickness & angle of your styloid that is causing nerve & potentially vascular tissue compression. It looks longer in the first images you sent than in the last one but that has a lot to do w/ the angle at which the image was taken.
I hope your ENT is willing to refer you to someone who can remove your styloid completely. If she argues about it not being long enough, there are some research articles that mention thickness, curve, how pointed or angled it is matter as much as length that would help you argue for styloid removal.
Hi Isaiah,
She didnāt argue about the length. Her suspicion is the same as yours and Jules. Something about the angle and thickness. I guess weāre on the right track. I can now tentatively conclude Iām not hypochondriac.
I think you can definitely conclude that youāre not a hypochondriac
Nothing feels so good as being validated, eh? ! Iām so glad you pursued a diagnosis & were right about what it is! Now onward to treatment!
Iām so glad Iām in this forum. Makes me feel angels are guiding me. You guys are great.
Need to fight. Need to live. For my wife and son.
Those are the two best possible reasons to take care of yourself, Bongty1!!