Newbie, Undiagnosed

Hi all,
Im new here! I am.undiagnosed and in a world of pain. Ive had had chronic headaches 247 for probably over 35 years. Recently i had a dry cough for a month. It was pretty intense. The cough went away but I was left wirh a worsening stabbing pain in my larynx area. It is so much worse when I talk! When my pain worsens so does my blood pressure, its been going up to around 145/100 at time. Weve tried all kinds of medications and now Im doing voice therapy at the request of a Laryngologist Im seeing. Weve done a CT with contrast of my neck (he decided that), normal.results. also a normal.ultrasound of thyroid. Been to 4 ENTs. I live in Raleigh NC. I was able to get an appt wirh Dr. HACKMAN but not until.Nov 2nd. Im in extreme pain amd cant work. Does anyone have any suggestions? Do my symptoms sound similar to anyones? Im goinf through this alone and donr know what to do while I wait for Dr. HACKMAN. Is there anyone else I should see or other steps?

Hi Dredmond1,

I recommend that you call Dr. Hackman’s office & ask to be put on a cancellation list as sometimes this can bump your appt. to a closer date. You can talk to a more local ENT about getting an ultrasound guided injection of lidocaine/cortisone. This is given in the neck or in the throat near the tonsils (depends on the doctor). Some people receive great pain relief from these but there is a limited number you can receive. Nerve pain medications such as Gabapentin (Neurontin) & Amitriptyline can also help take the edge off while you’re waiting for your appt w/ Dr. Hackman.

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It would be interesting if you could get a copy of your CT &/ or the report- unfortunately there is much ignorance about ES with doctors & radiologists, & they don’t realise that even styloids which are average length can cause symptoms if they’re angled or quite wide. Plus doctors don’t agree on what the ‘average’ length is either; some say 1.5cms, others 3cms…Also it’s important to check for any calcification of the ligaments, which can sometimes be missed.
From what I’ve read, the nerves to the larynx branch off from the Vagus nerve, & the Vagus nerve is one which can be affected by irritation of the styloids, so it could be an ES symptom. Quite a few members have also had a dry cough, so your symptoms could possibly be from ES. In the Newbies Guide Section there’s a discussion about common symptoms & possible explanations- you could have a look & compare your symptoms with those.
I’d suggest asking for a cancellation appt with Dr Hackman if you’re able to travel at short notice; it might be worth ringing regularly to see if they’ve had anyone who can’t attend.
Have you tried any nerve pain meds (like Gabapentin, Amitriptyline, Carbamazepine for example), it might help with your stabbing pains?

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Haha, Isaiah & I were both replying I think, sorry for the same advice!!

Great! I have both of those meds, I have started them for other reasons and quit. I am.already on the cancellation list for Hackman. Ill look into the injections.

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Thanks Jules
The Ct is soft tissue only, I do have the report and images in the Duke app
They said nothing about styloids.

We have quite a number of members who’ve had various neck scans & dental CBCTs over time, & elongated styloids, though present, weren’t noted because no one was looking for them. If your styloid(s) are elongated, they should show up in a soft tissue CT. That’s the type that Dr. Samji orders. He’s one of the most experienced ENT ES surgeons on our doctor’s list. The tricky part is whether or not the soft tissue CT shows the correct area of the neck. The styloids are best viewed in a CT of the area between the skull base & hyoid bone.

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If you could look at them you could compare them with images on here to see if they look long, or post them on here?