Hi @Carabear708 - I can see the difference in your traps. Your right side looks relaxed & the left, contracted. It’s good your left IJV is less compressed than the right, but the shoulder pain is coming from your accessory nerve being irritated. We’ve had a couple of members who’ve had IJV compression caused predominantly by their accessory nerve & secondarily by the styloid & C-1 transverse process. I’m not going to speculate this is your situation, but just want to say the accessory nerve is definitely present in that area so when you get your second styloidectomy, the accessory nerve should get some relief that will help reduce or eliminate your left shoulder pain. In the meantime, a muscle relaxant, as @Jules suggested can be very helpful.
I’m glad you’ve got one surgery behind you & hope that your noticing some positive results already. Your incision looks really good!!
So far so good!!! Huge symptom relief on right side. I am in huge flare in left shoulder, neck, optic nerve disturbances with pain in eyeball. It is terrible. Muscle relaxers do nothing. Been on many. Thank u for your reply.
Your left side may calm down as you heal from your recent surgery. I expect it may have gotten flared up by the position your head was in during your first surgery. Do all the suggested things for early post op like sleep & rest with head elevation (30°is good) & ice your neck (both sides for 15 min, every couple of hours). If ice doesn’t help, you can try heat.
I’m sorry muscle relaxants don’t help. You’re right. Getting the other styloid removed should make a big difference for you. Please remind me who did your surgery.
Dr Old at Ohio State University! Thank God for him!!! Because he will do my other side. Prior surgeon took half of my hyoid and the stylohyoid ligament only and closed me up! Did not take styloid that wasn’t what we agreed upon. Then I didnt find out about him not doing until 2 yrs later! Going back to him for my right side because it was killing me, and explaining that my left side is still killing me. He didn’t even volunteer to tell me you didn’t take the styloid. I found it myself after he ordered a soft tissue CT scan with and without contrast, and I know how to read them a bit. Took home the copy of it that night and discovered my right jugular vein was severely compressed in my left side was partially compressed. He didn’t have much to say when he saw all the compression. I had already made the appointment with Dr. Old at that time I wasn’t gonna let him touch me again. Just insane! I have thoracic outlet syndrome on top of this. Had left side done for that after what I thought was my eagle surgery. Had no relief after both of those surgeries on the left side. Then find that out so I’m gonna end up getting the left side done once my right side is healed and I’m hoping that this is my cause of shoulder pain and I don’t have to have a redo for tos.
