Hello, I been battling similar conditions to eagle syndrome for a over 2 years now. Though ive been told that i dont have eagle syndrome. What is the recover process like post surgery. Since it is a very rough surgery in a very delicate area.
I had a trama to tbe same area two years ago i thought it was either Trigeminal nueroalgia, Glossopharengal Nueralgia, and Eagle syndrome. Knowing what i know now is that if in fact its not one of those conditions it has to be scar tissue build up constricting my diagastric, stylohiod and surrounding nerves. With that being said if it was scar tissue or adhesions causing this issue. Would it still be worth getting a surgery in this senitive area to subside the pain and discomfort. Also which doctor should I go to to have that opperation if the risks dont out weight the benefit of the procedure
The recovery for ES surgery does vary; it can take months for nerves to heal. Sometimes there can be scar tissue from the ES surgery too- some members have tried cold laser therapy to help, so there’s been some discussions about that which you might find helpful. Other things people have tried are PT, myofascial release & acupuncture.
Have you tried nerve pain medications?
I havent yet tried nerve pain medication. With the Cold lazer therapy and the other methods you mentioned do you recall if they had a reduction of scar tissue issues, and is there any type of mimially invasive surgery to get rid of the interal scar tissue?
Hi @Cdbruce! Welcome to our forum! Out of curiosity, did you get a diagnostic CT scan to look for ES? If so, did you get more than one opinion about what your CT scan shows? If not, you need a CT scan of the area from skull base to hyoid bone for a proper diagnosis. It would also be a good idea to get a second opinion from one of the doctors on our Doctors List who is in your area (we can make recommendations if that’s helpful).
Different doctors have different ideas about what ES is. Some look only for elongated styloids but don’t check for calcified stylohyoid ligaments which also can cause ES symptoms. We have members who have/had normal length styloids but have/had calcified stylohyoid ligaments growing up from the hyoid bone, or in the middle, between hyoid & styloid. ES is also not necessarily caused by long styloids but can also be from styloids that are normal length but very thick, angled, curved or twisted, so you can see it’s not always a straight forward diagnosis.
Another thing that a few of our members w/ ES symptoms have had is Hyoid Bone Syndrome where the greater horns of the hyoid bone are very thick or too long so that’s another possibility to check. Your hyoid bone should be visible on your CT scan if you’ve had one.
Yes, some members have found those methods helpful…you can have surgery for scar tissue, I guess it depends on how your body heals, as some of our members on here have a history of scar tissue forming so perhaps the surgery to remove it could cause issues?
It’s worth trying the nerve pain meds if you’re suffering that much- there’s info in the Newbies Guide Section about treatments. They can take a while to build up in your system so you might not see improvements straight away…
What is LDN. I just looked up Naprapath. Interesting because I have used an excellent DPT with fellowship in mandibular and intracranial issues. He went back into teaching. I moved back to my hometown and looked for a PT from the Netherlands because my other one was from there. I found one and she is really helpful. I will be in PT probably for life, but I am progressing.What does LDN stand for.
This is a tough decision. Some MDs thought I have ES and I went through the surgery and long recovery process but have yet to have long lasting relief for my chief pain/concerns. Dr. Hackman was my surgeon at UNC and was only 50/50 that I would have relief.
A different group thinks that my tonsillectomy went sideways and while removing my styloids helped, I need to consider having a surgical procedure for glossopharengal neuralgia. I am seeing a specialst for this at UCSF and also a provider in FL.
I’m really sorry you’re still having pain so long post op from ES, @JPB. I hope one of the two specialists you’ve mentioned is able to help you get rid of that.
So sorry that the surgery didn’t get rid of all your pain, you find the right doctor to diagnose & treat the GPN…Ben’s Friends do have a Facial Pain Group which covers GPN, you might find it useful to have a look at their site, there might be recommendations of doctors?
the only thing with LDN is that it takes awhile to get into your system I tried it and it did nothing for me but i didnt take it that long good luck with it
you find the right doctor to diagnose & treat the GPN…Ben’s Friends do have a Facial Pain Group which covers GPN, you might find it useful to have a look at their site, there might be recommendations of doctors?