Thanks for all the feedback. I had ES external surgery on Monday. Still having much pain in same areas as before. My Dr said it may take 2 weeks to see if the operation was successful. I called office and booked a followup for 2.5 weeks but then his office called back and said dr wants to see me in 2 months for post op… Does that seam right? He did answer some of my questions via e-mail but I have many more.
2 months sounds quite long, my experience is more along the lines of 2 weeks. By 4 weeks the post op pain should be minimizing so maybe they would be more open to that timing. Really nice to hear your surgeon is responsive to email. I don’t think it would hurt to try and schedule sooner if the office is amicable to that. Sometimes calling back and getting someone different works. If they balk you can always say you are having some pain and other questions you are hoping to discuss with the doctor, being pleasant is the only way to go. Good luck!
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My doctor did a follow-up 1 week post op & 1 month post op. Every doctor has a different philosophy for follow-up. You will have a good idea by 2-3 months post op which symptoms are better. It can take up to a year post op for nerves to heal & all symptoms to fully resolve.
I think you know that if your ES is bilateral & you’ve only hd one side removed the other can cause some symptoms to remain until the second styloid is removed. Also, those symptoms are likely to get worse as time passes until the second surgery.
Yea, just an issue on one side. Thanks for the feedback!!! I’m an inpatient New Yorker, I know I need to let it play out and hope for a little bit each day.
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I’m really glad to know you had unilateral ES & not bilateral. You will definitely have a good idea about how much surgery helped by 8 weeks post op which symptoms are better & which may take longer to heal.
I understand being impatient. You’d think once the styloid is gone everything would feel great, but noooo! Those darn irritated nerves have to take their time to recover. 
I’m UK, they do a standard 6week post op check up here, so 2 months is a little long, but maybe your surgeon is just a bit more aware of how long healing can take & would rather leave it longer to be able to see results better? As long as they’re open to seeing you earlier if you had a real concern, & answer email queries then that’s good. Hope that your recovery is smooth, and that you soon notice your symptoms easing!
I e-mailed with Dr and we agreed on a 4 week followup. He feels I should know how the operation went as the surgery swelling/pain should be down by then.
Frustrating as I have much of the same pain as before, but as everyone is saying those dame nerves take their time.
Also, Dr told me he took out some of the ligament and some of the bone. And it was very stressed.
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Great compromise! And wonderful he is that responsive to email so promptly! Hang in there, yes - patience is always the hardest part to “swallow” 
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I keep reading your comment over and over. It has been a great help. I need to stay in patients, it’s only been 8 days since my surgery. I can say that I dont feel the constant stabbing pain in my throat but the burning and irritation remain there a good part of the day. I did have a neurologist think that it could be ES or glasaphangiel neuralgia so that keeps poping into my head.
Glossopharyngeal neuralgia can be caused by ES, by the styloids irritating the nerves. If it is caused by ES it can definitely take a while to heal- nerves can take months to settle, we’ve had some members have found things have improved even a year after surgery! So sorry that you’re still getting pain, but unfortunately ES surgery is not often an instant cure. Thinking of you…
I’m glad what I wrote is helping you to be patient. I did have nerve pain & nerve problems that persisted, in some form, for close to a year after surgery, but, as I said before, I was fully functional by 2 months post op. They seem to disappear very gradually until one day you realize, they’re gone or so subtle you don’t notice them anymore. I am hoping & praying that will be the scenario for you, ronowe!
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