So this nice little trouble maker was just removed! Dr. Cognetti and staff were wonderful. Hurts like hell to swallow now, likely from intubation. Drinking ice water etc. haven’t taken any painkillers yet n I hope I don’t need to. Maybe Tylenol and/or CBD oil. We shall see. The immediate improvement before all the swelling goes down is that there’s no more swooshing when I lower my larynx etc and no shooting pain anywhere. Oh well, let the road to recovery begin. Hopefully without any traffic
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That is a sight to behold. You must be relieved that its out! Ice/gel packs are the key when the swelling sets in. I wish you speedy recovery.
Nice to see evidence of the suffering - you will be singing again soon! Rest well 
TOTALLY AWESOME & gruesome at the same time! Glad that thing is outta there!! Keep in mind that you’ll have some anti-pain & anti-swelling benefit from the IV meds used during surgery for up to a couple of days post op. After that the real party starts. As BG mentioned - ice will be your best friend for the first week at least. If you start to have pain, jump on the pain meds of your choice. Then - going forward - take it as prescribed before pain starts as it’s hard to play “catch-up” to alleviate pain once you’re in pain. Days 3-6 (in that range) will be when the swelling is the worst. You should start feeling more noticeable improvements by the end of weeks 2 & 3 post op. So glad you can already feel a difference! Sleep w/ your head elevated to almost sitting up (obviously you can play around w/ angle to see what works best for you). This helps lessen both throat & neck swelling.
And, you’re right. Your current sore throat is likely from the breathing tube. I had that after my first surgery but not my second. Still haven’t figured that one out!
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That is one nasty looking styloid process! Definitely better out! Lots of patience needed in the coming weeks- there will be ups & downs as I’m sure you’ve read on here. On the good days don’t overdo it, easily done!
Keep in touch & let us know how you’re getting on, will be praying for a smooth recovery for you! 
@Isaiah_40_31
I think I figured it out.
When u have both elongated or thickened s/h there’s less space for the tube to go down so they kinda have to push it through … makes sense?
Also, happy to share that it’s all going uphill and day 3 was easier than 2 and 4 was easier than 3 ad Infinitum. Will post full post in a bit.
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sufferingsinger ~
Brillian deduction, Sherlock. I never thought about that but it does make sense. Also, w/ bilateral ES you already have inflammation down there & sticking a tube into that area only exacerbates that so it’s the “double whammy”.
So glad you’re feeling better. If you do feel some regression as time passes, don’t be alarmed or discourage. It is part of the healing process.