Just wanted to update that I had left side removed yesterday and am feeling ok. Having difficulty swallowing and throat is burning a little. I have some pain behind left year, but not sure what was actually done or taken away until I see Dr. cagnetti on Thursday.
Is this all normal
Sounds like you’re doing okay- it’s quite normal to.have some pain & difficulty swallowing, opening mouth wide is often uncomfortable too. Most people can only eat soft foods or liquids afterwards. Everyone’s recovery is a bit different depending on what nerves were affected by the styloids, & the position of the styloids means diffetent nerves have to be moved causing irtitation. So burning, numbness & tingling can be from nerves irritated by surgery, it will improve, but can take weeks, sometimes even months. Soecpect discomfort for a while longer!
To keep swelling under control we suggest sleeping semi-upright, & use wrapped ice packs regularly on your neck- reducing swelling will help the nerves.
Best wishes & hope that you soon see benefits of surgery, God bless!
Thank you so much. I am not sure what nerves or how the surgery went. dr. c just said everything went well. I am hoping for more info this week at my post-opp appointment. I guess I didn’t expect all the pain in different areas and my mouth is on fire.
1 Like
This all sounds par for the course, all part of the response to the intricate dissection and healing response. Hang in there! It can take ~6 weeks … standard tissue healing time.
A little bit of bicarbonate of soda dissolved in water can help burning mouth if you rinse your mouth with it- we’ve had a few discussions about that.
Hello, how do you feel now? I had a surgery four days ago, and still in discomfort and my neck is hurting. I cannot open my mouth . I had intraoral surgery
I think that is normal, my jaw was just able to open after day 9 or 10. I am still very sore around my ear and around Tmj joint. Also, the back of my head is sore near c1.
How are you both doing now? Are you feeling better? I hope so! It can take a couple of months for the worst of the pain to go away & up to a year for the nerves to heal after each ES surgery. It is a slow process but for many of us, the surgery has restored our ability to get back to doing what we love in life. I hope that will be the case for both of you.
1 Like
hi Isaiah,
I’m feeling better if we talked about post surgery condition, but my pain and spasm inside my mouth came back.
I’m so descouraged. I had high hopes on this surgery, but it seems that I’m one of those people who has to investigate further.
my old pain is back with a spasm, having reaction on acidic food again. I did not have acidic food after my surgery, yesterday I do and it was all back with the same intensity.
eh, I’m so upset . also my personal life is falling apart, I’m separating from my husband. so it’s just hard right now.
anyway I’m not giving up and I want further investigate my tonsils. it’s bigger on the right side, it’s where is the pain. it does not hurt when I toush it, but if I press on it the pain would flare up. I wonder if anyone had a case like mine
update:
So I went to ENT doc. he said it should not be the tonsils. I contacted my surgeon as well, he said to wait more to the the end result. it’s just that yesterday I was so descouraged by the pain that I panicked.
anyway I was evaluating the pain, the old one I mean, and it’s a bit less, I mean the territory. before I had spasm not only inside the mouth but also outside on my face. now I do not have it. but u need more time to make sure.
I just wanna be pain free and stop taking the pain killers.
So sorry that you’re having such a rough time…thinking of you & sending you a gentle hug 
natasha,
Full recovery from ES surgery can take 6 months or more. You’re still somewhat early in your recovery. You will notice that symptoms come & go. You’ll have good days then some harder days then better days again. The nerves can hurt as they heal & seem to go through cycles where they cause pain then stop then flare up again then stop. The good news is - over time, you’ll have mostly good days & few that are really painful then hopefully none that are painful.
The way you described the onset of your pain makes me wonder if you have First Bite Syndrome. It is not uncommon after throat & neck surgeries. FBS is where you get intense pain in your throat, face & even in your scalp when you take your first several bites of food. The sharp pain stops after a few seconds & you can go on to eat normally. Foods that are acidic, very sweet, salty or spicy can especially cause FBS to flare up. Usually FBS gets less intense over time then usually goes away. I found that staying very hydrated so my saliva was less concentrated helped make the pain less intense when I had FBS after my ES surgeries.
Since you are going through a hard time emotionally w/ separating from your husband, that causes stress which can cause inflammation which will also cause your symptoms to flare up so this period in your life may slow your healing down a bit. Try to be patient. If you’re still taking prescription pain medication, you could try switching to over-the-counter varieties like acetaminophen (Tylenol) &/or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin). Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory where acetaminophen is only a pain reliever.
I’m glad you felt better today & got confirmation from your doctors that healing from surgery will take more time.
2 Likes
Thank you Isaiah for your kind words and support 
I’m a very patient woman, it’s one of my strength. But it feels good when there are people around you who help you to take your anxiety down🙏
I’m so greatfull for your interest and support
I think I did not have a bit syndrome, just this weird sensitivity to acidic food and drinks. Today I had nuts, I chewed them on the side that was operated, it did give me a bit of pain while chewing, so I switched sides.
The pain that I have now is like before but not exactly, I cannot explain how. And it’s less if we talk about territory. And I’m already glad for it. Just need to keep my cool😅
Anyway I started walking outside and doing light exercises, and this makes me so happy. I could not do it before, the pain was occupying me. It is less now, and this makes me so glad 
2 Likes
And my doctor is so amazing 
, he stays with me even after the surgery and give me support of I panic. It happened about four times since surgery. he is very patient I wish I could add him to the list of doctors who deal with Eagle Syndrome. He said he wants to spread the word among the doctors to help more people who suffer from it
1 Like
natasha,
If you send us your doctor’s name & contact information, we can add him to our doctors’ list. Some doctors ask not to be included but if yours is ok with being on our list, we’d love his name, etc.
So glad you’re seeing good improvement since surgery. Being able to exercise, even a little bit, is so great!
1 Like
Isaiah, I will check with my doc if he is ok with this
Hi @Isaiah_40_31 ,
Thanks for checking back in with me. I actually came down with Covid during the holidays, so my headaches were back but I think it was due to covid. I got nervous because I thought that the surgery didn’t work since that was a main issue of mine. Other than the Covid, my surgery spot is still very sore. Dr. C said that the styloid was not very long, but it was angled toward my jaw and was pressing against my jaw nerves and my c2, which would explain my jaw pain and also my occipital headaches. My left shoulder is still a little pain, but stretching helps. I started using a cervical support pillow and it’s been a game changer. It allows my neck to stay in place during sleep and I feel that the surgical site feels more secure and I get to heal during the night. The pain around my ear on TMJ join is still very inflamed and the temple region. I also have that first bite syndrome that I keep reading about. It has been getting better but is still there. I do think that I am getting better and ice really helps. I am going to go for lymph treatment in the middle of January, which I think will really help with my healing. Thanks again for all your comments and advice, this is definitely been a long journey but I am seeing the light now.
3 Likes
So glad that you’ve turned a bit of a corner with healing, & very glad that you got over Covid…
I’m really pleased that you’re able to do a bit of exercise & are in a bit less pain! Hope that you keep healing well, God bless x
1 Like
WOW! So glad you recovered well from COVID. My daughter had it (she’s a nurse) & hers started w/ a headache for several days. She had a mild case fortunately, & I hope yours was too. I’m so glad you were able to peg the return of your headaches on COVID & that they weren’t recurring as a lingering ES symptom. I do sympathize w/ the FBS & am glad to hear it’s going away.
Great news that you’re noticing positive changes since surgery. Also the cervical pillow is a good discovery. I think others have used them w/ good outcomes. I hope the lymph treatment helps you a lot. 
1 Like