Really Needing Hope and insight!

Hi. I am not entirely sure, but I think that with contrast you can see the vascular structures, but it also makes the actual styloids not as clear. I personally sent Dr. Samji my CT WITH contrast even though I was advised he may not accept it by his staff. I sent it anyway because that’s what I had available and it ended up being enough for him. With Dr. Samji you don’t pay anything until he agrees to consultation so you don’t have much to lose besides postage if you want to try that.

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Thank you! The TMJ specialist that performed the cone beam CT is going to send the CT back to the radiologist and see if he can get a measurement of my styloids on that scan. I don’t know if this will be enough. Dr. Samji’s requirement was a CT of head/neck without contrast. I don’t know if he will except the cone beam CT. I don’t know enough about these scans.

I am 15 days post op surgery bilaterally with Dr Hackman. I do believe all your symptoms could be from es. When i had my consult he didn’t promise that symptoms would resolve. He saw the calcified shl and recommended to remove it and i am glad I did. The clouds of pain have lifted. That’s the best way i could describe how i feel. I was burdened daily with pain and now I am not. My styloids were 5 cm and Dr said they should be 1.5 cm. What a relief to have them gone.

Hi- I am not diagnosed yet my CT scan of my neck said “calcified stylohyoid ligament which is in contact with the left lateral aspect of the oropharynx”. I am still trying to find a doctor to see. I have an appt with one of the experts here but not for another month. I may send my disc to Samji too just to see what he says. I have thyroid surgery next week so I just want to get that done and see if any of my symptoms fade or not. I am starting to have bad left arm and leg pains too so my whole left side of my body hurts. At night when I lay down the pressure in my neck and head get so bad I feel like my ear drums will rupture. It is misery.

I am sorry you are not feeling well. I sure know the feeling. My CT stated that I had bilateral calcified stylohyoid ligaments that were consistent with Eagle’s Syndrome. Hearing that you also have calcified stylohyoid ligaments and were not diagnosed with Eagle’s Syndrome really scares me that maybe I don’t have ES. I’m holding onto hope that this is ES and can hopefully be helped through surgery.

I love your statement that "the clouds of pain have lifted. " It brings tears to my eyes. I am so glad to hear that you are doing better and that you reached out to me! My CT scan has only stated that I have calcified stylohyoid ligaments that are consistent with ES. I am nervous that this may not mean true ES because it did not state anything about my styloid process bone. Did you just have calcified shl? Can I ask what your symptoms were before your surgery? Thank you for taking the time to reach out to me.

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Hi Suzzetteas,
How are you feeling today? I hope your are still moving closer and closer to a full recovery! It sounds like our styloids are about the same size. In order for Dr. Samji to review my CT scan I had to send my originally CT scan back to the radiologist to have him measure the length of my styloids. I knew I had calcification, but was unsure of the length. His revision review stated that “the calcification is discontinuous and measures up to 4.7 in greatest length bilaterally. This extends to mid to lower aspect of the C2 vertebral body.” I am praying now that I am a candidate for surgery and God willing better days ahead. Now I am just waiting to hear from Dr. Samji once he receives the CT and the report.

Hi one_day! I want you to know that I am thinking about you and sending prayers for a very successful surgery tomorrow!!:pray: Please know my thoughts and prayers are with you!

Thank you so much! How have you been with getting your consultation with Dr. Samji?

My CBCT scan and the revised radiology report stating bilateral elongation of 4.7 is in the mail to him now. I’m hoping that this CT will be sufficient. If not, I am prepared to get a new CT so I can hopefully get an appointment with him sooner than later.:pray: It is a waiting game at the moment. I’m praying for much needed healing for you and that everything goes wonderfully! You are not from CA, right? When is your follow up appointment etc. if you don’t mind me asking? Can you fly home after or do you plan to drive?

I’m from Illinois. My post op will be Friday the 14th and he said I can fly home. I appreciate the support, I’m surprisingly calm all things considered. I came all the way here for this so there’s no turning back now which is probably why I’m feeling this way. I’m just missing my sweet son so badly today.

Happy Mother’s Day to you!!:heartpulse: I want so badly to feel better and be a mom. I just turned 36 though so we will see. I’m really glad to hear that you can fly after the surgery. Do you have your 2nd surgery scheduled yet?

Thanks! So far nothing scheduled for the left although I do have some symptoms on that side. I’m gonna see how this one goes.

I hope it goes great! I will be anxious to hear from you how everything goes.:blush:

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Hope this one goes well so you can feel comfortable having the left side done also. Get well soon!

Sorry, he will not accept Cone Beam CT. You need to get a CT scan of neck with specific orders to evaluate for Eagles. he does prefer without contrast but sounds like he will accept with contrast or has accepted it in the past.