I posted back in October or so about the right styloid removal, and that’s gone pretty well so far. I still have some nerve pain, but quite a few symptoms greatly improved or resolved after the first round.
I decided late last year to go for the second round with the left side since the right side worked out so well, and Dr. Nakaji agreed.
While most symptoms improved, they improved 60-70%, and I was still experiencing quite a bit of pain on the left side - especially after the right side removal. I also felt really imbalanced and like I had a rubber band constantly pulling my head to the left side…probably because there was…causing various headaches and other issues. It was fairly obvious my left side was still a problem, and my best guess that removing it would fix those problems based on how successful the right side surgery was.
In between the first and second surgery, my wife decided it would be the opportune time to tell me that our marriage was over and she’s filing for divorce, so I flew to Arizona myself. Eagles and the process of getting diagnosed with Eagles took a large toll on myself for longer than I likely even knew, and our relationship. I knew going into the process what it was like after having the first side done, so I wasn’t particularly concerned.
I flew from PA to AZ again, stayed in a different place closer to the hospital this time, and had an overall shorter stay because I didn’t need the catheter venogram before surgery this time.
I landed Saturday, hung out and enjoyed Scottsdale and met up with a couple dates during my new single life to get my mind off of the surgery.
The process was very similar - I went in relatively early, got hooked up, checked in, etc. Unlike many surgeries, Nakaji & co do both nerve monitoring and make use of an arterial line for this surgery since it operates in a sensitive area. The arterial line is a special catheter inserted into your arm that gives a more accurate heart rate/blood pressure reading. This left a pretty serious bruise for a week after I was done.
I chatted with Dr. Nakaji for a couple minutes beforehand, we knew the plan was basically the same, and then we went in and I went to sleep. One interesting bit that he noted that I did not know previously was that the left side vagus nerve is typically the bit that’s most connected with your stomach and digestive system. I had assumed previously that both sides of the vagus nerve were performing similar functions, but was a bit excited to hear this as I’ve had various GI issues that I’ve been passively wondering would be resolved after removing the styloids. When I woke up, it was similar to the previous time - no real pain or issues immediately because of the meds outside of some throat pain from the somewhat larger intubation tube they use while doing nerve monitoring.
Once the meds wore off - I noticed one distinct difference from the last time around - my face was not numb at all. On the right side, there was a fairly large strip of numbness that persists until this day, and there was none of that this time around. Dr. Nakaji mentioned when I caught up with him after that they found the nerve more easily on the way in this time, and moved it out of the way before operating. The other bit here is jaw pain - he mentioned they use a fair bit of traction in the surgery - and my jaw was very painful for over a week this time around without the numbness.
This has some big pros and cons - the big pro being no numbness or burning, the con being that I distinctly was much more painful this time around because my face wasn’t numb.
I stayed the night at HonorHealth Osborne, which by the way is the best hospital I’ve ever had the pleasure of being in. Compared to the hospitals at home, it’s like a resort, and everyone is incredibly friendly. I had great overnight nurses, and a nurse named Kersten for two shifts that was an angel. Not that I’d particularly recommend going to the hospital or anything, but if you have a choice - go to this one.
I stayed in Scottsdale enjoying the weather during my recovery for another 5 days. The first night out of the hospital was the worst - I nearly called 911 because I woke up at 3AM with the most aggressive chills & shivers I’ve ever had in my life. Never had anything close to this, sick, previous surgery etc - thought I was either infected or sick. I took another round of meds and eventually got back to sleep and woke up feeling pretty fine.
I’m realizing in retrospect this might be vagus nerve related, I had a series of bizarre symptoms I’m assuming were related to the vagus nerve when my meds would wear off and I’d swell - chills, gnawing stomach pain that felt like hunger, etc.
Outside of that, the rest of the trip was uneventful and I spent most of my time sleeping, walking around the hotel grounds, and stretching at the advice of Dr. Nakaji.
I’m now almost in the second week of recovery as of Monday, and it’s getting much better. I still have a ball of scar tissue around the incision site, but it feels and looks great for the most part. I’m still experiencing a fair number of symptoms when swelling increases - but meds, ice, etc help that a fair bit and I get a glimpse of life without any cursed styloids, and my jaw is still pretty painful. My head pressure when bending over is almost fully gone, which I’m super happy about. Before the first surgery, I’d feel as if I’m almost going to pass out and get severe head pressure when bending at the waist. I was hoping there wasn’t another component to this, and it seems there isn’t.
Overall, it’s been quite a ride, but I’m very happy I chose Dr. Nakaji and HonorHealth in this process instead of settling for something locally. They are all professionals, great people, and top of class in terms of care. I’ll post again in a few weeks once the recovery is more settled in!
