Looking great!!
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Looks glad- glad you were prepared & asked about the swallowing beforehand, & that they helped you with the nauseaâŚI wonder if the pain you describe eating is first bite syndrome- itâs usually a shooting pain in the side of the cheek/ jaw area, in front of the ear. It does ease with time.
So good when students hear about ES too!
Hope you heal well, thinking of you 
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Jules & I are on the same page! My first thought when you described the searing pain when you eat was First Bite Syndrome. Both Jules & I had that along w/ some of other members. It takes your breath away for sure but only lasts a brief time. For most people it gradually goes away within a few months. I used to take my first bite then grab the side of my face & dance around in the kitchen until the pain stopped. My family thought it was hilarious - not so much for me, of course, but it did help me keep my sense of humor about it. If the pain is too intense or becomes intolerable at some point, you can get a nerve pain Rx to try to help reduce the intensity until it goes away.
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Do you think I would have the First Bite Syndrome when my pain pills wear off too? I also feel it then. Like when I wake up in the morning, I had it.
@Isaiah_40_31 - You are braver than me! All I can do is make a fist as I am reaching for my ear. Then I wake until it goes away. I had a little bit of First Bite after my 1st surgery, but it felt like it was inside my mouth going to my ear, as I recall.
So far things are going pretty good besides that. Thank goodness!
FBS seems to happen a little differently for each person. Mine was more from my parotid gland into my cheek & inner ear. Others have had it radiate into their scalps. As far as it happening while you sleep, there is a possibility that could happen if youâre clenching your teeth in your sleep. That would put stress into your jaw joint which could activate your parotid gland & set off the FBS.
FBS will most likely remain after your pain pills are done. Itâs most often seen in people whoâve had surgeries to the neck, throat, or jaw joint area & is caused by the parotid gland getting over-excited when you take your first bite or two of food. No one understands why the parotid gland reacts that way to surgery. Fortunately, the intensity will decline as time passes & the symptoms often disappear all together within 4-6 months or sooner after surgery.
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That makes sense. Thank you for the information.
Iâm having first bite so I can sympathize. They should call it first 10 bites lol. I also get it when I yawn.
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Yea, mine last for a while too.
How are you feeling today, @one_day ?
I had some first bite with my 1st surgery and it didnât matter whether I had pain pills in me or not. Mine hurt in the massetter muscle area. It did seem to be worse in the am when I first tried to eat. Luckily in seemed to subside after about 5-7 days. I did have a major TMJ flair with this first surgery though so that whole jaw area was very unhappy. I did not have it with my 2nd surgery. Go figure.
Glad your 2nd one went well for you you naturelover. The pix shows very little swelling which I hope continues. Your on the downhill slide now. Happy healing. 
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Itâs so interesting how different the surgeries are! This surgery is so different than my 1st. Now I am curious about other people who have had both. What were yours like? When did your symptoms seem better? Any other differences, @Snapple2020 ?
The FBS hasnât shown up today yet. I am trying to eat on the other side of my mouth.
My husband thinks my cough has gotten better. I do too. Itâs not gone at the moment, but it seems less. After coughing for 15 years, it takes a while probably for your body to stop wanting to do that.
My surgeries were very different as well. First surgery was a longer recovery w/ more pain & post op issues. The second surgery was âa skate in the parkâ in comparison.
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I found that FSB to go away pretty quickly (about 1 week) so that is a good sign so far you havent had any.
I was having severe pain (primarily in temple/temporalis muscle) on one (L) side and even though my styloid was longer on the other side, I chose to have surgery on the side that hurted the most. I did have a large bump behind my ear on that side around the styloid that was always painful. Although the surgery was a breeze, I did have first bite (mildly) but my masester muscle and tmj really flaired. It took months to calm down but I also followed up with injections of botox, steroids and nerve blocks including massage and acupuncture to get it calmed down. It took several months.
I have since found out that due to jaw osteoarthtritis, my jaw was out of alignment and jamming back on trigeminal nerve on that side causing all the temporalis muscle pain and tightness. I will pick up an appliance this week to realign this and hopefully pull it under control. I did think all my pain was caused by the Eagles. My only advise for anyone with TMJ and Eagles and considering surgery, that you not be in the middle of a TMJ pain flair when you have surgery. I was warned it could kick up after surgery and it did. I delayed 2nd surgery until I got past this flair up. I was afraid it would flair after 2nd surgery. During this time between surgeries, my right styloid (the longest) would kick up and remind me it was there. I had one pain (shooting pain from bone in throat feeling up to ear) bout about 12 weeks out after 1st surgery on that side but it subsided thankfully and just had minor electrical like jolts after that. In 2015, this is the side where my painful jolts started then went to other side.
The 2nd surgery was a breeze except for nausea and vomiting after surgery. I did not have FBS but had sensations in the area where I felt like I had a bone in my throat and swallowing pain. It took a good 4-6 weeks to resolve. I had no TMJ problems. I do think your body gets used to patterns ie: such as your coughing and then as it heals adapts and resolves so hopefully you will lose that cough in time.
Im 5 months out now from 2nd surgery. I went into a very stressful new job about 6 weeks after surgery. I do get ongoing massage though and work on the scar tissue. Ive been so busy, I havent been able to pay attention to my healing process but I will say aside from numbness, the shooting pains are 95% gone. I have found my neck instability to be improved by continuing to use the wedge pillow and U pillow. Given all the stress Iâve been under, it has not caused anything to worsen and just still have numbness from the surgeries. My TMJ on the other hand and teeth are coming to the front and Im working on fixing that now. We tend to move to where the most pain is. 
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My first one I couldnât open my mouth much afterwards, so had to eat smoothies/ soft foods & couldnât clean my teeth very well, after my 2nd surgery I was fine, could eat normally! But with the 2nd one I had reduced hearing, a blocked ear feeling- it felt like concrete had been poured down it, wasnât good, but that went completely after a couple of weeks. Just depends on what nerves have to be moved etc I guess. I had FBS with both though, I still have it every now & then itâs strange!
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Thanks everyone for all the responses & information. It is so helpful to understand the different healing processes.
Some good news⌠I havenât had that stabbing pain in my ear/styloid area for a few days now. Yay! Also, it seems my cough has significantly improved! Two places where it always was a problem was when I talked on the phone & when I went to the grocery store. I just noticed it on Tuesday that I didnât cough at all during two phones calls & when I went to the store. The other place I always coughed was at work. Itâs so dry & dusty there. Weâll have to see what happens there. I canât believe it! This is significant!
I still have pain in my neck & ear area so I am taking tylenol & ibuprofin still. My pain is so much different than the first time. I did notice that my incision is higher in a different angle, so maybe that has to do with it.
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That is great you are seeing some significant improvementâŚat least in some symptoms. I hope the cough is just plain gone now for you.
I had a massage this week and even though the incisions are essentially the same on both sides, the first side I had done (April 2020) and that had the most pain (TMJ) flair as well as scar tissue work and acupuncture has big difference in scar tissue formation. The right side which I had done in Dec 2020 (just 5 months ago) which I have been doing really well with so far does not have nearly as much scar tissue formation. The right side was also longer too and more had to be removed. I havenât studied the operative reports side by side and donât remember it noting anything different between the surgeries. The only thing different is that side was very inflamed and painful while the other side was more calm. I wonder if the level of inflammation at the time of the surgery might have an impact on scar tissue formation?
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So pleased that youâre seeing improvements already 
Keep healing well
HIP HIP HOORAY for the cough abatement (& relief from other symptoms)! I hope it stays away even at work! Iâve had a chronic cough for 3 weeks now from a sinus infx & can sympathize in a small way with what youâve been dealing with for years. What a relief for you now!
I suspect the ear & neck pain will gradually fade as the weeks pass. Youâve been through this already so know how pokey those olâ nerves can be to heal.