In November 2008 my Husband & I were in the kitchen he was making jokes as usual. I threw my head back while laughing & felt a really sharp pain behind where my tonsils were, that was the first time I felt that pain on the left side of my neck. The pain was deep inside my neck, I had never felt it before but I knew something wasn't right. So I waited a couple weeks to see if the pain was going to go away. At this point I was thinking that I had actually broken something in my neck. The pain was always there, every day, all day long but I was able to still function okay. By Feb 2009, I decided to go see a Doctor, but what kind of Doctor should I see!? East, Nose & Throat (ENT) sounded like a good start considering it was between my ear and throat. I made my appointment at Midwest ENT; at my appointment I went on to explain what was going on. The Doctor did a scope where he went down into my throat by inserting a camera into my nose. It was a bit uncomfortable but not bad. All he told me was that my sinuses were a bit red but couldn't see anything wrong at this point, he referred me to another ENT. I went to the appointment for ENT #2 did a CAT scan Doctor thinks that I need my Tonsils out. Oh man I really didn't want to go thru that at the age of 30. I never even had sore throats or anything, aside from the ONE pain that was in my throat. I trusted that he was a "Specialist" and that he knew what he was talking about! So I planned my surgery to remove my Tonsils. In January 2010 I had my Tonsils out, it was the Worst Thing EVER! Had I known what I was going to go through I would have rather had 10 more children before I had my tonsils removed! About 6 weeks into healing I felt THAT feeling again. Right away I was like "OH NO!" I was Upset! I went thou so much just to be right back where I started! The pain was there again and I was devastated! It took about 4 months to heal from that. I was just ready to give up and live with it but every time I would turn my head, laugh, sneeze, cough, YAWN ect.. I was reminded of that pain that always stopped me in my tracks.
Push ahead to Jan 2012, I had a cavity & needed to go to the Dentist. I had been putting it off and knew I needed to get it taken care of. Sitting in the chair I look over at the wall and see a poster labeled SALIVARY STONES with a huge picture of the stone and it was right were my pain was!! OMGOSH there's my answer, I have salivary stones, I diagnosed myself I thought!! After getting my filling I point out the poster to the Dentist and want to get information on these stones. Dentist says that I need to make an appointment with an Oral Surgeon. So I got my referral and got an appointment at Maple Shade Dentistry. I had a panorama xray done of my whole head and told him that I thought it was Salivary stones. After 3 appointments here the Dentist was trying to tell me that I needed a mouth guard at night, possible dental work and also that he seen no obstruction in my glands. Might I add I have pretty good teeth, never had braces or anything. I decided to get a second opinion (as far as an Oral Surgeon goes) and called Associated Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons of Peoria. Walking into this place I was nervous, I remember praying and asking God to please help me to get some answers, after so many Doctors I was so discouraged walking away empty handed. At my appointment they read my scans the Doctor was young but seemed like a smart man. He felt bad when he told me he didn't know what it was, I could tell that he was upset & that he knew I was upset. Here I was, leaving again, with no answers. This time all I could do was cry, it was upsetting! I give up, no more doctors!
2 weeks later Associated Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons called me back, they wanted me to come back in cause the Doctor wanted to talk to me some more. I was really debating on even going back just cause I felt that they just wanted to waste my money by having me go in there again for nothing. But, I decided to go. When I went to my appointment Doctor said that he noticed something on the x-rays. So he showed me my pictures and brought up Eagles Syndrome. He had never personally dealt with Eagles Syndrome but his colleague Dr. Michael Miloro had. He is the Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the UIC College of Dentistry and he is a very smart man! http://dentistry.uic.edu/departments/omfs/faculty/mmiloro/ I was like "oh wow, am I really going to drive to Chicago, Illinois to see this Doctor!?" yep...I sure was, didn't even hesitate.
November 2013 There I was at the UIC in Chicago, waiting to see the Doctor. Two "Doctors" had come to see me before I had even seen Dr. Miloro. When he came in I felt a sense of peace, yet scared at the same time. He KNEW what he was talking about and told me that he looked at the Xrays and that I had Eagles Syndrome. He was very surprised that I had It being only 33 years old and dealt with it for 6 years. He was confidant that he would be able to go in internally and remove the Styloid Process. I had a whole list of questions I asked him cause if at all possible I'd like to avoid it happening again. He answered all of my questions and had done the surgery quite a few times, so that made me feel more comfortable. Now we wait for the Insurance approval!
It took 6 months to get my insurance approval but I was approved, Thanks God! I got a weeks notice and Surgery was set for June 13, 2014! I was so scared to have the surgery the thought of him cutting into my neck was scary, I thought I would end up with a speech impediment or my carotid artery was going to get sliced, paralysis of my face, nerve damage ect....I almost backed out and I was sick all week stressing about it!! I had to keep talking myself into getting the surgery done. I told myself "Look how bad its gotten in 6 years, I cant do this another 6 years!" The day of my surgery God gave me peace, I just needed to give him all my stresses and trust that he was going to take care of me, and he did!
The first 3 days were rough but not nearly as bad as when I got my tonsils out (for no reason). The Healing was not bad at all It was a SUCESSFUL SURGERY!! AMEN!!
The symptoms that I have now 8 weeks later are very minimal: I can only open my mouth about an inch. Slight tingle in my tongue (cause that nerve was in the way, he moved it over) Surgery was on my left side by the way. Also my gums feel weird when I floss but only at that time & on the left side. Still have a little swelling in my cheek and neck (where it was) & tenderness in area where it was. The stitches were below my teeth on the left side bottom part of my cheek.
That's it! I believe my problems are over! I will keep you all updated on anything else! Thank you for reading my blog & I hope it can be a help to you!!!