@elijah I really hope that’s just the beginning. And in no time you will get your life back.
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I hope so too.
Any ideas on what the nose pressure and post nasal drip can be? Does it make sense that it’s surgery related?
If you asked me… Three thoughts come to mind (of course, disclaimer that I’m not a doc):
- Post-op swelling
- Head is now more retracted back, given that styloids are not limiting that movement anymore, and C1/C2 are giving more pressure towards the throat. But that’s, in my opinion, unlikely, as you have healthy neck. Unless you have a subconscious habit to do a “chin-tuck” all the time.
- The released muscles/ligaments are trying to find their place around the “congested” area and it might take a while until they reattach somewhere (pure speculation, assuming the muscles weren’t excised completely but cut off the styloid process at one end, and will stay there until either die and are absorbed by the body, or reattach somewhere else).
Best to ask Dr Hackman. I’m confident he knew exactly what he did and knew that no serious long term side effects will remain.
Most likely #1. Swelling can take many months to subside completely.
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These make sense to me. I will keep an eye on how I feel and reach out to Dr Hackman if it doesn’t resolve.
Thank you.
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Oh, forgot to mention vagus nerve. If it was irritated, the soft palate might move slightly differently/improperly until the nerve heals completely. Mine took I don’t know, maybe 15 months until the uvula stopped deviating to one side (it was a gradual process though).
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Great to hear it’s going well. I’m sure the relief from pressure is an amazing feeling. I’ve seen him mentioned several times but where is Dr. Hackman located?
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I’m sure I’ve read that some members have been congested after surgery. Very glad that you are seeing improvements, and hopefully these other symptoms will settle… 
@stuuke -
Dr. Hackman is in North Carolina.
https://forum.livingwitheagle.org/t/doctor-lists-no-discussion/10245/5
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My recommendation is if you want to see him call sooner than later I called in 1st week in June and my appointment is august 11th. So it truly takes a bit of time. Unfortunate for me is that It’s the week that all the new UNC students start so all the hotels are quite pricey around there. Oh well! Got my flight booked and my hotel booked. I CANT WAIT!
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Let me say this I had surgery in April for something totally unrelated that had to be done. It’s considered major. And I’m still recovering with inflammation. I am a true believer in everyone heals differently and at their own pace. You are so fresh out of the gate that you need time to truly heal. A lot was done, it was major. For me that’s the same mindset that I’m trying to go in with this situation with me as well. It’s going to take time, how much time, well only your body knows. You will have good days and over do it on those days followed by the bad. But you are on the other side now. Remember that that’s a huge accomplishment and the biggest piece of this puzzle. You got this!!
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Glad that you have an appt- is that for a consultation or for surgery Ddmarie? It’ll come round quickly… 
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Thank you Jules! The ent here in buffalo NY diagnosed me with ES so I am going to see Dr Hackman to discuss surgery. I gotta tell you something as a side note, not sure if anyone here belongs to Reddit but there are some interesting threads going on about symptoms of ES showing after long haul COVID. I had put that I was in upstate NY when I commented and the amount of people messaging me asking me for the ent I saw here as they have symptoms has really been incredible. It is my opinion that ES is not as rare as the numbers state it is just an unfortunate situation of physicians who don’t educate themselves on it. 
it’s frustrating I know we all get that here lol. I can’t thank this group enough I know I’ve said it before but you all are AMAZING!
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2 reasons why ES is wrongly thought to be rare. 1) ES mimics a number of other diseases/syndromes that sends patients & doctors wrongly pursuing other etiologies for long time. 2) Lack of knowledge/awareness of it among most of the physicians. This leads to underdiagnoses of ES hence its’ rareness
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YES and YES I completely agree!!!
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Ddmarie,
We’re glad you’re here, too. You’re a great encourager & supporter of our members even though you are still awaiting your appointment to discuss surgery. 
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Yes, one of the research papers you’ve just posted says there needs to be more training about ES. We all agree with that!
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Wow great, Going thur this my self the pain is hard headache ,ears neck. I found a great DR im working with.I cant wait to get mine removed
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1 month post op update:
I’m very happy to report that I am still free of most of my previous symptoms which were:
Brain fog
Facial pressure
Visual disturbances including blurriness, bouncing vision and double vision.
I could not be happier and I’m slowly starting to accept that I could really be past it instead of living in fear daily that my symptoms will come crashing back.
There are a few symptoms that have not resolved. These are all relatively “minor” compared to what has resolved for me.
I still have ringing tinnitus, I’m honestly not sure if some of it can be contributed to the fact that the surgery took place so close to the ears and I am still dealing with post op pain and swelling. So I might have to give that more time. But definitely still have it.
My GI issues haven’t resolved. They aren’t terrible but they did only begin when my other symptoms started, so I know it’s related in some way just not sure how. Maybe my vagus nerve needs more time to heal?
Now, one of the more strange symptoms I haven’t spoken much of is that when this all began for me, I started getting very strange symptoms on my face. Sometimes my face skin would burn, sometimes itch, other times it would feel like there’s ants crawling on my forehead. I also get this burning and pinching sensation on my forehead and some weird tingly sensations on my nose, sort of like it’s being “pulled”.
It’s hard to accurately describe these sensations.
I honestly have no idea how it relates to IJVs or even IIH, if it’s just a coincidence or if was somehow triggered and now I’m dealing with it as a secondary condition?
I got a “rosacea” diagnosis but personally don’t believe that it explains the weird sensations. It could be nerve related, but would that explain the itchy feeling?
Honestly, I may never know, and I’m okay with that.
I started taking amitriptyline to see if it relieves any of these weird symptoms, so I’ll know in a few weeks.
I am going to have a follow up MRV done in the near future to see how the veins look now and to assess the clot I had on my left side. I’ll definitely post the findings once I have them.
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So pleased that many of your symptoms have resolved, brilliant news! I wonder if the sensations on your face are nerve related- the Trigeminal Nerve has branches in those areas & is commonly affected with ES, & the Facial nerve is another one affected, they seem to have similar branches…the nerves could also have been moved & then irritated during surgery. I doubt it related to the IH or jugular compression. Hopefully this will heal with time & hopefully the Amitriptyline helps too.
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First I am glad that you feeling much better and it will only get better from here on but be happy what you have achieved so far.
I think the burning, itchy, crawling and pinching sensations are all indicative of some kind of sensory neurone miss-firing. It could be related to sensory portion of facial nerve. Facial nerve is not far away from the Styloid and Jugular vein and exits close to it so it might have been impacted by the Styloid compression or it could totally be related to other causes. Give it time, it might also resolve in time since nerves take bit of time.
I once had burning and cold water sensation on my right leg. It turned out to be nerve compression after imaging ruled out any other issue. I used to drive to work for long hours on busy highway so sitting long time and bad sitting posture might have something to do its development . It did resolve after doing some stretching exercises.
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