Hey, i havent reported for a while now and wanted to give an update.
Im 18 days post surgery now and i have to say the healing process takes longer than i thought right after surgery. Main problems are: not being able to open jaw more than an inch without intense pain and generally all kinds of pains and aches in my cheek, jaw joint and up to my ear (none of which i had before surgery). Still not able to chew anything harder than a very ripe banana. It did get a lot better until last week. That’s when I thought I try to chew something harder and that was a bad mistake. It seems like it distorted a muscle and set the whole process back to where I was when I got out the hospital. So its really important to be patient and not overdo things too early.
Another problem that I have is, im quite sure i have developed first bite syndrome too
Good thing is: My ES symptoms seem to have gone on the operated side…I can tell because i still have them on the left side (allthough not as bad as it where on the right) so I can kind of compare the symptoms.
Hi @Benyon - just checking in on how your “First Bite Syndrome” is doing. I hope it is a long ago memory. Glad to hear that the ES symptoms on the surgery side have ended!
Hi seamom!
My FSB-symptoms have gotten weaker but they’re far from gone. It doesnt bother me that much though as its possible to handle when taking very small bites of soft food at the beginning of every meal. The very intense neuralgia-like pain that I had after eating is almost gone though. I dont know if it was connected to FSB but I asume it.
I am 6 weeks post surgery and things start to feel a lot better. I still have all kinds of aches here and there but no constant pain anymore. I will give it 4 more months though before i even start thinking about doing the other side. The surgery is pretty hardcore and recovery really is no joke, especially the first 4 weeks were very painfull.
This is what it looks like right now
What I find strange is that the incision spots seem to vary a lot. Mine starts very close to my ear and is very long down to neck but I have seen other incisions on here from other surgerys that arent even half as long and at a much different spot, more at the front of the neck. So i assume that different doctors use different methods and ways to “get there” and therefor recovery and postoperative symptoms can be very different.
Benyon, you are very observant! Yes, there are various external approaches to accessing the styloid processes & ligaments. Different doctors have differing methods. It seems for the most part that the US doctors make a smaller incision & European doctors make a larger one although that’s probably not a completely accurate stereotype. I’m sure it has to do w/ surgical training & experience. The smaller incisions perhaps take less healing time but then maybe the internal nerves, vessels & muscles get moved around a bit more due to a smaller access area. Either way our bodies are designed to repair themselves and for the most part do a good job even if the process feels slow.
Happily, many people have found the second surgery to be less painful & quicker to heal from. Not sure why this is the case but I felt much better a good 2-3 weeks earlier after my second surgery than after my first. I know that most doctors will try to operate first on the side they deem most problematic i.e. my left styloid was causing tons of pain but my right one was growing at a precarious angle so it was removed first. The best plan for spacing between first & second surgeries is to make sure you’re healed from the first one & emotionally & mentally ready for round 2 (in addition to your doctor’s recommendation).
I would presume as well the different surgery ‘style’ varies too with the type of surgeon- mine was done my a skull base/ otolaryngologist, so he went in behind my ear quite high up, and only a little way below it. Presumably an ENT doc would maybe go lower down? My doctor also mentioned that when he first started doing surgery he would cut through the muscles, but having gained more experience now he’d worked out a better way and was able to go in at a different angle and move muscles out the way, which would make healing easier. He also uses a drain and keeps patients in overnight, so the swelling and infection risk is lessened.
I agree with Isaiah about the second surgery- mine was a lot easier! The first time I couldn’t open my mouth wide or chew properly for a good week, but second time I could eat normally straight away!
Interestingly, I had to have a couple of wisdom teeth out last weekend, and the FBS was a bit savage after that- worse I think than after ES surgery!
Glad to hear that you’re still seeing improvements Benyon!
Thanks @Benyon for continuing to share your story and glad to hear your bite is calming down and overall your health is heading in the right direction!
So, i just got back from my follow up and everything is going fine. Apart from my FSB i havent felt any pain on my operated side for the last 5 days and now, 7 weeks after surgery, im starting to get really optimistic about things
They took another xray today and this is how it looks like…as I see they really took out the whole thing, the one on the other side is still there
Yes we talked about that. He checked my salivary flow and said that it is very weak on my operated side. This might be due to swelling (there still is a bit swelling) or maybe my parotid salivary duct has been damaged during surgery. So everytime i eat the salivary flow is a bit blocked (very much like with a stone) and therefore could press on the surrounding nerves. FSB is of course another very likely explanation but he said there is not much we can do about that. Botox injections have had good results but for now we dont wanna do that yet. He said that the fact that it did and does get better is a sign for an irritation that will go away with time. He told me to drink a lot and try to eat lots of sour food to stimulate the flow.
One other thing i have to say is that I had a lot of tightness and cramp like pains in my neck up to my ear for weeks after surgery. Went to a physioterapist who massaged the area and that gave me relief really fast. So if you have pain after surgery it doesnt necessarilly mean its from ES or internal destruction of muscles or nerves.
Hey Beachgirl! Are you in Europe? My surgery was in Hamburg/ Germany at the Heidberg Clinic. The doctors name is Dr. Liebehenschel. My right styloid was 5,5 cm with calcified ligaments, it was also fractured. My left one is still in there. It is even a bit longer but not fractured and doesnt make as much problems yet. Dont know if it was vascular but im quite sure because i sometimes had strange vertigo when moving my head in certain ways. The symptoms that bothered me most werent vasvular though.
Last 5 days were not so good: Had pretty much constant earache. Not as bad as presurgery but constant. It might be due to muscle-tightness, i will try massages.
Glad to hear that the FBS is better- hope that the earache clears up soon. It’s not an ear infection is it- sometimes it’s easy to put everything down to ES when it could be something else?
Benyon how are you now? Ive read through your posts. I dont think i can go through all that!! Your scar is huge! Im really scared now i think the recovery and pain would just finish me off altogether. I have two children and my husband would have to work after a few days so i just dont know anymore. Have you planned your next surgery yet?
Just wanted to Update. My operated side is painfree. All ES symptoms are gone. Theres a little bit left of the FSB but thats fine it doesnt bother me at all.
