I was just diagnosed last week. My neurologist said jugular severely compressed. Meeting with surgeon next week. Scary. I’m interested in hearing from others on surgery and recovery experience.
Hi Gramus- snap to you with your diagnosis- I was diagnosed with ES 18 months ago, but it was only following a referral to a more experienced doctor and having a CT scan with contrast that they found the styloids were compressing the jugular veins. I will probably have a few months to wait for surgery. I've put a bit in Eryn's discussion re post-op experience- if you search for that in previous discussions there's lots of posts on there from people who've had surgery.
Good luck and God Bless.
As far as surgery goes, make sure they give you anti-nausea drugs pre & post-op incase you have a reaction to the anesthesia - most people become nauseous in the 24 hrs after surgery from the anesthesia. Don't let them send you home till your stomach feels happy. Make sure they send you home w/ anti-nausea meds as well. I didn't need mine but was so glad to know they were there. I was also sent home w/ antibiotics, steroids (for throat swelling) & Percocet for pain. Don't fear having to take narcotic strength pain meds for a couple of weeks. You won't get addicted in that short time. Follow your doctor's instructions. Stay ahead of your post op pain w/ your pain meds. Don't wait till you start hurting to take them. Stay on the prescribed schedule. Allow yourself to take it easy for at least a week post op. A few people on this forum have recovered quite quickly (w/in a day or 2 of surgery) but the norm is that it will take a couple of weeks for you to start feeling functional again. This may be somewhat age related i.e. if you're younger you tend to heal quicker. It was two months before I really had my energy back & felt "normal" again but this differs for everyone as well.
I hope you are able to get surgery quickly especially since your jugular vein is compressed. You should feel an immediate improvement post surgically.
I hope this info is helpful.
:)
Thank you so much for the help and information.
Do you see people on here with morning nausea still at 3 weeks post op?
I can’t recall mentions of that , but maybe @Isaiah_40_31 will remember!
I also don’t recall anyone having morning nausea as an ES symptom. It sounds like it could be vagus nerve related especially since your styloid is still somewhat elongated & your other side needs to be resected. It may be that your vagus nerve is still being irritated by your remaining styloid or the remains of the one you just had shortened.
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Yes I suspect that too with the nausea. My SAN also keeps getting irritated. Not sure what is “nerves coming back online” or what is just continued agitation. Staying on the anti inflammatories for now. It’s really stirring up anxiety though. I don’t like being on anti inflammatories because I like to know what exactly is happening.
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I totally understand. It can take 6-12 months to get good symptoms resolution from a styloidectomy but usually by 2 months post op you’ll notice some positive changes. I’m sorry for the symptoms you’re having now that are still pretty miserable. You can try icing your neck or applying heat or alternating those to help stimulate nerve recovery.
How is your throat healing from the surgery?
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Throat seems ok, it does get kind of tight throughout the day and that causes some anxiety too. My left side is tugging now too. And when the post partum anxiety hits, this sensation increases too. Ive been stretching it with yawning and sticking my tongue out.
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Anxiety is notorious for increasing symptoms whether during recovery or prior to surgery. Anxiety increases cortisol in our bodies which is an inflammatory hormone.
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@alibabac You might see if you get some relief by going after the anxiety directly since as @Isaiah_40_31 said, anxiety is notorious for increasing symptoms. Anxiety is unpleasant (I have it myself) but NOT dangerous. When we think of it as something we can’t have in our life and that we have to get rid of it we only amplify it. Your anxiety is just a message that something you care about, your health, is not where you want it to be. Peter Levine’s work on regulating the nervous system is really great. Also, Deb Dana.
Yo can also try something called somatic tracking where you look directly at the symptoms that are generating anxiety to basically retrain your brain that this symptoms, while annoying, are not dangerous. That helps you nervous system to calm down. Google Alan Gordon and somatic tracking to watch some videos about how to do this. Hope that h helps.
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