Hi to all my Eagle friends! I have not been active on this site a lot in part because I did not want to deal with the doggone problem and life events. I have had the usual journey with this issue and have seen numerous dentists, ENT’s etc., received steroid/lidocaine injections, etc. over several years. I have finally decided to have surgery seeking and better quality of life and have it scheduled August 27. I am thankful for all of you for positive thoughts and suggestions in managing this and for suggestions surgery preparation. I have found that this is a mental journey as well as a physical journey and remain feisty and ready for the ups and downs in recovery. Prayers appreciated for my upcoming surgery! Wishing everyone a lovely day!
Good luck with the surgery 
Hi Kay!
Good to have you back again! I’m so glad you’re having surgery. ES is a tough journey, but you’re getting close to being on the “other side”. Please let us know how your surgery goes. We’re here to support you during recovery.
I’ll put your surgery date on my calendar & will be praying for you.
Hi, & welcome back!! Sorry that you’re still having pain, but pleased that yiu’re going to have the surgery! Sounds like you know what to expect, will be praying for you!
Thank you for your well wishes and prayers Lien, Isaiah and Jules. I appreciate your kindness and support. My biggest concern is going without Ibuprofen for a week before surgery which is my go to pain relief medication. Driving is really getting to be challenging due to pain with head turns and I have to drive a fair amount before surgery. I guess I will double up on my essential oil remedies and mind distraction activities!
Kay,
Make sure to look up essential oils before surgery. I was told to give them up as well as Ibuprofen. Your concern is completely legitimate and I understand! Tylenol actually helped me this time, last time I might as well have been taking a sugar pill! Good Luck - will pray for a successful surgery.
splash-thank you for your prayers and for the reminder about essential oils…hadn’t thought that one out yet for surgery. Tylenol with a muscle relaxer generally keeps me in fairly good shape. It is only when I really stress my neck doing a lot of driving or yard work/lifting that I really get into trouble. I started a pond project to divert my anxiety about surgery and working on that is causing a bit of distress
I don’t know if this would help, but it helped me before surgery and they can be used easily after as well. This link is to little, round, gel freezer packs that I placed under my ear - right on the styloid. It would calm it enough to make me sane.
Thanks sjlash for the information. I will check them out. Ice really is helpful to me…sleeping in a recliner with ice a lot lately
Hi friends!
Thought I would post on my status following surgery on Tuesday. I feel like I am doing great! I have the usual swelling, just a little numbness in lower incision near jaw. Fortunately my styloid grew away from vascular structures and the facial nerve so my mouth and tongue are good. I have a pretty good sore throat but it’s getting better…ice water helps and I am also drinking green tea which helps all the mucous that seems to accumulate in my throat. When I came out of the anesthetic in the recovery room I was kinda upset because the staff were waking me out of a lovely dream of kayaking down a river…it was a lovely peaceful dream…thankful for all of you and for all the prayers that were sent my way. Best wishes to all who have had surgery recently for a speedy recovery!
Hi Kay,
That is great news. Funny. I too was in the middle of a peaceful dream when the nurses woke me.
I hope you continue to kayak through calm waters.
BG
Hi Kay,
Funny thing! I went to visit a friend who lives near the ocean earlier this week, & we decided that next trip we would rent kayaks & do some kayaking in the bay near her. The last time I kayaked was in 1985 in Alaska. It was beautiful so I can only imagine how wonderful your dream was!!
Yes, it was such a peaceful and hopeful dream that I would be able to kayak more…the Eagles has prohibited my river kayaking in the last several years. I am doing pretty well today…sore throat continues some but not bad…looking forward to some lazy time today to just ice my neck and lay low…tried to do a bit more than I should have yesterday…I HATE laying around…too much fun out there to take it easy but I will! Praying for all my Eagle friends who have recently had surgery…hoping your post-op healing is going well! Get that kayak rented and enjoy a peaceful ride Isaiah!
Thank you BrooklynGirl. I think all my prayer warriors help lead me to calm waters during surgery so I could enjoy that kayak ride! Hope you are doing well!
May you heal quickly & with as little discomfort as possible, Kay. That kayak trip will become a reality soon!
Hi friends,
I am having the usual increased swelling at day 4 and trying to take it easy. Ice and trashy novels go well together…ha ha! I am having more pain in my upper palate than I wish I did. It feels better when I drink warm fluids but I am wondering if that might not be so great for swelling…any thoughts? Just seems to be a lot of mucous or something (sorry…too much information…). Overall though, I am thankful that I am doing as well as I am. My incision looks pretty bunchy and swollen. I may not have helped the swelling yesterday when I tried some gentle lymph drainage…always have to push the envelope a bit…I am not a patient person but I guess I may have to learn to be in this healing process. I can’t take ibuprofen or restart my aspirin until tomorrow ( I have a history of a blood clot) and I think ibuprofen will really help when I can take that. I continue to pray for all who have had surgery recently for a positive, comfortable and peaceful day and weekend!
Kay
Good morning Kay,
So sorry to hear things are not going so smoothly…ughh. Just a thought here, you may want to limit or stop all dairy for a while, it is known to increase inflammation and mucus production - maybe that will help some if your system is sensitive like that. Also, Maybe stick to only the gentle finger tapping just above your collar bones and the “Spock V” hand placement around your ears followed by the light stroke down the side of your neck to the collar bones as a flush for the lymph drainage…if that isn’t the technique you are already doing.
Hope this is helpful, if not trash the ideas and listen to your body - it always knows best! Thinking of you today, be well and float on…
Hi Kay,
There are some people who have felt better w/ heat than ice post op. Though intuitively, heat early on doesn’t make sense, it did help them because it increased circulation to the area which helped decrease pain. I say if warm fluids feel good, go for it. Ice from the outside & warmth from the inside. Sounds like a good balance to me!
Your incision will look pretty irritated for a couple of weeks before healing begins to turn it’s appearance around. That is normal. Don’t stress. It will basically disappear as it heals. You are still in the very early days of recovery.
Trashy novels, chick flicks, whatever it takes to get your mind off of how you’re feeling, work great! My “go to” was movies. I loved East & West (British…a tiny bit reminiscent of Pride & Prejudice). It was four hours of bliss for me. I think it’s on Netflix. If you watch it I recommend subtitles as some of the actors have very strong accents.
I wasn’t patient in recovery either…began exercising at the end of 2 weeks post op & walk jogged a 15K race in San Francisco at 6 weeks post op…BIG mistake. It was just too much too fast & set healing back a bit. Find a happy place mentally that allows you to be ok with taking it easy for awhile yet. You will recover faster & be back to what you love sooner.
Hi JustBreathe,
Thanks for the tips…I think my allergies are the culprit for some of my throat problems on top of the swelling. My throat is tremendously better today as is the swelling overall. Guess yesterday was my down day…thanks for listening and the encouragement. One day at a time, and yes, listen to your body…have a lovely day!
Thanks Isaiah! I did do some warm fluids yesterday including my anti-inflammatory teas that seemed to really sooth the throat. Things are significantly better today…throat a lot better and swelling improving. Thanks for all the encouragement! Much appreciated! I will stare at my pond I dug pre-op and plan and scheme for what plants I want to plant once I am able.