hi Jules and kcannady, some research online found this technical paper on a Canadian chiropractic manipulation re Eagle’s Syndrome apparently successful in at least this one case. If you have time, take a look and let me (us) know what you think, regards.
http://www.baillement.com/atm/eagle-syndrome-feldman.pdf
Was there any indication of what happened with the patient long-term? What happens when the styloid grows?
I don’t know this. I googled “Chiropractic styloid” and saw several responses but haven’t had a chance to investigate further.
Depends on the type of surgery done. If it is intraoral approach, I would expect no talking on the phone for a few weeks at a minimum. Intraoral heals a lot faster than transdermal, but it is very difficult to talk during that period. If it is transdermal, then I’d say you could be on the phone again within a week or two.
Note: I actually had both surgeries done because the intraoral did not remove enough of the styloid. I’m not sure how many people here have had the same procedure done two different ways. If you have any questions for me, let me know. Hope this helps.
Manx,
There was a guy on this site a couple of years ago who is a singer by profession. Dr. Milligan did both his ES surgeries- extraorally - bilaterally. He was concerned about what might happen to his voice. Last I heard from him all was well. I second what Heidimt said, your tongue issues absolutely sound like ES symptoms. I understand why you’re pursuing Mayo, & I hope it isn’t a disappointing trip, but if it is, & you want to check around some more, come to California & see Dr. Samji. He’s done more ES surgeries than anyone in the world at this point. FYI - He won’t see you unless you’ve got a definitive ES diagnosis (which Dr. Milligan gave you).
thanks, Isaiah_40_31. On the eve my trip to Mayo, I have to say, it seems like a long way to go. But I’m gonna go. If they can’t come up with an alternative explanation and healing plan, I would say Dr. Milligan is big in my mind. i just hate the thought of letting someone cut into my neck, and what might go wrong, and having to experience the healing process, which I’m not very good at – keeping still, that is. But if I do it, I’ll concentrate on the expected benefit. I notice that the doctor who published the paper on chiropractic helping an ES sufferer hasn’t published more on the subject, but the paper’s been referred to a lot by other authors. (I find this on Google.) I’m going to call him and see if he’s continued his treatment of ES folk.
I went to Mayo. They don’t seem to believe that Eagle’s Syndrome – the calcification of the styloid ligament – is a measurable disease, but rather something in the mind. I asked the ENT I saw why that was, and he said the syndrome was just a hard thing to put to laboratory test, and that he was too young there to know why the Eagle diagnosis seemed to have no weight there. Just the same, he saw no medical reason for the deterioration of the left side of my tongue and its hyperglossal nerve other than the possible intersection of the hardened ligament with the nerve, and he wrote that an operation was a possible alternative.
Meanwhile Dr. Milligan in Arizona told me I would be well-advised to consider an operation from the outside of the neck to remove the lower half of the stylus, and that I could be on the plane back to Albuquerque same day.
My question: dr. millligan seemed to think there was no problem with the aftermath of the operation, but what I read on this site is that people have had plenty of problems, needing pain pills, special pillows, restrictions in movement, that have lasted for weeks and in some cases, months. Are there any stats on how easy recovery is for those undergoing the stylus removal? I can’t tell from anecdotal evidence how prevalent problems are. (80 percent? 20 percent? somewhere in between?)
thanks for any insight,
Manx
I’m not aware of any stats. But it is surgery and there’s always going to be a recovery from surgery. I think a lot of the things that people discuss are recovery issues, as opposed to real problems.
I had 5 surgeries for eagles and I had pretty easy recoveries for 4 of them. The one where I had a much harder recovery was with a surgeon who never did an Eagles surgery before.
Having said that though, I’m not sure about getting on a plane the day of surgery. I live in Hawaii and had to travel to the mainland for 4 of my surgeries and usually stayed for about a week after the surgery until I went back home. I think I could have flown back pretty easily after a couple days, but stayed to have a follow up doctor appointment in 5 days to a week to make sure everything was ok. That would be the issue I think is to make sure everything was ok. If I had a surgery with dr Milligan, I would ask to stick around for a couple days and then have a follow up appointment.
No, I’ve seen stats for success rates long term, but not for post-surgery problems. It does seem to vary a lot with different methods of surgery… Some docs stress that it is still major surgery, others gloss over it. I had a drain put in to reduce swelling and the risk of infection, so was kept in overnight. Certainly wouldn’t have wanted to fly the same day! I didn’t need the pain pills after the first day, but did find I was stiff and uncomfortable for a couple of weeks. The surgeon who operated on me said that he’d changed his technique (he’s pretty experienced) so is able to move muscles out of the way rather than have to cut them, and feels that that helps with recovery a lot. I don’t think many docs do that technique.
thanks, Heidemt and Jules, for your helpful replies. I’m going the Mayo route a little longer, since they may have found some overarching problem, and then make an apptment with Dr. Samji for a second opinion if Mayo doesn’t work out.
Thanks again for sharing. As you know, it’s very helpful and less lonely to hear from others with similar problems.
Good luck Manx. Keep us posted.
Would anyone know, is there any correlation between Eagle’s and blood pressure rising? I notice over the last few years my blood pressure has increased steadily and the usual cures -lower weight, remove caffeine, decrease salt – hasn’t helped. Could Eagle’s pinch an artery enough to raise blood pressure? I’ve not seen anyone mention this.
thanks
Manx
Hi Manx,
The problem is that everyone seems to have differing results. Personally, I
had outpatient surgery and I wouldn’t have been able to travel the same day
by any means. I slept most of the rest of the day. I wouldn’t have been
able to recover comfortably without pain meds. I would say it took me about
6 weeks to feel completely myself again, but I was up and around on the 4th
or 5th day, just not for long times. I had surgery on a Tuesday and went
back to work on the following Monday, but worked from home. It’s been 5
months since my surgery, no styoid pain but my scar tissue kind of catches
sometimes causing a bit of discomfort.
I also had a terrible headache when I woke up and I had to sleep that off.
Highly recommended staying in a hotel vs jumping on a flight.
Let me know if you need anything!
Steph
@Manx, funny you should ask that today. I was having dinner last night with a friend who is a nurse describing my symptoms of my head feeling like heat stroke sometimes and she said…“I wonder if you Blood Pressure receptors in your carotid artery is being pinched?” I just Googled this for you:
The average arterial blood pressure during a single cardiac cycle is called the mean arterial pressure (MAP). … Blood pressure is constantly monitored by baroreceptors. Baroreceptors are special receptors that detect changes in your blood pressure. Important baroreceptors are found in the aorta and the carotid sinus.
I don’t know if it would permanently raise you Blood Pressure, but thought I’d share this for you to talk to your doctor about.
Manx, in the Newbies tab under the section that talks about common symptoms, it mentions that blood pressure can be affected.
hi Heidemt, thanks for your note. I went to the Newbies section and read that calcified stylus could impinge on various blood vessels, but I didn’t read anything about blood pressure rising. Mine has risen quite a bit over the five years I’ve been tryiing to find out why I was having problems with my tongue. If blood pressure rise is part of the syndrome, it would an additional reason for me to have the operation.
regards,
Manx
thanks, seamom. Beyond me too, but I’ll mention this to my doc when I see him.
Manx
Hi Manx, under the Vascular section it mentions that the styloid can impact the vagus nerve and can then affect blood pressure and heart rate. It’s about in the middle of the section.
I actually had trouble w/ my blood pressure dropping & my heart doing weird things before my first surgery - especially during aerobic exercise. Getting my right styloid removed stopped all those problems although it wasn’t an immediate fix. It did take a couple of months for me to really notice a change for the positive. Happily, I’m totally back to normal now.