I’m having my 1st surgery done in Omaha, Nebraska this Wed with Dr Andrew Coughlin. He does aprox 5 internal Eagle surgeries a year. He agrees I need external; he is in that area aprox 6 times a yr with various other surgeries. He seems very confident. He said his success rate is good because he won’t operate unless it looks like he can help. He is an head/ neck cancer surgeon and a plastic surgeon. Perhaps some training in Micro? Too. He did say the only thing he promises will improve is the continual sore throat and the poking in the throat. He believes all other symptoms can be attributed to other problems.
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Glad that you have a date for surgery! There’s lots of info in the Newbies Guide & in the past discussions about what to expect after surgery if you’ve not had a look.
Thanks for the info on the doctor, good that he’s prepared to do external surgery. No doctors say that surgery will help all your symptoms, so that’s not unusual.
Will add you on my prayer list, & hope that all goes well. Let us know how you get on when you can!
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Hip Hip Hooray! So glad your surgery is drawing nigh, Painfree! May you be pain-free in the coming months. I, too, am glad your surgeon is doing what he feels is safest & best for you.
I’m going to get on my high horse once again & say that so many of our ES symptoms come from cranial nerves that are irritated by elongated styloids or calcified stylohyoid ligaments (or both). Once the irritant is removed, the nerves can heal. This does take time. Too many doctors do not recognize the diverse ways our cranial nerves affect us when they’re under seige, thus they don’t equate our symptoms w/ those nerves. Time will tell, but I bet you’ll experience more than just relief from sore throat & the poking in your throat.
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I agree! So I went to regular ENT last week for huge sinus cysts… he goes we quit doing Eagles syndrome surgery about 10 yr ago.
We use to go in and break off those ?? . I said, “ oh, you are one of those Dr we are warned about not letting do the procedures…”. He said, “ We had about a 50% success rate; I think sometimes there was already too much nerve damage” DUH
Anyway he liked the sound of Omaha and requested I call and leave an update with his nurse in 4-6 weeks. Maybe he will offer hope for others instead of ignoring the problem.
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Good luck pain free! I had my first surgery on 22 August and can tell you from my experience I have had some great improvements that have made the surgery well worth it. I agree with Isaiah that nerve damage takes time to heal. We need that high horse to see around those styloid bones into a brighter future!
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Thanks for the positive input! Perfect timing.
I just had ES surgery on Monday with Dr Mendelsohn at UCLA he has been involved with ES for over 10 years (I’d say an expert) I am looking for feedback on recovery. Pain is much better but still feel some but not sure if its all the irritation form the actual bone and ligement removal and moving nerves around.
I think it’s too soon to be totally pain free, but what do I know. At this point… I’m
Happy because it’s like a tight rubber band has been cut on my shoulder / neck and my toes aren’t numb. NOW I am dealing with pain… they told me every 3 hr for the first 48 hr… ice and Tylenol 800 and alternate with
?? 3 Aleve the next time. Wedge pillow is a huge help.
It’s very common for nerves to flare up as they have to be moved out the way; they can either cause pain or you could have numbness or tingling. It can take several months to settle & heal, some members have found that they still see improvements up to a year after surgery. You’ll likely have swelling for a bit too, maybe a couple of weeks, so that can irritate the nerves too.
Hope that all settles down soon, best wishes!
Glad you’ve already experienced some good changes so soon after surgery. That’s fantastic. As Jules said, healing will take time. The first week post op can be tough. After 2 weeks you’ll starting noticing little improvements. There will be good days & less good days for the next couple of months gradually turning into all good days.
If you have bilateral ES & have only had surgery on one side, the remaining styloid may prevent your symptoms from completely disappearing & some might even get worse over time until the second styloid/ligament is removed.
I’ll check to see if Dr. Mendelson is in our doctors’ list. If not, I’ll add him.
Painfree - I’m thrilled to read that you already feel significant improvement from some of your symptoms. That is just the best! You will experience ups & downs during recovery but your body will heal & you’ll be on the go again before long!
Jules gave great advice! Try to follow it & it will help. Ice for 15 min then off for at least 45. Never lie down flat ie keep your head elevated when sleeping or resting for at least the first couple of weeks.
I’m shocked at how good I feel! My scar is bigger and different than I anticipated, it’s glued too. DR Conoyer is also a plastic surgeon so I’m thinking it will be fine. He mentioned DR Conetti?! The Pennsylvania DR that’s been mentioned a few times.
My tongue feels fine, as does my jaw. My through throat is very sore. As stuff wore off I realized the top of my left shoulder that’s ached for 20 yr feels great, as done that rubber band tightness at the bottom
Of my skull. My toes on my left ft have been numb since last winter …Now They recommend ice Tylenol
800 mg / alternating with 600’mg of Advil
Every 3 hr hrs for the first 48…
My husband is wilting…
We are getting ready to drive back home
This was 9-10 hospital … Methodist hospital
Is by far cleaner than any I have ever been in… it’s an amazing staff all the way down the line… they had me take 2 antiseptic showes before and also swish antiseptic for 30
Sec. in my mouth… their infection rates have to be amazing…
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Glad that things are going well- days 3-5 can be the worst for swelling so you may have some days of feeling worse, but hang in there. Make sure you take it easy & hope hubby is up to the job!!
FANTASTIC! Again, so glad to read about how much improvement you’ve experienced so soon after surgery!! As Jules noted, symptoms can come & go for awhile, but over time post op, most go for good. Hoping & praying this is the case for you. Will say a prayer for your husband to be able to hold up under this as well.
He’s better; I’m tired! I done with their every 3 hr pain meds… but it has kept me very pain free. I cutting back on meds and spacing
Them out. . I need to go ice…
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Hi Painfree,
Please consider waiting till the end of the first week post op to cut back on pain meds. I started cutting back on day 3 & it set me back into a world of hurt for 3 days. I went from being mildly active to completely chair bound (recliner that is). Days 3 - 5 post op are when swelling is the worst & thus pain as well. Starting day 7 you can experiment w/ spreading out your meds w/ less of a threat of overwhelming pain settinging in.
Glad to read this! I won’t cut back as much as planned. I did go 5 hr last night, I needed the sleep. Depending how you count, this is day 4 for me. Shocked at how good I feel.
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Hearing your good news makes me HAPPY! I’m so glad you feel so good. Do not get discouraged if you experience some backsliding w/ your symptoms over the course of your healing. That seems to happen frequently but the backslides become less frequent as time passes.
Thanks, not feeling quite as perky. Too much talking, and I forgot to ice and take meds. Finally back under control but took a bit. I do appear to have a larger scar than most of you, but Dr is also a plastic surgeon we will see what it looks like in a yr.
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