Hello, I am very anxious about surgery next week with Mr Axon. Any advice/tips appreciated. How was recovery? I was sadly meant to be travelling to Australia for Christmas to see my daughter but pain has got worse after recent dental treatment. Mr Axon said I could travel 4 weeks later is that realistic? I kick myself for doing dental work but thought best to get teeth in order before surgery. Wish there was some pain relief I could take to postpone surgery so I could still go? Best wishes
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Are you having the surgery on the NHS or privately? If it’s NHS then you’re lucky to have that and given waiting times I definitely wouldn’t want to postpone it!
Re the pain, nerve pain medications can help, but they can take a couple of weeks to build up enough in the system to help, so that’s possibly not worth trying? It would be a shame to postpone surgery and pin your hopes on those helping as sometimes it can take trying several different ones to find one that does work. Ice or heat can help, muscle relaxants help sometimes, lidocaine patches or gel have sometimes worked but I don’t know if that’s something we can get in the UK.
It’s a shame that surgery has come up & you were planning to travel to Australia! Pain wise I think that would be doable- I had both my surgeries with Mr Axon, and didn’t need anything stronger than paracetemol after the first couple of days, obviously it’s a long flight so is uncomfortable anyway, maybe for the flight you could keep up with regular doses of paracetemol, take a neck pillow with you, and I think US members who have had to fly home after their surgeries have taken some sort of pack with them and asked for ice from the flight attendants to fill it & used that for swelling. I did have high intracranial pressure from IJV compression, and flying did aggravate that, do you have any vascular symptoms?
Re recovery from surgery, there’s info in this section, including a list of suggested items to get ready:
ES Information- Treatment: Surgery - Welcome / Newbies Guide to Eagle Syndrome - Living with Eagle
Mr Axon uses a drain after surgery to reduce swelling and the risk of infection, for me that was actually the worst bit as it was uncomfortable & a bit awkward to sleep with the first night- you’re kept in until that’s removed the next day. I had neck stiffness, and couldn’t open my mouth wide which is quite common, so had to eat smoothies/ soft foods for the first week or so, but I didn’t have that at all after my second surgery, so it does vary. I was quite numb around my ear & jaw, but that gradually disappeared, I just have a little patch of numbness now. Because my neck was stiff I couldn’t drive for a couple of weeks (maybe 3, I can’t remember!) afterwards, but again I didn’t have that after the other side was done. After my second surgery my ear felt very blocked, almost like concrete was poured in it, & I had reduced hearing, but that went after 2 weeks, so was obviously just an irritated nerve.
Mr Axon moves muscles out the way rather than cutting them like some surgeons do, so I think recovery from surgery with him is on the easier side…
I hope this helps!
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Thank you so much for taking the time and your detailed reply and suggestions I really do appreciate it. You have been on a journey! Were you happy with Mr Axon? . I am in so much agony today from the pain and sadly the other side playing up which only happened after recent dental treatment. Ear seems to be really bad. My left side throat, ear etc has been bad for over a year.Did you have days like that? My surgery is being done privately. I am worried if it is something other than eagle syndrome causing this and the surgery won’t work. I am suffering from anxiety due to the pain and worry how I will be after surgery. Do you ever speak on the phone? If I was flying to Oz tonight I would not have been able to get on the flight. I also have a small intestine bacterial overgrowth trying to deal with. Went from being incredibly fit and healthy to very poorly. My styloids are 50mm & 4.7 mm. Many thanks Jules. I really appreciate you and the forum. It is difficult to know where to turn and get help. I hope you don’t mind if I reach out again. Best wishes
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Hi Jules I replied on the platform would have been so much easier by email! I am so rubbish on platforms😊
I mentioned if it is possible to speak on the phone at some point? No worries if not. Many thanks Jules
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I had nerve pain in my jaw & up the side of my face, plus pain in my neck if I turned my head, but I never had the throat pain. I managed the pain for a while with Amitriptyline and heat, but it was the vascular ES symptoms which made me decide to have surgery; I had head pressure & dizziness. I’ve been very lucky and the surgery worked really well for me, & I found Mr Axon to be very helpful. They really look after you at the Spire hospital if that’s where you’re having surgery?
Dental treatment unfortunately often triggers worse ES symptoms, it seems to inflame nerves perhaps because of the awkward position of the neck & jaw…
We’ve had other members who have SIBO; the styloids can sometimes irritate the vagus nerve which is involved in digestion, & this can improve after surgery…
Send me a private message if you like, if you click on my icon it’ll come up with the option to send one.
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