I had a bilateral styloidectomy yesterday (external) and am very sore and swollen today. I also have left side facial weakness- they said that one was harder to extract, so my smile is very lopsided. Hoping that clears up soon! Overall, very impressed with how it went, but am hurting quite a lot today! What are your best tips for after surgery?
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Thank you for the update so soon after surgery!
The two things that helped me most after surgery were ice, ice & more ice - 15-20 on & 45 min off as often as you can tolerate it. The other was taking my Rx pain meds on schedule day & night which required setting a bunch of Alena on my phone to remind me.
Dr. Hackman doesn’t typically Rx prednisone post op which I think is a mistake . In addition to Percocet, I was Rxed a 2 week course of Prednisone which helped reduce inflammation & pain. We have noted that he is willing to Rx it, but you have to ask for it. It’s not part of his normal protocol. It would be worth a call to ask about it.
Your facial nerve will heal, but sometimes it takes a few months so don’t get discouraged. When you’re a bit farther into recovery there are some exercises you can do to help stimulate nerve recovery. I recall someone posting suggestions abt that in the past, but I’m sure Google & YouTube would also be good sources.
For now, rest, relax, recover. Rely on your family to do everything they can for you during your first post op week. I hope you can get on top of your pain ASAP! 
I don’t have any advice to offer as im still waiting to be scheduled but I wanted to just give you a congrats for getting to the “other side” 
Be easy on yourself, listen to your body and keep us updated as you’re able. Best always for a perfect recovery!
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Scheduled for Hackman on June 13th myself, glad to hear it was a success! What we’re your symptoms and how are you doing now?
Thank you so much, Isaiah! I’m planning on reaching out to ask about that because WOW I am swollen today, but overall doing better than I had prepared myself for!
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It’s a bit too early for a post surgery update on my symptoms since I’ve only been out of the hospital about 24 hours. I’ll post one I’ve had more time to heal! Good luck with your appointment with him- he’s amazing!
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So pleased that you’re through surgery okay! I hope that you have someone to take care of you? Not surprising that you’re swollen- having both sides done at once is alot, but those who’ve had bilateral surgery with Dr Hackman do seem to do very well; I hope that you can get some steroids to help.
I couldn’t eat very well as I couldn’t open my mouth wide, so had lots of yummy smoothies & soft foods- are you okay eating, I guess not if very swollen? Ice cream/ popsicles might help with that too…
Quite a few members have had facial weakness, it does seem to go fairly quickly, hope yours does too.
Praying for a speedy recovery and good results! 
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Thank you!! Not eating very well at all because of the swelling and limited opening. My husband keeps bringing me things to try, though! Lots of ice and hoping the swelling goes down soon. I have more ear pressure than I was prepared for, but do think that’ll improve as the swelling goes down.
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Dr. Hackman had IV prednisone for me post-op and pill form when I was discharged, so just ask for it. You may have to push his clinical staff for help - I will admit that I got pretty pushy about the pain control medication because they withhold it if you don’t ask for it. As I read your message, Isaiah’s “ice, ice & more ice” advice was in my head. I iced for a week - it helped quite a bit. Had pain medication for less than a week because they would only prescribe 15 pills, so I had to call and talk to several people and send messages through the portal before they would prescribe more. They even tried the “we are prohibited by law from prescribing more” nonsense with me, but I was armed with the law and shared it with them and finally renewed the prescription.
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The swelling seems to peak at about 3-5 days, hopefully will start to improve!
Thanks! He just called me and said I shouldn’t still be swelling and called in a steroid for me! He thinks that will help me!
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Just saw an update on the Facebook group of a Hackman patient a few weeks out of surgery doing excellent! Following this closely glad he’s responding quickly to you. I’ll make sure to ask for prednisone on recovery.
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I disagree w/ Dr. Hackman, speechiemom. You’re given epinephrine or some relative of that during surgery which helps control bleeding & swelling. That stays in your system for up to a couple of days post op, & when it wears off, more swelling can occur. My surgeon (Dr. Samji) gives a what to expect post op take home sheet to his patients that includes the info that days 3-5 post op are when the swelling, & thus the pain, peak. I found this to be true for me & others have, too. There are those who don’t follow that pattern & find the worst days are the first 2-3 post op. Maybe that will be true for you. I do expect the Prednisone will make a BIG difference, but it might take a couple of days for you to really notice it. I’m glad you were able to get the Rx.
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I had Vicodin for pain. I don’t really recall having much pain. I do think that raising the head of the bed is an important thing to get the head and the neck above the level of the heart. I did this by stuffing all the pillows at the hotel would give me underneath the top of the mattress Between the mattress and the box spring. I hope you feel better soon. Best of luck to you
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IM with you Isaiah! Prednisone makes all the difference in the world. I can’t take NSAIDS and oxycotin barely touches my pain. Prednisone was like majic dust. A recent dental surgery gave me IV dexamethasone. Although it kept me awake, I was not in pain and didn’t need much pain medication. It was smooth sailing.
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@speechiemom14 , how the things have been? Any relief after the steroids?