I’m glad I found this site… Before yesterday I had never heard of ES, but am starting to think it can finally explain some of the symptoms Ive been experiencing over the last two years. I was just wondering if anyone with experience could give me their opinion.
Over the past year or two, Ive had a fairly persistent feeling of something caught in my throat around my left tonsil area. Im constantly swallowing/clearing throat and nose but nothing ever seemed to help. Some days are worse than others, but I do notice coffee/caffeine seems to make it worse. Sometimes it causes me to gag, and every now and then there is slight pain on the left side of my tongue/throat, but its usually painless. I sometimes also get a very strange tickle in my throat I would lay down to go to sleep. I saw an ENT doctor last year who said everything looked okay and it could just be post nasal drip (I was worried I had tonsil cancer or something serious.)
Since then, Ive basically gotten used to it and things havent really gotten any better or worse. However, Last night I was being paranoid again and feeling around my tonsils and noticed that to the left of the base of my tongue, just below my tonsil, I feel a very hard kind of pointy object just below the skin. Im almost certain its bone (it doesnt give or move at all when pressed, and it feels like what I would imagine a small pinky bone would feel like) and its exactly in the spot thats been bothering me. I also dont have any hard spots on the right side of my throat, so I am fairly convinced this is what has been causing my discomfort.
Does this sound like ES to anyone else? Ive got another appointment with an ENT doctor at Duke University hospital after near years, and would like to bring this up as a possible cause.
Hello,
I live in NC as well. I was diagnosed in November and just had surgery on Dec. 9th. My surgeon is at Duke in Durham. Let me know if I can be of any help.
This is exactly how I found out that I had ES. A bony protrusion in my to tonsillar fossa. I would ask your ENT to do a physical palpation of the are and then get a CT scan to confirm the diagnosis. I hope you get an answer soon.
I agree with TranquiliTea…I had the pain in my right tonsil area and neck and was poking around in my tonsil area and felt the bone that made the pain worse when I touched it. I MADE the ENT feel it, and he relooked at my CT and saw the elongated styloid that the radiologist had not commented on in his written report. Keep being persistent until you get answers…good luck!
Thanks so much for the replies... I'm almost 100% certain now that I have ES and will definitely bring it up to the ENT during my appointment next month (and make sure to make them feel inside my mouth.) On some level I'll be relieved to finally know what's been causing these strange symptoms for so long.. but on the other hand, I'm not sure what the future has in store for me. We'll see how things go!
How was surgery? Are you recovering well? Xo krista3 said:
Hello, I live in NC as well. I was diagnosed in November and just had surgery on Dec. 9th. My surgeon is at Duke in Durham. Let me know if I can be of any help.
I never heard of Eagles and had issues like yours.The doctor did a CT Scan of my sinuses because I always had a sore throat. Nothing. Then one day, I finally made him feel the bony structure. Wow, he knew what it was because he had it, but apparently he did not think about it before because he did not have the sore throat and I guess, he thought it was so rare. I think now he is on his third patient. Ha Ha!
Emma,
wow even when suffering first hand from the same exact thing did your doctor pass judgment on Eagles. This makes me feel for those ppl that can’t seem to find answers. Just because something is so significantly rare does NOT mean that it is fairy tale.
Best wishes
Lisa you might want to try hypnotherapy to help you getting over being scared to have the surgery. It’s a life changer. It can really make a huge difference in your world. And I have been told by doctors that it is possible for the bone to grow back. However you need to live in the moment with what you need now and not worry about the future. You certainly shouldn’t expect that to happen. Keep us posted. Good luck.
If you keep waiting to have surgery you will regret it. Styloid Process surgery saved my life. After 20 plus years the pain became so bad that my body was having a difficult time functioning. If it wasn't for this site posting the list of doctors, I don't think I could have lasted much longer.
