Heading to my surgery in about an hour. Will post updates when I am able!! 
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I will pray for you! Best wishes!
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Best wishes, and hope that you have a speedy recovery!
I had second surgery yesterday- back home and not too bad at all at the moment! Can eat better than last time. Worst problem is blocked ear/ can’t hear properly- think they slapped the iodine/ antiseptic on a bit much pre-op and my ear’s full of it!! Can’t be bad if that’s the worst complaint!!
Let us know how you are when you’re feeling up to it.
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MiniFury, we’d love to know how you are doing. Fill us in when you get a chance, OK?
Seenie
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Hi friends,
Sorry I have been quiet, been focused on healing and eating ice cream for the last week.
OK, so my experience overall has been very positive. I came through the surgery fine and while I had my typical reaction to general anesthesia (nausea) I slept most of that first day. I ended up having almost 1.5 inches removed, and he worked hard to minimize the scarring by using a natural crease in my neck. It actually was pretty far from the location of the styloid, so he admitted it was a bit more work, but he didn’t want to leave much scarring if he could help it.
I felt better each day and by Saturday, I felt well enough to go for a short walk with my guy and dogs. I didn’t realize how much the heat and humidity of South Carolina would affect me, and I ended up getting very sick to my stomach. Valuable lesson, baby steps are much smaller than I realized.
I had my follow up appt with my doc last monday, and he was quite pleased that my pain level from the ES is better, as is the pain from the surgery. Had my stitches removed, and have no plans to visit him unless I need to or decide to have the left side done.
I have several suggestions for those having external surgery (can only speak to my own experience, internal surgery might also benefit from these tips, but I just don’t know personally)
Buy a wedge pillow, and a V shaped pillow. I used the wedge during the day and the V at night, and having options was really helpful.
Set up a bedside table - I had ordered a small table for another purpose, but ended up so thankful for that darn thing! I put a small bowl to keep chapstick, pill bottles, etc for easy reach and had room for my phone, a book, remotes, etc. It was closer than my normal bedside table and easy to move when needed.
Straws! Another amazingly helpful thing. I couldn’t tilt my head back for several days, and still feel pulling and pain if I do even a week later. You’ll thank yourself for buying some bendy straws.
Don’t undercut your healing time. Take the time you need to get better. I’m at about 87 percent
Please let me know if I can answer any specific questions!
Stephanie
Stephanie, that’s great news! So happy to hear you’re at 87% so soon. Thanks for letting us know how you’re doing.
Thanks heidemt!
BTW, my total surgery cost was 1500 dollars. If anyone is struggling to find the money and is open to traveling to Charleston, SC (not a bad place to travel, I assure you!) I’d be happy to introduce you to my doc. He’s great!
Who was your doctor?
The total cost for everything? Did insurance cover anything?
Sorry I don’t remember, did you have to travel very far?
Yes, that was the surgery and surgery center cost combined. I haven’t gotten a bill from the anesthesiologist yet. My insurance is applying to my deductible, so I paid cash since it was so much less than I anticipated.
His name is Dr. Gene Brown at Charleston ENT. I live in Charleston so it was local to me.
New here and trying to figure out how to maneuver the site on my phone lol. Wanted to say congrats on your healing process!! I am scared of my gut saying that this surgery is in my future but will keep hope for my gut being wrong. Happy recovery to you!
Hi!
Glad to hear back from you- have been thinking of you and wondering how it went! Really pleased to hear that you’re feeling better, and it sounds like it was worth doing!
I am considering the surgery, but as we are military and just moved from NY (where I was diagnosed), my insurance changed regions and I will need to see another doctor and then another ENT to confirm my diagnosis (even though my CT scan plainly shows it and it can be felt pretty far down into my neck).
I am now living about an hour south of San Jose, I plan to contact Dr. Samji. He performs external surgeries, so I might be reaching out to you for more info and possibly photos of the healing.
I hope your recovery is swift and the positive results are lasting!
Feel free to contact Isaiah40:31 on here, Lauren- she’s had both sides done with Dr Samji, and is happy to help out with advice!
Fantastic, thanks!! I will reach out to get more information
So happy to hear of your success so far! Could you tell me a little bit about the process you went through to get set up with Dr. Brown? I live in Tennessee and he may a good option for me. How many visits did you have to go to with him before he scheduled surgery? What hospital did he perform the surgery at and how long were you in? Sorry for the long list but I’m desperately trying to find a qualified surgeon!
Hey, happy to answer questions, that’s what this group is all about!
I had a CT scan that proved the diagnosis, went to Dr. Brown for a consult where he prescribed anti inflammatories for a month. That didn’t work so I went back and met with him again where he let me know my only option was surgery.
My surgery was outpatient at Charleston ENT’s outpatient surgery center in West Ashley, SC so I had no inpatient time. I took a week off to recover (he does surgeries on Tuesdays, so because I work from home I felt okay working on Monday part time, and slowly built up to working full days.
Please let me know if you have further questions.
I’m a bit late jumping on this wagon, but am so glad your recovery is going so well! It pays to take care of yourself & listen to your body! I hope you don’t need to do round 2, but if so, you know what to expect now. In many cases the second side is less traumatic than the first. I think the docs try to operate on the side that seems most problematic first which gets the hard part out of the way early on.
Still feeling a bit of pain and tightness from the scar tissue but it’s significantly better than the Eagle pain.