Happy 
Day back to you @ShelbyH. We’re very happy to be here for you!
I had my last ES surgery on 10/30/24. I still have a small lump under the length of my incision, but it doesn’t hurt anymore.
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Ok thank you that’s good to know. I can definitely feel the issues on the other side now it feels like it’s doing something to my tongue. It hurts like a burning feeling but almost feels like it’s pulling it to that said now it’s so strange but feels like it’s constantly rubbing against the side of my teeth. This feeling comes and goes.
After my first surgery, I began having a pretty consistent feeling of something pressing down hard on the back left half of my tongue but nothing was there. It turned out to be glossopharyngeal nerve irritation that caused that symptom, & it was gone when I awoke from my second ES surgery where my left styloid was cut back. That’s to say, I sympathize with the sensations you’re getting in your tongue & if you plan to have a second styloidectomy, there’s a good chance it will help your tongue feel better.
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So I have another strange question. It’s been almost a month since I had my styloidectomy I can feel the swelling go down slowly near the stitches but behind the hallow of my ear is hurting more. Did any of you have this? It’s like a sharp pain that zings sometimes or is constantly there. I Would think the pain should be going away not feeling worse but I also know I’m still in the healing stages. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I do go back on Wednesday but I like to get any of your opinions seeing you know how I feel. Thanks
It sounds like you may have first bite syndrome, @ShelbyH. Do you notice the zing most when you first start eating? It can start behind the ear & move into the cheek/face on the same side. We’ve had members who experienced in the area you mentioned but it radiated to scalp instead of face. If that’s what you have & it’s staying put in that area you’re fortunate. The sensation the “zing” leaves behind can last for a bit but gradually fades away.
If it’s not first bite syndrome, it may be glossopharyngeal (GPN) neuralgia that has settled in as your GPN is healing from surgery. I had a problem in that area but it did eventually settle down. Some days it’s still tender to the touch but if I keep my fingers off the area, I don’t feel any pain.
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I didn’t have pain exactly where you’re experiencing it, but my incision was there…I did get zings & zaps & weird whooshes around the outside of my ear, cheek, jaw etc as the nerves healed- this usually seems to be a good sign that the nerves are healing although annoying & disconcerting! I hope that yours improves with time, and let us know how you get on tomorrow
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@ShelbyH I had some weird nerve pain going up into my ear following surgery in July 2024. As @Isaiah_40_31 said, it calms down over time. I still have it a tiny bit when I yawn but it is nearly gone.
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Thank you. I was just wondering how you all felt a month after? I’m still pretty numb but it’s painful where the incision is still especially when I’m chewing or moving that area. Went to the dr the other day and he said I should have been rubbing this area cause the scar tissue is hard and pretty big. I told him no one told me this so I started using the heat and rubbing it pretty frequently. Any ideas what to put on it for pain that I could rub?
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I used Volteran gel to help reduce the swelling and frequent tissue massage. I put a nice thick cream over the healed scar and gently used the handle of a metal spoon in all directions…sort of like Grasten technique if you want to look that up.
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Ok thank you. Yes it feels pretty hard still and I still don’t have feeling around my jaw area. Do any of you remember how long it took to get feeling back and if the rubbing helps that?
@ShelbyH - Try gently rubbing a soft washcloth on your face in the numb area periodically during the day. Nerve recovery doesn’t need vigorous massaging to stimulate the nerves. It took my face 8 or 9 months to wake up - it was a VERY gradual process, but my numb area was only along my lower jaw line.
As far as your neck incision goes, the hardness may naturally decrease to some extent as more time passes (I recall I had quite a lump for about 3 mos after surgery) but doing more aggressive massaging (w/ limited pain) with your lubricated finger tips across the firmer area will help increase circulation & may help decrease the inflammation a bit more quickly that you’re still feeling. I can’t say this often enough…ES surgery is slow to recover from. It takes quite a long time for the nerves to heal & the incision to settle down - up to a year for the worst of the nerve issues & sometimes a number of months for the incision to settle down & stop hurting & looking funky. Each of us heals at a different rate with some healing quickly & others more slowly so it’s not a good idea to compare your rate of healing w/ someone else on the forum who healed more quickly.
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Thank you for the response. So that is exactly where I have the numbness and still have a lot of pain while rubbing the incision area. When I went to see my dr it was one of his students that said I shouldn’t have any pain anymore and I thought that was odd seeing it was only a month in. He told me the dr can go in the sight at anytime and I was always told at least 3 months to do the other side. Seems there is a lot of nerves in this area so it would take some time to heal. The more I rub it does hurt more so I’m sure it’s gonna take some time. Just wanted to make sure what I was feeling is normal.
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I’m also having some teeth sensitivity in that area where my gums feel sensitive but yet swollen. It feels good to rub them with a brush and floss. Not sure if this is normal either.
The gum sensitivity could be from an irritated trigeminal nerve, it’s normal for nerves to flare up & cause strange sensations sometimes as they heal, the trigeminal nerve is commonly affected by ES, so if you didn’t have trouble with it before it could be it’s a bit inflamed after surgery/ with healing & swelling in the area…
I agree that it was a strange thing for the student doctor to say about pain in the incision area being gone a month out, I think it usually seems to be longer than that to settle…If it’s painful when you rub it then personally I’d go a little easier on it to start with, but that’s just my opinion!
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Thank you. I like getting your opinions here because you guys understand how this feels. For someone to say in a month it shouldn’t hurt seems a bit odd especially cause they have never dealt with this. It hurts more so when I’m moving or chewing because the neck is going up and down and that’s were the incision was made.
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The pain in your incision with movement will settle down over time. I recall it took several months for that to go away for me.
Ok so I’m sitting here and all of the sudden the right side that hasn’t been done yet started to bubble up and hurt there is like a big round ball that kills inside of my neck. The throat pain got more intense and when I swallow my neck pushes out. It looks swollen and came out of no where anyone know what this is? This was the side that I had done for my hyoid bone initially but not for eagles syndrome he’s still waiting to do this side. It’s somewhat near where the insition site was but I had this done for my hyoid back in November. Any thoughts
That is very odd, @ShelbyH. I think you should try to get an appointment w/ your surgeon ASAP to check that out.
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So it was scar tissue that had formed. Initially when I had my hyoid bone surgery they never told me to rub the area and I didn’t up until about a few weeks ago when my new dr asked if I was rubbing the side he just did and I said I wasn’t sure I was supposed to. It’s gotten a lot better cause it was very painful and kind of bunched up into a ball. I went back today and they are setting my next surgery for next month. I am noticing now that the nerve area under my jaw that’s numb is starting to get feeling back, there is more pain. I thought most would be gone by now so I’m not really sure if it’s because my nerves are starting to come back to life or if this is normal? My throat on the side I just had done is also feeling a bit off. I had been feeling good but again it’s so close to those nerves and I’m slowly getting the feeling back in it I’m wondering if that’s why? It just gives me a slight sharp pain when I’m swallowing not like anything is stuck in it anymore but still not 
correct. Anyone else experience this?