@ShelbyH - When nerves begin “waking up” they can cause pain - shooting or zapping, tingling, burning, aching, feeling of pressure when no pressure is being applied, flushing or cooling sensations even though skin temp doesn’t change to the touch. It can even cause the feeling like you have water running down your skin when it’s perfectly dry. I think everything you’re feeling is a normal part of nerve recovery. It can go on & off for quite a number of months since nerve healing is very slow.
I’m glad the lump in your neck had an easy explanation, & I hope if you start massaging it now, it will gradually decrease. It’s also good news your next surgery is getting scheduled w/o too long of a wait. Please let us know when you have a date.
Thank you. I thought it was probably normal since it did feel better and just started hurting out of no where. I’m also noticing some pain behind the ear that runs down and under my jaw line but seeing that’s where the bone was cut I’m sure that’s normal too. I always appreciate you guys with all the questions I have and it helps that your experience with this is something we all can relate to. Sometimes when I try to explain this to the drs associates they don’t get it because they have never been through it and my dr is so busy with surgeries he’s never really there till surgery. Thanks again
@ShelbyH I did my own daily gentle massage and something called skin rolling. I also went for dry needling and a massage technique called Graston for working directly over the healed scar. Wishing you a good recovery!
Some members have had cold laser therapy for scar tissue too…do you feel up to having your second surgery soon? Or do you want to get it over and done with?
I’ve never heard of cold laser therapy what does it do? I’m just ready to get this over with cause my left side is getting worse. The throat pain is so awful the migraines are beyond terrible so I’m ready to get it done and start healing.
Cold laser therapy is usually done by a PT or chiropractor. Here’s a link that explains it more thoroughly than I can. Some time ago @MusicGeek recommended it for reducing scar tissue as it worked well for her but warned that for any type of laser therapy near the thyroid, the thyroid must be protected to keep the laser away from it. Thus, laser therapy off to the side of the thyroid is ok but directly over the thryoid is not.
So I have been looking into this all day yesterday and today. My insurance won’t cover the cold therapy for some reason but I found a physical therapist that does red light and something with ultrasound waves that can help. Apparently this is something that isn’t common around here. It’s mostly common with chiropractors but the insurance won’t cover it if it comes from a chiropractor. Anyways I’m noticing more today that with the nerves waking up comes more pain that I can feel that I couldn’t previously especially around the back of the ear and down under the jaw line. This is common 6 weeks later right? I think not rubbing it had a lot to do with it seeing I didn’t know I had to and there could be some scar tissue going on. Hopefully things get better before the next surgery.
Hi @ShelbyH. I’m sorry you’re not healing as quickly as you’d like & that you’re still having difficulty. I just wanted to chime in and let you know that I had my surgery last June & I still have tenderness (and pain if pressed hard) at my incision site and in some other areas close to where I had the surgery. There are a lot of nerves, muscles, etc. in that area & at least for me, it is taking a while to heal. It is healing though and getting better. I started PT about 6 weeks after surgery and they did some work using the Graston technique that @Chrickychricky mentioned (only did it after I had been going to PT for a couple of months though). You can also do self massage with some type of oil to try to break up some of the scar tissue. It was recommended to me to do circular motions in both directions, about 30 times each, along the entire incision site. My surgeon also said that you could have hard scar tissue areas form for up to a year or so after the surgery. Another thing that I did was to have some red light therapy that is supposed to help reduce scar tissue formation. I initially went to the doctor for that, but then purchased a small red light therapy device from Tommie Copper when it went on sale. It was only about $40 and I can use it all around my neck several times a week. Each treatment was $15 at the doc’s office. I’m sure the one I bought isn’t as strong as the one at the doc’s office, but I figured I’d try it in case it could help. As you know, scar formation has it’s own set of problems and can also cause compression on the structures in the neck area. I think that if you start working on it now that you will see improvement. Also, I still have numbness along the jaw line and outer ear. Unfortunately, I also still have First Bite but think that it is slowly improving. Don’t get discouraged though because it just takes time for things to start working again, but you will see improvements. I hope that you keep improving at a steady rate.
What is exactly is first bite? Also I thought about purchasing the cold or red light therapy myself but it said to be careful as your thyroid should be covered and I’m not sure how to do all that without the right stuff to cover it. I will ask tomorrow about the Graston technique. Thank you for your advice I appreciate it.
As much as I HATE the new AI answers vs human answers when I Google something, however, this is a good explanation of what first bite syndrome (FBS) is & sort of what causes it. I believe it can also be caused by an irritated glossopharyngeal nerve (GPN) because 1) I’m pretty sure that’s what caused mine as my GPN was irritated by being moved during surgery to get it out of the way so the styloid could be shortened & 2) the GPN innervates the parotid gland which is the largest of our salivary glands:
First bite syndrome (FBS) is a condition characterized by intense, sharp pain in the parotid gland (salivary gland) that occurs immediately after taking the first bite of a meal. The pain typically subsides within a few minutes and does not recur until the next meal.
Causes
The exact cause of FBS is unknown, but it is believed to be related to an imbalance in the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems that innervate the parotid gland. FBS can occur after:
Surgery in the head and neck region, particularly involving the parapharyngeal space or parotid gland
Idiopathically (without a known cause)
@vap - I had significant FBS for a number of years after my first ES surgery, but I have good news!! Over the years between my first ES surgery & now, the level of the pain & the frequency of flare ups has gradually decreased. I forget I have it now because it’s so infrequent.
Yes, that is a good summary even if it is from AI. The thing that is so weird about it is that mine is only activated by certain foods (which thankfully, chocolate is not one of those ). So I’m thinking that it has to do with the parotid gland being activated by certain taste buds maybe. Anyway, I’m glad yours has diminished so much! I bet though that it’s a rude surprise when it does happen since you’re not having it very often.
Isaiah_40_31 provided a great summary of First Bite. I had not heard of having to cover the thyroid if using the red light & the doctor’s office didn’t do anything regarding covering it when I was there.. The red light therapy wrap I got can wrap around my neck and I use it to go from the base of the incision then up around my neck to along the jawline & ear on the side If had surgery. The doc told me that it can help nerve healing as well as reduce scar tissue.
@vap - it’s the cold/warm laser therapy that the thyroid needs protection from. I think red light therapy is safe for the thyroid because it’s a longer light wavelength.
So this is interesting because a lot of pain I’m having all the sudden is in front of the ear as well as behind down the jaw line. In front I keep rubbing the muscle thinking it’s somehow related to tmj although I have never had tmj I read eagles syndrome can mimic the symptoms I was going to try to find some type of cbd balm and talk to my dr about putting some Botox shots in that area as it did help before and he’s going to do it for the migraines once the insurance authorizes it. It hurts more so after I’m eating as I’m moving that area around a lot. Thank you guys again for your responses. I will talk to the pt about the red light tomorrow and look into buying one.
). So I’m thinking that it has to do with the parotid gland being activated by certain taste buds maybe. Anyway, I’m glad yours has diminished so much! I bet though that it’s a rude surprise when it does happen since you’re not having it very often.