Not surprising that recovery is a bit slower then, extra hugs! 
My first surgery (R styloid) was the worst recovery for me. Though my throat was only sore for the first week or two, it felt really swollen for close to 6 weeks & maybe longer. I remember feeling super tired all the time, too, even on my good days but on one morning, almost exactly 2 months after that surgery, I woke up feeling like my old self. Energy returned over night & symptoms began reducing/disappearing more obviously. That said, it was also near that time that the symptoms from my left styloid started kicking up. Go figure. 
My recovery from the second surgery was quicker & easier for some reason. It may have been because half my tongue 
was paralyzed after my first surgery & took almost till my second surgery to āthaw outā & start acting more normally again.
Have you tried sucking on ice chips or drinking ice water to help your throat at all? Some people have mentioned sucking on fruit popsicles was helpful & tastier than cold water. I think there are also lozenges for sore throats which sort of numb the throat. You can buy them OTC from any pharmacy.
If your sore throat & the swollen feeling persist, you could ask your doctor for a course of dexamethasone or prednisone. Steroids are powerful anti-inflammatories & might just give your body the healing jump start it needs in this case. Dex has less side effects than Pred but works just as well. Usually itās a 10-14 day course that is Rxed.
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Hi guys itās been a minute. Since I had my surgery in April I have had migraines come back swallowing issues neck pain and extreme nerve pain. No one had answers for me seeing I had both sides done. My pt and chiropractor think I have extreme muscle spasms in my neck and upper shoulders. My neck feels like a rock and will not move. Iāve had a mri and scan and they donāt see anything. My surgeon isnāt even sure what to do now seeing Iāve been in pt for months now and nothing is changing. Wondering if anyone has gone through something like this? Iām going to see a pain specialist for trigger point injections and my surgeon said he doesnāt recommend this but pt and chiropractor said I need them. They think with all the hard inflammation things are pushing and pulling on nerves my throat and causing the nerve and swallowing and migraine pain. Pretty much all on the right side which is the side I had the hyoid bone and styloidectomy surgery in within a few months of each other. I am starting to loose hope cause Iāve been in pain so long and no one understands. Thinking about doing some red light therapy if anyone has ever tried that? I just need some of this to break down I canāt even crack my neck and everything is extremely tight. Donāt know why o have dysphasia now again but Iām wondering if itās just all pressing on my throat even though the mri shows itās not I guess. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Iām really sorry your second surgery has seemed to make things worse for you. There have been some cases where ES symptoms have hung on for quite a number of months before beginning to resolve, but that is not the norm. Have you considered getting an Rx for a muscle relaxant to see if that helps at all? Flexeril & Baclofen have both been mentioned on our forum as being helpful.
Iām also wondering if your hyoid somehow got out of alignment due to having only one side shortened, & if so, that could triggered the swallowing issues & neck pain. We had a member who had severe swallowing issues after a revision ES surgery, & it turned out her hyoid had tipped so it wasnāt level anymore. That, in her opinion, is what caused her symptoms & may have been verified by a doctor (canāt recall). I donāt think the hyoid being āunlevelā is something doctors look for when considering swallowing issues & neck pain so it might be worth it to convert your recent images to 3D so you can see the position of your hyoid.
I donāt recall who you saw for your hyoid surgery, but if it wasnāt Dr. Dewan in Louisiana, and you do see something not right with it, having a consult with her might be helpful.
ā¢Dr. Karuna Dewan, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport - Academic Medical Center - Specializes in Hyoid Bone Syndrome surgeries
1541 Kings Hwy, Shreveport, Louisiana, 1-318-626-0050
https://www.ochsnerlsuhs.org/doctors/karuna-dewan
Iām assuming you didnāt have any IJV (jugular) or ICA (carotid) compression that was neglected during surgery as vascular compression is notorious for causing migraines, thus, your migraine pain could be coming from your facial or trigeminal nerves.
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So I seen Dr. Ramirez Iām here in Michigan. Heās been wonderful so far and is working with my pt, chiropractor, and neurologist to come up with a plan because I think heās just unsure. I did notice a few weeks ago after them working on my neck using the granston tool that I had this bad pain on the side of my neck when they were done. Then I felt a small lump on the side of my neck, well come to find out he said thatās my carotid artery that Iām feeling. It wasnāt like that prior and itās painful. From reading on this if the lump grows it can cause many issues if it bursts. I donāt know much about this but Iām wondering if this is why Iām having all these symptoms cause they seem to align with what Iām reading. This is a very extreme headache that came back around the same time along with the swallowing getting worse. This is on the opposite side of where I had the hyoid bone and es surgery. So Iām wondering if I possibly have two separate things going on at the same time? I just donāt know if a bulging carotid artery can cause pain on both sides of the throat and dysphasia. I feel like this whole thing has been so complicated with me and Iām coming to a loss anymore. Iām getting a ultrasound next Wednesday for this so hopefully they can give me some answers and we can move forward to start eliminating things.
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Interesting about the bulge in your carotid. Arteries & veins can get weak spots (aneurysms) that can rupture & cause HUGE problems so Iām really glad youāre getting an ultrasound. Based on the outcome, you may need to see a vascular specialist. The carotid artery can definitely cause pain in the chest & throat area & can cause migraine level headaches when itās either compressed or compromised in other ways as your perhaps is.
Iām so glad to hear that Dr. Ramirez has stuck with you & is doing all he can to help you. Thatās refreshing as many doctors arenāt so kind & helpful once theyāve done their part for a patient.
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Iām so sorry that youāre having all these issues, itās so rough after having gone through surgeryā¦good that Dr Ramirez at least is trying to make sense of this with you, even if he doesnāt have all the answersā¦ A muscle relaxant like @Isaiah_40_31 suggested is perhaps worth a try, & maybe the injections will help- some members have had botox injections to try & help tightened muscles. Depending on when the symptoms flared up- did you have initial relief after surgery or was this pain constant?- maybe scar tissue could be causing issues? Some members have had cold laser therapy to try & help with that, but you need an experienced practitioner as it has to be not near the thyroidā¦
Sometimes when people have had the pain & inflammation from ES for a long time, the muscles get over used or under used because of different posture etc & it can take a long time for those muscles to adjust after surgeryā¦
I hope that you get some answers from your ultrasound, thinking of you & sending you a hug
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So strangely I had Botox 5 weeks ago and it did nothing not even for my migraines which I think is very odd thatās why Iām assuming there is an underline issue going on. I did Botox last year with the hyoid bone situation before anyone knew thatās what it was and it did nothing. Thatās why I can assume that. I did look into cold laser therapy and could not find anyone around me in Michigan to do it. The only thing I found was the red light therapy which is 350$ for about 6 sessions but it may be worth a shot at this point. So my mri showed no scar tissue and I was shocked when I heard that cause my neck is so big I assumed that was what was pushing in my throat. Thatās another annoying thing Iām dealing with which makes swallowing hard or painful. Initially after surgery I had relief for about 2 weeks and then something changed quickly. I donāt know if it was the pain meds that I maybe didnāt notice but Iām pretty sure I was good for those two weeks. It started with the feeling of something pushing into my throat and a choking sensation again then led to pain in my neck where my neck feels like a rock and crunches and creeks when you rub on it. Then the migraines and some jaw pain settled in along with extreme nerve pain when I eat hot or cold. I guess we will know more when I get the ultrasound done. They clearly can feel this bubble or artery popping out but whatās strange is that the mri didnāt pick it up. If this is my artery Iām wondering if the symptoms are coming from that and another issue with my muscles spasming.