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.
It sounds like youāve tried lots then, it all sounds really strange & Iām so sorry that we canāt give you any answersā¦let us know when youāre having the ultrasoundā¦sending you hugs and prayers 
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Thank you I agree. I will let you know on Wednesday appreciate the hugs is been such a rough year and a half on all of us around here idk anymore what else to do.
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To be clear, cold laser needs a cone attachment to keep your thyroid safe. The laser needs a finer point. Do not have neck cold laser work if the technician / doctor does not have the attachment. You donāt want to have a damaged thyroid.
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@ShelbyH do you happen to have your CT scan on hand? Do you have one since your surgeries? Iām curious to see what your imaging looks like and see if we can spot anything that could be explaining your continued difficulties. Also, have you had a neck xray to evaluate neck curve?
Iām not able to upload all of the scans but I do have a few pictures my drs think itās definitely my hyoid bone again. I just donāt know why the headaches are so bad of any of you can remind me? They think it has to do with compression of the bones on the muscles because the nerve blocks wonāt help nor will Botox or trigger point injections. Iām choking on my food a lot lately and they can see in my swallow study itās gotten worse. Everything is just moving so slow in the medical world with all this and itās hard to find drs that know about this bone. The bottom pic is my drs itās normal he wanted me to see what mine looked like compared to someone normal. This is general my family practitioner. They have been trying to find me a really good dr that knows a lot about this because the past drs that did the surgery botched this up bad.
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Itās not that clear an image so hard to tell, but it looks like your hyoid bone processes have been fully removed both sides? Normally theyād be shortened rather than fully removed? Thereās something showing up just above your hyoid, where youāve circled, it doesnāt look like calcification so I wonder if itās a surgical clip left in? We have had some members who have these put in during surgery (I think maybe @Isaiah_40_31 did?), which usually wouldnāt be an issue but perhaps itās shifted or something? You would have to ask your surgeon if thatās what heās done, but it might be a clue? Any irritation of the carotid artery wall can cause pain the length of the artery, so could be causing you pain & possibly a headache, & also if it was rubbing on a nerve this could be causing pain?
Looking at your image, youāve lost your neckās natural curve- your neck is very straight if you compare it to the normal image below, so that can cause some problems, affect muscles which could in turn cause pain, so it might be worth looking into doing some gentle exercises to try & correct this. There have been lots of discussions about this & some helpful info here:
List of my favourite resources on YouTube to learn anatomy - General - Living with Eagle
I donāt know if this is helpful at all, maybe others might have suggestions, sending you a hug
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@ShelbyH whatās the hurdle for getting pictures of your CT scan uploaded to the portal? Iām really good at looking at the hyoid in the axial view of the CT imaging. Iām getting my hyoid greater horn surgically removed soon. I can help of you can somehow get access to your CT and get some imaging posted here. I can guide you for where to look.
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My left greater horn is rubbing against my ICA right about the carotid sinus. Itās causing stroke like symptoms, dizziness, weakness, my left eyelid is sagging. I think the eye symptom is similar to Hornerās syndrome where the sympathetic plexus of the ICA is being irritated/damaged by the greater horn. I have pulsatile tinnitus, where my greater horn has my ECA entrapped, but I also have IJV compression so hard to say if the tinnitus is coming from that or the ECA
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Can you tell me how to upload them? I have a laptop and they gave me a disc but my laptop top doesnāt have the option to put the disc in it.
@ShelbyH youāll need to purchase an external CD/DVD drive that you plug into your laptop. They have them on amazon. Make sure to get one where the connector will fit your laptop
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Also I seen a neurosurgeon the other day and he said my right jugular vein is possibly being compressed by either scar tissue or the hyoid bone pressing on the muscles and structures. He said he can see there isnāt enough blood flowing in that side. I took this to the new surgeon Iām seeing sheās very young and told me that was normal. I donāt think itās normal to have a migraine 24/7 for 10 months especially on the side the neurosurgeon was talking about where my neck is very hard. This new ent surgeon doesnāt seem to know much about any of this. She said she can see Iām choking on food but canāt tell me why, she knows my neck is hard but canāt tell me why, she tried to tell me my hyoid bone looks fine where it is but all my other drs tell me it does not look normal how itās sitting in my throat. All she wants me to do is start with a swallow therapist but the choking is the least of my worries. Where I put both fingers on both sides of my upper throat where the greater horns sit is where the pain is unbearable. I can actually feel the right side of the horn where it was cut in the first surgery scrapping and scrapping in my upper throat. Slowly i felt the left side move upwards in my throat then my neck got hard just like the right and the headaches got worse. The strange thing about the right side after the hyoid bone surgery is that I can put my finger all the way down my throat and cannot feel where that side of the bone is sitting I feel skin over the top of it as if itās not directly sitting in my throat anymore but under a bunch of skin as I can slightly feel it. She tried to tell me that it shouldnāt be sitting where it once was and from what Iām reading thatās not normal. I guess Iām on the hunt again for a new Dr. does anyone else seem to go through this where they have had to go to multiple drs to get answers or find new head and neck surgeons? Iām no longer seeing Dr Ramirez as he blew me off after the surgeries and basically said Iām fine. Sometimes I feel like Iām going crazy and no one is actually listening to me and it can be very frustrating. Those things I circled in the scan are clips that no one knew he put in cause it was never noted in my surgical notes. Iāve had a few drs tell me now I didnāt even need those surgeries that Dr Ramirez did as they didnāt see any elongation that what I was feeling was always my hyoid bone but the symptoms are so similar itās crazy.
@ShelbyH - I canāt remember if this has been suggested or not, but Dr. Dewan is possibly the most experienced doctor on our Doctors List for hyoid bone surgeries. Sheās in Louisiana which is a bit of a hike for you but if you can travel to see her, she would be the mostly likely doctor I can recommend to help you figure out whatās going on. Thereās another surgeon at UCLA Medical Ctr in Los Angeles, California, who also does hyoid surgeries, but I donāt know as much about him.
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
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