Update: 2 Days Post-Op

Symptoms and Treatments
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Hello all! My surgery was on 1/6/25 with Hackman. It is now 1/8/25 and I’m home and feeling pretty good. My styloid process was just over 2cm so not anything crazy. It was calcified with little bony spikes. Dr. Hackman was able to remove it through an incision around my ear, no neck incision was made.

Current Complication: the left side of my face is super slow to react. Blinking and smiling are noticeably weak but other than that, there’s truly no news.

As you’d expect, eating is hard but I’ve learned already that using a fork is easier than a spoon because I don’t have to open my mouth as wide. It’s the little things… :laughing:

Discharge: I was given a Prednisone regiment that I will start today, along with drops for my left eye and pain meds. I’m allergic to codeine but Oxy doesn’t usually bother me but I woke up in hives and itching like crazy. I’ll be calling them for a replacement pain medication this morning.

My next goal is to get off of all of the meds I have been on for the last 2.5 years. Then I’ll be doing a liver and kidney detox and hoping I feel as good as new.

I will be happy to share any part of my journey if anyone has any questions or interest. My symptoms started in 2017, came to a head in 2022 and finally I got with the right doctors to take me seriously and help me figure out how to proceed. I truly believe surgery was my best option and I’m glad things moved quickly once we realized it was Eagle’s Syndrome. I am not sure if this is allowed but here’s a link to the TikTok I posted last night to explain my journey.

Wishing every one of you the absolute best. -Jenny

left styloid process
left styloid process1920×2560 859 KB

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I’m so pleased that you’re through surgery and are feeling good, that’s great news!
Having slight facial paralysis is quite common, hopefully this will improve for you soon, a couple of members have had it quite significantly and have needed PT, but it has improved.
Thank you for your update, and fine to post a link with more of your story!
Take care, and hope that things keep improving! :pray: :hugs: :bouquet:

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Thank you for posting an update so quickly after your surgery, @Jstilley! I’m glad Dr. Hackman recognized your symptoms were likely caused by your spiky styloid even though it wasn’t super long. It’s also good to know you understand post op recovery can take a while (sometimes up to a year or more) for nerves to completely heal though most people see some very positive changes in the 2-6 mo time frame.

I think it’s fine for you to post your Tik Tok link because you’re not trying to sell anything through it, just offering information about your ES journey.

Your hands & feet symptoms may go away, but there is a chance there is something else going on that is causing them. We have had members w/ similar symptoms that did recovery after their styloidectomies so there is hope.

Please keep us posted as you heal to let us know how you’re doing. :hugs:

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