Three weeks ago I had neck surgery. There was a large cyst under my jaw that the doctors suspected were a Branchial Cyst but it had to be taken out so that they could test it for cancer. Apparently, it was just a big cyst full of water, which is a birth defect that appears later in life, and it was, in fact, a Branchial Cyst as they had thought. Presumably, it appears at that time when you lose your baby fat around the neck so that you can actually see it pop out. To me, it just appeared one day 10 years ago which was when I lost a big chunk of weight, a.k.a baby fat. I was 18 years old. I lived in Sweden and I had the doctors put a needle in there to check its content. They said they didn’t believe it was cancer, so I moved on with my life. I learned to live with the cyst in my neck, although I hated it. I just never thought any doctors would care to remove it as it wasn’t an emergency. Then I moved to the United States for 6 years where I definitely could not afford the surgery, which delayed my process of getting it removed. When I finally moved to London, the doctors were quick to suggest me to remove it as it could at the very least cause problematic infections as I get older. The doctor was surprised I had had it for 10 years without getting it removed. I guess I’m a weirdo. Also, I absolutely hate the idea of surgery.
More on my surgery experience:
I was scared shitless before. The idea of general anesthesia is and will forever freak me out. You lose all sense of control. Someone’s cutting in your body without your consent (not really true, but that’s what it feels like to me). It feels like the ultimate violation of your unconscious body. Again, this is just irrational fear. I want that darn cyst removed. I also don’t want to be awake when someone cuts in me, that is definitely worse.
So, there I am with my husband, waiting for surgery for hours after my appointment time. This makes everything worse – the waiting! When they finally get me on my way, everything happens pretty fast. The anesthesia gives me as she says, “the first Gin & Tonic” Wooph! Immediately, I feel like I had four Gin & Tonics. Then she says she’ll give me the second Gin & Tonic, and I was like Damn! This is going to hit me hard! … and then… suddenly, I wake up in the recovery room.
Unlike my previous surgery, 8 years earlier for Appendectomy, I did not wake up totally confused and frightened (because it’s not normal to wake up like that). I actually woke up knowing exactly what had happened, I was calm and satisfied. I even felt like myself. Didn’t act like a drunken fool. I asked what time it was because I wanted to know how long the surgery took because I knew my husband was waiting outside. It turned out it was much faster than they had originally told me. They told me it could take up to 4 hours before I’d wake up. But I was only asleep for a total of 1.5 hours, so the surgery was probably about an hour.
They gave me morphine which made me nauseous and lots of paracetamol and ibuprofen. I had a drain in the back of my neck which was bugging me the first night at the hospital. The day after surgery they had me go home because I’m a young healthy adult and they need that bed for sicker individuals.
However, the first 3 days at home was pure hell. I felt my neck so stiff, I got neck pain from trying to avoid moving my head the wrong way. I couldn’t eat out of a lack of appetite probably from the bodily trauma of having surgery. I couldn’t sleep at all. I couldn’t concentrate enough on watching a movie or really anything entertaining. My anxiety grew every day. I was just trapped in my own body not able to do anything. Not even eating. On the 4th day after surgery, I had a full-blown panic attack, and I called the hospital. They brought me back in to check on the scar, to reassure me it was all fine, and to give me some more drugs. They told me to take antibiotics and more ibuprofen due to the swelling. They gave me opioids but I only took them once and they made me vomit at 2 AM so no, thank you. Finally, they gave me a few sleeping pills. This helped a lot because if I don’t sleep I get more anxious the next day. I also started taking Mirtazapine again (I quit it a month before that) for only 10 days to get through the worst part of recovery. The anxiety was really the worst. I didn’t have terrible pain, only discomfort. The mental struggle was the worst.
After 7 days post-surgery, I began to feel like a normal person again. Still, tight around the wound but I was able to relax more. I began to have intense cravings for raw vegetables, like garlic, radish, tomato, cabbage, etc. Strong tasting raw vegetables. It was my body’s message to me to get more vitamins and minerals to help the healing process. The body is magic that way! Listen to it!
Feeling stronger better emotionally, I also began to wean off Mirtazapine and the sleeping pills and by the end of week 2, I was free of all pills, except natural supplements. The supplements I am taking are a Skin, Hair, Nails supplement that has all the essential ingredients for wound healing such as Iron, Zinc and Grapeseed Extract. I also take a mixed-herbal supplement to help with my nighttime anxiety and sleeping problems.
Topically, I have been putting 99% Aloe Vera Gel on the scar every day since Day 4. I have been putting Grapeseed Oil on the scar three times a day since Day 9. On my follow-up appointment on Day 16, my doctor told me to use the oil to massage the scar three times a day to break down the hardness of the scar, which will help it heal faster, and it will help my scabs fall off gently (she said it was okay to help them fall off at this point). My scabs finally fell off when I started this massaging routine. They were all off by the end of Day 17 revealing a clean, pink scar underneath.
I should mention that I did have a minor infection around Day 9. One part of my scar seemed to be opening up, it was very swollen and red. Some puss was coming out. I didn’t want to disturb the doctors about it because I had just finished 5 days of antibiotics and I knew this infection was probably due to yeast. (I know from life-long chronic UTIs that antibiotics cause an overgrowth of yeast). So, I used all my home remedy tricks. I first cleaned the scar with Apple Cider Vinegar then I put raw garlic straight on the infectious part for about 20 minutes. After that, I poured salt water over the scar to flush it. I also ate a lot of garlic and other antifungal foods. The very next morning the infection had calmed down. I continued to clean it with salt water every day and I put raw garlic on it once a day for a total of 3 days. I also kept putting aloe vera and grapeseed oil on it. After 2 days my wound had scabs on it and the swelling was gone. It was finally healing properly almost 2 weeks after surgery (note: this was only one part of the scar, the rest was healing fine from day 1). At three weeks, that part of the scar is slightly delayed behind the rest of the scar but not far behind.
Now I’m at Week Three and the scar is looking pretty good. Still pink and obvious but well on it’s way to healing fast. I’ll keep updating this post to show my healing results.
My Neck Surgery – Branchial Cyst Removal Hi all! Three weeks ago I had neck surgery. There was a large cyst under my jaw that the doctors suspected were a…
