I had a decommpression and c-1 laminectomy 2 yrs ago. 3 days ago my symptoms began immediately. I had extreme pressure where my surgery site is. When I stand up, the back of my head feels hot and goes numb causing me to faint. I’ve fallen over 15x in the past 3 days. I thought i was my blood sugar but apparently its not… I went to the ER 2 days ago and the docs said it wasn’t chiari because I didn’t have a headache. I only had pressure in the back.of my head and behind my eyes. They then said it could be anxiety… Nope that’s not it… So here we are on day 4… I have a headache and the pressure is still behind my eyes and head… Same issues when I stand up as well. What could it be?
Hi Nila, Sorry to hear the symptoms are back. I had my decompression 16 months ago and my symptoms returned 4 months post op all my docs keep telling me that they have nothing to do with the Chiari but they have no other answers. I hope you have better luck than I have in getting answers.
Hey! Sorry that you are going through this! The same thing is happening to me. I have fainted 4 times in one night and went to the er and was diagnosed with a headache. I have no pain medication, they simply keep prescribing me antidepressants. I am in the doctor, neurosurgeon and neurologist almost every week but they keep saying none of my symptoms are neurological. It is super frustrating that most doctors believe that since I’ve had surgery 8 months ago, it could not be related to my chiari. I really hope you find better help than I have!
Hello Nila,
The description about the pressure behind your eyes and the headaches is similar to what my wife is experiencing. She has experienced headaches and has had trouble with her vision for many years. The NS She is now seeing referred her to a Neuro opthamalogist which saw that there was some damage to her optic nerves because of the intercranial pressure. I’m not saying that there is any damage to your vision, but it may be worth seeing a Neuro opthamalogist and having them measure the pressure behind your eyes. We’re not sure when the intercranial pressure began with my wife; she started having problems with her vision in her twenties and unfortunately there seems to be irreversible damage to the Optic nerves (papplidema) The meeting with the Neuro opthomologist led her NS to measure the cerebrospinal with a lumbar puncture. This showed that her body is making fluid faster than its being absorbed. Perhaps you may want to speak to your NS about your cerebrospinal fluid. To just give you some background: She was diagnosed with a Chiari 1 with syrinx in December 2015. The first NS advised decompression surgery but due for he syrinx but said that many of her symptoms were not Chiari related. We went for a second opinion and this new NS is more attentive to my wife and listened to her whole history and referred her for more tests before deciding on decompression surgery and it seems that there are two issues with my wife. 1. Chiari 1 and 2. The abnormal production of CSF which would have not been resolved with decompression surgery.