I have an 10mm herniation. I was diagnosed in May 2012. I stay dizzy feeling, pain in my neck and tingling in my feet but I only get the occasional headache. Has this happened to anyone else? I keep hearing that the main symptom of Chiari is headache, but I only get that occasionally. Any input will be greatly appreciated.
Hi jules,
i am the same! i have a 12mm herniation.. and i dont suffer with headaches very often and when i do get them, theyre mild and dont affect my day in any way.
although.. i do get the val salva pains when i cough heavily or sneeze. but they only last for a few seconds.
my main problems are dizziness and general soft neurological symptoms.
are you going to have any treatment? my NS said the surgery will fix the val salvas only and not my dizziness etc (although he did say some chiari patients do note some improvement)
Headaches were not even in the top ten for my chiari symptoms. It was all the other symptoms that stole my life. Surgery did help all my symptoms. I will be one year post op next week and feel better than I have in years.
Diana
Headaches are one of my more minor symptoms as well. My worst symptoms are fatigue, tingling in hands and feet, random numb spots, shoulder pain, and dizziness. My CINE showed my herniation at 10mm with abnormal csf flow but not a total blockage. I return to the NS on the 20th to discuss surgery. I'm kind of on the fence about whether the surgery would be worth it because it seems most people resort to it because of the constant pain and my pain is tolerable right now.
That is the way I feel also. I can live with the way things are now, but would hate to make matters worse or my symptoms progress by not having the surgery. Wish I knew how bad my symptoms would get to know if surgery would be worth it or not. Good luck at NS!
Anglyn said:
Headaches are one of my more minor symptoms as well. My worst symptoms are fatigue, tingling in hands and feet, random numb spots, shoulder pain, and dizziness. My CINE showed my herniation at 10mm with abnormal csf flow but not a total blockage. I return to the NS on the 20th to discuss surgery. I'm kind of on the fence about whether the surgery would be worth it because it seems most people resort to it because of the constant pain and my pain is tolerable right now.
Anglyn and jules… i feel exactly the same way about surgery.
just that fact my NS said it would be 80% chance of stopping the val salva pains. but absolutely no guarantee for other symptoms…
and like you said, my pain is tolerable. if i knew the surgery had a significant chance of helping the fatigue/brain fog/dizziness - i would have surgery in a heartbeat lol