Just wanted to say hi. I was diagnosed about 6 years ago now, but my neuro said mine was too small to operate. I can't actually remember the size just now, but I have copies of my MRI films and the radiologist's comments on it put away for later.
My neuro, however, does NOT have my trust b/c he missed my Lyme disease and charged me a ton of money for stuff I really hadn't needed at all.
That said, I lost my job in a company wide closure, so I went back to grad school. Therefore, I have trouble when I'm at my computer a lot for writing my thesis. Does anyone have a suggestion for making my computer time not be so "painful" and stuff?
Also, I've noticed when I take multivitamins I have more pressure. I've tried experiments with types and times and all that, but after about ten days, I get more pressure. As of now, I can use vitamin D, but B12/B6 bother me after about two weeks. Multivitamins bother me after about 7-10 days every time. Any thoughts on that?
Interestingly, though I don't use a back brace, I wear an old fashioned corset instead that was handmade just for me. It gives me better support than a back brace did. However, it doesn't work for my neck and shoulders, but neither would a back brace. I also use props for my wrists, ergonomic keyboard, all those "great" things, but my neck and head are always affected.
I know that feeling, I am in school and spend a lot of time at the computer. I finally bought a laptop, just so I am able to change my position frequently and muscle relaxers also help. None of these things take the pain away, but have helped a little. Sorry I couldn't be more help.
Hi VintageHippie- One thing I'd like you to know its not the size of the herniation that matters, its the amount of symptoms you are having and how they are interupting your life, May i also suggest that you see a NS that is a specialist in Chiari, By the sounds of what he has done for you to this point he is not.
Not sure why the vitamins are causing you problems, thats interesting actually- i wonder how many other people are affected by vitamins and just havent put 2 and 2 together. perhaps it is a reaction to something else you are taking or eating that they are not being properly absorbed.
As for the computer- is it possible for you to invest into one of those programs where you can speak and the programs writes what you say? that would ease the pain on your back and neck etc. Other then that my one suggestion would be frequent breaks and stretches, Or perhaps you can record your thesis onto a voice recorder and hire a Highschool student to come in an type it up for you on your machine and save so when it is done you can correct it, Or perhaps a friend or a family member would even be willing to do this for you for free.
I live in a very rural area, so few doctors around here are "good" by anyone's standards, but I have recently found a colleague that has had the surgery in Cleveland. Thankfully, I now have a physician I can contact as needed.
My neurologist was less than adequate--almost incompetent. I have medical knowledge of my own, having worked for almost 30 years in the field--thank heavens.
I don't have many symptoms, thankfully. I have occasional sharp pain (less than once a quarter), occasional pressure (generally relieved by changing pillows), and this vitamin mess that I found actually by contacting a doctor who was doing some personal experiments on Lyme disease (that included seeing if vitamins made it worse--in my case it did, BTW). Now, I was trying to get back on my vitamins, and that's when I began to notice the increase in pressure. With my own experiments, I was able to pinpoint the periods and trace it back to the vitamins.
As for the computer, I do have a voice program that I use occasionally, but the type of work I'm doing requires me to revise and change it often, so it's far more involved than "speaking and typing it" which would seem to work. I wish it did. I am taking the laptop advice and moving around more plus I am changing chair height often as well. Also, I have to read at a microfilm reader several times a week which is not adjustable, so that doesn't help. I did get with my advisor, though, and added a semester to my writing time just for this reason and cut myself down to only three days a week with a rest day in between. I think it just took me finding this board to help me realize that I can't be superman.
Christine, I hope I didn't sound ungrateful, because I"m not. I was just hoping there was something out there like chairs or wrist aids or neck aids that I didn't know about. It's so hard to post on these boards and get it all on here in the right tone and all that......I"ve said for a long time that we need a sarcasm font. LOL. I mean, how many of us on here have a personally designed corset they wear. ha ha. Again, I'm sorry if I sounded unappreciative. I didn't mean to.
Would you mind sharing who in Cleveland your colleague worked with? My wife is being seen at the Cleveland clinic, and any names would be great to have.