I am in need of some advice/answers/personal experiences.... I' ve been having intermittent symptoms since January and was wondering if anyone else gets these. I am one of those people that doesn't really experience headaches or pain, but rather dizziness, lightheadedness and feeling faint, nausea, fatigue, foggy head and feeling off balance at times.
I am going for a second opinion with a chiari specialist as the first NS I saw said that my symptoms are atypical of chiari and that I will experience more headaches if my chiari was to progress further.
I can handle all the symptoms apart from the feeling faint business... Please does anyone else get this? I've had numerous cardiology tests done all showing up normal...
My Sx's wax and wane as you are experiencing.....it is very frustrating, I am sure for you...I am sorry that I do not have any answers for you..other than I can relate.
Have you seen a NS lately??? Have you had a CINE MRI....Flow study to check CSF flow??? That is imortant.
Hi tannis… my symptoms sound similar to yours… although i do suffer val salva headaches at times.
my NS was blunt about the situation and offered surgery on a "quality of life basis"
He said he could fix the val salvas… but not the brain fog/dizziness etc… (but did say some patients do rport improvement in those symptoms too)
Because my symptoms are intermittant too… i find the difficult days make me want the surgery. but on good days im against having surgery. i dont want to make a reactive decision… because my symptoms are not constant.
ive also had 2 surgeries +2 more hospital admissions in the last 16mths!!
Its a hard decision to make… but for those with intermittant problems i think a diary is a good idea to really know how many good. vs bad days you have.
There is a condition called POTS that often accompanies Chiari. Some of the members have it. Hopefully they will chime in. You could talk to your doctor about it.
I remember being exactly where you are now, and it was horrible. I've recently had surgery and I still have all that going on, it's just way less severe. My only advice would be to take it easy on your neck because anything you do can make it all worse. Try and keep track of things that might trigger your pains, like posture and sitting positions/laying positions. My cardiology reports came back with nothing too (which was amazing considering i had a panic attack when i had my 24 hour holter monitor on). MRI's are your best friend when trying to figure everything out. I wish you the best of luck with your new doctors<3 much love!
Hello, I was diagnosed with Chiari in May of 2012. January through June of 2012 had MANY symptoms, my main symptoms were dizziness, fatigue, memory loss and neck pain. Then I had many months symptom free. Now the last 6 months of 2013 I have the occasional really good day and many bad. My symptoms now how switched to tingling and numbness and pain in hands and feet and my back hurts really bad. I have yet to understand what makes my symptoms better or worse. I know how frustrated i is. Hang in there and I hope that we can both get some answers. Prayers coming your way!
I feel "sick" every day; however, headaches are not always my worst symptom. Lately, nausea/vomiting, dizziness, and fatigue have been my enemy. The other day it was left arm pain and weakness. Last week it was blurred vision and migraine-type headaches. I am scheduled for surgery January 6th and praying that it helps because I don't know how I can continue to work feeling like this. I hope you find relief.
xx