I am just curious, because I dont see my symptoms to be severe enough to have surgery.
they are managable.
But I see daily a member going for surgery so I am curious as to if you who have had surgery or are due surgery are getting it done because of symptoms only?
My fiances anxiety about my diagnosis is getting so high now... I have yet to see the neuro again since my letter with my diagnosis, app is at the end of the month. Its my fault... I filled his head too much when I was first diagnosed with my stupid googling for the chances of dying from chiari..
What can I say to him to reassure him that I can remain fairly " normal " til the ripe old age of 1000 (lol)
Hope you are all headache free today and for as many days possible!
Surgery is usually recommended if the pain and other symptoms are affecting your quality of life or if you have a syrinx, which can cause permanent damage. If you don’t have a syrinx and your symptoms are manageable, you can take the “wait and see” approach. Either way, you should discuss your options with an experienced Neurosurgeon. I hope this helps:)
It all depends on how big your herniation is and how much it's blocking CSF flow. Have you seen a Neurosurgeon? If you have a significant block it's doing damage and symptoms can change very quickly. Everyone is different depending on age, blockage, size of herniation ect... You should find out as much as you can about your own situation and get an opinion from a Neurosurgeon that knows about Chiari.
Surgery was the only option handed to me. I had severe headaches, my CSF was blocked and I also have a syrinx. I had my decompression surgery in December. It helped, but I still have a lot of residual symptoms due to the damage to the brain stem. Please get to a NS. They will be able to help you more than an NL.
I read surgery only option for syrinx since they seem to dissapear after csf flow is restored some what by decompression. but I am a chiari noob for now haha but i think i am right!
My original diagnosis 4 years ago was Chiari with a Syrinx, saw 2 neurosurgeons right away and both recommended I not have surgery. Since I was just diagnosed, they recommended that I wait and see if either condition got worse. Since my only real symptoms were headaches and numbness in my shoulders and my headaches were controllable with medication, they felt my quality of life was OK. I have heard so many people say you must have surgery with a syrinx but I had 2 surgeons say no. Interesting...
Flash forward to 2012, headaches have been getting much harder to control, went to a pain clinic where they recommended Botox injections. It was a complete failure, made my headaches 10X worse and I'm now in pain 24/7 and can't live without vicodin which they are reluctant to give me, but I can't work without it. They say as soon as the Botox wears off, I will be better, then they will try Feset (spelling?) injections.
So I have 2 questions, the first relating to the asker's original question about surgery. My neurologist has scheduled me for a "CSF MRI" a week from now. What exactly is this, and what will it tell my neurologist about the possibility of me having surgery, if anything? My 2nd question (which I can move to another thread if necessary) is - what is a Feset injection, has anyone ever had one?
Have him join this Discussion Forum. We have a lot of Family members that would love to answer any questions he may have. We all went straight to the internet when we were diagnosed. It can be very scarry. Here he will find people that really know about Chiari.
A facet injection is a minimally invasive procedure that can temporarily relieve neck or back pain caused by inflamed facet joints. The cause of facet joint pain (arthritis, injury, degeneration) is not well understood and can be similar in nature to disc pain. The procedure has two purposes. First, it can be used as a diagnostic test to see if the pain is actually coming from your facet joints. Second, it can be used as a treatment to relieve inflammation and pain caused by various spine conditions. The effects of facet injections tend to be temporary – providing relief for several days or even years. The goal is to reduce pain so that you may resume normal activities and a physical therapy program.
It's an injection of corticosteroids and a numbing agent