Hey everyone! I haven't been on here in a little while. I've been in a waiting period. I was originally diagnosed with Chiari I with a 7 mm herniation, no syrinx, back in 10/12. Since then, I have built up a team of doctors including my family Dr , neurologist, 2 neurosurgeons, an acupuncturist, and several doctors at a spine and wellness center. I have tried medications, acupuncture, bilateral occipital nerve blocks, and botox injections. I go for my 2nd round of injections next week. So far, nothing has worked.
My NL has done several different tests, nothing else seems to be causing my symptoms. My first surgeon refused to even try a CINE MRI, or to do any surgery at this time. I'm not looking to have surgery per se, but I would like to at least make some kind of game plan! So, I saw another surgeon who is in the same practice. This surgeon is actually recommended on this site! He said that I should DEFINITELY have the CINE MRI done. I'll be doing that next week too. He is a lot more knowledgeable and experienced with Chiari. It was a relief to see him! He said the only other thing that would explain my symptoms would be MS, but I do not have any lesions.
Basically, in the last year and a half, I have suffered from severe headaches everyday. Some days are better then others. I'll even have 3-4 days in a row where the pain is only a 2 or a 3. I'll start to relax, and then they're back! I have vision and hearing issues, (spotting vision, ringing in ears, whooshing sound in ears), balance issues, disorientation, dizziness, head rushing, intense pressure, slurred speech, hypersensitive to any stimuli. My house is a cave these days! Then, there's the odd pains, numbness, heat and cold changes, twitching. I'm sure there's other symptoms. But my memory is not what it used to be! (35 years old ;-) )
I wonder if there's anything else I should be doing? Any treatments that I haven't tried? Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Wishing you all a healthy and pain-free day!