My 14 year old daughter was just diagnosed with Chiari.. and she is currently on Topomax which is not helping with her everyday headaches.. We are deciding if we should do the Decompression surgery...this is all so scary... Will she be out school for a long time or does it depend..any feedback is welcomed.
My neurosurgeon said that depending on healing time and what my job consisted of, I could be back as early as two weeks post op or as long as 6 months if not longer. Now, I do have some drug allergies, and they used anesthetic that had been successful on me in the past that didn’t cause issues so he was being extra cautious with my time frames. It took me a little over 4 months to be cleared to return to work… mostly because I felt so great after surgery I over did it and set myself back. But like Rebecca said, everyone is different, every surgery is different and every surgeon performs different. If you are worried about school, I agree with Rebecca, wait until the end of the school year closer to summer break. You may even be able to get final tests/exams done early for your daughter.
Keep us posted.
Kaychris, I agree with girls about the time frame. I’ll share some other info that might helpful since your daughter is newly diagnosed.
There are common themes that come with Chiari as far as related conditions/ diagnosis. Not trying to overwhelm you with this, just want you to be informed.
Vitamin d deficiency
Magnesium deficiency
Vitamin Bs deficiencies
Syringomyelia /syrinx- cyst within the spinal cord as a result of CSF hypertension/blocked or partially blocked CSF flow.
Ehlers Danlos syndrome- google the Brighton Critetia and the Beighton Criteria. This can cause cranial cervical instability. CCI further compresses and damages your spinal cord and has the same symptoms as Chiari. This should absolutely be ruled out. If you have EDS and CCI, get the decompression surgery done without correcting the CCI you may continue to have the same symptoms or worsening symptoms- a second surgery will be required. Finding a surgeon who screens for CCI is tough- not all Chiari surgeons have started screening for and treating CCI.
Dysautonomia- Dinet.org
Tethered cord syndrome
Sleep apnea
I am glad you found us,
Jenn
My surgeon told me it varies with everyone- that it could be a week or two or a year. It entirely depends on the person and surgery!