I am new to Chiari, and have a lot of questions/ thoughts. I have always been a healthy, happy person who is very strong willed. I am a veteran of the US Army who served in Iraq. But, since my return from Iraq, I have been dealing with a lot of pain...migraines, neck, and back pain. The VA has been really good taking care of most of my issues, but did not do the right thing when it came to my diagnosis of Chiari.
I am waiting for my first appointment to meet with a neurosurgeon. But reading all of the posts, and blogs, and researching online it seems as though I am at a loss. It seems like most people like me have a hard time dealing with the pain. I have been in so much pain lately that I have made several trips to the VA's urgent care for treatment and was sent home after receiving shots of morphine, torridol, and Phenergan. In Feb I only had 9 days without a migraine , and March my 5th migraine of the month lasted from the 16th until the 30th.
But after reading some of the posts and blogs and researching online--it seems that even if I do have the surgery I will always be dealing with Chiari and the residuals of it. So the question is surgery or no surgery?? What are the pros/ cons either way? And what lifestyle changes need to be made now that I know I have Chiari?