Chiari malformation...

The good news: it’s not all in my head

The bad news: it IS in my neck area…

I have been struggling with headaches for about a year and finally decided to look into it a little more to see if anything could be done. I had a CT scan yesterday and already have the results. I have been diagnosed with a Chiari Malformation. I have included a brief description below… it explains a LOT!

First the technical description (as far as I know, I don’t have a cyst in the spinal cord – but it was the best pic I could find):

“Arnold-Chiari malformation is a rare malformation of the brain that is sometimes, but not always, apparent at birth. It is characterized by abnormalities in the area where the brain and spinal cord meet that cause part of the cerebellum to protrude through the bottom of the skull (foramen magnum) into the spinal canal. This interferes with the flow of cerebral spinal fluid to and from the brain, leading to accumulation of cerebral spinal fluid in the empty spaces of the spine and brain. The portion of the cerebellum that protrudes into the spinal canal can become elongated and is called the "cerebellar tonsils" because it resembles the tonsils.”

Now to help us ‘visual thinkers’:

“When you think of Chiari malformations, picture in your mind an orange with a cord through its middle sitting on top of a soda bottle. If you get hold of the cord and pull downward, this is in a simple way, what is happening to our brain. It is trying to make its way down through a very small opening so what we must do is to stop and reason carefully what we do and the affect it will have. Lifting heavy objects, squatting down, bending a lot, working overhead and using our upper body are some of the things that will cause a downward pull or a swelling of muscles in the neck and therefore cause increase in symptoms.”

I will be going to a neurologist in the near future for further study… Best case scenario is keeping my spine in alignment to keep it from pulling that cord mentioned above. Worst case scenario is surgery, but my doctor doesn’t think my case is severe enough for that (Thank the Lord!)