Sorry I have been remiss in posting about my one year post decompression doc appt that I had back on 1/29/10. I have attached MRI photos of my brain ~ the one on top is the current one and the one on the bottom was taken when I had a herniation of 17mm back in September of 2006. There's a tiny bit of cerebellar herniation but not enough to write home about ~ I love the proof that they actually removed my top vertebrae and a big chunk of my skull and you can clearly see it in the image. This past visit with my neurosurgeon was not very highly anticipated ~ in fact it was quite the bitter pill to swallow. So here's the positives first:
- I am doing well enough to hold down a full time job
- I am functioning at a pretty high level
- I can care for myself without needing any assistance
And here's the rest of the story:
- My neurological functioning has actually deteriorated a bit since May of 2009 ~ I flat out failed a couple of my neuro tests that day. You know the one where you stand with your feet together ~ hold your arms straight out in front of you and close you eyes ~ well I immediately fell backwards.
- Failed to walk heal to toe without falling off the invisible tight rope
- Confirmed that I have stenosis
- Confirmed that I have degenerative disk disease and will probably need disk replacement in my back at some time in the future
- Chiari headaches are more frequent again
- Vertigo is back with a vengeance
- Don't forget the brain fog from hell
With that said ~ I have finally surrendered to modern medicine and am committed to taking Diamox to see if it will get my chiari headaches under control. ~ SIGH~
I have mixed feelings about my condition ~ yes, I have Chiari and even with two major surgeries ~ to prevent any further neurological damage I still have symptoms. I am learning to be at peace with this ~ enjoying the days that I feel good and to not be so hard on myself when I feel like I've been run over by a really big honkin truck!
