Since a Tarlov cyst can be as debilitating as a chronic neurological disorder like MS, maybe one way to deal with it might be to take a page out of the MS book. People with MS who are caught with it in the middle of active, still-young lives have to face putting an end to activities they depend on for self-support (their entire careers, often) and for relaxation (sports).

Usually the process of giving these up or modifying them is a slow, gradual one but unfortunately it often has to happen.

People who are involved in physically demanding activities may be the hardest hit by MS. A person like me is luckier: With a fairly sedentary lifestyle to begin with, often all I had to do was slow down my usual activities or do them in a very limited way (half an hour at a time, then rest, for instance).

Even so, when I look back over 40 years with MS, I realize that there are many things I did regularly as a younger person but no longer can do: choral singing, playing the piano, cooking, most walking, most social occasions, all travel, knitting, needlepoint, quilting, reading print material for any length of time, even sitting in most chairs is out of the question. (I have a wheelchair that I use for all sitting, and it has a special inflatable cushion. It took years of trial and error just to find a way I could sit without pain.)

That list of things I no longer do might be depressing but I've found workarounds that are OK, and I just try not to think about the things I might have done. That kind of thinking isn't helpful for me.

I gave up my piano in 1981. There is a publicly available piano in this building, and about 8 years ago I tried to play it, realized I couldn't, and gave away most of my sheet music. Sometimes I hear a neighbor who is older than I am playing away on that piano, and I don't think about how I might have been able to do that if I didn't have MS. I look at all of the things I can still do--and think often of the many people I know who aren't nearly as lucky as I am.

I don't know of anything I can say that will ease your mind about the Tarlov cyst except to hope that it won't cause you to be miserable and that you'll have the care and attention you need to keep your life as comfortable as possible.

You may be able to find a way to do a modified form of bowling and the other activities you like. Modern technology keeps coming up with new ideas. That might seem like not much of an alternative but I've found some amazing solutions just by looking around for them.