My last reply isn't showing up and I'm not sure why. But I am new here and I might be doing something wrong. So here goes again. Anne and anyone else interested, Feel free to copy the post and share it. Sorry about the misspells. I used to spell very well. But, it's another symptom of Chiari. Symtomatic Chiari does usually get worse with age. I am now 44. Another note on the above; I have a herniation of the brain, which is called cerebral tonsils of 5mm on one side and 9mm on the other side. I have been found that my brain is too big for my head. Some under educated Dr's will say that this and sometimes more, is not enough to cause problems. If that is said, you can figure they don't know enough about Chiari, so you will probably need to find a Doctor that is more specialized or more knowledgable. Even a 0 herniation of these tonsils can cause problems if the brain is too big for the head and doesn't allow Cerebral Spinal fluid to flow properly. You may have to have a MRI with CSF flow study to confirm or disprove that you have it. By the way, I was also diagnosed with RSD in 2 different locations in 1992. I have also found several connections with the diagnosis of RSD with people now diagnosed with Chiari. RSD has been connected to Fibromyalgia and TOS, etc. too. If you can take the time to research this condition well and when you see your doctor, go loaded with information, that will help you. There are even pictures on the Internet of MRI's that show these Chiari 1 Malformations. If you can get CD'S or your MRI's of your head and/or your cervical spine, your might be able to tell yourself if you have this brain herniation. I believe sometimes it can show up on CT's as well. Hope this helps, Dee
PS, I researched this Dr very well and even talked to some other Chiarians he did surgery on. That's the great thing about support groups and the internet.