Bearygood, thanks for the information. Actually Chiari malformation was one of the things I remember looking up almost from the beginning of my "weird stuff," because I had so many different strange symptoms, which Chiari can have. (I thought it was always on the MS-differential list, though acknowledged as rare.)

However, I don't have the cardinal symptom of headaches, and my MRI report noted that there was no Chiari malformation (not that I'd ever asked).

I think it was in the news many years ago when it was claimed that CM was actually the underlying cause of fibromyalgia, at least for some people. People were supposedly getting their fibromyalgia cured by having the Chiari decompression operation.

I don't know how that has played out in subsequent years, as I didn't follow the story. It's a pretty serious operation.

I still sometimes wonder whether some structural problem is responsible for at least some of my symptoms, even though no doctor has told me I have any structural abnormality. (A 2006 neck MRI showed bone spurs, but the orthopedist said he did not think that was the cause of my symptoms--but of course, I realized recently, any doctor who does not want you as a return patient--because they can't clearly do anything useful for you or don't want to--is GOING to say that he/she doesn't think that his/her specialty is the cause of your symptoms!)

One reason I wonder is that when I lie down in bed, with bunches of pillows under my neck, I tend to more often get the shocks in my face or other facial symptoms, so I wonder if pressure on the back of my neck causes things to be worse. I also tend to feel more dizzy and nauseated in the mornings, after I've been lying down all night. Of course this is not evidence for anything, but your post reminded me that I still cannot help wondering what is causing my symptoms. Because I have NEVER been given a diagnosis or even a plausible theory for them (most of them).

Thanks for posting this good info!

Nancy T.