Yeah I was just talking with my mom the other day and we both figured it would be better for me to just go back to my surgeon instead of the neurologist because the neurologist just keeps on insisting that I have migraine headaches and nothing else.

I definately understand where you are coming from with the whole wishing you were still able to work thing and about not being able to do certain things because of all the pain. I am still working and probably a lot more hours then I should be, but I want to go back to school so I need all of the money I can get. I dread going in every day because both of my jobs are physical and when I get home I just feel like dying because of how much pain I am in. It also hurts for me to sit up for too long of a time. My friends always want to go to the movies and sometimes I just can't go because my neck starts to hurt so bad. I can't even play basketball anymore.

And about the doctor saying you could die on the table. That's what I was told the first time I got surgery and you are exactly right. There is a risk of dying with every surgery.

When you get headaches where do they hurt you the most? I hope you don't have a CSF leak. My cousin ended up having that so he had to get a second surgery and get a shunt put in. He is still having problems to this day.

I am thinking about going to the Chiari Institute in New York, but my insurance doesn't cover it so I don't know how I would afford it. Thing is though 49 % of the surgeries done there are redos of previous surgeries. I just think since Chiari is such a complicated disease that if you don't go to the right surgeon you may not have a successful surgery.