Originally Posted by borderline chiari

Hi I am a 25 year old and I was recently diagnosed "borderline" Chiari 1 Malformation with a 4mm herniation. I started to have bad headaches when I was in junior high about 13 or so. They blamed it on allergies and they eventually went away. Then about 5 years ago I started having them again after I had my son, and this past year they got significantly worse! These last 3 months I have been experiencing dizziness, nausea, blurred vision, ringing in my ears, R knee buckling, tingling in my toes and hands and face (mainly R side), headaches beyond tolerance (like my head is going to pop off, and difficulty trying to say what I want to. The hadaches start in the base of my scull and radiate to the top of my head into my eyes and down my neck and they are usually mainly on my right side too. I went to see a Dr. Spetzler (he has no bedside manner at all!) and I first spoke with his "resident for most of the visit and explained everything to him and he went and talked to the Dr. They came back and as soon as he walked in he said I wont do the surgery and the symtoms you are having you will just have to live with it and try some medicines with your neurologist (mind you I have tried pretty much everything out there and have had nothing work, or it did and it stopped working.) I'm so upset and frustrated! Because my herniation is't "that bad" the symtoms I'm having "must be caused from something else." It sounds to me like I'm a classic case except that my actual herniation doesn't meet the standards. If it was 5mm, he might have actually taken the time to listen to me. I don't know what to do next and I need help! Should I get another opinion? Should I just try to get on with my life and be a guinea pig and try more meds? He told me to come back in a year for another MRI and see if it progressed, but then he also told me it doesn't progress! Is anyone else in this boat? HELP!!!!!!!!!!