Originally Posted by sephiro499

I was eighteen when I had the surgery in 1998. Details are sparse since I don't remember much but I know it was the chiari malformation type 2 and I remember the DR saying something about removing part of a vertebra.

Back then I remember having tingingling in hands and feet along with headaches and this sensation that I was going to fall along with unexplained pain in my face.

Today I have all of these problems along with not being able to think when not laying flat. Now I know using the word think is not descriptive so let me try and give you some examples. I don't feel like i'm experiencing life the same. I don't watch movies or play video games because they are just too hard to follow. If i watch a movie I get lost in what is going on. If I go to the grocery store I have a heck of a time picking out things. Like I went to find a spice but they have like 50 spices all with similar lables. I gave up because I couldn't find it.

And the pain in my face is too distratcting. I have a great trigger point book from amazon that explains referred pain but I have it on both sides. which I think makes it less likely it is a muscular thing.

I donot' want to move my head. I start to get lost in what I'm doing. Looking down hurts, so I'll normally scan the document into my computer and edit it since I can just keep my head straight. When I go under the desk or something I feel like this head rush. Inititally I thought it was sinus congestions but after seeing two ENTs they say I'm fine.

A long time ago I did have orthostatic hypotension but I remember what that felt like. It was the initial woosh feelign when you first stand up. This just stays with me until I lay down for a certain amount of time.

I also have pain in the back of my neck along with being slighly off balance. And it feels like pressure in my head, from the top of my neck and my eyebrows, temples and cheeks.

I have to be careful to only do one thing at a time. I tried to take the yogurt lid off while walking down the steps and slid down the bottom steps. I get this buzzing feelign in my hands and feet, moreso in my feet. It also feels like someone strapped weights to my legs.

Now if I lay down, and I have to lay down on my side inititally, 3/4 off these problems go away. It takes about a half hour. If I lay in my bed with my laptop on its side and me on my side I can actually think! I can actually enjoy a game or a video or something.

This all strikes me as very odd. I thought maybe it could be a muscular thing but I am not sure that explains the not feeling like i'm as a part of reality as I should be.

My memory is fuzzy from what lead up to the events of my initial decompression. My main questions is can this even come back. No one told me it could and I figured once the hole is bigger that is the end of it.