Hello all, hope your day is going swimmingly. I've frequented this site on many occasions looking for answers, but decided to finally take the plunge and join the community. I've been dealing with countless symptoms for about 5 years now after a battle with Cushings Syndrome that put great stress on my body. I have since recovered from the Cushings, but some symptoms that plagued me during that time still linger.

I recently visited Dr. Di at the Cleveland Clinic to discuss my MRI's from 2006, and was told that my MRI showed a 4mm herniation and that my symptoms could be caused by Chiari. I was ordered to get a stand up MRI as well as a lumbar, but have run into difficulty getting my results (if anyone has ever dealt with Dynamic Medical Imaging here in Columbus and has any idea where they moved to over the past month, please let me know!). However, I am fairly certain that my symptomology is, at least, partly caused by my herniation. My questions for the community are -

-Do your symptoms tend to cycle? Like, one month I'll have dizziness issues, leg weakness, neck/shoulder pain, and random tingling, then the next month or two Ill feel pretty good, and then I'll relapse into headaches originating in my neck, etc so on. Do any of you see a similar cycle, or seem to have "flare ups" that come and go on a seemingly random basis?

-Do any of you feel better when you lie down? For instance, when I wake up in the morning I feel half way decent usually, but the minute I leave the house and get moving the symptoms always come on the strongest.

-Do any of you feel better at night? I typically feel pretty good by the end of the day, but feel awful during. I almost never feel dizzy after a full days work, but during the day will feel extremely dizzy/weak/lightheaded/fatigued. It is very frustrating, to say the least.

-Last question (I promise!)- What do your headaches feel like? For me, I just feel neck/back of head pressure, but I wouldn't consider it debilitating. I am still able to work (thankfully) and function relatively normally despite the pressure headache and the lowered ability to recall words/think clearly. I also have pretty wicked sensitivity to light, double vision (each eye sees double individually, its quite strange), and just overall feel like my eyes are in the back of my head (thats why this is so frustrating, because its so hard to describe what I am experiencing!).

Thank you in advance! I feel conforted knowing this community exists and I can freely express my concerns to someone who understands. Thanks again!

Sincerely,
Matt

PS. Sorry for the book (: