So glad I found this siteHere's my story. When my syringomyelia was stumbled upon by accident in 2008 it was because I had sustained a neck/back traumatic injury in the Army. They medically retired me and sent me on my way saying that the recovery time would take to long and I wasn't sustainable any more.This was after giving 10 years of my life to the Army. I was told not to life over 10 lbs and to just live my life and everything would be fine unless I started to loose bladder control...not kidding, this is what I was told. I have a 4 year old and an 18 month old now so not straining my back hasn't and isn't an option. My pain is a lot worse and I don't want to end up peeing myself or in a wheel chair because my VA hospital is not very good at listening to things that aren't very common. I have been out almost 3 years and they have never even done a MRI. The Army attest did one every 90 days to keep tabs on it. Not seeing it in 3 years has me scared that it may have really grown in size, especially since my pain is worse and I feel like I can't hold any body heat most of the time. Any help you could give me would be great....

Get an mri asap. It is a degenerative disease so if the syrinx is left unattended, it will most likely get worse. Stay positive and know that it can always be worse. Youre a vet, i dont have to tell you that. Im a wealth of information on CSM so feel free to contact me

Hi Theresa
I wanted to offer some advice. I wrote a long post but after pressing send I didn't see it post, SO here I go again. lol
My husband is a disabled vet who was on active duty in the AF when he suffered an injury to his head that led his doctor to give him MRI's
and that is how they stumbled across his Chiari Malformation type I and Syringohyrdomyelia or some might know it as syringomyelia. Shortly after his symptoms began to increase and debilitate him, he was discharged from the Air Force and his health was handed over to the VA Hospital in Tampa, FL. First thing that was done was a DAV rep helping us file for a disability rating, which they gave him of 50% for the Syringomyelia and lower/upper extremity pain. No rating was given for the chiari, but because the syringomyelia was triggered by his injury while on active duty, they rated him for it. The 2nd thing that was done was tests and then the scheduling of his sub occipital craniectomy with duraplasty. His symptoms were severe and it needed treatment asap. His surgery was done in November 2003, four months after discharge from the AF. ALthough the surgery helped create more space for the brain stem, some of his symptoms remained including the numbers and tingling in his upper body, neck pain and stiffness and back pain. Although the syrinx did shrink over time, he still suffered with headaches and the above symptoms I listed. He is seen every three months at the VA for cranial injections of botox to help alleviate the severe headaches. He is also on tramadol, vicodin, melixican and methocarbanol for pain. He gets physical therapy and massages every month (we pay for his massages as the VA does not offer that). My advice to you is FIGHT for your health and do not stop complaining until they take this serious. This IS a chronic disease that causes severe pain and if left untreated can cause severe damage to your spinal cord and leave you completely disabled. Take this serious because it is very serious. We are actually taking him to see a neurosurgeon within the next month because his most recent MRI in december shows that the reason why his symptoms over the last 6 months have been increasingly getting worse is because the syrinx is back (it shrunk after the 1st surgery) and because it is back it has caused other trauma to the spine including scoliosis and degenerative disc disease. We are thinking that they will be repeating surgery on him but this time to place a shunt inside of the spine to drain the syrinx or the surgeon will use a catheter and he may not need the shunt. Since 03 our lives have never been the same and my husband suffers greatly. We do not stop fighting for his life and we are actually in the process of fighting the VA for a re-score to increase his disability from 50% to whatever they deem fit, but higher. The last thing my husband needs while fighting this disease is the stress of being unable to work and unable to provide for me and our children. We will not stop fighting this. Do not lose hope and do not stop fighting for relief. You are a vet and deserve medical and financial assistance!! I hope this helped!!