hi everyone! i'm new to the board here. a little bit about me: i'm a 26-year old grad student from memphis, tn. i had a cavernous hemangioma on my brainstem that bled four times - when i was 8, 11, and 16. i had three surgeries and the third one finally did the trick when my neurosurgeon used the gamma knife. anyway, i have resulting damage to the 6, 7, and 8 cranial nerves and to the cerebellum and i have a whole assortment of problems: visual disturbances, facial paralysis, balance problems, tinnitus, headaches, and a gait disturbance to name a few. since the last surgery, i guess you could say i've been RELATIVELY healthy. not many major day-to-day problems except the ones i've listed.

anyway, i was recently diagnosed with dysautonomia after i got very sick and that's what brought me here to the forums. i got what i thought was the flu, but it lasted for a very long time and came along with tremors, pallor, lightheaededness, seizures (which i never really used to get), and cardiac arrhythmia. my heart rate was over 200 beats a minute when i went to see a cardiologist. anyway, i've been reading up on dysautonomia and i've realized that i think i've had it my whole life, even before the injury. i was diagnosed with tachycardia at a very young age. i'm currently trying to find answers as to whether it's related to my brain injury and if so, how.

anyway, it looks like this is a great place with a wealth of information and i'm glad someone introduced me to the boards. does anyone have neurological symptoms similar to mine?

One big, warm, tight, hug, handshake and howdy, moose-size official type welcome to the site. This place is amazing!

Wow. You've gone through a lot and I'm happy to see you're still going.
You used a few terms I'm not familiar with but I bet we have other members here who can relate.

So hang onto something...
Moose size thread bump!

Hi Starfish and welcome to NeuroTalk!

Wow, you've had quite a bumpy ride. I'm not familiar with dysautonomia and wasn't quite sure which forum to recommend to you. I looked it up and it has such varying symptoms it sort of relates to just about all of the forums! Maybe someone else will be along in a little bit who knows something about it and can direct you.

Anyhow, glad you joined us and hope you can find the answers you're seeking. Welcome!!

thanks for the warm welcome!

i wasn't sure either which forum to start in; i was thinking maybe i'd start with aneurysm and stroke and move on to TBI and rare disease subforums if i needed to. but i'm still not sure.

Hi Welcome to NeuroTalk.

Hello starfish and welcome to NeuroTalk. Glad you found us and I hope you continue to check out the forums/info here to gather info that may be of help to you. Please make yourself at home and look forward to hearing more from you.

Hi, Starfish! Welcome to NeuroTalk!

You might find your best results by using the search engine located in the toolbar near the top of every page. By searching your specific symptoms, you might find several different conditions that apply. There is plenty of support around here, feel free to dig right in.

Welcome to NT starfish.

Hello and welcome back to NeuroTalk. Great to see you have come to be with us. Just let us know if we can be of any help.

Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around.

Darlene

Hi There Everyone.
I'm a "newbie" to this forum too but have been suffering from symptoms for almost five years now. Here's my general info: I'm a married mother of 2 grown daughters whose dizziness (back & forth not spinning) and headaches began at the age of 42, visual disturbances, balance impairment and hand numbness followed within a few months, and all symptoms became chronic within 6 months (just before my 43rd birthday).
I had an MRI which showed a cavernous hemangioma deep within my cerebellum with evidence of previous bleeds. Since then I've had it suggested by an AVM neurologist that "if you don't think about the headaches they'll go away", had my driver's license suspended 2 times (no accidents - just because they were worried about my symptoms affecting my driving abilities), been turned down to recieve a partial LTD disability claim and have tried everything in the book to manage my symptoms.
I was - am supposed to be - a full time elementary teacher but now can only teach half-time and sometimes find that a struggle with my constant symptoms. This part has been the most difficult because I married and began my family young - at 20 and only became a teacher after I was a teacher's assistant for a few years. I really haven't been teaching all that long (since 1999) and my husband drives truck, so I'm not in the position to only work parttime.
I'm just so happy to find a place to talk with others who can relate. I no longer see or hear from several friends who have become freaked out by this condition and prognosis (no surgery is possible) and have found this whole thing a little surreal. So if you want to chat I'll be happy to hear from you!!!!