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Hi I got hit from behind in Sept 2015 since then I have had a rush of medical symptoms including headache on the back of the head behind the eyes, neck pain on the right side, pain that goes to my shoulders. My friend who is at MRI school looked at my CDs and she says she thinks I have chairi I. I have been pretty much on bed rest for 2 months because when I get up I get dizzy and my head and neck start hurting badly. My brain MRI was normal and I was told my cervical MRI was normal. I never had a single problem before my wreck.
She says my cerebellum tonsils are blocking my CSF but that’s not what the report said. I am having an upright MRI on Feb 13 since my symptoms get worse when I’m standing or sitting.
I’ve attached my cervical MRI t2 SAG.
Thanks!
There are criteria for the length of tonsils beyond the skull in order to officially call it “Chiari”. Some of us do not meet this criteria, yet our CSF flow can still be partially or fully blocked (sometimes called “Chiari Zero”). Most of us benefit from reducing our intracranial pressure with Diamox. This can sometimes even reverse “true” Chiari. References in The Driscoll Theory book. I hope you are like many of us and able to get relief without surgery. Fingers crossed! 🙂
Yes, definitely low-lying cerebellar tonsils, if not borderline Chiari. Additionally I can see what looks like a pannus at the back of your (retroflexed) odontoid peg, a sign of cranio-cervical instability (CCI). There’s also loss of lordosis in the upper cervical segments. You possibly have a short clivus too but it’s difficult to say for sure from this picture. Check out the diagram, explaining the terms I’m using, here:-
http://prettyill.com/forums/viewthread/712/P15/#4079
For safety’s sake, I’d be looking at a Philadelphia collar and lining, until you’ve been checked for CCI, for sure. You might find this alone gets rid of your back of head pain (and maybe eye pain) but if not Diamox may be necessary to try and reduce the build up of CSF pressure and this usually resolves the eye pain.
The Chiari Institute’s Dr Bolognese has sent out a new protocol for carrying out MRI’s particularly to check for CCI, see:-
http://prettyill.com/forums/viewthread/712/P45/#5034
Hope some of this helps.
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