Chiari dx. with tcs

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You Wrote:

So I'm not sure if I helped or not, but those were my experience and

they caused me bouts of it. So I know it can happen. Not sure which

caused it and I know how common it is now to have both Chiari

Malformation along with a tethered cord. More and more Chiarians are

being dx with tethered cord. I wonder if more and more tethered cord ppl

will be dx with Chiari ?

Hi

As a kid and for as long as I can remember, I always got the worst pressure

pains in my head whenever I strained - as an adult it got much worse after the

birth of our first child. At first I was a little scared that I had an

aneurysm, but when I never ended up in a coma from an uncontrolled bleed, I

figured it was just some strange thing that happened to most of the population

but no one discussed it. The pain never lasted more than 1 minute after

straining. But, they were/are so painful that my hands automatically go to my

head just to try to stop the pain from spreading.

My point in telling this is that I never once told a doctor about these pains

until about a year after I was diagnosed with LMC. My neurologist asked me if I

experienced pressure pains and I finally admitted that I did...

A MRI revealed a 10 mm (or is cm?) herniation of the cerebellum. I was sent

back to my nsg who told me, " Of course you have a Chiari Malformation. "

I was shocked - he just assumed because of the high incidence of Chiari with LMC

that I had this condition also. There is a theory that if you have a tethered

cord it pulls on the tonsils causing a Chiari malformation (which I just learned

is called a secondary disability ... studying for this Praxis exam has opened my

eyes to so many great terms, so much new knowledge that when I was in school, I

didn't pay a lot of attention to as it " didn't have any personal repercussions

for me " and now of course, it does so I find some of these views/information

fascinating.)

Kathy