Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Good News!


We have some definitive news and action! I saw a neurosurgeon last month to have my neck evaluated and see if there was anything that needed to be done. He looked at my MRI from 2009 and saw a Chiari Malformation. This is a condition in which brain tissue protrudes into your spinal canal. It occurs when part of your skull is abnormally small or misshapen, pressing on your brain and forcing it downward.

He did a repeat MRI and confirmed that I had the Chiari Malformation, but also saw that a herniated disk I have in my neck is worse and requires ACDF (Anterior Cervical Diskectomy and Fusion) surgery. The neck problem could be causing some of my symptoms and is a less invasive surgery than the chiari repair. He will do the neck surgery and then reevaluate my symptoms after a 6 week recovery process. If I still have symptoms, he can do the chiari repair too.

They don't do a chiari repair just based on scans. It is a collection of symptoms, scans, the doctor, and the patient's decision. It's hard for him to recommend the chiari repair without seeing what the ACDF surgery on my neck will do. So, it makes sense for him to do the less invasive surgery to fix an obvious problem first.

This ACDF surgery should help my neck feel better and any relief will be a blessing. If it takes care of any other symptoms, that would be great too! I have scheduled the surgery for the first week of October and I'm looking forward to it! 


8 comments:

  1. Good luck with the surgery, and I hope your recovery goes well!

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    1. Christine - Thanks for your well wishes! I will definitely keep everyone posted about my recovery.

      -Kate

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  2. Kate: I am 3 months post concussive (3 concussions in 3 weeks - starting back in late may). I have been to Dr. Neurologist, all manner of tests and Friday will have a spinal tap - which scares me a lot. I would welcome contact with you if you are open to that.

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    1. Lynn,

      I'm sorry you have to deal with all this. There are some good support groups that can help you through it. They can give you information and you can bounce ideas off them.

      There is a facebook group for PCS: http://www.facebook.com/groups/113072042059485/

      and a neurotalk group: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum92.html

      Check these out for support. I pray that your spinal tap on Friday goes well! Keep me posted if you can.

      -Kate

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  3. Can you please email info about applying for disability and student loan info?
    Jackiegreenkc@yahoo.com

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    1. Hi Jackie,

      I am not sure how you would go about it. I looked up the website and applied for disability online (http://www.ssa.gov/disability/). It is a long process and involves a lot of steps. Good luck!

      The student loan stuff I looked on the website for my loan holder and got the information there. You may have to do some digging.

      Hang in there!
      Kate

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  4. hey jackie i just stumbled upon your blog for the first time. i have had a constant bad headache since my concussion on february 7, 2009. have had quite the journey myself with little or no result. hope your surgery went well contact me for fellowship

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    1. Hi Krista,

      I'm sorry about your concussion. I'm going in for surgery this week and I am hoping for some relief!

      I hope you have a network for support and fellowship around you!

      Kate

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