Chiari Struggles

My spring break is over. I basically spent the entire break doing insane amounts of homework. I also had physical therapy. My next break is in 2 weeks. I have 6 days off due to Easter and my class schedule. I am excited for this break because I am going to Boston for an appointment and a Bruins game and we are spending Easter with the Murphy family. We have not been to Easter with the Murphy's for 5 or 6 years.

In 2 weeks I have an appointment with Dr. Henderson for Chiari and EDS. I am hoping he has some answers for my neurological symptoms. The craniocervical manipulations (treatments) that I have been getting only seem to make my headaches and symptoms worse...and by worse I mean I get sick after the sessions because of how bad the headaches are. My symptom list is pretty long...

My headaches are getting much worse. I feel nauseous most days because of my head. I am hopeful that Dr. Henderson is the answer. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about him.

I will be having a lumbar spine MRI in the next week. This will be a scan that is evaluated at my appointment...along with my upright and supine brain MRIs. 

In terms of my leg recovery (ankle and knee), I am progressing a lot faster and smoother than normally. I am hoping to get out of the walking boot in the next couple of days. I will wear my CaligaLoc ankle brace that I wore before surgery. (For EDSers with lateral ankle instability, I highly recommend the CaligaLoc brace--if interested click here). My ankle is very stiff..especially in the morning. Cam said that when I get out of the boot and move my ankle more it will start to move better. I am not ready to get out of the post-op knee brace. My quad strength is not really close to what it needs to be to support me. I am however, close to moving to a cane. Technically I am ready now but Cam does not trust my balance enough to let me ditch the crutches at school or when going out somewhere. We are working hard on getting me stable enough to move to the cane within the next week because my right shoulder dislocates constantly. 

I redecorated my cane so it is ready whenever I am...no surprise on the theme I chose..BOSTON BRUINS! The NHL Stanley Cup playoffs begin on my birthday :)

I am now taking Lyrica for my CRPS/RSD. It has not started working yet...hopefully soon! I still have major memory problems so it is very possible that Chiari is the reason..not Neurontin. However, it was important to get off of Neurontin...2700mg a day is just too much!

I am looking forward to this semester being over! I have no idea how I made it this far but I am proud that I have pushed through despite having headaches 24/7, other neurological symptoms, and of course I am recovering from 2 reconstructive leg surgeries. Hopefully I manage to accomplish my GPA goals by the end of this semester!