Saw the neurologist today.

Dr. Herzog is a really nice man! We talked about my headaches and he asked if I have always had headaches and I said I had them occasionally as a child but nothing severe and he kept saying well that is not common. He said children should not have a headache of any kind, severe or not.

This helped him to determine that my headache is probably not all from the Chiari. He has put me on a drug regime, that I am to follow until my next appointment in July.

The medicine is actually to help alleviate tension/pressure headaches, which is what he feels I have that is more prominant than the Chiari and could cause the Chiari to act up.

I will take this medicine every night for week. After a week if I don't see a decrease in headaches I will take 1/2 a pill in the morning and 1 and night for a week. If this doesn't decrease I will take 1/2 a pill in the morning, 1/2 at lunch, and 1 at night until my follow up visit. He also gave me a different muscle relaxer to take with the pain medicine but I can only take 8 total in a week. If that doesn't work I am to use the pain medicine with all that, that I had originally be prescribed by my neurosurgeon! Did you get all that???

He wrote it all down for me. And like my PCP who had the analogy of calling a zebra a horse he also used an analogy of fleas and ticks. The ticks are the underlying (tension) headache and the fleas are the Chiari.

He too thought holding off on the surgery was a great idea and said that in 6 months when I go back to Dr. Michael (neurosurgeon) to have him do another round of MRIs, to check the herniation. He said that if the herniation stayed the same then to continue this plan, but if the herniation changed he would advise surgery.

The reason for this is because the longer we let the herniation become. the more likely it is for other symptoms of Chiari to appear and having the surgery would keep them from occuring.

But like everything there is a risk in the surgery as well. HMMMM.

Feeling not so hot today...

I am feeling like a did a few times before I was diagnosed. I can't describe the feeling but my head feels totally full of water that when I move it sloshes around like a fish bowl. It also just hurts. No particular area just everywhere. Earlier I was in a coworkers office and just the walk back to mine caused my head to hurt so bad, I also couldn't turn to look at someone when they spoke it was like I was pararlyzed. I hadn't felt like that in a long time.

I am feeling better but still feel just weird. I am so ready to see the neuro to find out what we can do!

The got the fax!!

FINALLY! I called the dr. office this morning and they got the fax from the transcriptionist yesterday! She told me I should be expecting a call from the neurologist this week!

Did they have to go to China!?!

So I called the neurosurgeon's office again today to see where we were in the process. We are still waiting for the notes to come back from the transcriptionist!! Seriously did the send them to China???

The good news is, I have been feeling pretty good, I did just have to take some pain medicine but I haven't had to take it every 4 hours like I did last month!

Today would have been my surgery day...

If I wouldn't have had a 2nd opinion. And now I am not so patiently waiting for the referral to the neurologist for pain management.

I had a good week last week but yesterday was bad. But like you all know there are good days and bad days. The 1st nuero wanted to jump right into surgery (which would have been today). The 2nd nuero wanted to do more tests that ended up concluding that I would be a candidate for surgery but I chose nuero#2 to try and do pain management 1st.

I know where we are in process...

I called the neursurgeon today to see where we were in the process and we are still waiting for the drs. notes to come back from the transcriptionist, the he checks them, then the referral is made. So hopefully we will have an appointment in the next week!

Well the good times have ended...

I have the start of a headache coming on. I just took some of my pain meds so hopefully it will make the pain bearable.

I still haven't heard from the neurologist about an appointment. If I don't hear anything by Wednesday, I am calling.

AN UPDATE...
Although I have had to take medicine, it seems to stop the headache!!!