[quote]Hey Zipperhead. Welcome. You & your wife.
Thanks for the information. That is interseting.
Could you explain some of the medical terms you have used?
Thank you for the kind welcome.
I just saw this p[ost last night so forgive my late answer.
I will include a large detailed expalanation for chiari in a second since you asked for it. Most people are very curious about it anyway, and the more eduaction the more possibility of getting some funding for research, as there is only one clinic foir it in the world to date, and it is fairly new.
As far as "fibro" I was refferring to fibromyalgia syndrome , which is poortly undewrstood in itself as it is basically a set of symptoms with a name. Studies are showing more and more people with stenosis
("spinal stenosis") (a narrowing or possibly narrow at birth?? spinal canal) , and fibromyalgia, (or the diagnosis of it) are afflicted with chiari malformation (ACM or Arnold Chiari malformation) .
Studies are pointing towards these afflictions going hand in hand, more and more. Ther are even spinal decompression surgerys being done in some cases of stenosis, to enlarge the spinal canal, and reduce or hopefully eliminate symptoms.
They are said to be a condition of the bones, however there are said to be cases of forcep induced chiari, in which babies were delivered with forceps and it is belived that the mishaping of the skull during birth can cause bone growth malformations such as chiari in the skull. It is also belived by many that some natural births in which a birth canal is too small, this same induced chiari can occurr.
We had to go to a different state to a university, to even find someone (out of several hospitals and clinics here) able to read the MRI, as it is very poorly known about in many areas.
Well I am pasting in what I recently wrote down for someone to explain chiari better. Here it is:
Chiri is like fitting a size 10 foot into a size 6 shoe.
Only the brain is the object trying to fit into a scull with one of it's compartments being too small.
In a sense it ends up affecting the nervous system, due to the physical pressure that is put upon the brain stem, as well as the hydralic pressure that can arise from the hydrocephalous, which results from CSF (cerebral spinal fluid ) being unable to properly flow from the brain and skull.
The brain stem, being the main message center of all things controlled by the brain, voluntary or involuntary.
As you probably know the Brain stem turns into the spinal cord, and leads to the rest of the body, in every way. If the nerve signal pathways become impaired in any way as they do so much in so many cases of chiari,
you can have problems with literally every single function in the body, as well as your senses, and sanity. Often as in my wife's case the carotid arteries are compressed along with the rest of the brain due to cerebral spinal fluid being unable to flow properly from the skull.
This cuts down on the amount of blood/oxygen that can reach the brain, and can lead to "vascular dementia" very unpleasant to deal with or prove without a world reknowned neurosurgeon who specializes in the fluid dynamics of the brain.
Chiari is basically a condition of the skull/cranium, in which the posterior fossa, (rear lower part of the skull) is
too "tight" and forces the cerebellum to grow in such a way that it pushes into and can even kink the brain stem, at the same time acting as a cork in a bottle with each heart beat, as this is when the cerebral spinal fluid is pushed out from the skull, and supposed to be able to pass on into the spinal canal, but with the downward moition of the heartbeats,
the oivercrowded cerebellum, is eventually forcved into trhis space, blocking the flow.
Sadly with chiari something called Syringomyalia can also occurr.
This is thought to be from the excess pressures of fluid that has no way to properly pass around or away from the spinal cord , and as best as I understand it, the fluid attempts to pass through the cord itself and , what is known as a syrinx can develope anywhere on the cord if decompression is not performed in time. Sometimes they develope anyway. Bobby Jones (the great ameteur golfer, who a recent movie was made about) had syringomyalia, and A.S.A.P. foundation who provides grants , help, and more help to chiari, and syringo sufffrerers, was pretty much founded due to Bobby Jones, to the best of my memory, anyway.
here are a couple of pics that show chiari.
the second animated one shows the cork in the bottle action going on with the heartbeat as I described via CINE MRI imaging.
You should maybe be able to see where they remove part of the
skull in the back and at the bottom, to make more room.
As in my wife they carved out more room, mad e a big patch, like a baloon addition to her dura (the sack that surrounds the brain for it to "float in"), and also a lamenectomy. (removal of the back half of her top vertabrae to make more room as her spinal canal up top as well as the posterior fossa was too small.
I copuld tell you a ton more of symptoms and all the rest but I just wanted to attempt to answer the question(s) asked , as this is too damn long even for me.
I am sorry, but as you can see it is complicated, and I didn't even get into shunts, seizures , none of the ten pages of symptoms. If someone wants to know or needs help, please just PM me, and I will gladly help in any way, I can. So many people with these conditions have had to get help from others besides Drs., and even their own neurologists and , yep even neurosurgeons, (we know) it is sickening. This is why I offer to help.
Other than that I am ready to "Dream On"
Peace,
Terry
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