Help Interpreting an Image.

[Alexander7]

I am a 21 year old male, who after suffering from a lifetime of migraine headaches, vision problems e.g. diplopia, strabismus, fine motor skill problems, sensory integration issues, neck pain etc, central sleep apnea and a circadian rhythm disorder. I have had these issues my entire life but they seem to have gotten significantly worse in the last 5 years or so, to the point that I could no longer function normally. I was recently told that my symptoms closely mirrored those of someone with a chiari malformation and had an upright MRI done to evaluate if this could be the cause of my symptoms. My cerebral tonsils appear low as much as 5 mm in some images but this one in particular puzzles me as it seems to show a distinct but faint shape extending down from my cerebellum almost 17 mm. I am puzzled as to what this is and if it could be causing some of my symptoms. Any help anyone could provide in interpreting the image would be greatly appreciated.

[selmaS]

  Hi Alex and welcome to the Chiari forum.

Not being in the medical profession I can not say what you think you see BUT I know your brain stem is kinked possibly a basilar invagnation or retroflexed odontoid. Again I am not sure but I do know your brain stem should be straight and yours is not. Your disks look all catywompus.... not sure what is going on in your cervical spine....but something is deff wrong.

Chiari tends to not come alone.....so do make sure you 1- educate yourself on ALL related and non related conditions 2- research Drs to find the best one for you..3- take your time when deciding surgery or not

Know there are many Drs willing to do surgery for Chiari...BUT not all of them really have the knowledge or experience to really do the best possible job....so really take your time in checking several Drs to find the right one for you...having the right Dr is key !

Lastly know you are not alone.