Can Chiari go undiagnosed for years? I"m a 34 year old busy working mom of 3 and have had intermittent symptoms since 2003. I was in a car accident in 1993 and have had back and neck pain ever since. Since Spring of this year I've been dealing with intermittent numbness and tingling in my arms and legs, extreme fatigue, vision changes, memory problems, cognitive changes - can't find the words, loss of the ability to multi-task, issues processing what i read. Then weird stuff like auditory issues ( super-sensitive to loud noise and sometimes it seems like someone just turned the volume all the way down on me), weight loss, hair loss, and incontinence. I've heard MS, Lyme disease, TIA...but never a clear diagnosis
Figures I'm finally getting my youngest out of diapers and now I'm going to need one... I do not want to offend anyone but if I can't find the humor in all of this I don't know what I'd do. I'd rather laugh than cry.
I've had MRIs and CT scans but I live in an extremely rural area and am wondering if my doctors are actually up to snuff. I had an MRI last week and in the findings it noted " There is hydrocephalus or midline shift. Small focus of signal abnormality at the right periventricular white matter near the posterior horn of the right lateral ventricle.Small ovoid nodular hypointense area at left frontal lobe, possibly artifactural." Anybody care to translate?
I'm on the east coast now trying to get answers and a clear diagnosis. I've had an EEG, EMG and they are scheduling a lumbar puncture...are there any other tests that might be less invasive then the LP?
Thanks for the info...