Hi! I'm a 41 yr old female who has started presenting with MANY strange symptoms after an injury @ work. I found out when I was 24 that I had a Chiari Malformation. I was NEVER told anything about it, I figured it was no big deal b/c no one ever stressed any kind of importance about it. I also have an extremely mild case of Cerebral Palsy. I was hurt @ work in March of 09. I lifted a box that fell apart and I tried to catch it and hurt my back. As soon as this happened I started having SEVERE back pain, trouble lifting my right leg to walk, loss of balance, dizziness, forgetfullness, and fatigue. In August 09, I receieved a back injection, and WOW did things get REALLY bad! EXTREME spastic movements, numbness in face and extremities, PAIN, PAIN, and more PAIN, neck pain and stiffness. Well the Ortho doc was thinking that the injection had damaged something to speed up my CP, so he referred me to Neuro. Neuro told me that the Chiari may be the reason for all of these sudden symptoms!!! He told me to start researching Chiari....I am blown away...I had NO idea what I would read.He spoke to me of brain surgery, but I didn't think much of it...afterall, I had NO IDEA what Chiari REALLY was!!! Now he is trying to rule out Syringomyelia, and he said that he feels certain that I have tethered cord syndrome! I don't know what to think!! I JUST started nursing school (in Jan.)!! He says there are no truly experienced surgeons in NC....I have no insurance...IDK what to do! Is it true of the surgeons? I haven't had the MRIs yet to rule out Syringomyelia and tethered cord. I did have a standing EEG done on Friday thru Sunday, and Friday was my birthday :(
Is the EEG a common test for Chiari??