explanation of chiari symptoms and how long they last

[ashiver917]

Hi, I'm trying to understand chiari better, as my brother was recently diagnosed with chiari stage1.
What should the family expect?

How long do the symptoms last when they show up? Hours, days, weeks, etc?

How difficult is it to hold a job with chiari?

Will it be harder for him to watch/take care of his kids?

What kind of drugs are typically prescribed to help?

Thank you for any help in understanding this. :-)

[girlinxile]

Before surgery I was on Norco, muscle relaxers, neurontin, and a ridiculous amount of ibuprofen. My symptoms went from occasional throughout the years to constant right before surgery. It is major surgery tho... I had to have a baby sitter for a month. No lifting, cooking, cleaning or laundry for that long. I was out of work a long while as there were delays from the time I just couldn't work any more to the time I recovered from both of my surgeries and was able to return to full duty... Second surgery was in December and I returned in April. It's not that long for every one. We will all have different stories, different symptoms, different time frames. I love that you are taking an interest... It was so hard for my family to wrap their heads around. They were amazingly supportive and I will always be so grateful. This community in also a GREAT resource and you would learn much from skimming through some old posts. Good luck!

[joshipea]

I found out I have chiari recently and those are questions I had as well, I think it depends on how strong the symptoms are. I have been finding out that the it all depends on how strong they are or on how we can deal with them.
I there are medicines to help with headaches or dizziness, but it depends on what the doctor says.  

[selmaS]

Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.
Thank you in advance for trying to understand this condition, not many of us get support from family and friends, so again on your brother's behalf thank you.

Symptoms vary person to person and the flare ups will vary as well lasting a few minutes to a few weeks.

Having other related conditions can affect symptoms, so most meds do not help.

Since we are all affected by this condition differently, recovery and what we are able to do post op differs as well.