10 months post op problem with mental function

[mac21105]

I had my decompression surgery in June 2012.  I had my 6 month check up in Dec 2012, where I was told everything in the MRI looked good.  I am having problems with my mental abilites that are getting worse.  I have found that I am very anxious all of the time.  I cannot handle loud places or being really busy.  I get the fight or flight responce all of the time, heart racing nervous, feeling like I am going to throw up feeling.  I cannot handle the everyday tasks of taking care of my kids and house.  Work is even more of a problem.  I am a loan officer, the only one, at a local credit union.  I feel like I am ADD.  I cannot focus on an one thing.  I cannot multi task like I once could.  I get stressed and very overwhelmed with the phone ringing, getting emails constantly and people walking into my office.  None of this was a problem before.  If I loose my focus on a loan it is nearly impossible to regain it.  I am forgetting to finish things.  My boss has mentioned many times that I am not the same person I was and that I cannot handle my required tasks anymore.  He will say that he can tell I cannot multi task.  I do not sleep much.  I taking 26 mg of melatonin and 400 mg of l theanine to get 4 - 5 hours of sleep.  When I say sleep, I wake up at least once per hour.  I am going to the restroom 4 or more times every night.  I feel like I am about to go crazy.  On top of it all I am getting this pain that starts on the left side of my neck right beside my scar that radiates through what feels like my brain and ends right behind my left eye.  My neck is always sore and so is my left shoulder.  I have this feeling that something is just not right.  Almost like I am not taking in enough oxygen.  I always have floaters in my eyes and my vision kind of blurs with my heartbeat.  I feel like I am on the verge of crying or screaming all of the time.  HELP please!!!

[Sexybare]

U described my life to a tee. I feel the exact same way. I did before surgery a little but since surgery my racy heart is worse, anxiety is bad, I even have high blood pressure now. Tremors, problems with left shoulder, arm, neck.etc...mentally I am detererating, memory, can't multi task nor explain things when having normal conversattions nor pay attention. Basically I have all the same issues u do...its driving mee crazy

[selmaS]

  OK so u know u have POTS< that explains ur anxiety issues....

May I ask, was ur NS a true Chiari specialist?

Were u checked for sleep apnea? Since u wake often, u should be checked if not yet,.....

AS for going back to work, u may have gone back too soon....even going part time can add to set backs....

Many with Chiari do have sinus issues, do see an ENT to see if that is what is going on with u......have  they tested the fluid to make sure it was not CSF leaking?

At work, do u have florescent lights? If so, try tinted glasses to help as these lights can add to how u feel....it affects me, makes me dizzy, nauseated....like walking in a dream state...very odd.

Will u have a one yr post op visit with ur Dr?

I have the vision issues and the tremors also in my right hand....I was DX'd with Ehelrs-Danlos which I attribute my symptoms I have now to along with tethered cord, which I knew I had b4 my surgery.....

Post nasal drip has been an issue for me, and I take an antihistamine b4 bed which helps me sleep and with the drainage.

[mac21105]

Also my nose runs almost all of the time.  Completely clear and I am on an alergy medication.  

[mac21105]

I did not have these particular problems before hand.  I had lived with the headaches for 15 years after being diagnosed for the first time.  In March 2012 I began getting dizzy all of the time.  I didn't want to eat and always felt sick to my stomach.  I couldn't close my eyes without feeling like I was going to fall and my balance was gone.  The only symptoms I have had both before and after are the problems with my eyesite, feeling kind of out of it and tremors, especially in my right hand.  I had the decompressive craniectomy and cervical laminectomy, duraplasty and a portion of the C1 removed.  I have had a hard time remembering words, term etc for my job.  I can't come up with the right things to say or ways to explain things.  I was back to work part time in August and full time in September.  The problems with my thought process have been there for a while but are getting worse and worse.  I was diagnosed with POTS in december after several spells of going to the ER feeling like I was dying.  My heart was racing and I felt like I was going to pass out and then stop breathing.  They did not want to see me and said if I was having post surgery problems that I need to see my PCP.  They said the follow up MRI was good so it was not a problem from the procedure itself.  I was told that I could have suffered minor brain damage as a result of the surgery and then I was written off, so to speak.    

[selmaS]

  Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.

May I ask, did u have ne of these symptoms b4 surgery...if not, what symptoms did u have?

What type of decompression did u have? lamenectomy, duraplasty?

How long are u back to work?When did these symptoms start?

And lastly what has ur NS said in regards to how u r feeling?