How many CM does your cerebellar....

[mthippiegirl]

Hey yall.. Once again, I am new here and have read dozens and hundreds of threads and such and havent found this question yet..
So I was just curious how many cenimeters your brain "protrudes"/extends etc.. into your spinal canal? I probably havent worded this right but dont have my MRI copies infront of me but for instance, mine is 2.4cm... which is like 1 cm short of an inch i believe and my neurologist said most peoples is not even half of that or 1/3 of that or something and totally freaked me out so I was just curious what yall's is? If that's not too personal to ask....

thanks! xx

[*Stormy*]

Yes, your herniation is quite large compared to most of us but like Selma said, that is not really the issue, it is how much blockage and overcrowding you have. I didn't ever really get a measurement from my NS and I never thought to ask! But doing my own measurements I think mine were about 10-11mm and one side was larger than the other. The worst part that my NS pointed out wasn't even where it herniated but was right at the opening of my foramen magnum where it started to protrude, my brain was pushing against my skull there and there was little to no room at all for CSF to pass through. So I could have had a 2mm or 24mm herniation, it wouldn't have made a difference in my case. So please don't get too worried about that!

The good thing is that you are catching this b4 your symptoms get as bad as some of us here....so the faster something is done about it, the better chance of recovery :)

Carolyn

[selmaS]

HI and welcome to the chiari forum.

Ur herniation does sound quite larger, but it if u have a CSF blockage or overcrowding.That said, u also must look to see if ur tonsils r wide or thin...this will all affect how the chiari specialist will review ur CM.Some can have a herniation of 2 mm and have more issues than someone with a herniation of 10mm....so do not let that freak u out....look at ur symptoms.

And than get a true chiari specialist to check u for related chiari conditions like IIH, EDS, tethered cord,syringomyelia, plus the CSF blockage and overcrowding I mentioned b4.

U do have many of the symptoms and u must realize the surgery will not get rid of symptoms, but will help slow the progression...and may lessen symptoms...some may have symptoms go away completely and others have new issues after surgery...so it is only after the dr see that it should be done to lessen the possibility of perm nerve damage that most will consider surgery.

I am happy to have u join our little family here, sorry the reason u had to seek us out.

"selma"

[mthippiegirl]

From what I've read, 2.4 cm is a big herniation.

10 mm = 1 cm so in my case, 2.4 cm = 24 mm (&2.5cm=1in)

am I abnormal or have others heard of this much herniation? my symptoms arent as bad as others I have read, however, i do have daily, intense headaches, frequent trouble swallowing, fatigue, randomly (but not frequent) blurred vision (my vision is terrible.. not legally able to drive w/out contacts/glasses) soreness and depression but still my symptoms dont seem as bad as some others i have read.... which is good!... i think? but they are definiately getting lots worse in time.