Need answer about MRI findings please!

[outdoorgal35]

Not sure where to start so please bear with me as I try to make sense. I have suffered with some type of head pain since I was a kid, I am 39 now..They have progressively gotten worse over the years along with severe intractable migraines, chronic neck pain, always hurts, shoulder pain, feeling of "off balance", like I could fall, the room aint spinning I just feel light headed per se, which makes me afraid to drive sometimes, muscle weakness in neck, arms, and shoulders, tingly in fingers that comes and goes, ringing in ears that comes and goes, which happens more often then it ever did, nausea, again comes and goes,insomnia, anxiety which I believe to be brought on by the pain after all these years, constant fatigue, leg pain that comes and goes, heart palpitations, crossed-eyed( born this way) which I had surgery to straighten my eye about 2 years ago, but still have double vision with hardly no vision in right eye at all, have blurry vision at times and this scares me because of how my right eye is and I have constant floaters in my left eye. I know a multitude of symptoms..I have seen a neurologist off and on for 15 years or better, never had insurance before then! One I saw for several years had me on every medicine under the sun for migraines, literally! I was a walking zombie I believe and still nothing helped, I was even hospitalized a few years back for 3 days due to a severe intractable migraine put on DHE 45 IV..it helped for a very short time, or rather it with a correlation of the other meds I was given in the hospital helped some but for a very short time. Well, I saw this doctor until I moved to another county in the state I am I was born and raised in (Alabama). Upon moving to Mobile, I seeked several doctors trying to get help, one accused me of seeking drugs, if he only knew me! I was referred to neuro after neuro here and no one would/will listen to me. They all have tried to prescribe the same drugs I have already tried for years and they never worked, and the side effects of something that didnt help were not worth it. I refused to take the medicines again because I knew what they would or wouldnt do! Don't get me wrong, I dont know everything, but I do know what I have tried and how it didnt work. Well, back in May I found a new neuro a county over from me thinking I had found a wonderful doctor..he didnt try and write me a script the first time I was there, which meant alot to me. Well, I am now aggravated with him..He does not listen to me, all he wants to do is give me steroids shots in my neck and shoulders and tell me I have a pinched nerve causing me all this pain after all these years, really? UGH! I have allowed him to give me many shots over the last few months, but they aint worth and I feel worse after getting them then I did when I got there usually. Well, I personally called my old neuro in the county I lived prior to moving to Mobile, and got them to send me my old records..I remember the neuro telling me a few years back that he had seen something on the MRI and if he sent me to a neuro they'd want to do surgery but he didnt think it was anything to worry about. Well, I believed him all these years till I got my records and began to read,,The MRI scan of the Brain states this:

There  is a slight prominence of adenoidal pad.

Cellebellar tonsils are approximately 6mm below the plane of the foramen magnum, minimally low in position. No evidence of upper cervical syrinx or significant deformity of fourth ventricle. No significant intracranial pathology is seen.

Impression: slightly low position of the cerebeller tonsils.

Ok now when I type that into yahoo/google Chiari Malformation comes up every time. Please understand these results were 10/22/2003. I have been suffering for years with migraines, neck and shoulder pain and the above. Does it sound like I have Chiari Malformation to any of yall? I'm scared, nervous, but yet hopeful I may now knwo the reason for my pain all these years.

Another MRI of cervical spine states this:

Partial straightening of the C-spine, otherwise negative.

I'm at a loss and feel like I am running out of options..The new neuro just wants to shoot me full off steroids in my neck/shoulders and has only given me 10 pain pills since I started seeing him in May. I have to go to ER and Emergency clinic by my house several times for pain shots because 10 pills since May aint going to last. No I am not a pill head, that I assure anyone, I loath drugs, but pain is pain and Lord knows we can only take so much. He has mentioned an MRI but I am so claustrophobic they will have to sedate me to ever have one, and I didnt use to be this way.

Please anyone with insight, respond. Thank you in advance.

[outdoorgal35]

Thank you for your reply..I feel stuck in a rut! I'm almost certain I have not found THE doctor to help me, I could be wrong but he just loves putting needles in my neck and that appears to be it..I'm just aggravated and tired of hurting..it has been so many years and I'm tired of it all..the neuro I see is a pain specialist as well. I don't know I will just be glad to figure it all out..I know people have worse problems then me and I feel guilty for always complaining, seems selfish..I don't intend on it being that way..I just want a semi normal almost(at least) pain free life..my kids have grown up on me (17 and 13) while I lay and hurt, asking them to please be quiet..those are years I can't get back and it just hurts me for them. I want them to see their mom happy and all. Thank you again for your response..hope all goes well for you.

[drewlevas]

I understand your claustrophobia. I got two MRI in one month not so long ago. I refused the sedative because I had to drive back home. But they told me that next time I can have my MRI in the morning and they would give me a low dosage of activan and earphones with music. Maybe it is something you could try. It's been a very long time since you had your last MRI and I belive it would be important that you have a new one.

Drew

[linnielou232]

I know exactely how you feel.  Even though I didn't have to deal with my problem as long as you have.  I had my cerebelllum at 6.5 mill also.  It sounds to me you have Chairi Maliformation.  I also can relate to how Dr's make you feel about taking pain med's.  I don't like to take the neither, but when I went to one pain clinic I am so thankful having my daughter with me because she cound speak up for me also that  I didn't like to have pain med's.  I am now going to seek shot's in the back of my neck also.  This is after having 3 surgeries  because of Chairi.  You will find almost every one on here will say the same thing's.  Surgery isn't a cure it just slow's down our problems.  I hope that you finally found the right doctor.  I know there are a lot of doctors out there that don't deal with or don't understand what Chairi is.  I wish you the best and I just want to let  you know your not alone.