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Avatar universal

Normal MRI?

Hi, my son is 14 years old and he has had headaches and weird stomach aches for about 6 years.  Recently, he started getting headaches everyday and the stomach aches have been more often, so I took him to a neurologist which said he beleived his headaches were food related.  He gave us a list of foods to try to eliminate one by one to see which ones are causing the headaches.  He also ordered an MRI w/o contrast and an EEG.  We haven't done the EEG yet, but I called the doctors office and the nurse told me his MRI was normal.  I asked for a copy and it says he has low-lying cerebellar tonsils noted with the tonsils protruding below the level of foramina magnum by approzimately 3 to 5 mm, consistent with mild cerebellar tonsillar ectopia.  Also minimal chronic left maillary and left anterior/middle ethmoid sinusitis noted.

My question is do I need to see another neurologist since this one thinks this is normal, or could this actually be considered normal?  One of my main concerns is him playing sports, he plays football and does pole vault, and I'm not sure if he needs to stop or not.  Thanks for any help!
Best Answer
620923 tn?1452915648
COMMUNITY LEADER

  Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.

Those with low lying tonsils/chiari are told not contact sports as the rough bouncing around can force the tonsils down even further....but, what u need is more testing....not all tonsils obstruct CSF and that is more important then how long they r herniated.

Tests u should ask about is MRI's of the cervical spine, thoracic and lumbar to rule out a syrinx as they can form in ne area of the spine, and u want to rule out tethered cord, disk, issues, PTC, sleep apnea, ehlers-danlos....

  U want a true chiari specialist as there are some NS that may also feel the same as this NL u saw....the problem is the out dated info taught in Med school and they r not keeping up with the research being done...True chiari specialists r the ones doing the research.

  Scroll to the bottom of this screen to locate the link to the Health Pages to more info and tips as well as a list of the members chiari drs....the list is not a referral, u do have to research  to find the dr that is right for u.

Learn as much as u can...and know u r not alone : )

    "selma"
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620923 tn?1452915648
COMMUNITY LEADER

  So glad u found a Dr.

Are u all ok with the storms down that way?...I pray u are <3

  Do keep us posted as to what u find out.

  Good luck
Helpful - 0
1306714 tn?1327257080
I just want to say welcome and sorry to hear you found Chairi with your son.  It sounds like your in the right town, and I wanted to wish you well.  As Selma said.  "Do your homework" and find out more about this.  I know it would be hard for your son not to play sports.  Asking a specialist is the best way to find out.  Wish you the best.
Linda :)
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Avatar universal
Thank you Selma, I think we are on the right path now.  We are fortunate enough to live right outside of Houston, tx and there a alot of great doctors here and I was able to find one that specializes in Chiari!
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