Hello I am so sorry that you are having symptoms. Unfortunately symptoms do not usually get better as I have never heard of someone who has gotten better w/o surgery. I for one got worse over time and I know there are several others who have. If your surgeon says surgery is the best option then it probably is. Mine said the same thing, it wasn't mandatory but it was recommended and it helped greatly with my symptoms. One thing I can suggest to you is to find a chiari specialist for another opinion. A specialist will be able to tell you if they think surgery will help in your case, as sometimes it does not and/or makes things worse. I hope this helps a little and that you can find some relief soon.
Hi Tracy....ask urself...what is my quality of life right now....am I happy with it?
The amount of symptoms, overcrowding, CSF blockage and the quality of life are all considered when looking at surgery.
Conservative methods unfortunatley do not help....and kgrex is correct as u will not get better without intervention...and even with it u may continue with some if not all the symptoms.....surgery is to lessen the progression of symptoms. Having surgery may help stop the possibility of perm damage.
U should know if u r at the point u can not deal with the issues ne more...if ur dr is against surgery and u do not feel u need it now, u can try pain management, but continue to have frequent MRI's to monitor growth/CSF flow.
"selma"
When I first met with a surgeon he said to me...
"You can have surgery in a month, 3 months, 6 months, a year, or never...you won't get better though, probably just worse..."
Just ask yourself how much you can deal with.