Does Losing Feeling in my Fingers mean my Chiari Malformation is Getting Worse?

[BekkaKratz]

I was diagnosed in April of 2011 and saw a neurosurgeon who said he wanted to operate in 6 months. I didn't have many symptoms bothering me and the surgery scared me, so I chose to push it back and have the operation when I began having real symptoms... In the past i months I started getting numbness in my fingertips. In the past 6 months I began losing feeling in my fingertips. And today I burned my finger and didn't realize it until I saw the blister and realized I am losing feeling along the sides of my fingers. Suddenly I began connecting the dots, I am always cold from poor circulation, get numbness in my hands and fingers and arms and legs and feet, get pain shooting through my arm/elbows/hands/upper back/neck, and am losing feeling in my fingers now. Does this mean my Chiari Malformation is progressing and I have to seek out a surgeon or can I push off the surgery for another year if I can deal with the symptoms? I just got a dream job and can't afford risking losing the job and wonder if maybe I am just over thinking the other symptoms. Has anyone experienced this or know enough to tell me if I should be worried?

[AnaLyze]

Mine has gone away along with other symptoms.  I manage all pretty well and feel great most of  the time. I can’t complain and thankful for my no Christi docs that have helped me through this, Ive only been seeing  docs for annual wellness exams.

[selmaS]

Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.

Your description of the numbness and burning yourself and not realizing it could indicate you developed a syrinx (Syringomyelia) which is due to an obstruction of CSF flow...surgery is done to prevent a syrinx from forming and slow progression.

I am not saying you have a syrinx as I too had numbness before my surgery and I did not have a syrinx...only saying it is possible.

Since they are new symptoms and if you have not had a MRI in the last 6 months a new MRI would be in order to see just what is going on.

Make sure your Dr is a true Chiari specialist and rules out ALL related and non related conditions.

[AnaLyze]

I used to have numbness in my fingers, this went away. They checked for syrinx, I had none.

[selmaS]

Did they check your entire spine> And it appears to have changed from numbness to no feeling of a burn.....I would want to be checked again....just to be safe,