Is it normal to be experiencing everyday headaches and dizziness?

[Mnkohn]

I am currently entering week 7 post Chiari decompression surgery. I have had a pretty rough recovery but felt I was turning a corner week 4 and the headaches were resolving. I hadn't had any complications during the surgery and or after according to my neaurosurgeon. Week 6 when I became more active I attended a wedding and challenged myself to do activities around the house and I began having daily headaches- regardless of how much I rested. My NS said this was normal at my 6 week check up and said they could stick around but will resolve as I heal. I am now week 7 and have to go back to work very soon and I am miserable everyday with a headache that begins in the morning and by the end of the day is at its worst intensity. The headaches feel pressure related and almost the same in nature to my headaches BEFORE my decompression surgery. I got the surgery for an improvement and to get back to being a 25 year old but now I'm plagued with the fear that my headaches will not resolve. I'm looking for opinions of others who have healed and may have had similar experiences because I'm constantly worrying that something is wrong.

[hevnw8s]

Hi Mnkohn,

I'm just wondering how your incision is healing? Is there any swelling or issues with it at all during the healing process? Sometimes that can cause headaches.

Also, when you were doing activities, were you doing things like leaning down, bending over or anything similar that would cause pressure on the brain?

I agree with selmaS, doing activities and doing as much as you are so soon might have been too much on your body. I know you are young and everyone heals at a different rate, plus taking into account any related conditions you may have, it just may have bee to much

I will tell you that during my recovery, there were times I felt like I could clean the house, or go shopping etc...but when I attempted to do any of those things, the headaches would start. You have to give your body time to heal on the inside as well as the outside. Take it slow, get plenty of rest...be good to yourself.

Some people do develop Intracranial Hypotension post decompression. It happens when there is a leak of CSF in the spinal membrane, causing low pressure which causes bad headaches. It's hard for the NS to diagnose but it's something I would talk with him about if the headaches persist.

Just my thoughts.

[selmaS]

Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.

May I ask what you do at your job?....I would never have been able to go back to work at 7 weeks post op and I would not have been able to go to a wedding, we are all different and you are much younger BUT I really believe our body's let us know what we can and can not do.....your headaches may be your body telling you that you are doing too much.

Another question....do you have any other related conditions? Were ALL related conditions ruled out?

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a condition many with Chiari have.....and it alone can cause headaches....and it can also slow healing....

My advice is take it slow......

[Mnkohn]

Thank you for your response! I am a special education teacher and have a pretty packed day that's on the go so I'm rather concerned that I feel this way. He put me back to work 8/1 which gives me about 15 days left or two weeks to be feeling "able". I went through many doctors and neurologists, testing and imaging etc. but based on my symptoms not one ever discussed EDS with me (I keep reading about it on these threads). NS Has consistently said he feels this was the cause of all of my issues and feels he has resolved it with the surgery. what type of doctor may have wanted to evaluate a condition such as EDS? I plan to do nothing but rest now that I am starting to really decline I definitely agree with you on that! I'm also supposed to start PT this week and hoping that doesn't make things worse.

[selmaS]

First let me say surgery is not a cure..and it is inevitable you may continue to have symptoms, they just should not be as severe as they were before...Chiari is the malformation of the skull and there is no fix for that....all they can do is create more room to allow the CSF to flow more normally and hopefully prevent the formation of a syrinx...BUT if you are one of the "lucky" or unlucky ones...to also have EDS or other related conditions some symptoms can be due to those.
My NS did the eval for EDS....I went to TCI in NY and they do research there on Chiari and related conditions so I felt it was the place for me to go.

Were you given neck exercises to do post op?

If you are not feeling well PT may not be the best choice right now.