Pregnancy and Chiari 1 Malformation

[irish_gypsy85]

I am 27 almost 28 and I have Chiari 1 Malformation. I am also pregnant. This is my second pregnancy. With the first one I did not know I had Chiari. So i had a very rough pregnancy. I was sick the whole time, I couldnt eat, and I was leaking amniotic fluid. (sorry I can t spell.) They had to induce my labor and it was awful. But I had a healthy baby boy. I had my son naturaly and after he was born I got worse. Now that I am pregnant again I am haveing a lot of issues and my family is not being very support of, well atleast my mother and stepdad. My husband understands and is very sympathetic. Thank goodness for him.
             I have been searching for books on Chiari and pregnancy but I am having a hard time finding any. If anyone knows the names of some good books or even websites I would really apreciate it. I could use all the help I can get. And any medications to help with the symptoms would really be aprecated as well. I'm only about 10 weeks right now but it seems like everything is getting worse already. Please Help!!!!!

[selmaS]

  There are Chiari Drs in Maryland and North Carolina.....I know it is someplace u will have to travel to, but many of us have to travel to get the right care....

Well do look at our list of Drs and use it to research Drs....I am sure u will find a Dr to help u.

[irish_gypsy85]

thanks. i just found out that all my chiari doctors feel they can no longer help me. so now i have to try to find someone who can help me. my obg doc told me to call my family doc or my chiari doc. so i am pretty much screwed. my family doc moved out of town and there arent many neurologists that specialize in chiari in the state of Virginia. and my obg thinks that a natural birth is fine and that i can do things like i normaly do. i dont understand how doctors can be like that. so until i find a family doc, a neurologist doc and possibly a obg doc that will actually listen to what i have going on with me then im screwed.

[selmaS]

  Have u talked to ur OBGYN about these issues and ur Chiari DX?

He/she should be able to tell u what is safe for u to do while pregnant...I know u said u called a Dr and no calls back....but keep calling every hour on the hour, the squeaky wheel gets the grease....

Was ur first born a natural birth? Or a C -section? The chiari specialists do suggest a C- section so u do not have to strain, as that can cause ur symptoms to flare...

AS this pregnancy develops it adds pressure to all areas of ur body as u retain fluids etc....so ur symptoms may flare.

pace urself slower and save energy up for long days u know are coming....listen to ur body and stop when it indicates pain, or ne of ur symptoms act up....

I know it is  a lot and can be very over whelming, but u can do this...one day at a time...and keep after ur Drs to let them know what is going on.

At one point I had vertigo for 2 weeks...so it can last for a while and then just stop...symptoms with Chiari cycle, so look to what u did b4 a symptom flares so u may know what ur triggers are.

[irish_gypsy85]

ok i had really bad motion sickness before i got pregnant because of the chiari. now that im pregnant its way worse. it used to only be when i was in a car, on any type of boat, or some amusement park rides. but now i cant walk through the house with out getting so dizzy that i almost pass out, and the nausea wont go away. i called my doctors and they arnt calling me back. please help me. i have tried small, frequent meals,  ginger ale, Vitamin B6,  Unisom, and Sea Bands. none of them are working. it wasnt this bad when i was pregnant with my son. but i didnt know i chiari and i didnt have many symptoms, just headachs,and motion sickness. but after my son was born i had all kinds of issues and still do. now everything is getting worse.  i need help, please!!!

[selmaS]

  No worries : )

If u have ne more questions let us know.

[irish_gypsy85]

Thanks. Its really nice that there are a lot of other people out there who know what I'm going threw.