Showing posts with label chiari. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chiari. Show all posts

4.1.11

Them bones, them bones, them thin bones

My bones are confused. Or very lazy. I don't know. They are like a 70 year old's bones, lack of calcium and all. Perhaps that is why I have had bone pain for so long. Maybe that is why my neck and back are hurting like crazy all of the time. In any case, I am still somewhat shocked (although, with the EDS, should I be surprised?) that I have osteoporosis. Dr. Henderson diagnosed me this past week when I saw him about my other neurological concerns that may or may not be connected with EDS.

I have many other conditions that should concern me more, but perhaps it is the fact that I saw first hand what osteoporosis does to a body (my grandmother had it), especially when one cannot be mobile, it scares me much more, even than Barrett's esophagus, which I know is more than likely to turn into cancer one day.

I also have a Type 0 Chiari. Basically, I have all of the symptoms of an Arnold-Chiari malformation (occipital headache, balance issues, nerve pain and numbness), but my cerebral tonsils don't descend (at least >1mm) past the foramen magnum. This is a particularly controversial type of Chiari, as it seems that at least half of doctors polled don't believe that it is a true condition. These may be the same doctors that believe that the symptoms of Chiari must correspond to the size of the herniation. In any case... I don't know nearly as much as I should about the Type 0 Chiari, so the next few months will be filled with much research. The fact that it is causing symptoms is concern enough for me.

There are a few other things that I feel I should mention right now... but as I am quite unable to hold open my eyes, or hold up my head, I'll end here.