The journey Continues

Hi everyone, Just a quick post to let you know how things are progressing.
I had my appointment with a Neurologist at the QE earlier this month (May) and i explained that i was getting problems with my speech slurring, losing my sight in my left eye, the usual pains , headaches,fatigue and drop attacks, balance and dizziness.
He told me that it looked like i had brain damage either through surgery ( what !!!) or through a fall i had at work back in 2001 which i went to see him about when it happened ( i cant remember seeing him , in fact i cant remember seeing anyone let alone the accident ?). Anyway, he is sending me for a EEG to see if i ma experiencing Epileptic seizures . He will be writing to my Neurosurgeon with regards to my visit to him. I guess i will know more when i get to see my Neurosurgeon in June.

Friday just gone, i was pottering around in the garden,when i felt a pop in my head, i passed out with the pain it caused and when i came round, my left eye and mouth had drooped and my tongue on the left side had gone numb. I thought it may be one of my ridiculous headaches again, so i went for a lie down. All feeling came back later that afternoon and my headache had stopped with the help of copious amounts of pain killers. I went to see my GP on Monday (yesterday) and mentioned what had happened to him. He wasn't happy with the fact i left it to see him and said i should have gone to A & E as i may have had a bleed somewhere. He advised me to go and see a optician asap as he is concerned about my sight in the left eye deteriorating. ( today i have tried to get a appointment with about seven opticians, they all say the same, " sorry, we have no appointments for today) I have give up now as i really cannot be bothered anymore.). Its just a constant battle to be seen let alone be heard by anyone. I will leave it now until i see my Neurosurgeon or get another one of those attacks.

I will go to my appointment next month, knowing exactly what the outcome will be. ( "You have had the surgery, you are now cured, don't worry about that CSF leak you have , it wont cause a problem, its normal").Anyway rant over. I will post the outcome for you all to see next month.

Take care all, until next time.

Heart Problems

Has anybody had heart problems ?

Just after Christmas 2010, i had to lie on my lounge floor after i got crushing pains in my chest, heavy sweating, pains in my left arm and up into my neck. It seemed to pass after about 10 minuets. My wife returned home from work later that day and said that i didn't look very well, i told her what had happened and she called the NHS direct who then called for a ambulance. They took me to my local Hospital and after a blood test and ECG told me all was fine but suggested i could have Angina so they gave me a spray to use under my tongue.

A `couple of weeks went by and i was asked to attend the hospital to see a cardiologist who sent me for a stress test. The results were fine, or so i thought.

Again, a few weeks went by and i received a letter saying that they had looked at my results again and it showed i was getting insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle, i would be called for further tests to be made.

Last month i was called in to have a angiogram done, the results showed that i had no blocked arteries ( what a relief ).

I have now had a letter asking me to attend the hospital for another scan as they are still not happy.

I wait in anticipation.

Has anybody else had these problems following Chiari ( can it all be connected ) who knows.

pseudomeningocele

Hi everyone, just a little update to how things are with myself.
As most of you know, i am still having a lot of symptoms after decompression. Headaches, memory loss, vision problems, speech, pain, seizures, drop attacks, the list goes on.
I had a full MRI done in December 2010 and was told by my Syringomyelia nurse that my Neurosurgeon could do no more for me and that he was happy if i wanted to get a second opinion on the matter ? ( why would he say such a thing if he was so sure ). Anyway she basicaly told me that he could do no more for me surgicaly ( good news for me ).
I took the liberty of purchasing a copy of my MRI results . The reults are as follows.

Findings:

The small Pseudomeningocele at the craniovertebral junction is again demonstrated and appears unchanged since previous examination. The previously documented syrinx is no longer visible. The cord returns normal signal throughout the cervical, thoracic and lumbar region and the roots of the cauda equina appear unremarkable. A small posterior disc bulge is noted at L5/S1 level. There is however no evidence of neural compression.

That all sounded fine to me and i took it as gospel.

I recieved a letter from my NS in March , at the end it said " all i can do now is reasure Darren that he is not harbouring any serious or sinister disease process and i do not think that any further neurosurgical procedures are appropriate. If Darren wanted to meet with me and discuss matters face to face , then i would be happy to arrange a further appointment for him ".

I dont know if its me just feeling a bit touchy , but i found that bit of the letter very condecending.

I rang up his secretary and have booked a appointment for June and i will find out what can or cannot be done with this Pseudomeningocele, and could this be the cause of my problems.

Pseudomeningocele
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A pseudomeningocele is an abnormal collection of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that communicates with the CSF space around the brain or spinal cord. In contrast to a meningocele, in which the fluid is surrounded and confined by dura mater, in a pseudomeningocele, the fluid has no surrounding membrane but is contained in a cavity within the soft tissues.

Pseudomeningocele may result after brain surgery, spine surgery, or brachial plexus avulsion injury.

Treatment for pseudomeningocele is conservative or may involve neurosurgical repair.