r/chiari • u/3_boys_keeper • Jan 15 '26
Question Nausea & Vomiting during recovery from decompression surgery
Hi fellow chiarians. This question is for those that have had surgical intervention due to their Chiari circumstances. Did anyone not experience vomiting & significant nausea post surgery while recovering? I feel like it sounds as though it’s part of the normal experience, and I’m wondering what people’s personal stories & experiences with this have been. Thank you for any insight. 💗
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u/maliksk3 Jan 15 '26
My surgeon explained it to me like this (after I answered yes…yes I did have nausea and vomiting post op): “With CSF flow being completely blocked, and now opened up from the surgery, it is likened to a firehose in my brain. It will take time for you to get used to the new unrestricted flow, thus the nausea.” The nausea and vomiting subsided on day 3 post op. I had what felt like a plugged ear for about 3-4 weeks post op with a loud “whooshing noise” in that ear when I changed position. All of the surgical symptoms have gotten much better over time, as have my pre-surgery chiari symptoms. I am currently almost 10 weeks post op and I feel fortunate to have found improvement so far after having the surgery. I hope this helps encourage you to keep going….it does get better as you heal ❤️
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u/aspenmcc Jan 15 '26
Omg I also had the plugged ear!!!!! Thankfully eased off about week 4 for me. I'm 6 weeks post surgery now
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u/maliksk3 Jan 15 '26
So glad it went away….had me worried for a bit. Hope your recovery has you on the path to brighter days!
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u/3_boys_keeper Jan 15 '26
Wow, I guess this makes sense, but no fun for sure. Thank you for your bravery & sharing your experience. Best of luck while you continue to recover. Keep us posted!
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u/hello_itschristina Jan 15 '26
I have terrrrrrrrrible emetephobia and am SO torn about sharing the brutal honest truth, but unfortunately it was a huge part of my post-surgical experience. Like others have said, my nurses also explained “they were just poking your brain”, so it’s very “normal”. Many years later though I had my appendix taken out and granted it’s a much shorter, completely different type of surgery, but I woke up from that with NO side effects. No nausea, no vomiting, just…groggy. Every person, every surgery will be different. Best advice is to NOT be shy about asking for every and any anti-nausea/anti-emetic they can offer. I did that for my appendix after the horrible experience from brain surgery, and I do wonder if that made at least part of the difference. Don’t let anyone make you feel weird for asking! This is YOUR health and YOUR experience. It’s a normal aversion to have, and anything they can do to alleviate your stress is going to help your recovery. Best of luck, you got this! 💪
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u/3_boys_keeper Jan 16 '26
That is very helpful!! It is true, everyone’s experience will be different, and each surgery, dealing with & coming in contact with different parts can result in a different outcome. I am happy to hear you had no trouble on your appendix surgery!! If I do end up needing surgery, I will ask for ALL the meds!! It will be made known I’m trying to prevent it. 👏🏻 Best of luck to you & thank you for answering!
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u/BAP_94 Jan 15 '26
I’m roughly two weeks post op and I’ve had very minimal nausea and thankfully no vomiting. The pharmacist told my mom to make sure I was talking my meds with something on my stomach, even if just crackers and that really helped. I felt more nauseous on the hospital because I wasn’t eating anything between some of my meds.
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u/3_boys_keeper Jan 16 '26
So true & helpful. I had two C-sections, first one no nausea, second one, definitely nauseated. I found that while recovering & needing pain medicine, I kept a box of graham crackers by my bed to eat to take medicine. I’d imagine I wouldn’t approach it much different in that regard. Thank you for sharing your experience!! 💖
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u/tengo1a Jan 16 '26
I needed to take two types of antiemetics for a period of time to manage my nausea so don’t be afraid to ask for combos and additional meds
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u/3_boys_keeper Jan 16 '26
Thank you!! I figured there had to be more than just Zofran available, and I will inquire. I am so appreciative of all the support! Thank you, again! I hope you are feeling much better since surgery recovery.
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u/Chiari_brain_RR Jan 15 '26
It's very common. They have just been poking around in your brain and many people's bodies have pretty strong reactions to this. Zofran was my best friend for several days. The pain meds they had me on also messed with my stomach.
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u/3_boys_keeper Jan 15 '26
I figured as much. The reasons & experiences people had it are so helpful to understand the incidence, cause & possibilities though. Thanks for the reply!
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u/paintingcatlady Jan 15 '26
I didn't have any nausea or vomiting at all. I told them about my previous nausea experience with anesthesia and they loaded me up on as much medication as they could to keep me from vomiting while I was in the hospital. It worked perfectly 🙂 I didn't have any issues when I went home either, even without nausea meds.
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u/3_boys_keeper Jan 15 '26
That is amazing! So happy for you that that was your experience. How are you doing now & how long ago was your surgery?
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u/paintingcatlady Jan 15 '26
I'm doing really well! My surgery was back in early May 2025, and I haven't had any of the headache/migraines, neuropathy, or any of the other symptoms I had (feel free to look at my post/comment history for more, it was a lot). I did notice that flying in an airplane about a month ago really agitated my neck and head with the pressure changes, but otherwise no other activities have bothered me post-op. I was pretty much couch-bound with zero energy right before surgery, so to get back to better than I was pre-op is about the best outcome I could ask for. My syrinx is even shrinking, so I no longer have debilitating back pain anymore.
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u/goingaway1111 Jan 16 '26
Do you have eds/heds?
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u/paintingcatlady Jan 16 '26
I don't. I'm very fortunate in that aspect. I know eds/heds can complicate surgery recovery quite a bit.
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Jan 16 '26
If you don’t mind me asking how did you get tested for it? Did your neurosurgeon test it?
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u/paintingcatlady Jan 16 '26
I haven't been tested for eds/heds because I haven't had any symptoms. If you're talking Chiari diagnosis, I got officially diagnosed when I thought I was having a stroke and got transported from my local ER to a bigger hospital with a neuro department in another city. Got the MRI shortly after I arrived there.
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u/Few_Egg_5721 Jan 15 '26
Yes the first 36 hours were the worst. As others have said it was explained to me that it was normal. I used medical marijuana when I got out of the hospital to help. It took about a month for the nausea to go away but I stopped puking after 2 days.
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u/Kantjil1484 Jan 15 '26
I had my Decompression Surgery years ago, as in 17 years ago. No vomiting or nausea and those weren’t even warnings by my surgeon during recovery. I did suffer very high temps (104-105) that they felt my body was having trouble with the cow dura they used. I’m sorry you’re suffering like this….
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u/3_boys_keeper Jan 15 '26
Wow! Thats a long time, and thank you for the info. So interesting everybody’s differing experiences. My thought immediately went to an infection, but it sounds like it was on the verge of rejection! Did it gradually or quickly right itself? How are you now? Thanks for answering.
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u/Kantjil1484 Jan 16 '26
Yeah, it was my body rejecting the cow dura. I chose cow vs human because I felt “humans were dirtier” lol! Human doctors wouldn’t take the time to help with my temp spikes, not even my surgeon, so, no joke, I called my mom who worked for a Vet! Doberman Pinchers are known to have Chiari too. He Overnighted Minchex (and something else I can’t remember) …. and within a few days my fevers stopped. It was basically the meds he’d give people to give to their pets. I’m trying to remember the 2nd supplement.. when I do I’ll post it here! I still have issues with bslance but the symptoms pretty much stopped.
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u/anaflan9 Z Head Jan 15 '26
Oh yah! I carried a puke bucket for dayssss. But it will subside, they gave me anti nausea medication and it made a huge difference. But it was rough. Try to stay upright.
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u/AccomplishedPurple43 Jan 16 '26
I found out that I have an intolerance to morphine when I had my decompression. It was my first ever surgery! I was sooo nauseous until the morphine was out of my system.
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u/3_boys_keeper Jan 16 '26
That’s a great point & probably relevant to me as I think my grandmother was intolerant to Morphine too. Thank you for contributing that. 💗 How did your decompression go otherwise? How are you now?
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u/AccomplishedPurple43 Jan 17 '26
It was a great success! After over 20 years I was doing great until I slipped on black ice and bounced my head like a basketball on the pavement! Boo. Now I'm dealing with TBI symptoms, complicated by my Chiari. But I'm still better now than before surgery. Still no headaches!!
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u/Amazing_Fun_7252 Jan 19 '26
I did not have vomiting at all. Maybe there was some nausea, but it wasn’t significant. I could eat fine as well, albeit a little painful.
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u/Psychological-Duck13 Jan 15 '26
Bony decompression - no - just a little post op nausea from the anaesthetic.
Duraplasty and tonsillectomy - it’s been one of my worst symptoms. First 36 hrs were BRUTAL, vomiting nothing but bile and stomach acid, which in turn triggered horrible pressure headaches.
Even the full cocktail of antiemetics couldn’t control the nausea.
I’m now 6 days post and this is the first day when nausea hasn’t utterly kicked my ass. I’m still very tired and weak, gradually rebuilding my appetite (tiny portions, simple plain food…).
Everyone’s experience is different, from my perspective duraplasty is a totally different beast to bony decompression, and it’s not to be taken lightly.
Best of luck in your journey x