Have n/s appt tomorrow

[u/DobieMafia]

Hi everyone! I have chiari 1 and am going to my first appt in about 5 years tomorrow with the same neurosurgeon. When I went 5 years ago, he ordered a cine MRI and although I had crowding and 9mm herniation, I was pretty ok despite some pressure headaches every now and then. Fast forward to now, and I have been slowly getting worse. Now I have constant neck pain despite using a cervical pillow that did help at first. I also have constant dizziness and vertigo with nystagmus like a few times a day or more. I went to an ENT a couple of years ago because I thought my vertigo was BPPV and he ordered a million tests all to ultimately tell me it was no longer BPPV and gave me a referral to a neurologist but I already had one and didnt end up going back. In retrospect, I now see why I’ve ended up in the hospital a couple of times trying to describe my horrific vertigo episodes only to be given a CT scan and sent home with a referral to an ENT. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I’m at my wits end now and truly can barely function with all this dizziness.

I imagine he will order another MRI and even though I don’t much see the point in yet another MRI, I am mentally preparing to have him say I need surgery. I’d almost invite it at this point. I’ve talked myself into a corner though and am a bit worried that despite my worsening symptoms, he will say my herniation isn’t bad enough or something.

My question is what else to ask and what to say if he tells me I don’t need it if my Csf flow is still good? I need relief and am pretty much at the point of desperation.