u/Unlikely_Net_1229

About to start week 2 of recovery.
My traps are so tight even on muscle relaxers. Using heat and ice as well. Any life hacks or things you did to help everything settle down and relax? Can feel tightness from my neck to the inside of my hands (thumb and pointer finger)

I have surgery very soon. Is there any medication that is a must post surgery that I should make sure that they are giving me?

Any other OTC stuff that helped you after?

After you were decompressed, how long did u wait to do PT?

What specifically from the PT helped you the most?

Did any PT make you worse?

Also did you have duraplasty (just trying to see if people had different timelines compared to bone only)?

Thank you

Symptoms started March 2025. Possibly triggered by a neck-cracking incident sometime shortly before — I cracked my neck in a way I never normally do, felt a shock down my entire left side of my spine, a zap on the left side of my head, lightheadedness, and my left-side muscles spasmed for ~15 seconds. It was over so fast I didn't think anything of it at the time. Can't pin down exactly when it was relative to symptom onset.

Imaging: Chiari I, tonsils 7mm L / 5mm R. No syrinx. Also a C5-C6 annular tear (everyone agrees it's not the driver).

Symptoms:

• Constant back-of-head pressure/tightness/fullness, worse left
• Weird thing about the headaches: early on, when I was doing better overall, I got normal headaches. Now the actual headache pain is gone but I have this constant pressure/fullness feeling instead. Like a headache should be there but isn't.
• Lightheadedness, near-fainting when upright — worse standing still, worse in public, better lying down
• Bilateral hand numbness/weakness (thumb + index worst). Can feel pressure but not texture.
• Vision: trouble focusing, switching near to far
• Eye movement triggers neck spasm — when I move my eyes, the muscles at the back of my head flex on their own
• Facial numbness, jaw tightness during flares
• Whole left side tighter than right, head to tailbone
• Brain fog
• Movement provokes it — specifically transitions, like looking down then up. Not sustained positions.

Neuro PT exam found: dysconjugate smooth pursuits, slowed saccades that reproduced my suboccipital spasm, altered dermatomes C6-C8 (left worse), diminished proprioception both ankles.

Failed: gabapentin (helps some), muscle relaxers, nortriptyline, primidone, occipital nerve blocks, trigger point injections. Passive PT manipulation made me dramatically worse for days.

Where I'm at: First neurosurgeon said mild descent, no significant compression, atypical symptoms — try other things first. I did, nothing worked. Second opinion from a Chiari specialist: sees compression, says failed conservative management makes Chiari more convincing, I'm a surgical candidate. Scheduling now.

Questions:

1. Anyone with a "mild" 5-7mm Chiari who had real symptoms and got real relief from decompression?
2. Anyone else get eye movement triggering neck/suboccipital spasm?
3. Anyone have the upright lightheadedness/near-fainting?
4. Anyone whose headache pain turned into just pressure over time?

When I put heat or cold on the back of my head, I can't feel it (did not have surgery). Has anyone else had this before surgery?

When I take it off and put my hand there, I can feel the heat or the cold that I put on it but cant feel it otherwise.

Was your head pressure worse on one side? Did surgery help?

Who here has gotten second opinions because their first neurosurgeon didn't think their symptoms were coming from Chiari?

Did the second Dr recommend surgery? And so, if you got it, did you get better?

Has anyone with Chiari WITHOUT decompression had an epidural? did it worsen ur chiari or make it better. I have a tear in my neck at the c5c6 level and its causing a herniation. i was wondering if anyone similar has gotten an epidural to help this and it helped their Chiari as well. Thanks