I haven't seen it--and it sounds like a lot of it would have made me nuts if I had--but my Chiari e-mail lists have been talking a bit about it and said that the depiction of Chiari is the closest to reality they've seen on TV yet. (As opposed to the House episode, which led to many Chiarians male and female getting asked by family and friends if they're bisexual or they lactate all the time.)
Some Chiarians feel better during pregnancy, but some don't. Some can give birth through natural labor while some need C-sections. The disorder has some hallmark symptoms but can affect and strike a lot of people differently. I figure the doctor wouldn't want her to get the surgery during the pregnancy because the surgery is onerous and risky, but after she regained her strength after birth maybe.
Is it really that easily mistaken for fibromyalgia? And would it really go undiagnosed for 7 years?
You have no idea the bs we go through with doctors. Chiari gets mistaken for a lot of things, including the classic "stress." I have a lot of fibromyalgia-like symptoms myself. After years of temporary Chiari symptom interludes that confused my doctors, I had to be ill to the point of dying to finally get a correct diagnosis. Some people have been misdiagnosed for years. Some for decades. One Chiarian whose right arm has been numb for 30 years has finally been diagnosed but the doctor won't do surgery because "it's not like you'll be playing football, right?"
Many doctors have erroneous or outdated information on the disorder. Some think the size of the herniation is all that matters and who cares if the patient is in agony, having seizures, losing sensations in limbs, can't sleep or eat, can't get out of bed, etc. Some will diagnose you with Chiari but say that the Chiari can't be causing your Chiari symptoms so they're not going to work on it. Some refuse to prescribe painkillers, especially opiates, because they don't want their patient to become an "addict."
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Some Chiarians feel better during pregnancy, but some don't. Some can give birth through natural labor while some need C-sections. The disorder has some hallmark symptoms but can affect and strike a lot of people differently. I figure the doctor wouldn't want her to get the surgery during the pregnancy because the surgery is onerous and risky, but after she regained her strength after birth maybe.
Is it really that easily mistaken for fibromyalgia? And would it really go undiagnosed for 7 years?
You have no idea the bs we go through with doctors. Chiari gets mistaken for a lot of things, including the classic "stress." I have a lot of fibromyalgia-like symptoms myself. After years of temporary Chiari symptom interludes that confused my doctors, I had to be ill to the point of dying to finally get a correct diagnosis. Some people have been misdiagnosed for years. Some for decades. One Chiarian whose right arm has been numb for 30 years has finally been diagnosed but the doctor won't do surgery because "it's not like you'll be playing football, right?"
Many doctors have erroneous or outdated information on the disorder. Some think the size of the herniation is all that matters and who cares if the patient is in agony, having seizures, losing sensations in limbs, can't sleep or eat, can't get out of bed, etc. Some will diagnose you with Chiari but say that the Chiari can't be causing your Chiari symptoms so they're not going to work on it. Some refuse to prescribe painkillers, especially opiates, because they don't want their patient to become an "addict."