I am a wife, mother, girl-scout leader, college student and I work part time. Shortly after my 29th birthday, I began having severe headaches. I have always had a high tolerance for pain. After gallbladder surgery and both of my C-sections, I rarely had to take the pain medicine. The pain got so bad that I was taking 800mg Ibuprofen like candy. The pain medications only slightly helped. On my way to class my chest began to hurt, and I became worried. My mom decided to check my blood pressure and it was unusually high. I had to take care of myself because my kids depended on me. I visited the Taylorville emergency room, where I was treated like an addict and told that it was all anxiety to visit Taylorville Mental Health. I know my body, and I knew that this was not the case. I tried to just ignore the symptoms, but my blood pressure remained high. I visited my primary care physician and was then put on blood pressure medicine. We all agreed that my weight could have triggered the blood … [Read more...]

I was a healthy person who, like many, took life for granted. Not anymore. Two years ago, I was confronted with a life-and-death decision. I agreed to undergo brain surgery in the hope it would stop the excruciating headaches I was suffering with every day. I'm sharing my story in the hope of encouraging others to see their primary care doctor when they experience symptoms that cause concern. My doctor helped save my life. When the doctor told me that my severe headaches, frequent dizziness, and numbness in my hands and feet were caused by a rare condition that could paralyze me for the rest of my life, I was stunned. Then he told me immediate surgery was required. It was my only option. I could not believe what I was hearing. I looked at the doctor in disbelief and slowly got the words out: 'But we are talking about my brain'. After enduring a battery of tests and being studied by four different neurologists, I was finally given a diagnosis. I was suffering from chiari … [Read more...]

In 1996, I was in a car crash, I walked away with whiplash, or so I thought. After a year, my symptoms were still there. I went to see my general practitioner. He said these can go on for a long time. When the symptoms got worse, I asked to see someone private through my husband's work. I had a scan done. The doc I saw said he would send me to a neurologist. WOW, what came next was a BIG shock, to say the least! The feelings of pins and needles in my hands, legs, strange headaches, double vision, and loads of other stuff when I was a kid would be explained. The doc said he knew straight away when he was sent the scans. What he showed me and my husband, was a pic of my BRAIN SLIPPING INTO MY SPINE. It is called chiari malformation. It felt like my world had just fallen apart. He did some more tests and discussed what he was going to do. My husband asked how urgent action would need to be taken. The doc replied it should have been done when I was younger. But as it stands now, I … [Read more...]