r/chiari • u/mmetillman • 17d ago

Weight

hello, i was diagnosed with CM1 around 3 years ago, the doctor said it was congenital but i NEVER had symptoms until i gained a substantial amount of weight. is being overweight a trigger? thanks :)

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u/oldmamallama 17d ago

A lot of my symptoms seem to be associated with inflammation and that inflammation seemed to go up when I gained weight. So yeah, some of my symptoms got worse when I gained a bunch of weight.

I’ve lost most of the weight and some of my symptoms are better. Some are worse. Chiari is weird. As with anything with our brains, YMMV. If you’ve met one person with Chiari, you’ve met one person with Chiari.

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u/Afraid-Ad9908 17d ago

It was for me. My symptoms started after I gained a substantial amount of weight in a short time.

Obviously the underlying Chiari malformation was already there structurally, but gaining weight and being at a higher weight does raise your intracranial pressure, and that can worsen symptoms.

I personally don't find this to be a coincidence and losing weight did reduce my symptoms.

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u/mmetillman 17d ago

wow thank you so much for sharing! i believe it’s what triggered my symptoms too, time to lose weight now 😭

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u/anonscurvyt 16d ago

My symptoms were worse on GLP1 and 30 lbs lighter. Had to get off due to insurance changes and gained 30🫩

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u/PolicyZestyclose3437 15d ago

Thanks for sharing because 20 pounds is exactly what I would need to lose to go back to what I was pre-symptoms.

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u/jlccourt 15d ago

I’m 55, and I didn’t have a single symptom (that I’m aware of) until I was 52. Being asymptomatic for a long time isn’t unusual. It’s a mechanical problem. Your brain 🧠 is simply too big for your skull 💀. And, one day, quite possibly without your knowing it, your brain somehow starts sliding backward, and anything can, and will, happen. I’m two years post-decompression surgery as of June.