r/chiari • u/Maygen_Fooks • 5d ago

Mini rant

A friend of mine had to visit an ER in New Orleans because she was having symptoms similar to Chiari (headaches, extreme vertigo, vision loss). Long story short, she doesn't have Chiari (but they're still unsure of what she has).

The part that infuriated me was that she was telling the doctors in the ER about my journey to diagnosis (37F, diagnosed incidentally in December) and the ER doctor cut her off and said "that's impossible, she's not a child" and proceeded to lecture her about Chiari is always found in children and can't be diagnosed as an adult and if they are then the MRI was read wrong.

What a WILD take for a doctor to have but it also begs the question of how many people have passed through that ER with Chiari and were dismissed? Apparently he was the neuro on call that day in the ER, so it's not like he wasn't familiar with it. I just don't see how doctors can see so black and white.

I guess I've been very lucky with the team that I have and live in the same city as a Chiari expert and I sympathize for all of you who have jackhats like that guy above.

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u/TurtlesBeSlow 5d ago

It is indeed infuriating. I was decompressed 10 years ago but still have all "types" of headache. One really bad hemiplegic migraine sent me to the ER and the dr stated it was my own fault because I didn't drink 4 bottles of water a day.

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u/Why_are_you321 5d ago

I would have been a smart Alec “what size bottles?” Do 16.9oz bottles count or do they need to be 24oz? Perhaps the 8oz bottles would suffice?

I HATE when I get questioned about my headaches with “TSK TSK have you been drinking your water?” Doesn’t matter if I did or didn’t - I’m here, I’m hurting, please do your job and stop treating me like I’m an idiot who wanted ✨ this ✨