For years, 44-year-old Charlie Rolstone from the UK dismissed her migraines, motion sickness and occasional fainting spells as unwanted side effects of spending an excessive amount of time on the phone. But a medical emergency three years ago revealed the shocking truth that her symptoms were on account of a rare brain disorder by which her skull was pressing against her brain.
An MRI performed in the course of the emergency visit revealed that Rolstone suffered from epilepsy and Chiari malformation, a condition brought on by an abnormal skull structure that forces the brain to expand downward into the spinal canal.
“I’ve had it my whole life, but my symptoms have gotten worse as I’ve gotten older,” said Rolstone, SWNS reported.
“I even have suffered from migraines since I used to be a youngster. Every time I cough I also feel a really sharp pain in my head covering the back of my head. It might only last 30 seconds – but it surely’s enough to survive. “I can not even scream or raise my voice without getting a headache, but I assumed they were normal,” she added.
Rolstone thought she was overcoming the symptoms until she received the diagnosis when she was rushed to hospital collapsed after a seizure. Doctors also discovered she had brain lesions and an aneurysm.
“I don’t know the complete extent of the damage the disease has caused, but I’m glad we’ve now recognized it. This seizure saved my life – it revealed my Chiari malformation,” she said.
Rolstone now treats her migraines with painkillers and limits phone use to scale back motion sickness. With medication for epilepsy, she has been seizure-free for 21 months.
Chiari malformation will be present with or without Symptomsand the signs rely upon the form of disease. In Chiari malformation type 1, symptoms reminiscent of headaches, especially when coughing or sneezing, neck pain, poor hand coordination, numbness within the hands and feet, and difficulty swallowing, typically begin in late childhood or maturity, although the condition is usually congenital.
In rare cases, individuals with Chiari malformation type 1 may experience additional symptoms including ringing within the ears (tinnitus), muscle weakness, a slow heart rhythm, a curvature of the spine related to a spinal cord disorder (scoliosis), and difficulty respiratory.
Type 2 Chiari malformation is usually related to myelomeningocele, a type of spina bifida by which the spinal canal and spine don’t close properly before birth. Symptoms include difficulty swallowing, changes in respiratory patterns, sudden downward movements of the eyes, and weakness within the arms.
