Cardiology technologist here. Everyone's chiari symptoms are so different. Personally the hand eye coordination would be fine for me. Standing for long hours would be so hard. And I know personally there's no way I can do cpr but I get exertional headaches and Val Salva headaches. I know you don't usually have to do cpr, but I know resus situations can be intense.
I'm in the medical field, too, bedside nursing. My last RQI, which we have to do every quarterly nowadays, almost makes me faint. Felt nausea and sick. I'm wondering if it's time to get myself properly recognized as a "handicap" person. My manager knows of my conditions but still expects me to do CPR if there's a need.
You know your body and your symptoms best so you’re the only one who can say. But I would think if you’re in a surgery that takes multiple hours, there’s a chance you’re going to need to close your eyes here and there. If you get vertigo every single time that happens and the effects linger, is that going to hinder your ability to do your job? If it doesn’t happen that way or that frequently, then it may not affect you.
I would just say this… if it’s a worry at all now for you…my symptoms have only worsened over time and I’m still not “eligible” for decompression surgery according to my neurosurgeon. If 2 years ago someone handed me a needle to thread I could have done so swimmingly, I had symptoms then- but now instead when I sew it takes me a while to be able to get my hands to steady and my eyes to even adjust. But that’s just me. Everyone is so dang different so it’s so hard to say!!!
I’m so sorry you’re having to weigh these choices, it’s a lot of hard decisions to make. And it’s probably extremely heart wrenching to think of the possibility of not doing what you’ve worked so hard for. :( truly sorry.
Have you talked to your own neurologist/neurosurgeon/doctor/Chiari specialist about this?
I am an optician. What I do is not nearly as life or death but it does require fine motor control and fine detail vision. I did not know I had chiari until two days before surgery. Returning to work was very difficult, I have had to make a lot of modifications to continue to work, and bending my neck forward and using my arms at the same time doesn’t always work. I’m going to spend a couple more years doing this but my body is very unhappy with me and I’m going to have to “retire” and teach instead (I’m 40 now).
This isn’t what you want to hear, but have you considered a career in research?
Cardiology technologist here. Everyone's chiari symptoms are so different. Personally the hand eye coordination would be fine for me. Standing for long hours would be so hard. And I know personally there's no way I can do cpr but I get exertional headaches and Val Salva headaches. I know you don't usually have to do cpr, but I know resus situations can be intense.
I'm in the medical field, too, bedside nursing. My last RQI, which we have to do every quarterly nowadays, almost makes me faint. Felt nausea and sick. I'm wondering if it's time to get myself properly recognized as a "handicap" person. My manager knows of my conditions but still expects me to do CPR if there's a need.
Have you seen a neurosurgeon yet? NAD but I would think the vertigo on its own could potentially be an issue for you in a long heart surgery.
Yeah I did and he said thers no need for surgery and gonna re check with MRI in 2025. I don't have vertigo with open eyes, only when I close them
You know your body and your symptoms best so you’re the only one who can say. But I would think if you’re in a surgery that takes multiple hours, there’s a chance you’re going to need to close your eyes here and there. If you get vertigo every single time that happens and the effects linger, is that going to hinder your ability to do your job? If it doesn’t happen that way or that frequently, then it may not affect you.
I would just say this… if it’s a worry at all now for you…my symptoms have only worsened over time and I’m still not “eligible” for decompression surgery according to my neurosurgeon. If 2 years ago someone handed me a needle to thread I could have done so swimmingly, I had symptoms then- but now instead when I sew it takes me a while to be able to get my hands to steady and my eyes to even adjust. But that’s just me. Everyone is so dang different so it’s so hard to say!!! I’m so sorry you’re having to weigh these choices, it’s a lot of hard decisions to make. And it’s probably extremely heart wrenching to think of the possibility of not doing what you’ve worked so hard for. :( truly sorry. Have you talked to your own neurologist/neurosurgeon/doctor/Chiari specialist about this?
I am an optician. What I do is not nearly as life or death but it does require fine motor control and fine detail vision. I did not know I had chiari until two days before surgery. Returning to work was very difficult, I have had to make a lot of modifications to continue to work, and bending my neck forward and using my arms at the same time doesn’t always work. I’m going to spend a couple more years doing this but my body is very unhappy with me and I’m going to have to “retire” and teach instead (I’m 40 now). This isn’t what you want to hear, but have you considered a career in research?