Dr. Henderson: July 2011

Back in July, I met with Dr. Fraser Henderson for the first time; he's a neurosurgeon who works out of Bethesda, MD. My support system (i.e. Mom, Dad, and Jon-Marc) went with me. We brought all of my past X-Rays and MRI films, and he reviewed them. We waited a long time in the exam room (over forty-five minutes) before we saw his face. He was a very pleasant guy. He used a lot of medical terms I didn't understand, but I respected him for not dumbing it down like many doctors do.

He then did a series of neurological and physical tests on me, testing my reflexes, my pupil dilation, my skin sensitivity (to sharp pinpricks), my hearing, my eyesight, my balance, my neck extension and flexion, and other such things. He asked rushed questions about my medical history and my symptoms.

After the exam, we followed him into his office, a rich, leather-furniture-and-bronze-busts type of place. He called someone (his secretary maybe), and we listened as he dictated his notes from our appointment. We interrupted him many times, correcting such significant mistakes as the severity of my headaches, and, oh yeah--my name! He referred to me as Sarah--my mom's name is Sarah. My name is Katie. Hey, at least he had the right family!


He then proceeded to tell us he didn't think I had Chiari.


Say what now?!


I wanted to cry. Here I was, searching for answers, hoping that I would get some relief from the pain (from CHIARI) and this guy was trying to tell me that I don't have it! He listed a couple of other things it might be, like cervical subluxation and occipital neuralgia.

Well, despite my first reaction (resentment, disbelief, and fear) I started to wonder if he could be right, so I researched these other illnesses. Cervical subluxation can produce some symptoms that resemble Chiari: neck pain, weakness, numbness, and tingling*. Occipital neuralgia can cause: "aching, burning, and throbbing pain that typically starts at the base of the head and radiates to the scalp," "pain behind the eye, sensitivity to light, and pain when moving the neck"**.


After reading these descriptions, I understood why Dr. Henderson wanted to eliminate them as possibilities before treating me. I especially understood his skepticism of my Chiari because I was diagnosed with Chiari Type 0, which is the least identified type. Among many medical circles, Type 0 is not recognized.


As my only directions for following up with Dr. Henderson, I got a CT scan of my neck, I tried wearing a neck brace, I got blood tests (for digestive issues), I'm going to visit an oral surgeon (for TMJ), and I got a flex and extension MRI of my neck (which hurt like crap.) Since I did all of these things, my mom and I have been calling his office, trying to find out what we are supposed to do next.


Receptionist: "Did he tell you to come back for a follow-up appointment?"

Mom: "No, he didn't say anything about that."

Receptionist: "Did he tell you who to send the reports to?"

Mom: "No."
_____________________________________________________

Me: "Did he tell me about anything that would help the pain?"

Jon-Marc: "I don't think so."

Me: "What did he tell us?!!"

I called a couple of days ago, and we finally made some progress. The woman I spoke to over the phone established that I needed to schedule a follow-up appointment. Dr. Henderson was booked until March 2012, but there was a cancelation for the early morning of December 9th.


 I took it.


Hopefully, five months after our first appointment, Dr. Henderson will give me some answers, rather than more questions.











*Schueler, Stephen J., et al. "Spinal Subluxation Symptoms." FreeMD. FreeMD, 23 Jan. 2011. Web. 22 Nov. 2011.

**WebMD. "Occipital Neuralgia." WebMD. WebMD, LLC, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2011.