Q: My son had Chiari surgery and is now having headaches and nausea. Should I push for an earlier appointment?

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Question:

My 6-year-old son has a history of Chiari malformation and had a successful decompression surgery as a toddler. His last checkup with imaging was a few months ago, and he was given the all-clear.

I recently contacted his neurosurgeon because my son developed a stutter, neck pain, and described visual disturbances like seeing "sprinkles" or "rain" indoors. They scheduled new imaging for next week but didn't think it was Chiari-related at the time.

Since making that appointment, new symptoms have appeared that have me very worried: * A day after seeing "sprinkles," he had a severe headache, cried in pain, willingly took medicine (which is unusual), and then vomited a lot about an hour later. * He complained that his legs hurt when he walked. * On a few mornings, he has woken up suddenly feeling like he needs to throw up, but nothing happens. * The neck pain continues, and he keeps trying to "pop" his neck by tilting his head back. * He has been extremely irritable and argumentative, which could be related to school changes, but I'm not sure.

Are these new symptoms concerning enough to call his doctor back and ask if his imaging should be moved up, or am I being paranoid and should just wait for the scheduled appointment?

Answer:

Definitely valid reasons to call and update them. The new symptoms, especially the headache with vomiting, leg pain, and recurrent morning nausea, are concerning. Given his Chiari history, it's always best to be overly cautious. They can decide if it warrants moving up the imaging. Since it's Friday, I'd suggest calling today before the weekend to avoid more worrying.

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