I just returned from my first visit with a neurosurgeon, and I left feeling frustrated. When my doctor that referred me to NS initially told me I had a syrinx, I actually felt relief after months of other doctors insinuating that I had anxiety issues. Then, in a matter of a few minutes today, all the frustration and self-doubt came back. I could feel the skepticism oozing from the neurosurgeon from the beginning of the visit. I felt like I was defendant attempting to prove my case. She had me go through the same touch-your-nose, tap-your-knee tests that the previous doctors had done. For me, my symptoms are transient. I feel different symptoms each day, and sometimes I feel fine, so I often pass these tests fine. Today I felt fine, and she didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Then she went over my MRI and her conclusion was that there was no Chiari and that my syrinx was “too small” to cause any of these symptoms. Essentially, there was something else going on, according to her. After all, she said, most syrinx that she sees "are bigger than mine". I’m fine with her Chiari analysis, but in an instant I felt like all my answers and relief vanished because my sryinx size didn't meet some personal experience-based perspective that she had. I didn’t get the feeling that she had a workable grasp on syringomyelia.
I left completely frustrated. My doctor (the good one) is going to work on getting a referral for a second opinion (which is easier said than done in military health care, but I'll keep my hopes up). From everything I’ve researched, there is no correlation between syrinx size and symptoms. Is that correct?
Has anyone had similar experiences/frustrations? What have you done about it?
By the way, my syrinx is 15 mm in length and 2.7 mm wide. Is that “too small” to cause symptoms? I'm still learning about this issue, so I may be completley off here.
Thanks.