{"id":68432,"date":"2023-09-30T02:48:42","date_gmt":"2023-09-30T02:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/likecelebwn.com\/?p=68432"},"modified":"2023-09-30T02:48:42","modified_gmt":"2023-09-30T02:48:42","slug":"how-young-mums-headaches-were-the-sign-of-sinister-brain-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/likecelebwn.com\/lifestyle\/how-young-mums-headaches-were-the-sign-of-sinister-brain-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"How  young mum&apos;s headaches were the sign of sinister brain disease"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Chiari Malformation: My &#8216;glasses headaches&#8217; were actually a warning sign of a brain disease that could leave me paralysed<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Amber Griffin, 30, has a\u00a0Chiari Malfunction<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>The condition is rare and can causes paralysis\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>READ MORE:\u00a0I have suffered from debilitating migraines since I was just ten years old &#8211; I just want a normal life and for people to take me seriously<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It started with painful headaches which would come in an instant and disappear just as quick. Then the dizziness, tingling limbs and fatigue began.<\/p>\n<p>Mum-of-two Amber Griffin knew something was wrong but assumed her symptoms had something to do with low iron levels or not wearing her glasses.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And her doctors agreed.<\/p>\n<p>But they were all wrong &#8211; and it wasn&#8217;t until she was admitted to hospital with Covid that the 30-year-old found out the truth.<\/p>\n<p>Amber&#8217;s headaches, tremors and general discomfort were caused by a defect in her brain &#8211; known as the Chiari Malformation &#8211; a condition she&#8217;s probably carried since birth.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/28\/01\/75716603-12542805-Mum_of_two_Amber_Griffin_has_headaches_since_she_was_17_now_she_-a-8_1695861895495.jpg\" height=\"628\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Mum-of-two Amber Griffin has headaches since she was 17 &#8211; now she knows a brain condition is the cause\u00a0 (partner Levi also pictured)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/28\/01\/75716609-12542805-The_mum_s_headaches_feel_like_contractions_at_the_back_of_her_he-a-9_1695861895496.jpg\" height=\"435\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The mum&#8217;s headaches &#8216;feel like contractions&#8217; at the back of her head and are debilitating\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The malfunction causes a herniation at the base of the brain which puts pressure on the spinal cord, leading to the symptoms. It also puts Amber&#8217;s brain under pressure and creates bulging.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If left untreated Amber will eventually lose movement in her limbs, her ability to look after her children, and her independence.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to FEMAIL, the young mum from Ballarat, Victoria, said her first symptom &#8211; the headaches &#8211; began when she was 17.<\/p>\n<p>They were unusual in the sense that they would last less than 10 minutes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As Amber got older the headaches, which she said felt like contractions at the back of her skull, became more regular and severe.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Every time I cough or sneeze or yell or laugh or move my head quickly they come. And they are horrific,&#8217; she said.<\/p>\n<p>The next set of symptoms came after Amber gave birth to her daughter at the age of 24.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Every time I bent down to get her I would feel lightheaded, like I was going to pass out,&#8217; she said.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/28\/01\/75716595-12542805-Apart_from_the_related_symptoms_the_young_mum_has_always_been_ve-a-6_1695861895493.jpg\" height=\"367\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Apart from the related symptoms the young mum has always been healthy\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/28\/01\/75716615-12542805-Now_she_and_her_partner_are_trying_to_come_up_with_40_000_for_su-a-11_1695861896466.jpg\" height=\"623\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Now Amber and Levi are trying to come up with $40,000 for surgery &#8211; so she can be the best mum to her kids<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I had had issues with iron levels before so my doctor said that was probably the cause, but I now know it is a symptom for my brain condition.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Her health worsened after the birth of her son two and a half years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;The headaches and light headedness got worse. But I also got tingling in my hands and hand tremors,&#8217; Amber said.<\/p>\n<p>Last November she was taken to hospital after an intense headache forced her to stay in bed for 15 hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>READ MORE: How a &#8216;seizure in maths class&#8217; led to my diagnosis of a rare brain condition doctors thought was &#8216;anxiety&#8217;<\/h3>\n<p>&#8216;The headaches usually come on like contractions and last 30 seconds or a minute, then slowly wear off after a few minutes. Then I usually have a lazy day to avoid more from happening,&#8217; Amber said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;But this one was different because it just kept going, I couldn&#8217;t get out of bed.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Doctors thought the headache was a side effect of Covid so they did scans which lead to the discovery of Chiari Malformation.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;They told me I could stay at home or at the hospital &#8211; that they would look at the scan and get back to me with the results,&#8217; she said.<\/p>\n<p>When the hospital didn&#8217;t ring Amber assumed she was in the clear.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;My doctor called me two days later and asked me to come in for an appointment as soon as possible, I said I could pop in the next day and didn&#8217;t think anything of it because I had been expecting any bad call to come from the hospital,&#8217; she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0She hung up but then became worried.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/28\/01\/75716617-12542805-The_family_have_had_to_put_life_on_hold_since_the_symptoms_escal-a-12_1695861897715.jpg\" height=\"751\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The family have had to put life on hold since the symptoms escalated\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I realised I hadn&#8217;t asked any questions,&#8217; she said.<\/p>\n<p>Her fiance Levi called the doctors back and they told him about the brain condition so the couple could research it before heading in.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It is a hard one because even a lot of the doctors we speak to have never heard of it, but there are thousands of people in the Australian support groups so it isn&#8217;t that rare either,&#8217; Amber said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The public health system won&#8217;t perform surgery until Amber gets to the stage where she can&#8217;t lift her arms.<\/p>\n<p>Amber&#8217;s partner Levi refused to accept this and found a doctor who could operate now.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Professor Stoodley is the head of Neurosurgery at Macquarie University Hospital and has been amazing, he&#8217;s offered to help immediately,&#8217; Amber said.<\/p>\n<p>The doctor said he could schedule Amber for the life-changing surgery just three weeks after their initial consultation.<\/p>\n<p>While Amber was relieved someone could help she admits she also froze\u00a0<span>&#8211; terrified they wouldn&#8217;t be able to come up with the $40,000 fee.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/28\/01\/75716611-12542805-The_malfunction_means_the_brain_pushes_against_the_spinal_cord_c-a-14_1695861904858.jpg\" height=\"441\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The malfunction means the brain pushes against the spinal cord &#8211; causing major problems\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Levi as been so optimistic the whole time, he told me not to worry and that we would work it out,&#8217; she said.<\/p>\n<p>The couple didn&#8217;t take the first date but thanks to a GoFundMe started by Levi, they have been able to schedule surgery in November.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I have been so overwhelmed by the support, I was terrified we would have to save up, that it would take years and I would slowly become paralysed,&#8217; Amber said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The doctor says there is a 90 per cent chance surgery will reverse all symptoms and stop her from ever developing them again.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I am struggling to live my life and be the mum I know I can be to our kids, so I am excited for surgery,&#8217; she said.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/femail\/health\/article-12542805\/mum-headaches-brain-disease-chiari-malformation.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chiari Malformation: My &#8216;glasses headaches&#8217; were actually a warning sign of a brain disease that could leave me paralysed Amber Griffin, 30, has a\u00a0Chiari Malfunction The condition is rare and can causes paralysis\u00a0\u00a0 READ MORE:\u00a0I have suffered from debilitating migraines since I was just ten years old &#8211; I just want a normal life and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How young mum&amp;apos;s headaches were the sign of sinister brain disease - Like celeb WN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/likecelebwn.com\/lifestyle\/how-young-mums-headaches-were-the-sign-of-sinister-brain-disease\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How young mum&amp;apos;s headaches were the sign of sinister brain disease - Like celeb WN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chiari Malformation: My &#8216;glasses headaches&#8217; 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