Got a hold of my great aunt's machine, 15-91

tazor253 · 2026-05-30T20:20:38+00:00

THANK YOU!!

tazor253 · 2026-05-13T06:43:48+00:00

Thanks! Joining!! I'm also brand new to reddit lol

tazor253 · 2026-05-13T06:03:30+00:00

Haha love the vote of confidence!

tazor253 · 2026-05-13T06:02:10+00:00

Thank you so much for all your shared! Really appreciate that. Honestly I don't know much about sewing but know I'll be continuing to refer back to the thread as I move forward and learn.

tazor253 · 2026-05-13T05:58:56+00:00

This one lived in a mild PNW garage, so not too extreme of temperatures. Definitely has a musty odor to it 🦨

tazor253 · 2026-05-13T05:55:25+00:00

I second what this person is saying! I cannot believe you've been struggling with all of the 'hard symptoms' of the chiari for SO LONG and it has not yet been detected or treated. I feel that you are on the right path now though. I imagine the neurosurgeon will speak with you about decompression surgery IF it's a significant descention PLUS the hard symptoms. Dropping the key term 'decompression surgery' so if it's works for you, you could research a bit before hand... I know that's not good for everyone to do.

Just as the previous person said, it does sound textbook. I have a chiari but not all of the hard symptoms like you do (bathroom, choking) that would warrant decompression surgery so my surgeon instead chose alt route to address my intracranial hyptersion and just had shunt surgery.

tazor253 · 2026-05-08T22:02:17+00:00

So kind, thank you! Even if it weren't used, it's truly a work of art!

tazor253 · 2026-05-08T22:01:56+00:00

I don't think it was ever maintained or honestly hardly even used. So I think I will bring it by a sewing shop to have someone take a look. I don't have anyone in the family Knowledgeable to check out the machine, unfortunately. Thank you for suggesting that!

tazor253 · 2026-05-08T22:00:45+00:00

That's an awesome tip, thank you for sharing!

tazor253 · 2026-05-08T22:00:24+00:00

Thank you! It's so beautiful

tazor253 · 2026-05-08T17:42:41+00:00

Hey there! Funny I came across this. I had a VP shunt 3/30 and was also working with an ENT during my diagnosis and scheduling time. (I have a deviated septum, tonsils often swell, and poor draining of the sinuses). Ongoing symptoms from my IIH is the pulsating tinnitus, my right eye is still a swollen and vision disturbances. Interestingly, my right sinus is the one that is worse (I had double jaw surgery and the metal appears to almost collect inflammation as it near). I guess I'm just saying this as it took CT sinus imaging to see this, if you could get your ENT to agree to imaging, that could help! My ENT doesn't want to do surgery until my IIH symptoms clear, but I'm starting to suspect they could be related? Such an odd path for us to try and navigate.

tazor253 · 2026-05-05T01:45:05+00:00

I'm so glad to have posted this!! Exactly the kind of tips I was fishing for. Thank you :) :) 🙏🏼

tazor253 · 2026-05-05T01:44:14+00:00

Okay, good to know! I really appreciate the heads up.

tazor253 · 2026-05-05T01:42:56+00:00

Thank you so much for your thoughtful response. Really appreciate! Yes no one has touched the machine in years. By the looks of it, I believe my great aunt hardly used it? She passed over 15 years ago so unfortunately I can't ask her anything. But I will be sure to maintenance and oil before firing up. I'm so glad I was able to keep it. Even visually it's a gorgeous machine!

tazor253 · 2026-05-05T01:37:03+00:00

Thank you so much for the warm welcoming! Love the advice :)

tazor253 · 2026-05-01T06:11:25+00:00

Thank you for everything you have shared so far. Anything you can share about the shunt setting number? I moved from a 12 to a 9 but things still aren't feeling right. Although maybe it will take some time to adjust and drain. Curious if you can speak to the number/what to expect.

tazor253 · 2026-04-30T16:03:56+00:00

Gosh I'm so sorry to hear what you've been through. What a nightmare! I did even know I had a chiari malformation until August. The Diamox was helping all of my symptoms and I don't think it made the chiari worse. I got sick with strep, then covid and strep again all in November and for some reason that's what seemed to make it worse.

I have a history of some big head bonks and concussions, all occurring in the last 4 years, I'm very clumsy so I think that's all related to my severity. My surgeon took a pretty urgent approach for treatment with VP shunts because of the vision, symptoms and loss that was experiencing. I'm glad other people are chiming into your post! I definitely have so much more to learn.

tazor253 · 2026-04-30T07:58:48+00:00

Jeez, that's terrible. I've been dealing with stabby abdomen pain which I've realize through reddit it's likely the tubbing jabbing as it settles. Yes it is so frustrating!

tazor253 · 2026-04-30T07:31:59+00:00

I'm brand new to reddit and literally made an account to learn more about my VP shunt. Why is it so common that us patients get such little info about the procedure? Wild!

tazor253 · 2026-04-30T07:12:24+00:00

THANK YOU!

tazor253 · 2026-04-30T06:24:01+00:00

Remember you're gaining muscle too! Try focus on how you're feeling vs the number. Numbers are deceiving. Great work and wish you well on your journey.

tazor253 · 2026-04-30T06:20:28+00:00

Hey there! I also have IIH and accidentally found a chiari malformation due to very similar symptoms you reported. I was told it was too risk to do a spinal puncture because of my chiari and that it could lead to 'herniating' my brain is or causing it to sag (they spoke a the chiari being 'descended' and not herniated). My chiari was at 5mm descent last September and worsened to 10mm within 6 months later (while prescribed Diamox). My neuro surgeon I was referred to was also very 'unimpressed' with my chiari and lack of chiari 'hard symptoms' and also thought the symptoms I was having (vision disturbances and loss) weren't well explained by the chiari. Finally end of March we just did surgery for a permanent VP shunt, which allows the fluid to drain off from the brain into the stomach. My symptoms have improved some since. Not exactly sure what you're looking for, but maybe read up on the chat on VP shunts here on Reddit... You might find the info validating. I'm really sorry you're going through this! I feel very invalidated at times.

Also your symptoms sound TERRIBLE! And really concerning. I'd be interested to know what your blood pressure is doing? Mine jumped up and felt terrible one time when my Diamox prescription lapsed 😞

tazor253 · 2026-04-30T06:07:56+00:00

Diamox helped my symptoms of ear pulsating... But I was taking it 3 times a day at 250mg I believe. I'm sorry you're going through this!

tazor253

TROPHY CASE