Ok, here's a more fully developed listing of my issues (sans the jaw-surgery stuff), with simplified definitions included. Also, on that note, I was not expecting the amount of replies this thread has gotten so far, but I'm glad to see I'm not the only one on this site with medical issues.
1. Scoliosis: The spine should look straight when viewed either by X-ray imaging, where most people's spines are shown to only curve from front to back (as when viewed from the side). However, scoliosis is a curvature of the spine to either or both sides laterally. I have a slight case of scoliosis, although I am watched carefully because of the possibility of a medicine or other condition I have interacting negatively with my scoliosis.
2. Arnold Chiari Malformation: A rare genetic disorder in which some parts of the brain form abnormally. (Fratt 2005) Part of the cerebellum (in my case) squeezed down through a part of the skull that had not formed correctly. This in turn, inhibited the flow of cranial and spinal fluids both to and from the brain. In my case, this caused the brain either to be pushed upon by fluid that could not readily escape. This lead to massive headaches that required me to take pain medicine, lay flat somewhere dark and quiet, and have a cold pack on my head. Thus, I am not stretching the truth when I say that migraines look like a walk in the park compared to Chiari headaches.
3. Pseudo Tumor Cerebri: This was the reason why I have a Lumbar Peritoneal shunt in the first place. The basic symptoms are similar to Arnold Chiari Malformation, in that there is an increase in pressure in the skull.
4. Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome: The basic gist of this problem is that my kidneys have extreme difficulty distinguishing protein from things that actually need to be filtered out of the body. Therefore I have a amount of protein in my blood whenever I have a relapse because the protein has been disposed of through my urine due to the malfunctioning part of my kidneys. This is usually a disease associated with younger children, because most cases are resolved during the onset of puberty but mine has yet to clear up.
5. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: I personally have the inattentive form of this disorder. This means that I have trouble with organization, distractibility, and in my case extreme short term memory problems. Other problems that I have are losing homework, and trouble with finishing assignments both during school hours and at home.
6. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: My personal obsessive item is that I have to be early or on time to everything, otherwise I think I shouldn't show up.
7. Depression: I have had some rough times with depression, although thankfully there was always someone who caught the warning signs (because I was usually too far gone to notice them myself). Depression means that when I get really depressed, and not just a passing sorrowful moment, I "go into hibernation" so to speak. In this case, I lie in bed, thinking of all my mistakes, with the lights out, and sleep excessively. Also, I loose interest in most things, preferring to just stew in my thoughts. Thankfully, I have only had one instance where I displayed suicidal tendencies, and even then I knew that if I did something like that (suicide), I couldn't bear the hurt I would inflict upon those who cared for me.
8. Intermittent Urinary Tract Bleeding: This basically happens when I stress myself too much, push my body too far without proper hydration, or at the onset or during an illness. This problem came as a result of the steroids I took for Pseudo Tumor Cerebri, which effectively scarred the inner portion of my bladder. This is more of a nuisance than a real issue at the moment, because the method of getting my bladder scar free would give me 2 months of use, before I would have to resort to machines to urinate.
9. Petit Mal Seizures: This is when the firing pattern of the brains electrical signals increase to an unusual amount. My "normal" seizures were called "absence" seizures, because effectively it was like I was fine, but my mind was on vacation. Externally, there was little that would alert someone of one of these occurring, aside from a blank stare, lack of movement, and lack of response to questions or speaking. This seems noticeable, but in my early academic career I was very shy, and very quiet so it was looked over for some time, especially because the "absence" seizures last 30 seconds or less. Then I had what is known as a Grand Mal Seizure, which is the form almost everyone knows of. This being the person suddenly tipping forward and convulsing. I came home one day from 3rd grade, walked in the door and said "Mom, everything is purple…." and then collapsed. I had experienced an "aura" which is the warning of the impending Grand Mal Seizure. Thankfully, I have not had a Grand Mal Seizure since that incident.
10. Acne: I have come a long way since high school in terms of controlling my acne, but I still have it. Acne is where pores on the skin become clogged with dirt, dead skin cells, and finally bacteria. This clogged area then forms a pimple, as the body tries to isolate the area, and expel the foreign material.