Lumbar Punctures, Spinal Headaches, and Blood Patches
So, just to catch you all up on current events, I had a very hard time with my lumbar puncture on Monday. In fact, I have decided that Physician Assistants shouldn't be allowed near patients... EVER.
I had a PA doing the lumbar puncture, who neglected to tell me they might hit some nerves during the course of placing the needle in my spine. When that happens, it feels like electric shocks going from the spine along that series of nerves - which I assure you is less than pleasant. Still after 4 or 5 of those, I was still managing to hang in there "while he repositioned the needle" for the millionth time. Then, he hit a bone. At that point I felt nauseous beyond belief, and the world started to go black. I don't think I actually passed out, but I might have. Now fifteen minutes later, he finally got it where it was suppose to be, and then I couldn't feel it at all. It took another 10 minutes for them to take the three vials of spinal fluid then needed, but that wasn't so horrible.
Then they sent me back to the outpatient room where I had to lay flat for a few hours. When they let me go home, they said I had to lay flat on my back (except when eating or going to the bathroom) and drink lots of fluids for the next twenty-four hours. Which I did (I was really very good!)
About two hours after I got home, I developed a spinal headache, which sometimes happens they said, and I couldn't take anything for it! It was suppose to go away by the next morning, but by Tuesday evening, I was still unable to sit up without having a seriously blinding headache. I called my doctor's office, and they said to stay flat for another day and drink gatorade, and rest, but if it was still there Wednesday, or I started to throw up, I had to go to the ER.
Wednesday morning I tried to get up and get ready for my Visual Evoked Potential test, and was barely able to stand, and still was having that blinding pain in my head when I was anything other than completely horizontal. Persistent wench that I am, I was determined to go and have the test done, but by the time I got to the hospital, I was vomiting and close to being unconscious. Needless to say, I missed my test because I was taken straight to the ER.
As it turns out, I was leaking spinal fluid from the puncture they made on Monday, which was causing my spinal/cranial cavity to loose pressure when I sat up, and hence the blinding pain. They sent me to the OR where they did what's called a blood patch on my spine. Basically, they draw blood from you, and inject it into your spine where you had the lumbar puncture, and it clots and seals up the hole, and allows your fluids to build back up and the internal pressure to be restored. An anesthesiologist did the proceedure, and I told him if I ever have to have another lumbar puncture he has to do it, because I didn't feel anything at all!
I still had to lay on my back for several hours after they did the proceedure, but now I am feeling SO much better! I couldn’t believe something so simple could fix something that felt so awful so quickly! As it is, I now have to take it very easy for the next two weeks, I can't lift things or strain because there's the possibility of dislodging the patch they made which would then cause me to relapse and have another spinal headache.
Now, I just have some soreness in my lower back where they did the puncture and the patch, but the doctor wrote me a prescription for percocet, just in case.
I still have to reschedule my VEP, but that shouldn't be such a big deal. In any case, now I am home, safe and actually sound!
I had a PA doing the lumbar puncture, who neglected to tell me they might hit some nerves during the course of placing the needle in my spine. When that happens, it feels like electric shocks going from the spine along that series of nerves - which I assure you is less than pleasant. Still after 4 or 5 of those, I was still managing to hang in there "while he repositioned the needle" for the millionth time. Then, he hit a bone. At that point I felt nauseous beyond belief, and the world started to go black. I don't think I actually passed out, but I might have. Now fifteen minutes later, he finally got it where it was suppose to be, and then I couldn't feel it at all. It took another 10 minutes for them to take the three vials of spinal fluid then needed, but that wasn't so horrible.
Then they sent me back to the outpatient room where I had to lay flat for a few hours. When they let me go home, they said I had to lay flat on my back (except when eating or going to the bathroom) and drink lots of fluids for the next twenty-four hours. Which I did (I was really very good!)
About two hours after I got home, I developed a spinal headache, which sometimes happens they said, and I couldn't take anything for it! It was suppose to go away by the next morning, but by Tuesday evening, I was still unable to sit up without having a seriously blinding headache. I called my doctor's office, and they said to stay flat for another day and drink gatorade, and rest, but if it was still there Wednesday, or I started to throw up, I had to go to the ER.
Wednesday morning I tried to get up and get ready for my Visual Evoked Potential test, and was barely able to stand, and still was having that blinding pain in my head when I was anything other than completely horizontal. Persistent wench that I am, I was determined to go and have the test done, but by the time I got to the hospital, I was vomiting and close to being unconscious. Needless to say, I missed my test because I was taken straight to the ER.
As it turns out, I was leaking spinal fluid from the puncture they made on Monday, which was causing my spinal/cranial cavity to loose pressure when I sat up, and hence the blinding pain. They sent me to the OR where they did what's called a blood patch on my spine. Basically, they draw blood from you, and inject it into your spine where you had the lumbar puncture, and it clots and seals up the hole, and allows your fluids to build back up and the internal pressure to be restored. An anesthesiologist did the proceedure, and I told him if I ever have to have another lumbar puncture he has to do it, because I didn't feel anything at all!
I still had to lay on my back for several hours after they did the proceedure, but now I am feeling SO much better! I couldn’t believe something so simple could fix something that felt so awful so quickly! As it is, I now have to take it very easy for the next two weeks, I can't lift things or strain because there's the possibility of dislodging the patch they made which would then cause me to relapse and have another spinal headache.
Now, I just have some soreness in my lower back where they did the puncture and the patch, but the doctor wrote me a prescription for percocet, just in case.
I still have to reschedule my VEP, but that shouldn't be such a big deal. In any case, now I am home, safe and actually sound!