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Head issues after lumbar puncture

Posted , 31 users are following.

krystine77
krystine77

Hello,

I am really hoping somewhere out there can help me. I had a lumbar puncture over 2 weeks ago and was in bed for almost 10 days with a horrible spinal headache. I could not sit up for more than 5 or so minutes at a time. I started to develop nerve symptoms in my head and they will not go away. I have pins and needles/stabbing type feelings that will happen in my head and face. The most concerning is that the entire back of my head feels numb, whether I am lying down or sitting up. I had a CT scan of the head and it came back normal. I talked to my neurologist about my concerns on the blood patch, because anytime I do something invasive, I come out with more issues. He agreed that I may need to hold off on that. I seriously don't know what to do. The major vertigo and spinal headache have gotten much better, but this overall numbness/pressure/pins and needles sensation that I have in my head is very strange and incredibly uncomfortable. Also-I do not have a history of headaches and the spinal pressure headache began about 30 minutes after the procedure and continued to get worse as time went ont. Please let me know if you've had a similar experiene. Thank you!

0 likes, 63 replies

63 Replies

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  • kaylin77431
    kaylin77431 krystine77

    Posted

    I have dizziness 2 weeks after LP. I cant get out of bed. Anyone had this symptom? I am going crazy. I cant stand for nore than 5 minutes.

  • Jenny.
    Jenny. krystine77

    Edited

    i had a lp about a month ago. ive been feeling a lot of pressure in my head still, dizziness, headaches, and weird sensations in my head. i feel like there's air in my head, i feel like it's really head to process my thoughts. it's like if i were to feel confused in a sort if way. i never have felt this way before the Lp and all the doctors dont seem to know what im talking about. im very worried because its been a month since the Lp and all i do is panic and have anxiety over all these issues. i keep hoping it will get better. anyone else feeling the same way?

    • kaylin77431
      kaylin77431 Jenny.

      Posted

      Hi Jenny. I've had LP November last year and i was feeling the same. I was counting the days and i was thinking that it is not normal to feel so bad this long. I assure you it will go away. You just need to stop reading in the internet and try not to think about how you feel all the time. I thought the doctors screwed up and i will have problems in the future, but it was all just my anxiety. I could not get up out of the bed, i could not eat or sleep and i thought i was dying, but it was all in my head. I've had panic attacks as well. Yes there are side effects, but everything will be ok. You just need to relax and give it a time. I saw my psychiatrist and she prescribed my some light antidepressants and i was feeling much better.

    • Jenny.
      Jenny. kaylin77431

      Posted

      omg im so glad i got a reply! i just sucks when you're wanting to move on with your life, and all these side effects make you feel that your life is over. i feel like im dying all the time, and that this is a never ending nightmare. i question everything i feel because i feel like im going crazy! i started to see a Psychologist, and she assures me im not crazy. it's just so overwhelming when you go from being dependent to questioning your sanity because of all the things you're feeling. I just feel comfort that you felt the same, and that you're doing better. i will try to relax from here on out, and cope with this.

    • Jenny.
      Jenny.

      Posted

      i meant to say independent lol

      i'll be staying off the internet and nit focusing so much on what i feel. because as you can see, it's causing a lot of anxiety and panic for me.

    • kaylin77431
      kaylin77431 Jenny.

      Edited

      Don't worry and don't stress about it. I found out the hard way that it is just a common procedure and everything connected to the procedure will go away. Just relax. Take walks outside and try to focus on other things, but most importantly say to yourself that today you feel better than yesterday. Get well soon, but give it a time. Btw did you lay down after the LP?

    • Jenny.
      Jenny. kaylin77431

      Posted

      yes, they had me lay down for a couple hours before they discharged me. i didnt start to feel the headaches till the second day, and that's when i couldnt stand up anymore. i laid in bed for days and i would only get up to eat and get to the bathroom. I am able to get up now, but i feel a tightness in my head after a while of being up, so i lay back down. i also feel pressure in my ears, but from what i have read, a lot of people feel that pressure for a bit too. sometimes i feel like i might pass out. how long did it take you to fully recover? i know each body is different and it may recover differently. but im just in tears over feeling not myself. this has definitely been one of the toughest things i have gone through. i try to explain how it feels to my mom, but it's kind of complicated to find the words, but it feels like my brain is congested in a way or like swollen. that sometimes i dont feel a headache, but i can feel the throbbing. i got the lp on May 26th, so it has been a little over a month now.

    • kaylin77431
      kaylin77431 Jenny.

      Posted

      I've had the LP in November and more than a month it was a nightmare, but I've made the mistake to read the whole Internet and i was sure i won't recover. I've went back to the hospital and i thought that i was having a leak, but everything was fine. I was feeling desperate. No one was understanding that something was wrong with me. I could not get up from the bed and i was dizzy all the time. I went to see a psychiatrist the end of November. I started taking meds for anxiety and by Christmas i was feeling much better. Still not like myself but i was walking and smiling, the dizziness was not so bad. I started a new work on Februar and i was fine. I think it is the anxiety that is stoping you from recovery. And after the LP i was laying only 30 minutes so i think you will be okay just relax and wait it out. Push yourself to get up and walk a little outside and always remember that you will not collapse. You didn't collapse until now and you won't now.

    • Jenny.
      Jenny. kaylin77431

      Posted

      it just makes sad to feel like an airhead. i have headaches everyday and sometimes they feel like they have a sort of numbing/pressure sensation to them where i feel like i cant think. how did you deal with your headaches? where you prescribed any sort of medication? its just so mind blowing that a

      simple procedure can have such an effect.

  • carol77052
    carol77052 krystine77

    Posted

    Hi new to this forum and got lumper puncture 3 weeks ago, experiencing same issues as you. Did you recover and how long did it take

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