My lumbar puncture is scheduled for Thursday afternoon. We’re going ahead with it because although the B12 shots seem to be helping, I’m still having new neurological symptoms pop up this week. My neurologist wants to test my cerebrospinal fluid for evidence that may point to or eliminate conditions besides B12 deficiency that could be contributing.
A lumbar puncture is the same thing as a spinal tap, only it doesn’t make people think of 80’s music and punk rock. In a nutshell, someone with very steady hands will insert a needle through my lower back into a space between the lowest vertebrae of the spinal column until it punctures the membrane that isolates the brain/spinal column system from the rest of the body. The needle will allow some of the cerebrospinal fluid contained within to drain into a collection tube. It takes about an hour from start to finish presuming my CSF drains at a normal rate. That could stretch a bit longer if it turns out that I have a shy spinal column.
It sounds pretty scary and a lot of people have told me lumbar puncture horror stories that happened to their roommate’s aunt’s best friend (thanks guys!) but in reality it’s supposed to be pretty painless and safe. The needle is inserted below where the spinal column ends so there are relatively few critical nerves to avoid. Most procedures these days begin with an injection of painkiller along the entire needle path, not just on the surface of the skin as past practice used to dictate. Finally, my LP will happen in a radiology lab so that my steady-handed CSF collector can see my spine with live X-ray vision. This makes it easier to get the needle into the right place on the first try.
So the LP itself is not supposed to be that bad but there are possible complications to deal with afterward. The most common complication is that the puncture in the spinal column can reopen, allowing CSF fluid to drain into the area around the spine. This results in an excruciating headache until the wound re-heals and the body replenishes some of the lost CSF. Somewhere between 5% and 33% of LP patients experience this depending on which source you believe.
To lower my risk of sprouting a leak, I’ll be on bed rest for the rest of Thursday and possibly part of Friday. Laying in bed all day might sound like fun but this is a particularly draconian and torturous form of bed rest. I must lie flat on my back and not move at all for a minimum of 6-8 hours. Propping my head on a pillow is a big no-no, so movies and books and laptop are out. To add insult to injury, I’m supposed to drink plenty of caffeinated beverages that evening. The liquid helps the body replace the stolen CSF and the caffeine helps avoid or address a puncture leak. So I’ll be completely wired yet stuck on my back all night, which sounds like the kind of thing that will make for a very funny story at some future date when the trauma has subsided.
This exercise has led me to realize that my ceiling is boring and could use a little spicing up.
More to come later this week when I hopefully emerge from my LP with spine and sanity intact!
Just as an FYI, ‘This is Spinal Tap’ is now at the top of my Netflix list and should be arriving soon!
Just for you… aww
Have you thought about having a projector pointed straight up at your ceiling? It should work fine and then you could watch movies. Only a tiny bit of engineering involved. Books on tape might be nice too. Check out what the library has maybe.