that was spinal tap

A spinal tap, or lumbar puncture, is not a pleasant experience, although in hindsight, like so much of this, the anticipation is far worse than the procedure itself. It was done as a day procedure, and not content for just my wife to accompany me, my mother had to come along as well (despite anything either of us could say to dissuade her). In the waiting area, we spotted what looked like a Greek family accompanying someone who was being admitted. They were a party of six plus the patient, so I guess my "entourage" was relatively small.

The whole thing is quite simple, and done under X-Ray. So I'm lying there on my side, and there's a big X-Ray apparatus that slides over the top of me, and the radiologist is able to see live pictures of exactly where to put the needle in so he gets the right spot. Fortunately, he did it quite well, and it worked first time. Indeed, all the of hospital staff were fantastic - very friendly and helpful. Funny how all of the people in the room put on four-part X-Ray "flak jackets" covering every part of their body while I'm lying there in just a gown.

It takes several minutes for the cerebrospinal fluid to leak out of the hole they make, so I'm making small talk with the guy to pass the time. After it's finished, I suddenly get all sweaty and shaky, but this passes after a few minutes. Perhaps the relief of it being over. I had been anticipating this for several days since my appointment, and it has probably contributed to slightly worse headaches than usual.

Afterwards, I have to lie flat for two hours, just in case the hole in spinal sac containing the fluid does not close properly. Fortunately, this appears to be OK, although my headaches have been worse since the procedure. The information sheet advised of possible headaches after having a lumbar punture - is this a side effect resulting from the procedure to help deal with the side effects? The recent heat wave, and my return to full time work after a break may also been contributors to this. Should get some results in a couple of days, which will hopefully give answers on some burning questions, and perhaps an end to these headaches!