Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

spinal tap?

SG2
Help or harm?

Having one today at 1:45... Hoping it helps take off some pressure!
6 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
620923 tn?1452915648
COMMUNITY LEADER

  How would u know, it takes the experience to know what to expect...they were not clear.....

yes, u do have to stay flat for sometime after this, and take it easy as u do not want to cause a leak....

  those HA's r awful, I know, had one, lasted 5 days and all 5 days I was flat on my back even to eat...very nasty.

  Deep breath.......awww better : )
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
SG2
lol Selma, I felt like a fool.  I thought it was going to happen right in the dr. office.  He's like no, it's in the hospital with fluoroscope, you can't work that day and you need a ride home so you can lie in the back seat.  I was like ohhhh.  Today was just an appt.

He looked into my eyes closely this time vs just doing pupil dilation check.  He said there's evidence there may be some pressure (ptc) but the LP will tell much better.  My left eye is quite enlarged in comparison to the right?  Which also happens to be the side I've lost the hearing on.. He's still unconvinced that it's chiari causing the symptoms though.  He is sending me for a MRV scan too?  All I know is it's another blood flow study.  

All I know is I feel pressure up there.  I used to run 2 - 3 miles a day.  I can't run a quarter mile now w/out my head feeling like it is going to explode. I can't even climb a flight of stairs w/out the same feeling.  Even just a brisk 15 min walk will kill my head.  Ugh.

So dizzy right now..not sure what's up with that.  The massive vertigo attacks (with the puking and falling down nonsense) I've been getting have been happening either in middle of the night (I wake up with it) or first thing in the morning when I get out of bed.  I correlate that to the horizontal position of lying down and pressure building in the skull.  However, I'm not a Dr.  I just like to play one from time to time.  I've tried sleeping in the recliner but the back of my head is so painful in that position from the pressure of the back of the chair...

Oy vey.
Helpful - 0
620923 tn?1452915648
COMMUNITY LEADER

  PTC is the older term for inter cranial hypertension...basically too much CSF and pressure as a result....Pseudotumor cerebri is the old term.And more know that one then IH....

SG2-

Happens to the best of us...all the time...good luck  Thursday : )
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
SG2
I lied. It's Thursday at 11.  Jeez!  Get myself so mixed up lately...
Helpful - 0
1827123 tn?1383865276
Good luch today SG2, I hope it does help.
Selma, remind me again, what is PTC?
Jiggle
Helpful - 0
620923 tn?1452915648
COMMUNITY LEADER

  It can be both...u have to make sure the tech doing the LP knows u have Chiari...they need to know to do a slow steady draw to avoid pulling down more on ur tonsils.

Plus make sure u rest afterward...no lifting etc....as u do not want to develop a leak.

But an opening pressure is needed to determine if u have PTC....
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Chiari Malformation Community

Top Neurology Answerers
620923 tn?1452915648
Allentown, PA
987762 tn?1671273328
Australia
1756321 tn?1547095325
Queensland, Australia
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease