How long will my Lumbar puncture headache last?

[CherryBones23]

I had a lumbar puncture 4 days ago, I am female, 5ft 8 and weigh just under 8st. Ever since the procedure I have had a headache which progressively has gotten worse. Yesterday I could not even stand, the pain is excruciating and when I tried to go for a walk yesterday, I broke into a sweat and started shaking and being sick about 5 times, plus being incredibly dizzy. I am finding the pain very hard to deal with, but I was told this could happen...how long should I expect this to last for and besides lying flat and caffeine, is there anything else which would help?

[Gennie2230]

Hello! I also had a spinal tap done by ER doctor on 2/17/16 to test for meningitis cause I had a fever of 102, chills and it felt like my head was about to explode! I was stuck 12 times in my back 10 of which the ER doc missed in attempt to get fluid then he sent me to get it done via CT fluro guided. I had a CSF leak and experienced the WORSE spinal headache ever! It's been almost 5 weeks now and I'm still suffering from headaches. I did not get blood patch. I was seen by a neurologist and he ordered an MRI without contrast and a MRA without contrast to check the nerves in my brain. Well my eye doctor also ordered an MRI with contrast and he also had them to check my orbits (I have glaucoma too) I worked in pain management for 6 years and I remembered that some patients came in for Occipital neuralgia, I looked up the cause and symptoms and it is what I'm suffering from the slurred speech, dull to sharp pain in top of my head mostly the right side, the pain behind my right eye, gait and imbalance is off also vertigo. It said that one of the causes is CSF leak!  There are a number of things listed that helps. One mentioned is Occipital nerve block.  I will see neurologist next week.  Can't wait to see his diagnosis.  I hope all the best for all who suffer from this.  Hello! I also had a spinal tap done by ER doctor on 2/17/16 to test for meningitis cause I had a fever of 102, chills and it felt like my head was about to explode! I was stuck 12 times in my back 10 of which the ER doc missed in attempt to get fluid then he sent me to get it done via CT fluro guided. I experienced the WORSE spinal headache ever! It's been almost 5 weeks now and I'm still suffering from headaches. I did not get blood patch. I was seen by a neurologist and he ordered an MRI without contrast and a MRA without contrast to check the nerves in my brain. Well my eye doctor also ordered an MRI with contrast and he also had them to check my orbits (I have glaucoma too) I worked in pain management for 6 years and I remembered that some patients came in for Occipital neuralgia, I looked up the cause and symptoms and it is what I'm suffering from the slurred speech, dull to sharp pain in top of my head mostly the right side, the pain behind my right eye, gait and imbalance is off also vertigo. It said that one of the causes is CSF leak!  There are a number of things listed that helps. One thing  mentioned that would help is Occipital nerve block which my patients came in to get for relief for headaches!  I will see neurologist next week for results of MRI.   My first visit  with him he said my headaches, slurred speech and memory loss is caused  from the trauma of being stuck so many times.  I can't wait to see what his diagnosis is after he review the MRI results.  I hope this information is useful and I hope all the best for all who suffer from this.  

Genny

[Mattrc77]

How are you doing now, I had an LP done on April 1st and I'm still suffering with them I did have a blood patch the severity went down but I'm still having them day today with eye strain ringing in ears in a lot of cranial pain.

[Hovita]

Thank you for share your story. I am suffering bad from my spinal after giving birth on 2/8/16. I am just starting to have some hope for a full recovery. I had  pressure in the back of my head and mostly back pain.  Nerves Going crazy and painful/  itchiness  all over my body. I drink  plenty of water and tea and  coffee. I still  Lie down flat and it has been 9 weeks going on 10 I am getting better just praying for full recovery. I am thankful to be able to walk  straight, stand and drive now. There is still a lot of nerve pain and feeling like ants to cool water and to fire feeling from head to toe. God bless us all who had or have this.

[Mattrc77]

Hey how is it going?

My headaches have gotten better but now I have worse back pain from the puncture area going to my shoulders and back and have to lay down to stop the pain.

[Seselaine]

Hello! I feel your pain! I'm hoping when you read this that you are hopefully feeling better now as your post was in January. I had severe headaches in January which led to a mri of my brain. It was abnormal and I was sent to a neurologist who felt I had a spinal fluid leak. It was recommended I have a spinal tap to confirm. This was done and like you I developed horrible spinal headaches and needed a blood patch 5 days later on 2/17. Recovery from this has been extremely slow. I spend a great deal of time resting during the day to relieve recurrent headaches and am fatigued. Overall my symptoms are improving but I just don't feel at all like myself and am concerned about getting back into my normal routine and energy level. I am to have another Mri this week to evaluate the healing so I'm hoping for a "normal"reading.  Take care :)

[Mattrc77]

Hi how did your MRI come out if you don't mind me asking?

[Unhappyhead]

I had an LP just over two months ago. Within a few hours and for the first week afterwards, I couldn't sit or stand without severe headache. I could only crawl between bedroom and bathroom. After the week the headache eased off but I was left with a permanent dull headache that feels like I'm underwater at best or at worst my head is in a vice. This is made worse by activity and even a five minute walk was enough for the head in a vice type headache. This is accompanied by dizziness and nausea and the combination of these symptoms has really turned my life upside down. I was off work for two months and the symptoms had slowly improved to where I felt able to return to work. Since going back to work part time, my symptoms have worsened again and the pressure in my head and dizziness are making it really hard to remain positive! Being a teacher of small children it's hard to take it easy at work, but feeling worse again is really starting to get me down. I feel like I'm not able to concentrate at work properly and I'm having to reduce my timetable again next week. One of the worst parts is that no one really gets it and even doctors who I have seen or talked to don't seem to know much about it or understand it. One doctor said after less than a 5 minute consultation said that this couldn't be the lumbar puncture and I was just a bit stressed (this was not the case and I was quite offended) and another doctor just wanted to give me migraine medication. Thankfully I have one gp who has experience of this and he just says rest and carry on as normal when you can. But other people don't seem to have heard of this so I think they are sceptical about how much I am affected. I am now totally fed up and don't really know what to do. I wish I had more of an explanation about what has and is happening to me and wondered if anyone has experienced anything similar and how long it lasted.

[Riyadh711]

Did you finally recover? If yes, how long it took? I had my LP 3 months ago and I have headache since then and unable to work. It has completely changed my life and I am running into depression. Not sure whether I will get back my normal life again.

[mrsmateo1120]

Hello everyone. I am having a problem. 6 yrs ago i had a spinal tap where i ended up in the er after being discharged because i had very back back pain and horrible headaches. These headaches didnt allow me to stand straight or sit up. since then i have had migraines here and there... but for a month now and ONLY on weekends i get this bad headaches where i cant stand straight nor sit up. It took me back to 6 yrs ago when i couldnt do neither of those two. I had a ct scan a month ago and everything came back straight. At this point idk what to do because i cant afford to see a neurologist. Can this pain really come back? and only on weekends? this is crazy. Nothing havent changed. Only that i work monday through friday. I still wake up early on weekends and i am still eating. PLEASE help me! Thank you in advance.

[jac84lp]

UPDATE: It's been 14 months since my lumbar puncture and my headaches are still there. Needless to say, the lp has changed my life. In addition to the headaches, I deal with a loss of balance, sensitivity to sound, muscle spasms and dizziness on a daily basis. I have accepted the fact that my life has changed. I just hope you all have better luck than me and achieve full recovery.

[Riyadh711]

Hi @jac84lp, Did you finally recover? If yes, how long it took? I had my LP 3 months ago and I have headache since then and unable to work. It has completely changed my life and I am running into depression. Not sure whether I will get back my normal life again.

[Riyadh711]

Hi jac84lp, Did you finally recover? If yes, how long it took? I had my LP 3 months ago and I have headache since then and unable to work. It has completely changed my life and I am running into depression. Not sure whether I will get back my normal life again.

[siouxsieb]

I had an LP last year and I have had some whopper headaches but this was extreme. After a week I was ref from my neurologist to a pain spec who preformed a blood patch and within the hour the pain from the LP had completely disappeared. Def wouldn't be rushing to get an LP again.