lumbar puncture..Could i have nerve damage?

Dave
They write it up Dave, because after years of docs giving them the run around, they finally see what really happened and why active life as they new it is over.

I had a LP done 5 days ago and the only thing the Dr told me to do was lie on my back for 1 hr. 3 days after the puncture i woke up with sever pain in my lower back and couldn't walk, bend, or sit.  I went back to ER where they check my blood for infection.  It came back clean and they just sent me home with pain killers. I am worried there's something damaged in my back. I am not feeling any relief.

 

How long should i wait before I see a Doctor again?

hi my son has just turned 15. In March he was admitted to hospital with viral meningitis, after 5 LP and becoming a regular pin cushion, he now has back problems, the doctors are saying growing pains I am not convinced. Desperate mum!. Help

hoping all is well for your son Bev, I came here looking for answers myself and seen a chance to help (sort of) Im not a Dr. but I can pretty much assure you it is not growing pains. im 25yrs old and done growing yet I have many pains that have been nearly constent sence my LP 4 years ago. and they still claim its "growing pains" I would definately have him checked by a spine specialist (with a decent number of years experience). I myself would do the same if I still had insurance

Hi, The only growing pains we are experiencing is 15 year old teen attitude! We have seen the doctor and Jack has grown a few cm since his illness. I did point out to the doctor all my concerns and we are waiting for an appointment at the hospital. I will insist on seeing a spine specialist. I hope that you will be able to get your back sorted out, don't give up!

Hello
I read yor post and made me more sure that we are all suffering from the same. It has gone 5 years since I was in the hospital what they said was a viral infection that affected my brain and spine. I came in having seizures and so an LP was done. They found nothing unusual, but pumped me full of viral meds intravenously and i survived. After the ordeal i kept complaining of a pain in my head and face. On coming out of the hospital and going to a dentist found i had a large abscess in that area - still wonder if that was the source of the infection.
Anyway I am in more and more right leg/back pain everyday. Muscles cramp and seize whenever I walk or stand too long. They say hip relacement and pain in my back is transfered pain. It goes down into my foot though - don't believe that is transfered. They have seen a bulging disc on MRI in the LP region. Say nothing to do for it.
I have been pushed off repeatedly by doctors. I think we need to find someone with a solution to this. I would like to hear from a doctor with a solution.

I had a spinal tap when I was 17. I am now 30 and the back pain has not gotten any better, in fact it has gotten worse. A few weeks after I got the procedure done my back would just crack when I bent over, now my lower back hurts all the time down into my hips and legs. More so when I bend over and straighten back out or sit for long periods of time, which I can not change seeing how that I have to sit for work.  I have been to several different doctors and tell them when the pain started to happen. The only thing they ALL have told me is "it has nothing to do with the spinal tap". I am not saying that I wish I never got the procedure done, seeing how I am ecstatic they ruled out spinal meningitis (I went to the E.R. when I got severely sick at school they did other lab tests and saw I had an infection but didn't know where or what it was) I just want someone to tell me why the pain started and what I can do to make it stop or not be so bad without having to take pills for the rest of my life. I was in track/ cross country and weighed 125 pounds, so the "being fat" comment that Dave left has no leg to stand on here.  Also when I do bend over my spine feels like its stuck, like certain vertebrae does not want to move like it should. Cracking my back just makes it hurt worse although thats what feels like needs to be done.

HI NNJ925 , I AM EXPERIENCING THE EXACT SAME SYSMTOMS AFTER DOING A LUMBAR PUNCTURE ! PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM IF YOU HAVE , YOUR RESPONSE WILL BE MUCH APPRECIATED ,THANK YOU

Well maybe you should pay attention to the ones that are consistently commenting and complaining about these side effects...we didn't need the procedure explained to us by an xray tech...the DOCTOR did that...we wanna know why we are experiencing these problems after what you claim is a safe procedure and no one is doing anything for us...oh I had 16 seperate lumbar punctures during my chemo treatments for my leukemia...I now suffer from chronic lower back pain thanks

I had a spinal tap with a local. Apparently it went well - whatever that means, since at one point during the procedure, my left leg shot out with extreme pain. Twelve hours later my whole left side from my lower back down really hurts. My fear is that this pain will be permanent.

When I was younger I had a condition called BIH and have experienced many many lumbar punctures! I am extremely hard to do them on and the doctors will often have at least 5 attempts! My first LP I got when I was 13 had my whole left leg in complete spasm and since then it has never been the same! If I lie down a little more on the left side of my back I get a burning/wet/pins and needle/numbing sensation through my thigh which is instantly fixed when I change my position!! 2 days ago I was in hospital and they attempted an LP on me... After 10! Yes 10 trys the doctor gave up! I had a few electric shock moments during the LP but none more than usual BUT I cannot sit as it is so so sore as well as I am finding it very hard to find a position that does not instantly lead to that sensation I get down my left thigh, it has also intensified! So much so I am contemplating go to the doctors on Monday! Also with regards to the post LP headaches I have also had one of these and required a blood patch and that was because I was only lying down for 1 hour 30 after my lp as the day clinic was closing! The most beneficial amount of time to lie COMPLETELY FLAT ON YOUR BACK is for 4 hours!! No matter what they say do not move from your flat back postion until that time is up! I have had an actual c**p load of these things and only 1 leak when I was laying flat less than that :D

To the x-ray tech that thinks we should just shrug this off cause these procedures usually go off without a hitch and us few that post all over the Internet with our problems, can go sit on it and spin first off. You don't know what we are going through daily and we were told this is a safe procedure. It's not. I had 16 of them done fighting my leukemia, and now have permanent lower back pain and numbness in my legs, feet, and toes. But it's okay, you're an x-ray tech so your word is as good as gold right? You need to go do some research friend. There are tons and tons of forums and people reporting all the same side effects after a LP and it's c**p. They are not safe.

My daughter was hit by a car and had head trauma (TBI) she was swelling in her brain so they did a lumbar drain in her spine. Everything worked wonderfully. 2 months after all this, she was home and started experiencing very bad pain in her right buttocks. Its been 7 weeks now and she is in extreme pain. She lives on Advil and Tylenol just to get through the day. She lays most of the day because its painful for her to stand or especially sit. The doctors justkeep saying she will get better with time, She has had xrays of her pelvis, due to the fact that she had a pelvic fracture, but that seems to have healed. I still think it is something to do with the lumbar drain she had. ???? any thought

My 16 yr old daughter had a lumbar puncture on Friday and not only did she have a spinal fluid leak and the head pain along with it.......they also did nerve damage. Blood patch fixed that though.

She has numbness in her abdomen and upper thighs as well as bladder leakage.

The pain down her legs is tremendous.

Still in hospital on morphine after 7 days with severe neck and spine pain increasing.

What the hell happened in there? She walked in and can't walk out!

As a doctor should you legally warn patients of the risks of a lumbar puncture before carrying out the procedure?