I have been very lucky, I have never had a migraine and have not even had that many bad headaches in my lifetime. I think I got to make up for that this past week. Since last Friday after my lumbar puncture, I have had what they call a spinal headache. When they did the lumbar puncture, the hole that the needle created in the membrane surrounding the spinal canal did not seal properly. The spinal fluid was leaking from the hole into the nearby tissues. This causes there to be less fluid around the brain and results in a spinal headache which you might as well call "headache from hell". The only relief you can get is from lying flat on your back. No amount of drugs will even touch it. I continued to work during this time, lying down any chance I could get. It got a little ridiculous. I finally contacted the nurse and ended up having what is called a blood patch today.
A blood patch involves taking a sample of your own blood and injecting it next to the puncture hole. It forms a blood clot that presses against the hole to stop the leak. It hurt like heck but my headache is about 90% gone now. My back, however, is a different story. But, hopefully, that pain will go away as well. My poor kids, one parent is in a different state and the other has pretty much been bedridden. They have all been pretty good about the whole thing and have helped their momma out so much.
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