Good afternoon. Two days ago I had a lumbar puncture performed by my neurologist. Procedure itself went off without a hitch. About an hour later I started having a really bad headache in the back of my head. It mostly went away when I laid down. I understand this is not uncommon. I was told to lay down, drink plenty of fluids, and take caffeine.
Friday night I woke up in middle of the middle of the night in absolute agony - worst pain I ever felt in my life. Pain was shooting down the back of my neck into both of my arms. This lasted for about a half hour. Thankfully it eased up and I managed to fall asleep again.
Saturday morning I felt somewhat better ( was able to stand up and go to the bathroom for the first time without pain), but by mid afternoon, I had to remain entirely in bed to avoid really bad headaches. Saturday night again I had a brief bout of insane pain.
Sunday morning I felt well enough to actually take a shower, but again by mid afternoon, I find myself back in bed again, unable to stand up for more than a few seconds. The whole time I have been taking Tylenol and caffeine, which doesn't seem to be helping much. Each time I think I'm getting better, I end up relapsing.
My neurologist said that if I don't feel better by Sunday night, I should consider going back to the emergency room, though she cautioned they're not going to run to do a blood patch so quickly.
Is this something that can resolve itself on its own? I really would rather not have to go back to the hospital, but I don't know how much longer I can handle this pain.