That is a bloody disgrace lauren , these are the new medic who will be working in our hospitals in the future and it is scary Facebook page ...I wonder if there are other pictures of patients on her page I am glad you complained.
I did try to delete my message it is a mess and full of errors' I did complain to PALS situated inside my local hospital but this only made matters worse, you wouldn't believe the lies consultant a Dr and a male nurse told..one lie was I was I backed a consultant into a corner everything I said happend didn't . It was them against me ' I don't need to tell you who was believed...I was made out to be a liar who imagined everything ' other events took place which I didn't add, as soon as I find how to correct errors I will
I am the original poster of this discussion and I am shocked to see that other people have had to suffer very similar situations to that which I suffered back in 2007.
Even though it was 7 years ago I can still remember every detail of that period of time and I am certain that I have continuing problems due the procedure.
I eventually had apology letters from the hospital and the Doctor that performed the procedure left the NHS shortly afterwards (funny that!). I didn't know if I should have taken it further but other things in life got in the way, such as being made redundant after maternity leave, moving house. It was all a bit hectic and I couldn't deal with the additional stress.
However, I now have periods of time where I have pain in my back which I am sure could be caused by the lumbar puncture but cannot prove it. To exacerbate it, I had a car accident a few years ago and now suffer pain in a different area in my back/side (they are distinctly separate areas of pain and type of pain) for which I have finally been referred for pain management.
Ho hum.........I'll put it down to getting old and move on!
Perhaps, one day, they will change the procedures so that we follow those in Australia/USA on how patients are dealt with during and after a LP. :-)
Hi Bez. Thanks for bringing this subject to light. If it's any help, the thing that has shifted my giddiness, feeling of falling, spiking head pain and general headache recently has been my father sending me to an osteopath. He has a dire bedside manner but really knows his stuff. He also did kinesiology style muscle testing to see where my neurological weaknesses were. After weeks of medics talking bilge I have finally found someone who makes sense. He said that for some people the very act of a needle going through their dura mater can throw anything associated with it out.
Hi bezb wow I jus read this ans ive jus gone thru the same im so ill ay min ive jus come back from a and e where they said they cant help me. I dnt trust my neurologist anymore. Can I ask did they ever mention a blood patch and hope youe doing bwtter now. X
I'm not in the UK. I'm in the USA, mine spinal tap was done with a local anesthetic and under fleuroscopy (x-ray guided) so they wouldn't miss the first time.
It sounds like they really treated you rough. I sometimes get the feeling that doctors think we are full of shyte and treat us poorly for it. I was told I was a hypochondriac and a med seeker before my MS diagnosis.
I do think that you should complain to the hospital and the medical board. A spinal tap should take no longer than 45 min and then you go home and lay flat on your back for 24 hours. You had to spend 5 days in a hospital afterwards, that is ridiculous and the Dr should get a black mark on his record. If you know the dr's name give him poor internet reviews on every available site. Those things are looked at by prospective patients.
About your symptoms: based on your MRI findings the loss of feeling s most likely due to the discs in your c-spine.
Again, I'm sorry you had such a had such a horrible doctor.
Forehead and both eyes. Very high white blood cell count. Had a ct scan. No anurism they could see. Wanted to do a lumbar puncture. I have degenetrative disc desease and basically no discs left in that area. Also i was born with 6 lumbar vertibrae not 5. The local anestetic did not work. He said he used over twice what he had ever used before. And yes. It was the most painfull thing ive ever felt. And ive had double hernia surgery. And the spine issues for over 6 years. I know pain. He said the prep takes more time than the proceedure Wrong. He dug in i cant remember how many times. I almost passed out and it was all i could do to try and stay still. At one point he hit the nerve that goes to my. Well. Anus. It felt like a lightning bolt shooting from it. And im in considerable pain now in my lower back. Which didnt hurt when i went in. My headache has eased off. Some. The doctor didnt even release me. A nurse brought my papers. Anyone have suggestions. I still have the headache and now my back is killing me. And im wondering how it will go the next time i have to use the bathroom.
I hope you are fully recovered. I had a lumbar puncture last week and the ER physicain failed three times until I screamed and demanded he stop! Finally they did the procedure under anesthesia and with floroscophy. Once home, just like you, I got worse and worse. It has been a week and my back is throbbing in pain and I my head aches like never before (and I've had a brain tumor, so that means it's pretty damn awful!!!). I will NOT go back to the hosital ER I went to a week ago but if there's not improvement must go somewhere. Thanks for letting me know I am not alone. Your post meant a lot to me.
I am much better now. I have a photo of my back a friend took. It shows 7 points where he tried to get spinal fluid. My back is still very sore and stiff. But it doesnt seem to be any permanent damage. My headache came and went all week. Sometimes barely noticeable. Sometimes almost as painful as when in the er. I hope you will recover as well. I believe these 2 young doctors i had were eager to shall i say experiment on me. Ever after i t old them i was not normal in my lumbar region. I saw a neurologist 10-23-14 and he said there was absolutely no reason to do that test. And if i had a brain infection i would already be dead. Wow. His words. As i said. I really hope u recover well.
I know this advice is too late but for anyone else or if needed in the future. If you need a spinal tap (lumbar puncture). It should be done under fluoroscopy which means xray guidance. This eliminates 90% of the chance for error. Also, after a spinal tap you cannot drive home! You must lay flat for 24 hours, only getting up to use the bathroom. The spinal fluid is a cushion layer between your brain and your skull. It needs 24 hours to replenish. If you don't follow these instructions you will get a migraine that lasts for 2 yes or more. I hope you feel better.
Hi. I am thirteen years old now and have been unlucky enough to have have a lumbar puncture twice due to having meimgitis and a varient of guillean-barrie. All I can remember of the infection is being held down by many injections whilst being extremely alarmed by the act that my mum had to go out of the room. I also remeber the needle being pretty larege and being forced to stay in a ball so that they could insert the needle between to bones.v.scary sorry to alarm anyone having the injection.
Hi catrin, That sounds like a horrible experience for someone so young. It sounds like they used the same technique used to give an epidural during labor. I've had 2 children and they told me to stay still and hunch over a pillow to open up the vertebral bodies and then they put in the epidural. I've only had one spinal tap, I was laying flat on a table and they kept taking x-rays to make sure the needle was alligned correctly. They numbed the area but that is only skin deep. They went for the sac at the bottom of the lumbar section. They put in the needle, it felt like mild labor cramps or very heavy menstral cramping. Then the bed was inclined to at least 45 degrees to allow the fluid to drip into the vials. They showed me what it looked like. Mine looked like water which is good. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 3 weeks later.
Who is going to do the spinal tap? If it is under fluoroscopy then it should go well. If you're not being sent to a radiologist to have it done request it. Let your doctor know you will only have it done "under fleuroscopy" which is with xray to avoid mistakes. I don't know how old you are. If you have ever had babies, it is less painful than a contraction. It feels more like a very strong menstral cramp that begins in the back and wraps around a little. Focus on your breathing and remember it won't last forever.
I want to empathise with your experiences of LP. I was dreading it but it was so much worse than expected. I had three different doctors attempt mine over an hour. I felt fine that day but the following 5 days I was very ill. I arrogantly didn't take time off work and this prolonged the problems as I wasn't resting. My head felt like it was being sucked into my spine, I felt light headed and I vomited intermittently for several days. It was incredibly debilitating. 2 months on I still have lower back stiffness.
I have several roles. I became a patient a few months ago and I am also a dr. I have performed LPs on others numerous times. I think this made the anticipation worse as I knew what to expect and knew it can be tricky to get CSF. Incidentally I always use local anaesthetic but different people have different ideas about this. Becoming a patient has been a sobering experience. I am now victim to the fear and anxiety that I have tried to protect others from for so long.
You have a condition called intercranial hypertention. Look it up. Google it. It is from too much pressure/ fluid around the brain. I have it and so does my son. It comes on without warning and is treatable but not curable. I take water pills and must control my sodium intake. Good luck.
That sounds awful. I had a lumbar puncture last year to test for MS and I read all these horror stories and was dreading it.
When the doctor was doing it I asked him to tell me when he had started and his reply was 'five minutes ago', the worst part for me was the injection to numb it, without that I do feel sorry for anyone. Thankfully in the end I felt no pain, I spent most of the 10-15 minutes chatting about sons of anarchy with him. I told him I was dreading it and read all sorts of lumbar puncture stories and he did say if the doctor doesn't do them a lot then it can be painful but as I was in one of the best Neuro wards they had lots of experience doing them. Good luck anyone and hopefully it is painless like mine.
Spinal taps are supposed to be done under fleuroscopy. It should have been done by a radiologist in a hospital on a special bed that raises you to a 45 degree angle. If any bacteria got in your spinal fluid you can get horribly ill. He should have at least used the numbing meds. He was a narcissistic butcher. Don't go back to him.
Never let a neuro do anything like that. They aren't qualified. Neurosurgeon yes.
Hiya I've had the lumbar puncture from he'll too first attempt failed in the foetal position so they repeated it with me hanging over the chair I was crying it hurt so much and after wards I had excruciating pain in my back and the headache from he'll and my neck was in spasm 9 months on and I'm still in pain with no answers has to why I'm also having seizures too