Greetings Charlie!

It's okay to feel apprehension about having a lumbar puncture done (spinal tap). I remember dreading it and trying to get out of having one done at all.

The test itself was nothing for me. The worst part was the freezing needle, and that was minor discomfort for a split second. The LP itself was 'business as usual'.

Where I ran into the troubles was AFTER the test. I was in the hospital laying horizontal for about 3.5h to 4h on my SoluMedrol drip (to get inflammation in the brain under control - my MRI results had already been reviewed by my neurologist) and after that was done, I asked the nurses if I should remain lying down for longer. They assured me I was fine to go, and didn't need to lie down any longer.

Big big mistake. I went home and was scurrying around my house doing chores and whatnot, getting my house ready to sell (yeah, I was in the middle of showing my house... not good timing).

The day after the LP, around 8 pm I began feeling a bad headache starting. By 9 pm I was in the bathtub (warm water helps my dreadful headaches and migraines for some reason). By 9:30 pm I was out of the tub and getting dressed/rushing myself in a taxi to the hospital.

I couldn't sit down. I stood up, head against the wall, waiting for triage to look at me in the ER. When she told me to sit, I told her "I sit, I pass out." My blood pressure was through the roof (it's usually quite low) and when she heard I'd had a LP the day before, she had doctors right there rushing me into the back rooms.

I was put on a drip of some sort for the headache, and I was in such a state of shock I blacked out. Thankfully I was in the hospital bed by this point. I woke up around 6 am feeling like a new person, headache gone.

Now I know, from other people's accounts and suggestions, you should lay down for at least 8 hours after the LP has been done. Also, drink a LOT of caffeine the day before, and day of, the LP. Apparently this helps greatly to avoid the spinal headaches.

I wish I'd known these tips when I had mine done. Apart from the brutal headache, the test itself was nothing. Lesson learned!

Good luck!