General Health

[sandyjane73]

hi i had a failed attempt of a lumber puncture in the emergency dept, i was sitting up leaning forwards, it was much more painfull then expected, the dr did re assure me that he had done many lumber punctures,,the dr had quite a few attempts at it , my mum said she saw the dr change needles at least 3 times, whilst dr was attempting it i felt two poping sensations they hurt quite a bit and i ended up crying from the pain and discomfort, i did let the dr know the pain was too much and ended up saying id had enough i couldnt cope with it any more,, my back was really sore for the next few days,  and i was ,very stiff in my movements, the failed attempt was 2 wks ago tuesday and is still tender,,, there was a second guided lumber puncture the following morning which was successful..Iv been worried what the popping sensation was, it didnt happen again on the guided lumber puncture, which was a breeze and  much less painfull then the failed attempt.. thanx for any info or advice you may be able to give me,, sandy

[Ricobord]

I had a miserable LP also.  The first 5 attempts failed.  I think he gave me 3 times the typical pain shots to numb the area, but every time he tried again, it just hurt too much. I nearly passed out at one point, and he offered the guided alternative. I didn't want to come back again, so he offered to try again higher up, and that worked great.  Didn't hurt at all. He said he thinks I have arthritis in my lumbar spine which was making it difficult for him to get a needle through the spine in the usual spot.

I could barely walk for a day and was sore for 4-5 days after.  On my back, II could see 5 little holes in a line, and then a gap of about 3/4 inch and then the successful *****. My neuro gave me an Rx for lidocain patches to put on the site and they really helped.

If I ever need another one, I will ask for the guided LP.

[dogmum]

Sorry about your bad experience.  I don't know what the popping was from, but I had a similar experience in February.  Since guided LP isn't an option where I live, I haven't let them try again so far.  I was sore for about a month, but it did eventually get better.  

Do you know what they were looking for?  You might get some more replies if you post in the suspected problem's forum (e.g. Neurology, etc).

Wishing you well...
Laura