I had my fifth spinal tap (aka “lumbar puncture”) today. This is part of the recovery process from my SCDS repair surgery back in November, four months ago. The LP will allow us to see two things. First, what’s my cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure currently, since I’ve been taking 2 Diamox 250 mg pills a day. Second, what impact – if any – does lowering my pressure have on my ongoing autophony symptoms.
Three of the times I had a lumbar puncture, I was partially or fully sedated, and so those were good experiences. The last time I had one, I was not sedated at all and it was terrible. The anesthesiologist was poking and prodding around and hit several nerves on the way in. It was painful, and I had terrible lightning shocks shooting down my legs. So I was nervous when I learned they plan to do this fifth LP without sedation.
However, they were using a procedure I had read about but never had, where the radiologist guides the needle into just the right spot by using an x-ray machine.
Well, I don’t know whether it was just good luck, a more talented puncturer, or the x-ray guidance procedure, but this time was 180 degrees different from last time. It was anti-climactic, with less actual pain than going to the dentist for a routine cleaning and exam.
Lessons for if I ever had to do this again:
- Make sure the doctor doing the procedure knows in advance how much fluid to remove
- Get sedation if possible, and if not get the x-ray guidance technique
Oh, so you want to hear the results? My opening pressure was 22 (cm H2O). They removed 16.5 ml of fluid. And my closing pressure was 15.5.
Why did you need to have a spinal tap for ear surgery
My cerebral spinal fluid pressure was elevated, which is common in SCDS patients.