lumbar puncture recovering really worried about my symptoms .

[matyboyie]

hi i had a lumbar puncture done 9 days ago because I was very sick and hospital thought I might have meningitis anyways they ended up doing a L.P. took them 3 trys to do it because they couldn't get fluid. EVER sense ive had the l.p ive been having these pressure headaches and also neck pain and feeling really dizzy and faint also like I wanna be sick all the time. I've returned to hospital and they just are like it's a spinal headache dont worry but I am worried because I don't feel better and reading online about it got my freaked out because of seeing stuff like cerebral herniation or subdural hematoma im freaking out im having a brain bleed or something. I just got my test results back and they are all fine no white blood cells but I had red blood cells found with a reading of 10 theu were like this is fine dont worry but I am worried because I'm having terrible symptoms i never had before the spinal tap and worried the blood could mean a subdural hematoma or something serious. can someone please give me some advice or let me know if its normal to have the symptoms 9 days after a lp. I've also been having fast pulse rates and higher blood pressure never had that before.

[Crouton]

Hi matyboyie,

If I could give any advice it'd be to trust what your doctors have told you. They're not concerned because they likely don't see any reason to be. It's very common to experience a post-LP headache which may persist for days as the spinal fluid replenishes. The presence of blood cells, particularly in small amounts, is usually the result of the needle scraping a small blood vessel on the way in and mixing in with the spinal fluid they collect. In other words, completely harmless. If you had a subdural haemorrhage or cerebellar/cerebral herniation you'd be in a much worse state than having a headache and some dizziness.

A fast heart rate and higher blood pressure are a likely a direct result of anxiety. Keep hydrated, breathe easy, trust your doctors and stay away from google! No good ever comes from self-diagnosis.

[matyboyie]

thanks for the reply. im just scared because it's been 9 days now and still not getting better yet but I guess of something bad was going on it would of happened right after the LP not a week later. anyways thanks for the advice and yeah I def gotta stay away from Google all the horror stories are freaking me out