My Spinal Tap Procedure

I laid on a flatbed in a curled baby fetal position and was told by the anesthesiologist to try and stay still as he prepped my back for a spinal tap with a sterile drape. Then he cleaned my back with cold orange looking iodine liquid, and numbed the area with lidocaine - which stung and caused me to flinch out of position.

At this point in the spinal tap procedure he asked the male nurse to hold my body so I would stay in a fetal position.

The needle

Once I was numb, the anesthesiologist walked me through the procedure to reassure me at every step. He pressed on my lower-mid spinal cord to find the correct spot to poke and then he said “poke”. I tried my very best not to scream, but I moaned so loud within myself.

That male nurse was trying his best to help me stay in the fetal position all while pressing me together like a taco.

The thought of the needle I just saw going in me was horrible. Once the anesthesiologist made the puncture, I felt a lot of pressure in my back specifically my mid backbone section.

All I could do was pray and have positive thoughts through this painful process that answers would come out if this. 

Coping mechanisms

Throughout the procedure the anesthesiologist was talking me through the process. I couldn’t even concentrate on listening to him, instead I was practicing deep breathing and counting backwards. He would say things like “it’s dripping, really slow but it’s coming” and the whole time I’m thinking to myself just hurry up.

In the meantime, I still had the assistant nurse holding me like we were in a frame shot of a WWE wrestling match. When he was done, he warned me he was going to pull out the catheter and told me to hold my breath. Once it was out my next breath was one of relief.

I thought to myself, finally! But no, the next part of the procedure was the recovery.

Spinal tap recovery

A very tight band-aid was placed on my back on the puncture area. Then I had to lay on my back for an hour for multiple reasons. After getting a spinal tap it was necessary to lay flat on my back to help the puncture to close and to prevent a spinal headache.

As I lay flat on my back, I was given water to drink every 10 to 15 minutes. Which was a bit difficult because I had to drink from a straw while laying down flat. When I say flat I mean no pillow on my neck or under my knee.

The puncture site on my back was throbbing and felt so uncomfortable. When it was time to go home after the hour, thankfully I had no headache - just some minor discomfort in my back. I had to lay in the back seat of my mother's car the whole ride home which took like 45 minutes.

I was instructed not to take a shower that night but the next morning. It was an intense procedure and I swore to myself that never again I would put my body through that type of procedure. That is until I had to do it again for another life changing event which was for my baclofen trial.

My tips from experience

Through my experience I would like to share the following tips before getting a spinal tap:

• Take a shower the morning of, since you can't shower for 24 hours.
• Dress in comfortable loose fitting clothes.
• Ask if you take a relaxant for the day of the procedure, to help calm your nerves.
• If you can stretch your back, do so, it can potentially help you during the procedure.
• Practice your breathing techniques.
• Make sure to have someone drive you.
• Cancel all activities for that afternoon after the procedure.
• Rest and hydrate.

Getting answers

Even though I went through this experience the outcome was worth it. The neurologist got the answer they were looking for, I got the NMOSD treatments according to my bio-marker and it was a once in a lifetime experience.