Spinal Headaches

Does anyone know what is done if we get a headache from a spinal? I read something about a spinal patch but I am not too clear on that.


Any input would be great!!!

Thank You.

With an epidural or any type of spinal tap, according to what knowledge I have, not raising your head for 12 hours is the key to not getting a headache.

Though I know mine was raised within that time frame, as I threw up. I didn't get a headache that first night; but the next day I awoke and ended up with a migraine. But then again, I'm chronic with migraines, so it did not surprise me to some extent that I had one the following day. Just amazed with all the meds they had me on, that a migraine could get through it all to hit me.

Sorry if I couldn't be of much help here. Maybe others will chime in on this?

Also known as a "blood patch"...is only used when the puncture site doesn't seal and the leaking of spinal fluid causes severe headache. Blood is drawn (by sterile method) from a vein in your arm and then the blood is injected into the space where the spinal was...the blood should "clot" and form a seal.

Hope this is helpful!

Thank you so much for your reply, now I know what the consequences could be if I choose to have a spinal and I get a headache, I have not totally made up my mind about the type of anesthesia I will choose yet. I guess I will decide on wednesday, depending on how nervous I am before surgery.

I had a spinal shot/epidural shot for my back injury and I had gotten a spinal headache the next day and I think they are ten times worse then a migraine ever could be,but when I got the headache they told me to take tylenol and to increase my caffeine intake which did not help me,but after that day I was ok

But i had to have a 2nd shot and i was ok never had another one,i guess it depends on the kinds of meds that they use and the spot where they put it in at would be my guess but not sure

I remember the days when we kept everybody flat trying to prevent spinal headaches. Then suddenly it was ok to let them up. Studies had been done and just as many people who stayed flat as had been elevated got spinal headaches. In my experience the spinal headaches don't happen real often in the big scheme of things. When it does, that person is miserable though. Blood patches work pretty well for them. The increased caffeine intake actually increases your making new spinal fluid and thereby helps with the headache.

Years ago I had a spinal for surgery and I remember my nurses (who were also my coworkers) getting me up to the bathroom when I barely even had feeling back. They didn't want to have to catheterize me. I thought for sure I would get a headache, but I was fine.

I had a spinal for my surgery and had absolutely no headache...it was definitely the anesthesia of choice for me! My anesthesiologist assured me that headaches and other complications from spinals are not all that common htese days. I am sure that my recovery from the hysterectomy was MUCH easier because I did not have to deal with anesthesia lingering in my system. Good luck.

Hi, I am new here and just found out about this site. It's great!!!

I am five days post op. They took my right overy and my uterus. I had a general but I also had an inter-thycal(sp?), that is pain meds near the spine but not a full spinal block. Two days post op I had the worst headache I have ever had, but I am not a migraine sufferer. The headache was so bad it made me get sick, when they figured out that it was a spinal headache, I went for a blood patch. The pain was gone so fast it was amazing! I still get a slight headache everyday but it is not anywhere near the one I had in the hospital. And after reading a few posts on headaches I realize that it may have nothing to do with that at all.

My Dr. says that that hospital does about3 or 4 blood patches a year and I got to be one of the lucky ones!!

Hi, Alex,

Good news! Spinal headaches are much more rare than they were a few years ago. Anesthesiologists use smaller needles to induce spinal and epidural anesthesia these days, which means that tiny air bubbles are much less likely to leak into the spinal column.

My hyst was done under spinal anesthesia with conscious sedation, and I'm happy to say that I did not have a headache afterwards.

Ask your anesthesiologist for more information about spinal and epidual anesthesia, and good luck with your surgery.

Best wishes,
Helen

I had a "spinal" headache after one of my epidurals. I had always been told that the beauty of an epidural was that there would be no headache. During a spinal, they pierce the dura (which is the tough covering around the spinal cord). It was that hole that left people likely to get headaches because of the fluid leak (but again, even those are rare now because of the better equipment). In an epidural, they do not pierce the dura--the medication affects the spinal nerves where they pass through the dura on their own. Unfortunately, somehow they scratched my dura when doing the epidural, and I got the headache. I actually felt good the first day, then the second day I had a mild headache, and the third day I was in bad shape. The blood patch worked though, and I felt better immediately with the headache totally gone a couple of days later.