fluoroscopic procedure?

[jjaye]

I need to have a lumbar puncture with a fluoroscopic x-ray. has anyone had experience with this

[Pacificview]

Yes, I get them about once every 4 months for thoracic spine pain. Its for the purpose of injecting steroidal medicine to reduce or eliminate pain in that area.The dye gives the Doc confidence that the injected medicine will go where intended. Everything that is done is guided by the real time xray.

Its very quick and not a big deal at all. You will feel presure and a bit of stingy pinch as numbing agent is administered. That is the worst of it. Then he injects steroidal medicine and says your done. Takes a Doc no more than 15min.

If he is doing this for pain relief, this is what it is.

[jjaye in reply to Pacificview]

Thank you Pacificview. I get a little anxious each time there is a new procedure that is recommended. The initial LP failed, they could not find the area to get spinal fluid and take CSF pressure. I hope this works.

[DRM18]

Hi jjaye,

Yeah, I had an x-ray guided LP about a year ago, to check for possible CLL involvement in the CNS. (None was found.)

I laid (lied?) still on a thin, cold table, was numbed up (easy, no problem there), then they went to work.

Took a long time for me, about 40 minutes, not sure why.

Lots of pressure as they moved things about, lots of nothing at all, and sporadic lightning-like flashes down my leg(s) as nerves were grazed, I guess. Weird, more than anything.

All in all, a bizarre (when not boring) experience.

I had to lie down afterwards, for like four hours, before they sent me home.

I tried to lie down as much as possible for the next week or two to avoid a spinal headache. Didn't quite succeed, but the headaches eventually abated. (Took a couple weeks.)

Also had a lump at the injection site, fairly big I suppose; took about a month before it disappeared.

That was it!

--Dave!

[jjaye in reply to DRM18]

Thanks, Dave.

My procedure will be outpatient, so I hope they don't ask me to lay on a cold table for 4 hours. That would be the worst part of the procedure.

[DRM18 in reply to jjaye]

Well, the cold table was just for the LP itself: about an hour on it.

Then I was wheeled to a recovery room where I had to lie still for four hours--but at least I had a pillow and a blanket there.

--Dave!

[yazbe]

Mine was done without imaging guidance by a nurse practitioner. Her only job was performing LPs, so she was very proficient. The neuro-oncologist ordered 1 mg of Ativan for me, which I think I took about 30 minutes before the procedure. All I felt was the pinch of the numbing agent and some intermittent pressure ~ actually slept through most of it

Best wishes,

Beth

[jjaye in reply to yazbe]

thank you

[BallyB]

Had it done twice, no pain or other issues.

[jjaye in reply to BallyB]

thank you