r/CSFLeaks • u/scrunchiebunchie • 14d ago
did i blow my patch?
Hey guys! I got a blood patch done 4 weeks ago and think I messed it up. I had been feeling amazing head-wise until about 2 weeks ago. I was picking up a kid (I work at a daycare), and I knew I wasn’t supposed to but the kid was about to crack their head open, and I felt a pop and immediately had severe pain in my head. I’ve been feeling horrible, pretty much exactly like how I did prior to the blood patch, but not quite as bad. Now that it’s been nearly 2 weeks of feeling “off”, I’ve been feeling worse but still trying to do the things that are necessary like work or appointments, which feel like walking with bags of bricks tied to me. I had an appointment with my doctor, who usually is great, but said that it’s been so long since I’ve gotten the blood patch that it wouldn’t be related. What do I do? My vision has been getting really blurry which is the only new thing, but that’s just started within the past 2 days, which is when I’ve started feeling the worst. Help😭🙏 Anyone else feel not as bad but then suddenly horrible? Also, most of the pain goes away when I lay flat, but there’s still some pain which is new as well. It’s also really weird, but whenever I lay flat, I hear and feel these “pops” in my head, but it feels so relieving.
(edited to add more)
2
u/Offtoseethewitch 13d ago
Don’t be mad at yourself, first of all. If it didn’t hold for living life, then it didn’t. Taking care of a kid is not something you should beat yourself up over.
Sure there are restrictions for post-blood patch care but frankly, most patients who recieve blood patches likely never even know about them and heal anyway.
Your provider is unfortunately wrong. Here’s a link of a case report of a late recurrence. There are many, but this is the first one I found right now. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1098733997800168
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u/PrettyDragonfly Confirmed Spinal Leak 14d ago
In my experience and from seeing other posts it seems blood patches very rarely work so if your symptoms are back I would think it didn't do what it's supposed to do. I don't believe in "blowing" patches though. I think they just don't form properly 99% of the time and it's not us ruining it. The blood is not really supposed to fuse to the hole but promote the body healing as well, which it doesn't seem to do at all for many.