I just wanted to share something with you all about something that had happened to me...I had a c setion with my last baby and chose to have this though a spinal block where they place a needle similar to an epidural in your spine except it is supposed to last for a shorter period than the epidural does...

On the morning of the 12th of May 2003 the anaethetist came into the theatre and asked me if a first year anaethetist could give me the needle under his strict supervision...I asked if she had done needles before and he said yes...So i said okay...She did it really well and I hardly felt a thing...Told her how great she was at it too as my last one I had, had hurt heaps...So off she went and the older anaethetist stayed with me through the surgery...

Things went really well and Nikita was born without a problem and the next morning I was up and about without a worry in the world...the 14th came and I decided I was ready to go home and the doctor had given me the all clear to do so..So I called my Husband and headed home...On that night I started to get a headache and was in a real amount of pain...I called the hospital and they said to take some pain killers and see how I felt in the morning...I did just that but still i had a headache in the morning...

I kept going with the headache but had to front to the hospital as I could not function anymore as by this time I also had other syptoms like sensitivity to light, i was vomitting and had double vision ...When I got to the hospital they told me that I had had a spinal Leak...

This is what a spinal leak is...

An average adult has about 1 cup of fluid in the spine and around the brain... It is called cerebrospinal fluid...It is in a place called the dura...When there is a hole in the dura there is a small loss of this fluid and the brain sags as it is not cushioned anymore...The stretching of the connective tissues is sensed by the brain as pain and then you get a headache...This type of headache is called a spinal headache...

The spinal block needle is not supposed to puncture the dura but in about 1 in 200 times this happens...It is not intentional and can happen even when the most experienced person does this...

Depending on how long this headache lasts will depend on how this is treated...Sometimes with bed rest this will go away on its own and other time the anaethetist may suggest another procedure called an epidural  blood patch...

If you would like to know more about this then please go to the link I have provided at the bottom of this article...I have had four epidurals or spinal blocks and this was the first time this happened....I just wanted to share what had happened to me to show it can happen...

Thanks for reading...
Have a great day
Cheers
Angie