Blood Patch Good, Blood Patch Bad?

I spent an hour or so on the phone with the radiology office today trying everything in my power to set things up so I don't get a ten day low pressure headache. I talked to a very nice nurse practitioner who said she would put a note on my file requesting that I be allowed to stay flat on my back for as long as possible after the spinal tap.

We talked about whether or not taking caffeine pills will work for someone like me who stopped using caffeine a long time ago because of migraines and decided they are a bad idea. We talked about drinking eight glasses of water between the surgery at two and whatever time I fall asleep.

And then she mentioned the blood patch. The dealio here is that the doctor takes a little blood from my arm and injects it into my spinal column. The idea is that it creates a sort of scab seal at the spot where the needle entered and seals it off so spinal fluid doesn't keep dripping out. I know, I know, I have too much spinal fluid so why care if it drips out and I don't know the answer to this one. PTC is a mysterious thing.

But you ask, since I get blood clots so easily and blood clots in the spine are a bad idea do I really want to create a little one on purpose? Good question and I don't know if it is safe or not. I am supposed to talk to Dr. Wang tomorrow. (Thank you Gabe and Tycho for not letting me think of Dr. Wang without thinking of you also.) The thing is usually you would get one of these blood patches a few days into the headache when you are ready go torture and kill small fluffy rare animals if it will mean one second respite from the agony but that doesn't work for me. I have to be prepared for people fiddling around with my back for days of coumadin abstinence.

And if you are keeping track of who I am in love with today it would be a creative friend who will remain nameless who called me back after a phone conversation to play me a song on his guitar. It wasn't any crap song either it was a good one and it had vocals. Good times.