About Meir Wetzler <B>M. D.</B> Expertise Leukemia acute and chronic; from chemotherapy to transplantation. Done clinical and translational research on leukemia for the last 10 years at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.
I had a bone marrow biopsy done on May 30th. It was a horrible experience, but I got through it. The biopsy was performed on my hip, so I was advised; however, to me, it was just to the right of and above my tailbone. If I had known who painful it was going to be I would have insisted on being as close to out of it as possible. But, the nurse before the procedure assured me the pain would last no longer than a deep breath. The procedure lasted a good 5 minutes and I was in horrible pain the whole time. Two days after the procedure I got a horrible head ache. I could not lift my head off of my pillow for four days. As long as I laid down, my head did not hurt, but, as soon as I lifted my head, it pounded from my eyes up all across the top of my head. I called my oncologist office and advised them that a friend mentioned that it sounded like a side effect from a spinal tap. The nurse on call assured me that was not possible. She said, even though the procedure might have looked something like a spinal tap, it's not even close. I could not get into my family doctor until yesterday. After talking with me, he also said my head ache symptoms sounded just like I had a spinal tap. He said that is the type of severe head ache you get after a spinal tap. You lay flat and your head does not hurt, but if you try to sit up, it's horrible. He said something about getting air in the bone or something during the procedure causes it and he thought it was a very strange coincidence I have this debilitating head ached after the biopsy. Is there any chance that during a bone marrow biopsy that the area that a spinal tap is done in might have been accidently hit?
Thank you very much for reading my question.
Answer Dear Linda,
A bone marrow, as the name suggests, takes a sample from the bone. Spinal tap gets liquid from around the spinal cord. It is very unlikely that one would get to the spinal fluid through a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy. Also, headaches after spinal tap are caused by some leakage of the fluid to the adjacent tissues. The headaches usually resolve with increased drinking to compensate for the fluid loss. I hope that you will feel better soon. If not, please seek medical attention.
Thx, Meir.
