thank goodness you apparently don't have meningitis! how scary. in answer to your last question: yes i think the er doctor should have explained to you exactly what to expect after your lumbar puncture. in fact you should have received some sort of written instructions. beyond that i think they should have given you additional verbal information about what to expect due to experiencing six attempts. it's possible the site is still sore because of multiple tries and because of hitting a tendon. however if you begin to run a fever it's time to seek medical attention. fever could be a sign of infection. lumbar punctures are performed under sterile conditions but infection can occur after-the-fact. i don't think four days of soreness at the puncture site is unreasonable but if you're concerned you might give your primary care provider a call. it never hurts (no pun intended) to get these things checked out. i hope you feel better soon! also you should know that after a spinal tap you are supposed to rest at least 24 hours after having the procedure. i've had viral meningitis before so when i have similar symptoms the er doctor will give me a spinal tap. thankfully those have come up negative. unfortunately the first spinal tap i had after have the viral meningitis no one told me i was supposed to rest for 24 hours and i went to church 6 hours later. i was back in the er 2 hours after church (wanted to stay to teach sunday school before going back to the hospital). make sure to always ask questions!
lumbar puncture complications. i had a lumbar puncture done in my local er 4 days ago to rule out meningitis. i have had severe neck pain (at the time) for 8 days with a headache. bp was 157/110. when the med student (at the hands of the er physician) took 6 tries to get it in the right place she then hit a tendon. the er dr. asked her if she heard that "pop" and explained to her she hit a tendon. could this be why i am still very sore at the sight? shouldnt they have explained this to me?