Post-Spinal Tap. Intractable Migraines?

Sorry to hear your lumbar puncture didn't go as smoothly as you would have liked.

I'm not sure what your doctor means by your pressure not being "dangerously high". Your intracranial pressure is either high, or it is not. Having chronic, intractable head pain is dangerous  in itself. Just because CSF may not have shot out of your back  doesn't mean your body doesn't have an issue.

Migraine cannot be diagnosed with a lumbar puncture. There currently are no diagnositc tools to diagnose Migraine disease. But IIH - Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, (formerly called Pseudotumor Cerberi) can and is diagnosed with one. 

Your results are important to know, the exact number of the lumbar puncture. The results of an LP I had my pressure was 285 mm. That was high enough for my preventive, abortives and rescue medications to stop working and be in daily chronic pain. Some people, thin or fat, have pressures of 500mm or more. 

Have you seen the information on IIH?  Pseudotumor Cerebri (IIH) - The Basics. After you read it let me know what you think, ok?

I just wanted to share some information with you that has helped me, have you tried reducing the amount of light your exposed and what types of light to help wiith the migraine pains. Here is how I function and keep my job, kids, and life going.

Yoga first thing in the  morning to help reduce stress and a mixture of lavendar and other herbs in a temple balm that helps to relax you as well as doing the breathing excersices every 30 minutes while at work and taking my breaks no matter how much work I have to walk, I take motrin and some pain medication to help get me through the day at night sometimes I can not sleep so I make an ice pillow and sleep on top of it, sometimes that is the only way that I can get some rest. Some days are worse than others but I have learned that I can use damp cotton balls in my ears to muffle the noise, wear different shades of sunglasses depending on my light sensativity and use a topical lidocaine 5% patch for when the pain radiates down my neck and shoulders this will numb the neck and shoulders and the ice pillow( which is frozen bags of stir fry vegatables) and pain meds only when everything else has not helped. I make sure that  I never feel sorry for myself after all I do get to be with my children and support them and show them that no matter what you should never let anything stop you from being the person you want to be, this is proving to be the best example I could have given my son since he started with migraines at age 4 and now being 9 years old. He finds it weird and funny when people fumble over him as he says "baby him" when he has a migraine at school. He says, all I need is some Motrin and I will be fine in a while. I know the pain won't go away but if I can stop it from giving me the other symptoms like the paralysis I am good. He will take  his meds unless he starts to get the leg paralysis then he will call me and feel guilty about having to bother me at work to give him his stronger medications, so you see with him it is about being a bother that is what is the most annoying thing and not the pain....

Sarah