hmmm one for the medically rained i think. but i guess you are asking if you could have some sort of nerve damage from the tap? but then would your arms be effected?

what about some sort of extreme pins and needles reaction from the diamox? or some sort of cramp type reaction from an electrolyte in-balance caused by the diamox? (have you changed your drugs or changed your salt or water intake?) or failing that some sort of restless leg type syndrome??

sorry just a list of questions to think about - some of the medical guys will have better thoughts i am sure.....

Really good point about meds that I had not thought of. The doctor, after the tap, told me to stop taking diamox (woohoo) because my shunt was keeping the pressure low. According to the blood work, my chloride was up and bicarbonate was low. So that may be the key...thanks for the input

lol 2 heads are better then 1- some one might still post back with a better answer later, but maybe some Gatorade or whatever isotonic drinks u use to re balance electrolytes (diarrhea medication drinks good - ours in the UK are called dioralyte but they can be expensice, but gatorade, lucasade etc can work also - and are cheaper just watch the calories, lol ) and make sure you have the right salts in you diet - ie enough potassium (banana etc) but not to much sodium (dont over do the table salt)
Hope you can stay off the diamox :) good luck :)

Lovely: I can't remember if you do or don't. but are you on any anti-nausea meds right now? Reglan, Compazine? When I started having random jerking & spasms, I chalked it up to not enough water, low bicarb etc. BUT, I happened to have an appt. with a movement doc who pulled me right off of Reglan after I'd been on it for about 5-6 wks. He said its & Compazine's use is for very short-term only and if jerking starts that it might be a warning of dsykenesia (sp?). Scared the heck outta me, so I stopped the meds (switched to phenergan) and the jerking/spasms stopped. May be utter coincidence, but thought I'd throw it out there. Bit of drama for the day....

Hope you're doing better. :)

are these muscle spasms, where your limb does not move but you have pain in the muscle, or muscle jerks, where there is no pain but the limb jerks?
the jerk is myoclonus. the muscle spasm is probably caused by low potassium or magnesium, related to the Diamox. the myoclonus could also be related to these electrolyte abnormalities, which are likely with a low bicarb. make sure you replenish both.
maybe myoclonus could be a complication of LP:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3030059/

Well, my best guess/vote is that it is coincidental rather than tap related.

Did you receive any medications for your tap? I think the mention of electrolyte imbalance or being related to a medication (such as what PressureCooker mentioned) is your best bet.

The level of the spine that the lumbar puncture occurs at could affect the legs if something was screwy but is not up high enough that you should be able to feel the effects in your arms, even if it were a "bad" tap.

Sorry you are dealing with this, and that you had to have yet another LP!

Thanks all for your input! Today has, by far been the worst with these. And add on the head pain makes a somewhat normal pain day of 4-5 increase to about 7-8.

The spasms/jerks are very interesting..normally I would equate them to what happens right before sleep, but this is continuous, two or three different muscle groups jerk in a row and then it stops for a couple minutes. Ex - my right leg will jerk, my left arm and (oddly) my neck will after. Add to this the fall from yesterday and I am staying down today. I'm supposed to be getting my gallbladder removed tomorrow, so I will definitely find the Gatorade tonight.

Thanks again,
Kristena