I have had a migraine headache for the past two weeks. my neurologist has ordered a lumbar puncture. why would he order it? how is it done?

Its a good test: A persistent headache warrants more testing. A lumbar puncture is a needle inserted in your lower back to check your pressure of the fluid in your spine and in your brain. It also looks for infection. This might help you.

Lumbar puncture: He is doing that to look for other causes of your headache. Two main ones would be infection or a bleed. These can both cause headache and it's sometimes good to rule them out (even if less likely). The lumber puncture is done by sticking a needle into your back (between the spine). I know, sounds horrible! i've done and taught this hundreds of times. There may be some pain but it is very safe!

Analysis: Low yield on lumbar punctures, but he's looking to analyze your spinal fluid. 99% sure it will come back as normal. The analysis can indicate infection, cancer, other medical conditions.