Discogram

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Moldova

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I had discogramm done twice and even though it's not 100% accurate (like most tests are) this one by far more accurate and can give them a better picture what is going on inside your spine.
Is it painful? Yes, it's painful. They kind of cedate you, but you aware of pain and they need you to scream (and you will) and let them know what kind pain you experience and where exactly does it go and etc.
We all survive it, and you will too. Just think positive and remeraber you need to get as much information about your problems as possible. You need to make sure that you really need surgery if they will suggest you one.
Or if you don't need one. And only a good DR and tests can confirm either decision.

Good luck to you!
 
I've had 2 discograms, one with sedation, and one with nothing. I would do them both over again, because like the others have said, it's worth it to get a "diagnosis" of sorts. In my case, the first one I had w/ sedation was positive at L3/4 and L4/5 and showed Grade V annular tears in both. I don't remeraber a thing about the test. The second one, with no sedation or pain meRAB, was negative at L3/4. I felt intense pain, but it was not concordant (the same as my usual pain), so they ruled it negative. But again, saw a very large tear. At L4/5 it was eventually ruled a false-negative. He injected it and I did not feel pain at all. But he looked at my MRI, which showed a herniation an you could see the annular tear of MRI, and decided to re-position the needle & try again, which he did. I again felt no pain. He realized that the annular tear was so large that he was unable to pressurize the disc b/c the dye leaked out too fast. So he ruled it false-negative (and performed an endoscopic discectomy on it the next day). In both tests they also injected L2/3 and L5/S1 and both times I felt nothing when those were injected.

I was told by both docs who did my tests that I have a very high tolerance for pain. I did not even flinch when the needles were introduced. For those who have less of a pain tolerance, I'm sure the test is extremely painful. For me, it was only mildly so. Again, invaluable test as far as determining what the source of pain is and determining which treatments are options to reduce the pain. Best of luck to you!
 
I recently saw a neurosurgeon for my back and he recomended cortisone shots done while using x-ray and if that dosen't work having a discogram. He didn't explain exactly what that was, anyone else have one done?
Also (this may be TMI) the past few days sometimes along with the shooting pain down my leg, I have a feeling that I may lose control of my bowles, I haven't, and it goes away as quickly as it comes, It may not have anything to do with my back but I know they always ask that question and I was just wondering if that is somethning to be concerned about
Thanks
 
Actually that feeling you are having with your bowels can be directly related to your back issues, and you MUST bring this to the attention of your doctor. This can be a sign of a very serious issue.

And yes, I've had a discogram and by far the most painful test I've been through. I was not sedated nor given anything to lessen the pain during the test. Some docs lightly sedate their patients. BUT I would do this test again in a heartbeat. It is completely responsible for discovering a blown disc that looked quite normal on MRI's of 3+ years.

Hope this helps.
 
A discogram is by far the worst test I have ever had also. It is well worth the pain in that it can determine a ruptured disc. It is basically as simple as if there is pain the disc is ruptured and no pain it is not.
I would see my doctor as soon as possible over the bowel issue. Any bowel or bladder issues could be a serious condition called CES and neeRAB to be addressed immediately. Good luck on your test.
 
The thing I don't get is why my neuro didn't try a discogram. Can you tell me what kind of doctor would perform this procedure. Thank you
 
Most of the time either anesthesiologists or interventional neuroradiologists perform the discograms.
 
I just sturabled across this thread and have found it very helpful. I'm a victim of failed fusion syndrome...as so many other spineys :(...but feel my neurosurgeon was irresponsible b/c he planned my surgery based on one measley MRI...I think he should have performed a discogram...long story short, I had 3 herniated discs...2 of them were compressing nerves but he thought it best to take a conservative approach and fuse only 1, the notorious L5-S1...I went into surgery under the impression he would go back in and fix the other discs if after recovery I was still experiencing problems...my neurosurgeon was shocked once he opened me up and saw the terrible shape my back was in and I believe at the moment he made a decision not to do further surgery...almost a year later, I'm in worse shape, my pain level has more than doubled, he dumped me onto PM...I now have an appt in a few weeks with a new neuro for a 2nd opinion who I'm told will probably want to send me for a discogram...just for the record, I'm well aware how difficult it's going to be to find a surgeon willing to perform any surgeries on my back since another surgeon has already "marked his territory" so to speak :(. I do have a few questions about discograms.

My questions are -

If discograms are so reliable and helpful, why aren't surgeons rountinely using them prior to back surgeries?

Are disograms really that painful? If you had to rate it on a pain scale of 1-10, with 10 being the worse pain you've ever felt, what would you rate the procedure?

Thanks! I appreciate your help!
 
I had a laminectomy 16 months ago and my back feels worse than before. I'm on my back most of the day. It's the only relief I can get. I've been through the meRAB and shots and nothings helped. I had a MRI done back in the Spring of last year and showed nothing wrong. I know there's something there that the MRI isn't showing. Would you recomend the discogram? Thanks
 
Absolutely! While this is an archaic and painful test if you test positive, it's worth it's weight in gold in seeing if a disc is healthy or not.

They will test the suspect bad discs but also ones that appear to be quite healthy. This is the best way for them to see if the test works. If your good discs produce pain as well as your bad discs, then the test would be inconclusive. But if the good disc produces no pain, and the bad disc does produce pain and where you've had it only tons worse.. then it's a positive result.

In may case, they thought my bulging disc was the problem, but it wasn't leaking when injected and it never produced any pain either. They tried 3 times and no pain at all.

But when they did the next level up, that's when I had horrific pain and it was exactly where my pain had been too. The disc ended up being badly torn, but the MRI's I had all the years never showed it.

So it's worth having it done if you ask me. As badly as this test hurt, it was worth the amount of pain to FIND the source of the problem.
 
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