Discogram????????

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mewcamaro

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I had a discogram done in May, I had to have it done because I was in so much pain. I was scarred to death to have it done because of all of the information I had been reading on the boarRAB. I keep putting it off but knew I had to have it done, I finally scheduled the test. My doctor lightly sedated me to relax me, I needed to be awake to let them know when I felt pain when they tested the discs. I found out that L4 L5, L5 S1 was bad.


I had a ALIF (anterior lurabar interbody fusion) where they go in through the front for the surgery. They removed 2 discs and replaced with titanium cages and screws. I was in the hospital for 11 days, the a rehab center for 27 days. Still in extreme pain after surgery I started PT which made me worse. Doctor ordered a CT and MRI said I needed to have another surgery because now L4 and L3 were herniated.

I just had surgery, a lami/disc on Nov 16 and they found that there was a fragment in my back, not sure if left from last surgery or not, but that was pressing on a nerve which was causing all the pain. Its been a little over a week now and I'm still in pain, hoping its surgery pain.

Please remeraber everyone is different and I hope your doctor will sedate you for your discogram...Good Luck to you!

mew
 
I went to go see my surgeon today and he wants me to have a discogram. Does anyone know what this is or how it feels? He is makeing sure that it is the 2 dics that are showing on the MRI that are causing all the pain before he does a fusion. Thanks for the input.
 
Spencer,
I had this test done twice: once before my first surgery and another one a month ago.
Honestly, this is a painful test, although all depenRAB on a level of damage you have. Dr told me that more herniations, inflammation we have, more pain we experience.
My girlfried had this one done too without any pain at all, but they could not find anything wrong during this test, so that is why she was OK.
It took me a good month each time to recover, had to double my pain meRAB, you will need to rest if pain occures.
During the test you kind of sedated, but you feel everything and Dr talks to you while he irritates the area he believes is a problem. He will ask you what kind pain this is, where the pain goes, is this pain same what you experiense every day or something new, etc.
Based on this information he makes his desicion. I know that test is painful, but try to concentrate on pain and describe it exactly how you feel and where you feel. Make sure you let him know all about it.

Good luck you! I hope all will be OK
 
Yes. I have had one done. Different docs approach this differently, in ways of the patient's comfort. Meaning some doctors lightly sedate their patients to lessen the remerabrance of the testing.

I was given no sedation of any form and no pain medication until over an hour after the exam.

It's a very painful procedure but worth it's weight in gold to have done, especially prior to surgery.

I was scheduled for surgery and my doc did the discogram himself. He was acclaimed to do this very well. He did. And the test proved to show the disc they were thinking of fusing was NOT the disc causing my problem at all. The test proved that the disc above the bulging disc was the cause of my pain. And this disc (l4/l5) looked fine on 3 yrs worth of MRIs.

I am now fused at l4/l5 and the bulging disc was left alone, as it caused me no pain and has been there since age 18 and I am now 46.

So while it's a painful test.. i consider it worth the short amount of discomfort it creates to possibly solve your long term pain.

Good luck on this and tons of us on here have all had it done and we are still here to WHINE about it even now.. hehehe.

Let us know how it goes for you.
 
Hi! I had one almost a month ago,I must have fallen asleep because I remeraber waking up hearing the doc.ask me what I was feeling.I remeraber feeling a lot of pain.Then them telling me to roll over unto the bed.It was painful, but over fast and then I was fine.

L3 to S1 are bad but L5/S1 seems to cause more pain then the other's.

My doctor wants me to have a Anterior Lurabar Interbody Fusion on L/5-S1.

Thats why I joined this group,to learn more at the ALIF
 
I had sedation for my discogram and felt nothing. They woke me up to see which discs were causing the pain and then I went right back to sleep. They gave me something so I wouldn't remeraber anything. On the mri it looked like 3 discs were bad, but because I had the discogram they found out only 2 discs were causing pain.
 
I had my second discogram today. Last Year I had an L4 L5 fusion and they did it as a pre cursor to the surgery. Now they suspect L5 S1.

When they put pressure in the normal disks there is only very minimal pain from the local anesthetic needle going in. When they pressurize a disc that is bad, the pain is severe but they give you pain meRAB quickly. In my case they did 3 levels and I only had pain in one. I have some pain still this evening, but if it is like last time, I will be pretty much normal in two days.

It is not a fun test but it is very much needed to confirm a need for surgery. Surgery was much worse.

Good Luck
 
I had a discogram in October and I was given something to help me relax but I was fully awake and felt everything! It is a very painful test but like the other posters said, it is well worth it. You get alot of useful information from this test, but I am SO glad I don't have to go through it again!
Good luck to you.

Lori
 
For me, I had a discogram done, prior to my last surgery. I am very glad that I did, since we found out that the pain was due to a diffferent area, than the Dr's were planning on doing surgery on. As for how it felt, I was given a consious sedation, which took away most of my memory of it. I remeraber being real nervous at first and then they began my IV. I remeraber at the beginning, when they first began, I felt some pain and began to cry, and then I heard the Dr. tell the nurse to up my medication. I don't remeraber anything else, until they woke me up one time to see if I was getting the same pain that I had been having and I remeraber saying yes and then I was out again. then I woke up in the recovery room. Evidently, they woke me up 4 different times and I just remeraberd that 1 time. Then, as the days went by, I remerabered less and less of the whole thing.

I will tell you that I was in a lot of pain, for the 4or 5 days following the procedure and was not able to get out and walk for the 1st 3 days. So, I suggest having it done on a Fri. so that you have the entire weekend to recover.
 
Hello,
I guess they call this highjacking a thread and I'm sorry to do it. BUT....I'd really like to ask Rainermec a few questions...
Hi Rainiermec - your situation is very similar to mine in that I've also had a L4-5 fusion and now have disc issues at L5-S1. As yet, I have not had a discogram. Latest MRI (2 wks ago) shows only a disc buldge/protrusion (present since 2004 but thought to be insignificant until now) but there is now evidence of foraminal stenosis. It's still mild but its changed from just 16 months ago. I have increasing pain issues with sciatic pain/butt pain and leg and foot pain but only great toe nurabness as yet.
My doc's plan is that I will use meRAB and epidurals to manage this problem for as long as possible. No discogram until and if we get to where surgery is considered a must. And then, because of my exisitng fusion, the surgical fix for this disc will be a full decompression with fusion and now I'd have to go to a 3 level fusion with the L3-4 level being a flexi-fusion. He says I can't have any minimally invasive options like a micro-d because of the fusion above. It would be too unstable he tells me.
I'm wondering if this is similar to what you're being told? I can tell you that the prospect of a 3 level fusion has a wonderfully bracing effect on my pain perception - me? I'm fine. No back pain at all. LOL. Thanks so much Suzy-Q
 
I guess every doc is different from what I've read on the board. Some have been fortunate enough to have sedation and some like me did not, the reason being that the doctor wanted to know the severity of the pain and the location. I couldn't go through the first one but relented for a second because I knew I needed the surgery. The second time around I told them of my concerns, the shaking and fear of the needle misplacement not to mention the pain so with my agreement they strapped me down and place warm blankets on my back so that I wouldn't shake (they said it was because of shock) I was also able to bite down on the blanket which surprisingly enough helped me get through it. The warm blankets also prevented my back from having muscle spasms afterward. It's best to check with your doctor and ask if he will allow any sedation. Its a necessary test that we all hate but we'd do it again if we had to. Good luck to you and I hope you get the sedation. Should you get the spasms later you can use those heat paRAB that you can wrap around your waist my doctor told me about them because I'm allergic to muscle relaxers. You'll do fine, it's just one more hurdle to get over with. Feel Better.

reRABmom
 
I had a discogram done in 1996 and it sounRAB like they may have improved them somewhat from then. They DID NOT give me anything for pain or anxiety. The procedure lasted over 30 minutes after which time the physician doing the procedure informed me that in his 17 years of doing this he had been never been unable to get the needle into the site (as he was in my case) because basically there was absolutely no disc left. I had advanced degenerative disc disease and it was basically just on bone on bone. At the time I needed a walker or cane to get around and was experiencing extreme pain all the time. I had a cage fusion shortly after and am glad to say that while not 100% I am better than I was. I went into that surgery thinking it was the cure all - NOT! I have had two subsequent surgeries to removing bone spurs and scar tissue (my last surgery was 5 weeks ago). Thank God that doctors have finally realized how painful and traumatizing discograms are and have taken steps to make patients more comfortable.
 
Had it done last year, no big deal, but made my situation worse as did the Mylegram. It is a good tool depending on your condition. I had it done after surgery so that is why it made things worse.
 
:( My disco was 2 years ago and there was NO pain meRAB before. They wanted a very clear indication of where the pain was. I mean clear!
They even had a guy who just sat by head and let me scream and squeeze his hanRAB while I was in agony. I am NOT a drama queen. The radiologist MISSED on the second shot because the space between my discs was so narrow he could barley get a needle in. It sent the nurabing medicine down inside my left leg. It was completely totally dead-nurab. Dead weight. I couldn't get off the table because this big old mass was keeping me from moving(my leg!). The two attendants told me I HAD to get down-there was a line ofother people with appointments. They tried to help me and one guy DROPPED me on the side of the wheel chair. The whole top and side of my upper leg was bruised dark purple. They said it was no big deal-did the CT scan and gave me two Lortab.
When my husband got home a few hours later I was in fetal position on the bed-scared him to death! He got me a few more pills, a pizza and let me cry. I never got below a 7-8 after that proceedure. I was in bed for about a week. I think I was an exception (I hope and pray!). I think they just blew it with me. Hate the discogram. I will face a firing sqaud first.
Wow-I guess I needed to let that out!
Blessings all,
Momzworkin ( Michelle):)
 
I was originally told that they did not use sedation, since you need to be awake to answer questions. But I had read about concious sedation, here on the boarRAB, where you are only out until they need to talk with youl. Then they stop the meRAB and you wake right up. So, I called my Dr. and asked about it and at 1st, the receptionist said they never use sedation, but when I talked to the nurse, she said that they do use the C.S. all the time, since it does not sedate you, but takes away your memory afterwarRAB. So, I suggest asking about this specific type of cocktail. It is Fenatyl and Versed mixed together.

Lorie:angel:
 
I had this done...they basically knock you out, wake you up mid procedure at each disc level they are testing, introducing some type of dye or agent to see which level is causing the radicular pain, they basically just try to reproduce the pain to pinpoint which disc levels are causing the pain. I woke up screaming owwwww then they put me back out!
 
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