New person with question: L5-SI Fusion and Discogram

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tmvincent30

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hey Jen

honestly i had afusion L-5 S-1 in 2002 and i wasnt told anything of what not to do like i have learned from this board. Everything was good until 2007 i was real weak in the legs and hurting real bad so i went to see my doctor and i found out the screws were broke. Then after getting in at a new doctor they did a mylogram and told me there was no fusion. Which really surprised me cause my doctor always said it healed good.

So i am going for another fusion this friday in 2 days. They dont know really what to expect since they are not the ones that did not do the first surgery. So thye are going to try and just go in through the stomache but if they can not do it like that they will have to go posterior also- through the back.
So it will be a surprise when i wake up. So what i am trying to say is follow the doctors orders to a T. I wish i would have known. And plus i did not do research and know everything ahead of time i am glad you are asking the questions i wish i did. But you will know if the fusion is right for you.

good luck
Tina
 
Hello,

I am contemplating surgery to fuse L5-SI where the disc is pretty much non-existant. I have had problems with this since 1992 which have increased in severity and frequency throughout the years. I am now wearing a back brace and using a cane but cannot walk far without the pain exacerbating. I am wondering what percentage of people here have had this surgery and those who have had success with it. I have already gone the route of cortisone injections (on three separate occasions over the years) and PT, but neither have helped.


My doctor wants to do a discogram (injecting dye into the discs and then inserting a needle into it to make sure he is dealing with right disc). I am very leery of this procedure. I have heard it is painful and it just sounRAB rather dreadful. Has anyone here had this done? If so, what was your experience?

Thank you for any information that can be offered.
 
Hi there. I had a Discogram prior to my L5/S1 Fusion and it was not that bad. The pain that is "suppose" to be felt is similiar to your normal pain. I did feel pressure in my discs when the dye was inserted but it was not unbarable. Since my surgery I have had no more back pain. Everyone is different and heal differently. I also started walking a week after surgery. Unfortuntly I started having leg pain right after surgery. I go Tuesday for a Myleogram and then on 4/9 for a nerve test and hopefully we will figure out the cause of the pain and get it fixed.
Good Luck!
 
Hello! Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your back.
I had/have DDD at L5 S1, I had fusion surgery, ALIF on 12/10/07. I have not fused yet but am hopeful. Like you it was a long painful process, I went through years of back pain, injections, pt, and I did have a discogram done. The discogram was horrible, very painful but I would not have done the surgery without the disco. Fusion surgery is major surgery and the disco gives the doctor a wealth of information to use. For one thing it makes sure your disc is the pain generator.
The doctor that did my disco did use some light sedation but I was fully awake and felt everything. He did 3 levels, 1 was positive.

Lori
 
Hi there. I have had a fusion at l4/l5 almost 2 years ago now. I am 85% improved and I would to it all over again if need be. I had suffered for over 3+ years of 24/7 pain at about 5-9 scale.

I did have a discogram which actually found the true source of my pain. I have a bulging disc at L5/S1 that has been there since age 18, and all the docs thought this was the problem. But by discogram, no pain at all was generated from this disc. But the disc above (L4/L5) that looked normal for over 3 years on MRIs was the problem child. It was blown and all the fluid had leaked out of it. It was just an empty shell still standing tall for some reason. It was quite a surprise to find.

But, unlike the other posters, I was not sedated nor given any pain reliever for my discogram. It was horrificly painful to say the least. My doctor did this test himself and says he wants to make sure the test is as true as it can be and no false positives from a sedated patient. As much as the test hurt me, it was temporary and worth it's weight in gold to me, as it found the source of my problem and allowed me opportunity to get it fixed. I would subject myself to this test again, if needed.

Since my odRAB of the surgery helping me was only 50/50.. and i got 85% improvement, I am thrilled. I have a great deal of my life back now and I continue to feel stronger and healthier, even with my flare ups that I have from time to time. Having one now actually, but I will come out of this one on top like the others.

Hope this helps.:)
 
i just had a L5 S1 fusion w/hardware and think things are going great. no back pain after surgery. started walking a mile a day 1 week after. legs ach when i lay down at night but not to bad during day. down to just ibuprofin 4 pain managment. cant expect better than that after 3 surgerys n the same location
 
Thanks everyone for all this good information!

My doc showed me the hardware that would be used for my fusion, but my sister said that her fusion was done with cement placed where the problem disc was. Has anyone ever heard of this procedure. I was amazed at the size of the hardware - that all that could be placed in the body and one wouldn't be aware of it afterward!

Jen
 
I had two discograms, about a month apart...covering l-2 through l-5, and the tests were not as bad as some epidural injections I've had. However, the day after the second discogram, I was at the local library and squatted down to read something on a low shelf, and when I straightened up ...I ruptured two disc's at the same time. Please take it easy after the test, and good luck!
 
Jen...I've been dealing with similar for 8 years now.I'd like to mention that with inital back injury I could not walk very far without pain in hip,glute,back of thigh,outer knee and back of calf and outer ankle anf foot pain on right leg.Have had to use a cane.
Then I began experiencing left leg pain.I kept mentioning to my ortho he kept ignoring it.
One night I had what I thought was a gall bladder attack and my pcp ordered abdominal dople ultrasound.I saw on the prescription form a check box for lower extremities so I asked him if we could check those at the same time..he said ok.
It turns out that there was 80% blockage in my left iliac artery which was causing me so much pain to walk.
The symptoms are quite the same as leg pain from lurabar injury.
Long story short...I just had a stent placed in my iliac artery two weeks ago.It cleared up my walking pain completely on the left side.I still have unstable spine and pain in right leg from lurabar.
I've been fight the comp insurer since '02 for surgical correction which they continue to deny.
But anyway....checking your vascular system could turn out to be a life saver.neither my pcp nor my ortho thought to test because of my back injury history.I had to ask.
 
Hi,

I had an L5 S1 fusion on January 4th of this year, anterior only. No Discogram. Mine was a 20 year degenerative problem. I just had my 3 month appointment, and it looks like things are fusing. According to my surgeon, out of one of the best hospitals in the northeast, he has had a lot of luck with anterior only procedures (only 1 in 9 the fusions fail).

However, I am still in pain, so only light PT, but getting around pretty good. My pain is likely because there wasn't much space between the two vertabrae and so they had to jack my spine up.

Good luck with your procedure!

Mike
 
1st surgery was n 97 discectomy L5 S1 right leg pain 2nd was another L5 S1 left leg n 04 no disc left legs started again at thanksgiving went n for the fusion so maybe 3rd time is the charm.
 
Hello,

I had the discogram and fusion L4-S1. I was not a success story, but I have a friend who also has had it and she made a remarkable recovery and was able to do everything she did prior to back surgery. She had and anterior and posterior fusion called 360 fusion with 4 levels. So, there are many success stories. Many of us that post are still looking for answers to don't go on us alone. Also, do as much research on the surgeon as you can, not just the facility.

The discogram was extremely painful. It will only be painful if they inject it into a problem disk. Additionally, the pain will be over just as quickly as it begins and it is far more painful than your every day pain. Again, it only lasts a few seconRAB-if you have a good doc doing it. They will inject several disks so you won't know which one they are doing. They do this to ensure other disks aren't the culprit too. You will be fine. My doc did give me something to calm me and then something stronger for pain before I left.

Good luck to you!!!
 
Jenj: I had a discogram in my neck. My doctor told me it would be a very uncomfortable procedure, but In my opinion, it did not hurt any worse than the pain I was already in. They gave me fentanyl and versed to sedate me. The needles went in through the front (weird feeling, I'll admit), but I was relaxed from the sedation, so I didn't really care what they were doing to me. I was not sedated so much that I couldn't feel the pain of the saline injection, but the pain dies down after a few seconRAB and I really didn't think it was that bad. I'm sure others have had different experiences, but I would do it again in a heart beat if I knew that it was going to give the doctor valuable info to better treat me. In my case, it revealed a serious problem and I got the surgery I needed. Without the discogram, my doc said he was going make me wait 6 months before he did anything more invasive. I'm glad I did the procedure! I'm not sure how they do lurabar discos, because it probably isn't as convenient as the neck, but I wouldn't get too much dread about it. I think it is a valuable test and I would recommend to others that they utilize it if more conservative treatments have failed.
 
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