Is discogram worth it??
 

Hey everyone I'm thinking about getting a discogram because I have herniations at 3 levels and clavel and Bierstedt seem to think only L5S1 is the problem?? I just had an MRI w contrast and showed much more damage than I expected. Any suggestions??

It likely wont cause any damage so I think it makes sense to get one,'though i dont really know enough about your symtoms or diagnosis to full heartily endorse it. Its standard practice at TBI though and Dare likes them to, different dr.s give it more weight than others.

Is it worth it? Depends. It is subjective. It was in my case(Worth it I meant). Some times it isn't conclusive. The one thing I'm going to tell you is that it is the most painful thing I've had done. When they injected my L4-L5 and then L5-S1 I wanted to die. The good news was that it replicated my pain exactly and the Dr's were able to conclude it was those 2 Discs that were causing my symptoms. After the Dr was done he confessed that as far as he knew that is the single most painful test done in medicine this day. Take into account it has 0 therapeutic effect I can understand why so many people think it is cruel and unnecessary. With all that said I'm glad I had it done as again I'm now convinced those to discs are the issue. My take on it is if you have been in pain for quite a while, if you are willing to travel across the ocean to get surgery, if you are willing to spend a ton of your hard earned cash to get it fix then having a Discogram makes total sense IMHO. You really wanna get it right the first time you have the surgery. Good luck!!

On another note, definitely get one done through a reputable place if you have a choice, preferably one associated with an ADR Dr. so that they do it for that purpose. I went through TBI via self-pay and even then the insurance company tried to screw me for $17,000 - I won of course since I had the quote in hand.

-Jeff

I too had a discogram done. It is quite painful, but if your Dr. uses a sedative ( Versed) they will keep you in an "altered state" right up until they inject a disc. When they push the fluid into a damaged disc, you will definitely know and be able to tell the Dr. if it reproduces your chronic pain. (it will most definitely be a 10 level) When a normal or undamaged disc is selected, you will feel pressure, but typically no or low pain.

Having been through the procedure recently, I have recollection of the really bad pain, but the Versed almost makes it seem like a dream. I know that doesn't make any sense, but I know I was there, I know it hurt, but I remember it as though it happened in a dream.

My procedure was done by my ADR doc. His explanation to me for the necessity of a discogram was this: In a person that presents with ANY DDD, he wants to be certain that there is NO pain generation above or below the affected disc. Of course this is no guarantee that there is no disc damage adjacent, but in my case, it helped me cross off just one more question I had about ADR.

My advice is: go for it. Request that you be given a sedative to make the procedure tolerable. I was so nervous before hand I almost cried in the Pre-op. I haven't cried about anything in 40 years.... the nurses did everything in their power to make me comfortable. To and including a procedure nurse sat in right front of my face while I was lying on the table. She took both my hands and made me look right into her eyes. She talked me through the whole thing while making me maintain eye contact. She was a godsend! The Dr. told me after the procedure that he thinks I invented a couple new curse words!

All in all, it was not much worse than an ESI. I have had about 15 ES injections and when they hit your pain generator, it about sends you through the roof!.

Mike

Adr
 

Thanks for replies! I'm very nervous because my symptoms are cauda equina type with urination issues etc and reproducing those could be very dangerous for me.

Back about the time that ADRSupport.org was created, one of the big names in ADR surgery at the time presented a lumbar spine MRI showing one badly dessicated disk with significant height loss. He then asked the audience to point out the disk that was causing the patient's pain. After everyone pointed out the obviously damaged disk, he explained that the discogram showed the level above had torn and was leaking fluid onto the exiting nerve root and was the source of the pain. The obviously damaged disk wasn't contributing to the perceived pain at all. That's the argument for discograms.

On the other hand, cauda equina symptoms are generally an indication for IMMEDIATE SURGERY, do not pass go and don't plan on getting any money. If you only have a single damaged level, L5S1, and it matches your symptoms, I'd question the whole thought process behind interjecting one more step in a process that's clearly taking too long.

Adr
 

Yea this is the spot I'm stuck in. Gonna see new doc this weekend and see how risky it is to pump pressurized fluid into my disks?? My symptoms of ED urinary frequency extreme burning in the groin and feet all point towards cauda equina but over 20 docs in the new York area don't agree!!! So scary

FAQ on Topic
 

Old news, but lots of angles to read and assimilate:

http://www.adrsupport.org/forums/f49...i-expect-7979/

Some doctors feel that discograms are actually not needed and may even have an immuno-suppression effect. I believe the latter.

If I was my own doctor, with my own practice, I would have had my pain mgt. doc inject a natural antibiotic in my L5-S1 disc. That might have saved my disc and allowed me to avoid surgery.

Just my .02 cents. :look:

Disco
 

Thx Harrison good point if ur gonna inject why not something that can help