[Eskimo]

Originally Posted by CharlesinCharge

I have two Maverick discs in my lumbar spine, and you will not get a clear MRI image with them in there---I tried. You could do a CT scan to get a look at your facet joints (with or without contrast)---that will give you a better picture than an MRI since the Maverick discs are 100% metal. But, I believe the best way to determine if the pain is coming from the L3-L4 disc is to have a discogram done on it. The original MRI showed degenerative changes there, and just because it was not symptomatic then does not mean it is not a pain generator now. As I am sure you know, discs do not have a blood supply and thus do not heal well---once the degeneration process starts, it usually continues to progress. That is what happened with my L3-L4 disc, which did not test positive for concordant pain on my first discogram but did test positive the second time a couple of years later and led to my second spine surgery.

Good luck,

Hi Charles,

Thanks for your advice again. It is just hard to get a discogram done up here - maybe I'll have to plead with the fellow who did the first one to try me again at L3/4 and see what happens. My own guess is that it is a combination of weakness and L3/4 disc but would like to resolve the issue of symptomatic facets first.