Discogram results
 

The only thing I have thus far are the immediate pain indicators. This was a lumbar discogram and 3 needles were used...

L-3/L-4 only mild pressure

L-4/L-5 Mild pain when the disc was pressurized. Pain level about a 5-6 but tolerable.

L-5/S-1 It was as if God himself inflicted the pain at his max level. The pain was focused only in the back and was very intense. So intense that the Dr. would not put any more pressure in the disc to emulate the sciatic pain in the legs. I ended up with 200 mgs of pro something and 10 mgs of percocet about 20 minutes later in recovery. Then I was wheeled off for the CAT scan and will have those results tomorrow.

Both Doctors were in agreement to have L-5/S-1 removed and had other suggestions for the surgeon in respect to L-4/L-5. This will be discussed more at the follow up.


I actually had started having doubts and thought maybe this would just go away and heal. I mean after doing nothing for a few months I actually felt like I could tolerate the pain. But after that pain from the procedure, there is no doubt in my mind any longer. It is the worst feeling in the world not to have no control over your body because of pain. There was no tapping out of that one.

I understand it was a necessary evil and don't want to scare anyone who is having this done. But if the disc is not the problem, it won't hurt.

I'll keep everyone updated on the progress.

Thanks to Mark and the members for everything.

Marty, great news that you got unequivocal results from the discography. A 100% negative test is amazing to watch as the doctor can pressurize the disc while the patient is talking and they don't even flinch. A 100% positive is just the opposite. I've held dozens of patient's hands through discography and feeling that total body shudder when they get that 10 of 10 pain at low pressure is a tough thing to get through. It's all worth it as the data is invaluable.

It's much easier to face surgery with strong indications. Wishy-washy test results are difficult to act upon.

All the best... keep us posted... what's the next step.

Mark

Interested to hear more
 

Marty, I am very interested in what you and your doctor think those results mean. You did have pain at L4/5, but the doctor does not recommend an ADR. He thinks that level is negative, or is symptomatic but not bad enough for ADR, or just thinks there's a better way to address L4/5, or or?

The whole notion of an ambiguous discogram is very difficult for me to get my head around.

Do you have a follow up appointment?

I will tell you this. For the longest time I thought I was going crazy. From myself and the doctors looking at the size of the bulge, it wasn't making sense for the pain level I was having. Now granted, I had torn my hamstring as well. But it wasn't enough to offset all of the symptoms. So as soon as I was up to it, I had an EMG done. The only nerve problems were in the root itself. There was no nerve damage past that point. However the doctor could not see what was really going on.

I started to keep a log when the pain got worse, stayed the same or even got better. If I did nothing and I mean nothing, the pain was very tolerable. But if I even stood in front of the stove, the sink or anything that involved a slight bend too long, I would get pain. In fact, any serious mobility or compression would give me pain all over. My back and buttocks would burn, radicular pain would shoot down my legs and my toes would start going numb. I showed this to my doctor. That is when he decided on the discogram. A necessary evil for sure. If not for that test, I would have thought I was losing my mind.

Although it hurt like hell, I'm glad I went through it. We needed to find the problem and stop treating the symptoms. Now I know it's not in my head and so does my doctor....LOL

On a side note. If the disc is NOT the pain generator, the discogram will not be as painful. If it is painful at all.

Good luck and I wish you the best.