dckatz2001
08-19-2004, 11:10 AM
I am scheduled for a Discogram on September 1. As the time for the procedure approaches, I am becoming somewhat nervous and would like to know from anyone who has had one what I should expect.
I had back surgery 5 years ago (discectomy) and was awake for the procedure and it wasn't too bad. I was somewhat sedated but aware of what was happening around me. Should I expect a similar situation? The worst part is not knowing.
Thank you.
I had back surgery 5 years ago (discectomy) and was awake for the procedure and it wasn't too bad. I was somewhat sedated but aware of what was happening around me. Should I expect a similar situation? The worst part is not knowing.
Thank you.
Sponsor
scotty12
08-19-2004, 11:46 AM
you will be awake,mild sedation at best.first they will insert a catheter into a good disc and then inject the dye and increase pressure.it will be mildly paifull but they just want you to be aware of the discomfort level in a good disc.now you have something to compare against the pain from a bad disc.
...now the fun begins..they will do the same to any suspect discs and as they increase the pressure if the disc is in bad shape (either torn or diminished disc space) you will feel quite a bit of pain.it will only last a couple of seconds.they will probably ask if this is your familiar pain.
a discogram is used to find the pain generating discs prior to surgery as it increases your chance of a succesfull outcome.the mri may show a few problems but mri results can be misleading,escpecially over the age of 30 as most adults will show signs of degeneration in the spine,but these dont necesarilly cause pain in all people.
thats why it is nec. to have discography done prior to surgery.if your not planning the surgery i wouldnt have it done as it is painful although the results can aid in treatment other than surgery such as a nerve block.
good luck........scotty
...now the fun begins..they will do the same to any suspect discs and as they increase the pressure if the disc is in bad shape (either torn or diminished disc space) you will feel quite a bit of pain.it will only last a couple of seconds.they will probably ask if this is your familiar pain.
a discogram is used to find the pain generating discs prior to surgery as it increases your chance of a succesfull outcome.the mri may show a few problems but mri results can be misleading,escpecially over the age of 30 as most adults will show signs of degeneration in the spine,but these dont necesarilly cause pain in all people.
thats why it is nec. to have discography done prior to surgery.if your not planning the surgery i wouldnt have it done as it is painful although the results can aid in treatment other than surgery such as a nerve block.
good luck........scotty
curlysue1110
08-19-2004, 12:08 PM
I had a discogram the beginning of July. The pain during was minimal because the doctor could not replicate my pain experiences. When I was sent down to CT the pain began to start, but it wasn’t that bad “yet”. About 2 hours after getting home or about the time it took for the pain meds. to ware off, the pain really started. I could not get up from my bed or got to the bathroom without help. I had to use crutches to get back and forth because I was afraid of falling even with my family close at hand to help me. The pain became so bad that I was even vomiting. The pain only lasted for 24 hours, which was lucky for me. My doctor was happy this happened because it told him more information than the films would have given.
You must remember though that everyone reacts to different procedures different ways and that everyone also has a different tolerance for pain.
You must remember though that everyone reacts to different procedures different ways and that everyone also has a different tolerance for pain.
dckatz2001
08-19-2004, 02:49 PM
Thank you both for your replies. I appreciate the information.
sgibson
08-19-2004, 05:51 PM
I totally agree with Scotty. I had a horrible experience with my discogram but it showed them what they needed to fix in my fusion. I was already on the fusion route when I had my disco and I will not have another one. They dont want you too sedated because they want you to be awake to let them know if the pain is the same. I had horrible pain when they injected my discs and the increased pain continued for a couple weeks because it aggravated my condition. They told me this was normal. However, in recovery they will medicate you for increased pain at this time. I was already on a fentanyl patch so they added fentanyl to my IV line afterwards to help with the pain. It really didnt get it under control so they added other meds and finally I was just out of it when my mom and best friend took me home. I don't even remember the trip home. I had the same experience as the other poster though, when the pain meds wore off I was in horrible pain. This lasted for 3 weeks. I would not consider the disco unles I was considering surgery. Of course, this is just my opinion.
Take care.
God Bless,
Sherry :wave:
Take care.
God Bless,
Sherry :wave:
Kissa
08-19-2004, 08:26 PM
Thanks guys for sharing your experiences on this. I have a feeling my doctor is going to be wanting one soon and I'm not so sure I'm at all willing to go through that just yet.
erfan
08-20-2004, 03:57 AM
My discogram experience seems much different than others. I was given I.V. Versed and Fentanyl and was out immediately. I remember about 2 seconds of pain when they were putting something in my discs, but I have absolutely no recollection at all of being asked about specific pain coming from specific discs. And considering that I have 4 levels of disc problems, I would have thought that I would remember the whole process!
The first I remember is getting up and dressed to go across the hall to take a cat scan.
Does anyone else have a similar story?
The first I remember is getting up and dressed to go across the hall to take a cat scan.
Does anyone else have a similar story?
Flycatcher
08-20-2004, 08:10 AM
I had an anesthesia nurse during my discogram. I got three separate Versed/Fentanyl doses through my I.V. line and then my PM doc injected the disc above my fusion. I felt some increase in pressure there but it wasn't intolerable... not then anyway. The docthen looked at the disc below my fusion which is collapsing due to DDD and the increased strain of the fusion. He said he could tell by looking at the flouroscope that he couldn't get a needle into the disc unless he DRILLED through my iliac crest! Thankfully, he decided it wasn't worth it.
Results were that the above disc wasn't the one causing my pain and because of the problems getting to the lower disc I'm not sure if the nerve blocks/ trigger point injections are even possible. Like most others here, my pain during the injection was tolerable until the anesthesia wore off. I had the discogram at 10:00am and was okay until about 7:00pm that night. By 9:00am the following morning I was out of my mind in pain and finally called to speak with my PA, as that's what my discharge sheet instructed. To my surprise, my PM doc answered the phone and said "Oh yeah, we probably should've given you something for that." He asked for a quick pill count on my LA meds (20mg. Oxy), asked what I was taking for BT pain (7.5/500 Lortab) and called in a script for 4 BT pills a day for a week or so - what surprised me was that he never asked how many BT pills I had left so I ended up with 6 BT pills per day for a week. That took care of the additional pain and I was able to go back to work the following morning. Keep in mind that was pain from a "non problematic" disc so I can't imagine what I would've felt like if they'd struck gold.
Good luck with the test.
Jack
Results were that the above disc wasn't the one causing my pain and because of the problems getting to the lower disc I'm not sure if the nerve blocks/ trigger point injections are even possible. Like most others here, my pain during the injection was tolerable until the anesthesia wore off. I had the discogram at 10:00am and was okay until about 7:00pm that night. By 9:00am the following morning I was out of my mind in pain and finally called to speak with my PA, as that's what my discharge sheet instructed. To my surprise, my PM doc answered the phone and said "Oh yeah, we probably should've given you something for that." He asked for a quick pill count on my LA meds (20mg. Oxy), asked what I was taking for BT pain (7.5/500 Lortab) and called in a script for 4 BT pills a day for a week or so - what surprised me was that he never asked how many BT pills I had left so I ended up with 6 BT pills per day for a week. That took care of the additional pain and I was able to go back to work the following morning. Keep in mind that was pain from a "non problematic" disc so I can't imagine what I would've felt like if they'd struck gold.
Good luck with the test.
Jack
dckatz2001
08-20-2004, 09:27 AM
My doctor is so stingy with breakthrough meds, I'm worried that he won't give me anything additional for the aftermath. After hearing everyone's stories, I sure hope he will give me something. Is it typical for doctors to give additional BT meds after this procedure or are most patients sent away to deal with the pain with what they already have?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Kissa
08-20-2004, 09:39 AM
I think it depends on the doctor. I know mine didn't after an SI and I couldnt walk for two days so I ended up doubling my my breakthroughs just to get through it which he later said was fine to do.
Now I know going forward to always ask for something when they mess with my spine even if it is only for the first day or two.
Now I know going forward to always ask for something when they mess with my spine even if it is only for the first day or two.
dckatz2001
08-20-2004, 10:13 AM
So you think it's OK to ask for something on top of the BT I'm already taking? As I said, my doctor is very stingy with BT meds and doesn't give me many to get through the month. I'm worried that he won't give me anything additional and I'll have to use more BT the days following the Doscogram and then I'll run out early.
Kissa
08-20-2004, 10:19 AM
I would definately talk to him about it, whats the worst that can happen he says no? Hopefully he won't and he realizes how painful it may be for you and give you extra meds. If he doesn't give you extra meds and you have severe pain the next day definately call his office he may change his mind.
dckatz2001
08-20-2004, 10:21 AM
Thank you very much, everyone.
Longfusion
08-20-2004, 03:28 PM
Hi DC, It really doesn't make sense to use pain meds or anesthesia for a disco, the point is to reproduce discogenic pain. I was given nothing prior to a 5 level disco, after the torture I was given shot of demi and sent on my way an hour later, this was prior to PM, done by a surgeon.
Afterall, the point of the disco is to reproduce your worst pain to verify if your pain is discogenic. Bt meds are prescribed so you have some way to deal with BT pain, not procedural pain. It's rather uncommon to not have a reaction during the procedure unless too much anesthesia was given which would negate a true diagnosis. Personally no amount of pain meds other than anesthesia would prevent the pain of a shredded disc once inflated.
If he's stingy with BT meds he shouldn't put you in the position of having to use them all to deal with post procedural pain. If your pain is not discogenic, it won't be anyworse than a Mylogram or ESI. Some pressure but no need to wory about extra pain unless your convinced your pain is discogenic and you have a very positive DX from the procedure.
Personally If I was miserable after a disco I would tell him what you have left and how long before you can refill. If your down to 10 pills and have 10 days to go, you can burn through them in 2 days and be stuck the rest of the month. Wait and see how the procedure goes and then make a request if needed.
The reason why most docs don't knock you out during a disco or use light twilight is because it masks the point of the entire procedure, Once at home is the pain from the combined effects of doing all the discs ? How can you tell what disc is causing the pain? If it's only reported after you get home and potent meds have worn off you can't make a specific DX that a disc at X,Y or Z level is the cause..
There really is no masking a bad disc with oral meds other than IV meds used as anesthesia, a healthy disc is very uncomfy, a blown disc is unbearable and that's the info they need to know as far as which disc is the problem. JMO But I don't see how patient reporting 2 days later can specify which particular disc is the problem. If you didn't howl during the inflation of a bad disc you were either to medicated for the procedure or the findings are suspect.
If they found a torn anulus in 10 different people their reporting of pain levels would be 10 different variations depending on threshold to pain, and amount of pain meds given, that's why they don't normally premedicate during disco's. Similar to everyone over 30 having some degree of DDD, some are not bothered at all, some are disabled by the pain. That's why your specific reaction at the time of inflation is neccesarry
Anotther question is , who is doing the procedure, your PM doc? or an anesthesiologist or surgeon? A Pm doc doing the procedure, even with what he calls a positive result may have no influence over a surgeon. The PM doc can't make a surgeon operate because he feels through discography that your problem is X,Y or Z. A Pm doc may believe surgery would help, but the surgeon still has to consider you a good candidate for succesful surgery.
The decision for surgery will be up to the surgeon and your willingness, not what another doc thinks. I've yet to meet a surgeon that will operate simply based on test results from another doc without confirming it themselves. If they can't see it or didn't do the procedure, operating because a PM doc thinks it may help is rediculous and doesn't happen unless the surgeon is willing to risk his hiney based on another docs opinion. Many surgeons don't give a radiologist report even minimal consideration. If they don't see the problem themself.
There are more variables involved in surgery particularly fusions other than a positive disco. Do you smoke, How many levels, how many previous surgeriews and their success, medication dependnece and levels and his belief in the use of these meds, Your psychological ability to recover from invasive surgery once under the care of a PM doc. He can say everything is mechanically sound and say you shouldn't need pain meds 3 months post op, but if the doc knows you will just go back to the PM doc and Not attempt to make a full recovery which in a surgeons mind may mean discontinuing all pain meds. He may not be willing to operate untill you make some changes.
If it's not a surgeon doing it, he doesn't know what your true reaction was to a healthy disc or a bad disc. There are great devides between PM opinions and surgeon opinions. No surgeon is going to operate solely based on another docs opinion without replicating the same info or finding the same info. IF your PM doc wants to do it, I would ask for the surgeon that may be doing the surgery to do the disco. JMO
Afterall, He's the one that truly needs the info unless the PM is just looking to document and justify the use of meds, and make a few grand.
Z_____
Afterall, the point of the disco is to reproduce your worst pain to verify if your pain is discogenic. Bt meds are prescribed so you have some way to deal with BT pain, not procedural pain. It's rather uncommon to not have a reaction during the procedure unless too much anesthesia was given which would negate a true diagnosis. Personally no amount of pain meds other than anesthesia would prevent the pain of a shredded disc once inflated.
If he's stingy with BT meds he shouldn't put you in the position of having to use them all to deal with post procedural pain. If your pain is not discogenic, it won't be anyworse than a Mylogram or ESI. Some pressure but no need to wory about extra pain unless your convinced your pain is discogenic and you have a very positive DX from the procedure.
Personally If I was miserable after a disco I would tell him what you have left and how long before you can refill. If your down to 10 pills and have 10 days to go, you can burn through them in 2 days and be stuck the rest of the month. Wait and see how the procedure goes and then make a request if needed.
The reason why most docs don't knock you out during a disco or use light twilight is because it masks the point of the entire procedure, Once at home is the pain from the combined effects of doing all the discs ? How can you tell what disc is causing the pain? If it's only reported after you get home and potent meds have worn off you can't make a specific DX that a disc at X,Y or Z level is the cause..
There really is no masking a bad disc with oral meds other than IV meds used as anesthesia, a healthy disc is very uncomfy, a blown disc is unbearable and that's the info they need to know as far as which disc is the problem. JMO But I don't see how patient reporting 2 days later can specify which particular disc is the problem. If you didn't howl during the inflation of a bad disc you were either to medicated for the procedure or the findings are suspect.
If they found a torn anulus in 10 different people their reporting of pain levels would be 10 different variations depending on threshold to pain, and amount of pain meds given, that's why they don't normally premedicate during disco's. Similar to everyone over 30 having some degree of DDD, some are not bothered at all, some are disabled by the pain. That's why your specific reaction at the time of inflation is neccesarry
Anotther question is , who is doing the procedure, your PM doc? or an anesthesiologist or surgeon? A Pm doc doing the procedure, even with what he calls a positive result may have no influence over a surgeon. The PM doc can't make a surgeon operate because he feels through discography that your problem is X,Y or Z. A Pm doc may believe surgery would help, but the surgeon still has to consider you a good candidate for succesful surgery.
The decision for surgery will be up to the surgeon and your willingness, not what another doc thinks. I've yet to meet a surgeon that will operate simply based on test results from another doc without confirming it themselves. If they can't see it or didn't do the procedure, operating because a PM doc thinks it may help is rediculous and doesn't happen unless the surgeon is willing to risk his hiney based on another docs opinion. Many surgeons don't give a radiologist report even minimal consideration. If they don't see the problem themself.
There are more variables involved in surgery particularly fusions other than a positive disco. Do you smoke, How many levels, how many previous surgeriews and their success, medication dependnece and levels and his belief in the use of these meds, Your psychological ability to recover from invasive surgery once under the care of a PM doc. He can say everything is mechanically sound and say you shouldn't need pain meds 3 months post op, but if the doc knows you will just go back to the PM doc and Not attempt to make a full recovery which in a surgeons mind may mean discontinuing all pain meds. He may not be willing to operate untill you make some changes.
If it's not a surgeon doing it, he doesn't know what your true reaction was to a healthy disc or a bad disc. There are great devides between PM opinions and surgeon opinions. No surgeon is going to operate solely based on another docs opinion without replicating the same info or finding the same info. IF your PM doc wants to do it, I would ask for the surgeon that may be doing the surgery to do the disco. JMO
Afterall, He's the one that truly needs the info unless the PM is just looking to document and justify the use of meds, and make a few grand.
Z_____
dckatz2001
08-20-2004, 04:33 PM
I may have unintentionally given misinformation. The doctor performing the procedure is a Neuro/Spinal Surgeon. He has been treating me for the past three months. Before that, I was being treated by a PM. The surgeon took over treatment because I moved and my PM doctor was too far away for me to continue to see him. I think I may have inadvertently referred to the surgeon as a PM doctor in my original post.
I totally understand that this procedure will be painful. I also understand that it needs to be performed with little pain med interference in order to get accurate results. I wasn't asking about requesting pain meds during the procedure. I am mostly worried about after the procedure because of the history of his prescribing practices with me.
Thank you for your insight, Longfusion.
I totally understand that this procedure will be painful. I also understand that it needs to be performed with little pain med interference in order to get accurate results. I wasn't asking about requesting pain meds during the procedure. I am mostly worried about after the procedure because of the history of his prescribing practices with me.
Thank you for your insight, Longfusion.
Kissa
08-20-2004, 05:15 PM
Long, I had severe problems from last ESI, I couldn't walk for two days and since then my back is doubly worse for whatever reason. Is this something that could happen again if I too had a discogram? I understand the proceedure is to reproduce the pain and that is not an issue it is more so after the fact and over the few days that follow it.
Shoreline
08-20-2004, 05:50 PM
Hey Kissa, Some docs use depomedrol which contoains polyethelene glycol, between the steroids and the antifreeze you can develop arachnoiditis, demyalation of the outer nerve coating and several other problems. I would definitely avoid another ESI.
ESI are delivered into the sac that surounds the spinal cord, if you have lots of space, they aren't terribly painful, but if you working in a tight area the added pressure would explain the wosening for a few days or weeks, But unless he flat out missed the epidural space t would be really ghard to tell.
The die used and the numbing agents used for insertion really are not related to steroids or the the procedure done with ESI. The idea is to reproduce pain and my experience was that it did for several days and then calmed back down. The procedure was a bear and the ncatheters may pass through a nerve a two which lights your legs up , but that tends to wear off. I haven't heard of permannet damage other PTSD LOL following a disco. The main thing is who is doing it and why. Simply knowing it's discogenic is helpful, should be charted but PM docs knowledge of this doesn't gaurentee surgery from an ortho or neuro.
My concern after the ESI would be arachnoiditis which is difficult to DX but extremeley painful. Take care, Dave
ESI are delivered into the sac that surounds the spinal cord, if you have lots of space, they aren't terribly painful, but if you working in a tight area the added pressure would explain the wosening for a few days or weeks, But unless he flat out missed the epidural space t would be really ghard to tell.
The die used and the numbing agents used for insertion really are not related to steroids or the the procedure done with ESI. The idea is to reproduce pain and my experience was that it did for several days and then calmed back down. The procedure was a bear and the ncatheters may pass through a nerve a two which lights your legs up , but that tends to wear off. I haven't heard of permannet damage other PTSD LOL following a disco. The main thing is who is doing it and why. Simply knowing it's discogenic is helpful, should be charted but PM docs knowledge of this doesn't gaurentee surgery from an ortho or neuro.
My concern after the ESI would be arachnoiditis which is difficult to DX but extremeley painful. Take care, Dave
scotty12
08-20-2004, 09:17 PM
are discograms only performed by radiologists?would any other drs do it?it makes sense to me that a pain dr,especially an anesthesiologist,should be qualified to stick catheters in your back under flouroscopy and should atleast want to know whats causing pain... scotty
Flycatcher
08-20-2004, 09:17 PM
In my own case, the PM doc wasn't leaning toward surgery but rather knowing if the pain was disc related and if so, which disc was the problem. From that point he could decide whether nerve blocks or other similar procedures would be helpful and if so, at what exact locations.
Jack
Jack
Shoreline
08-21-2004, 12:46 PM
Hey Kissa, I was thinking about how they DX arachnoiditis, CT with contrast should show scar tissue wrapped around your spinal cord. That's basically what AR is.
My surgeon did my disco, He was the one looking to see if there was a surgical solution so he wanted to see for himself what the problem was and what my reaction was. An anesthesiologist can write down what your reaction was, and is certainly qualified to do the test. But I still haven't met a surgeon tha relied on another doc, including radiologist or anesthesiologuist report to decide if you are a candidate for surgery. Sometimes words don't quite explain the problem.
The surgeon needs to see, IMO The anesthesiologist, the PM doc or the radiologist isn't going to be the one to decide or do the surgery if needed. So most surgeons look at films themself . I've had too many bad experience where radiologist flat out missed stuff that I could see and the surgeon could see imediately, without reading a radiologist report.
GP's may rely on a radiologist report to determine if you need a surgerical referral, but a Radiologist has never held someone spine in there hands and may not completely understand how dramatic something that may look minor on a simple test may impact someones life.
No Diagnostic can tell you how much someone's pain is, so observation, physical exam, sometimes psych exams are used to determine if someone is a good candidate for surgery. Surgeons want to keep that success rate up there and if You are an addict, that smokes, is 100 pounds overweight and has other psych problems, They may need to be resolved or habbits changed before a surgeon will risk his reputation on a candidate that doesn't have the best chance for positive outcome.
Again, JMO
Take care, Dave
PS as far as who is qualified to do what test, I look at how many has the doc done, Obviously an anesthesilogist has a lot more needle experience near the spine than say a Physiatrist that has learned to do an ESI. Surgeons ceratinaly have seen more anatomy than any other doc. It just depends on the test, the purpose of the test and who is most qualified to come at your spine with a needle that can certainly do damage if a mistake is made. I have had a physiatrist cause a spinal fluid leak from an esi and then she sent me to an enesthesiologist to do the blood patch. If you can't fix the potential risks of the procedure yourself, I don't think you should be doing the procedure. JMO
It's nice to be back
My surgeon did my disco, He was the one looking to see if there was a surgical solution so he wanted to see for himself what the problem was and what my reaction was. An anesthesiologist can write down what your reaction was, and is certainly qualified to do the test. But I still haven't met a surgeon tha relied on another doc, including radiologist or anesthesiologuist report to decide if you are a candidate for surgery. Sometimes words don't quite explain the problem.
The surgeon needs to see, IMO The anesthesiologist, the PM doc or the radiologist isn't going to be the one to decide or do the surgery if needed. So most surgeons look at films themself . I've had too many bad experience where radiologist flat out missed stuff that I could see and the surgeon could see imediately, without reading a radiologist report.
GP's may rely on a radiologist report to determine if you need a surgerical referral, but a Radiologist has never held someone spine in there hands and may not completely understand how dramatic something that may look minor on a simple test may impact someones life.
No Diagnostic can tell you how much someone's pain is, so observation, physical exam, sometimes psych exams are used to determine if someone is a good candidate for surgery. Surgeons want to keep that success rate up there and if You are an addict, that smokes, is 100 pounds overweight and has other psych problems, They may need to be resolved or habbits changed before a surgeon will risk his reputation on a candidate that doesn't have the best chance for positive outcome.
Again, JMO
Take care, Dave
PS as far as who is qualified to do what test, I look at how many has the doc done, Obviously an anesthesilogist has a lot more needle experience near the spine than say a Physiatrist that has learned to do an ESI. Surgeons ceratinaly have seen more anatomy than any other doc. It just depends on the test, the purpose of the test and who is most qualified to come at your spine with a needle that can certainly do damage if a mistake is made. I have had a physiatrist cause a spinal fluid leak from an esi and then she sent me to an enesthesiologist to do the blood patch. If you can't fix the potential risks of the procedure yourself, I don't think you should be doing the procedure. JMO
It's nice to be back
Kissa
08-21-2004, 05:07 PM
Welcome Back Shoreline we missed you!!
Thanks for the advice. I won't be having an ESI ever again. I didn't want it in the first place based on most of the comments you've made over the last months and advice. I have a great PM who is an Anethesiologist and he did it the proper way with flouroscopy (sp) but it didn't matter, I couldn't walk for two days and now I really am in more pain than I've ever been in my life. I definately need to research arachnoiditis.
I can tell you I am now having pain in both sides of the back and both hips, previously I was only having pain in the left hip.
They switched me over to the MS contin 3x's daily 30mg plus vicodin. I do ok if I remember to take the MSC. Unfortunately for example I missed my schedule by 4 hours because I slept through it and now paying the price for it. I'm trying to get my schedule right again.
At any rate, I am hoping they don't do this proceedure anytime soon. Part of my problem and especially with the ESI is that I do not respond to local's or I respond hours later. It is directly related to the EDS. When I have dental work for example we must wait 1 - 2 hours after several injections to even be numbed. So when they did the ESI for example I was not numbed at all until about 2 or more hours later. Too late then to help. I am just concerned that if they too decide (doctor) to do this discogram what will happen in terms of pain, it honestly scares me to no end.
Thanks for listening and I am glad you are finally "home"
Hugs!
Barb
Thanks for the advice. I won't be having an ESI ever again. I didn't want it in the first place based on most of the comments you've made over the last months and advice. I have a great PM who is an Anethesiologist and he did it the proper way with flouroscopy (sp) but it didn't matter, I couldn't walk for two days and now I really am in more pain than I've ever been in my life. I definately need to research arachnoiditis.
I can tell you I am now having pain in both sides of the back and both hips, previously I was only having pain in the left hip.
They switched me over to the MS contin 3x's daily 30mg plus vicodin. I do ok if I remember to take the MSC. Unfortunately for example I missed my schedule by 4 hours because I slept through it and now paying the price for it. I'm trying to get my schedule right again.
At any rate, I am hoping they don't do this proceedure anytime soon. Part of my problem and especially with the ESI is that I do not respond to local's or I respond hours later. It is directly related to the EDS. When I have dental work for example we must wait 1 - 2 hours after several injections to even be numbed. So when they did the ESI for example I was not numbed at all until about 2 or more hours later. Too late then to help. I am just concerned that if they too decide (doctor) to do this discogram what will happen in terms of pain, it honestly scares me to no end.
Thanks for listening and I am glad you are finally "home"
Hugs!
Barb
kittencaboodle
08-22-2004, 02:16 AM
Hi Gang.......First off I did have a Disco in '01 and then came the dreaded IDET. Not to scare anyone w/this, but I thought I was actually dying thru the disco. MAN.....did that hurt. They kept giving me their 'goo-goo' juice (versed/fentanyl) but I was blubbering like a little baby. The 'test' disc was only a slight pressure for me, but the next 2 were horrendous. At least it answered the drs questions. He wouldnt speak to me for a while since I think I called him a few 'not-so-nice' names during this. I truely think the 'Marquis de Sade' created this little torture game himself. But it is great for letting the drs know what is going on in there. So, for me, I wouldn't hessitate having another Disco......but the IDET?......no way, no how!!!! That one damaged my nerves in my legs too bad and I'm in even more pain thanks to it. The dr. was great though.....he shot me up in the rump with Demerol to help control the pain during the ride home. Bless him. The Disco is one of the best tests to use to determine any internal disc disruptions. Good luck. If anyone needs to talk about IDET's I'm here.
~~~~~~~~Kitt :angel:
~~~~~~~~Kitt :angel:
laurawithcats
08-23-2004, 03:42 AM
Hey all,
Not to be too contrary, but I've had 2 discograms by 2 different docs, and neither was all that bad. Of course, the first (which was after two surgeries) was negative on all four injected levels. I should say, though, that I didn't need a stitch of "happy juice" or pain med beyond whatever LA I was taking at the time. I think it helped that I felt extremely calm about the whole thing. The only discomfort was about the same as any old epidural - the initial pinches to inject the locals and the afterward feeling of having been kicked by a horse for a few days.
My second disco was after three surgeries, so there was a lot of scar tissue. That time, it was positive on two levels. However, even then I only ended up needing a very small amount of "happy juice", and my regular BT meds got me through the next two weeks. The only horror part of it was that the scar tissue was so difficult to navigate through/around, the doc accidentally gave me a spinal. So, I got a wicked headache 12 hours later. When the positive discs were injected, I did have tremendous pain, but as someone already mentioned, it was short-lived (maybe two minutes).
I know discogram is a scary word, but I really think you can get through it. I did a lot of relaxation exercises beforehand, so that I was not really nervous going in. I think that has a lot to do with the overall experience for any procedure. Please don't think that I'm discounting everybody else's experiences, though. Everything is relative and no two experiences will ever be identical. I just thought you should know that it's not always miserable.
-Laura
Not to be too contrary, but I've had 2 discograms by 2 different docs, and neither was all that bad. Of course, the first (which was after two surgeries) was negative on all four injected levels. I should say, though, that I didn't need a stitch of "happy juice" or pain med beyond whatever LA I was taking at the time. I think it helped that I felt extremely calm about the whole thing. The only discomfort was about the same as any old epidural - the initial pinches to inject the locals and the afterward feeling of having been kicked by a horse for a few days.
My second disco was after three surgeries, so there was a lot of scar tissue. That time, it was positive on two levels. However, even then I only ended up needing a very small amount of "happy juice", and my regular BT meds got me through the next two weeks. The only horror part of it was that the scar tissue was so difficult to navigate through/around, the doc accidentally gave me a spinal. So, I got a wicked headache 12 hours later. When the positive discs were injected, I did have tremendous pain, but as someone already mentioned, it was short-lived (maybe two minutes).
I know discogram is a scary word, but I really think you can get through it. I did a lot of relaxation exercises beforehand, so that I was not really nervous going in. I think that has a lot to do with the overall experience for any procedure. Please don't think that I'm discounting everybody else's experiences, though. Everything is relative and no two experiences will ever be identical. I just thought you should know that it's not always miserable.
-Laura
Kissa
08-23-2004, 09:44 AM
I think it's one of those things where it causes folks great pain and other's not.
I've had surgeries that to me didn't hurt much but to others they acted like they were dying hehe :)
Its still a scary thought. I know how horrid my ESI was because I wasn't numbed, I never want to experience that again
I've had surgeries that to me didn't hurt much but to others they acted like they were dying hehe :)
Its still a scary thought. I know how horrid my ESI was because I wasn't numbed, I never want to experience that again
dckatz2001
09-03-2004, 12:28 PM
I had my discogram on Wednesday morning and I have a few questions about the recovery process. I have had a constant dull aching headache since I got home after the procedure. My neck is also very stiff and sore and my pectoral muscles hurt. Are these things normal? Overall, I feel as though I've been run over by a bus. I have improved slightly, though, because yesterday it felt like I was run over by a train.
Overall, the discogram experience was horrible. It reproduced my worst pain perfectly on two different disc levels. The pain was so bad that I couldn't breath for a short time. The good thing was that I knew it would only last a short time unlike when I usually experience this pain and don't know how long to expect it to hurt.
Thanks for any help I receive.
Overall, the discogram experience was horrible. It reproduced my worst pain perfectly on two different disc levels. The pain was so bad that I couldn't breath for a short time. The good thing was that I knew it would only last a short time unlike when I usually experience this pain and don't know how long to expect it to hurt.
Thanks for any help I receive.