Discogram:what to expect after procedure - Pain Management Message Board

scotty12 · 10-02-2006, 09:38 AM

Im having a discogram/ct scan tomorrow on 4 levels.
I expect 2 levels to be positive based on my MRI a few months ago.

Will i be in alot of pain the next 2 days?
Is just taking the next day off from work going to be enough?

Ive never had discography done so i really dont know what to expect.
I do have to stay home with my daughter the next day and take her to nursery school which will give me 3 hrs to rest.

wout · 10-02-2006, 01:25 PM

Hi Scotty
From what I can remember, you will be pretty sore the same day. They will give you something for pain afterwards. I had L1-S1 done with L2-L5 bad. It was very uncomfortable and very painful. Not to worry, soon after it's all over you will look back and forget all about it.

Good luck with the test. I'm having another one done next week. But only L1-2 L5-S1. So hopefully mine wont be as bad as the first one.

Tim

wout · 10-02-2006, 01:27 PM

A ?? for you. Why are you have both test done on the same day.?

scrapper1 · 10-02-2006, 01:56 PM

I just had it done on the 18th. It is very painful during the time they are doing it but I didn't really have a bad reaction afterwards. I did send my son to daycare all week so that I could rest and not have to do a lot of heavy lifting.

The reason the do them both on the same day is so that they can tell whether or not the disk leaks any fluid. They do the CT scan afterwards to confirm if there are any tears in the disks.

charliecat31 · 10-02-2006, 03:10 PM

I've had two discograms (both with sedation) and both were different experiences. The first I don't really remember much at all and it was positive at 2 levels. The second I remember very clearly and it was positive at 3 levels. Will your doctor be using any sedation for you? Some doctors do it with the patient completely awake and others use versed and put you in a "twighlight"

- not completely awake and not completely asleep.

You have to be awake enough to talk to them and be able to answer questions

Everyone is different with pain afterwards.

If the test is negative you won't have any pain after. But if it's positive you could have some increase in your normal pain - this can last from a couple of days up to a couple of weeks. One of the best ways to get yourself feeling better is to drink as much fluids as you possibly can. The more you drink the more you'll flush the dye out of your system and this is what is causing the increase in pain. I also found putting ice on the area to be helpful.

Hope this helps and Hope things go well!