Discogram upcoming

**mmarsh** · 10-22-2010, 05:01 PM

Hooch

What kind of ADR are you comtemplating? My surgeon uses ProDisc. I know some of them don't work correctly, but I do trust what he says. I know just what you mean by feeling okay when you don't do anything! I'm sort of in that boat as well. Definitely way less pain when all I do is lay around! However, that is not my life. I am usually fairly active, considering the condition of my spine. All I really want is some semblance of my real life back! That may be too much to ask, but I'd certainly love to be able to play golf pain free and go to a movie or ride on an airplane without having to take narcotics. The times I've been pain free have been so special to me and I'd like to have that time again. Best to you.

M-

**KBear** · 10-22-2010, 05:33 PM

Originally Posted by mmarsh

Hooch

What kind of ADR are you comtemplating? My surgeon uses ProDisc. I know some of them don't work correctly, but I do trust what he says. I know just what you mean by feeling okay when you don't do anything! I'm sort of in that boat as well. Definitely way less pain when all I do is lay around! However, that is not my life. I am usually fairly active, considering the condition of my spine. All I really want is some semblance of my real life back! That may be too much to ask, but I'd certainly love to be able to play golf pain free and go to a movie or ride on an airplane without having to take narcotics. The times I've been pain free have been so special to me and I'd like to have that time again. Best to you.

M-

It's the little things that we took for granted before that we miss the most. I hope I never take my health for granted again and enjoy every minute of it.

**mmarsh** · 10-22-2010, 05:44 PM

KBear

I've been in pain on and off for so many years now that I truly do appreciate the good times! I guess that's one lesson I've learned over the years of pain. (Well, there have been many others!) The times that I'm pain free are so easy! It's so exhausting to be in pain day after day. I think that's the part that's so hard for "outsiders" to get. They can't possibly imagine so many days of continuous pain that you've forgotten what it's like to go to the grocery store and put your own stuff in the trunk without cramping up. Go to a movie or a ball game and actually sit through the whole thing! Such bliss and they don't get it. That's what I want again. I know it will happen, but right now it seems so terribly remote that it's getting harder and harder to remember a time before pain! Oops, just feeling a bit sorry for myself! Thanks for listening!

M-

**Hooch** · 10-23-2010, 12:19 AM

Gday M, like you say it's pretty well the surgeon who decides the disc in most cases. I'm probably more concerned with the quality of the diagnosis and the experience of the surgeon.

I'm considering going overseas for an M6 due to facet wear concerns re present generation discs, but the reality is it's known complications vs unknown complications.

**mmarsh** · 10-23-2010, 03:16 PM

Hooch

Any surgery is a risk. One can only take the available information, discuss it with one's surgeon and hope for the best. Since I did not go to medical school, I have to trust the doc I'm working with. Yes, I can do research on my own, but it all boils down to the surgeon. I've been working with the same guy for almost 20 years now and so far he's never steered me wrong. Am I scared/concerned? Of course, but I have to trust in something and somebody! I only hope I can convince BCBS to pay for all or part of my surgery.

M-

**Job13** · 10-27-2010, 03:12 PM

Below a couple of links about discography (just to be aware and keeping it in mind):

"Modern discography techniques can lead to accelerated disc degeneration" (November 17, 2009)
http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.asp?rID=50644
SAN FRANCISCO—Discography, even with the use of smaller-gauge needles and limited pressurization, can result in accelerated disc degeneration, according to the results of a long-term cohort-controlled study.

"Discography may quicken disc degeneration". By Robert Trace. 1st on the web (May 20, 2009)
http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.asp?rid=40067
"Results of a 10-year, prospective study suggest that discography can result in accelerated disc degeneration and herniation... Discs that had been exposed to discography demonstrated signs of greater degeneration 10 years later than discs that were not exposed to the procedure, Eugene J. Carragee, MD, of Stanford University, said at the 36th Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS), here.
“We also saw a greater loss of disc height and signal intensity in the group of patients who had discography compared to the control group,” he said.
In qualitative MRI findings, Carragee and his colleagues documented new cases of disc herniation, new endplate changes and progression of disc degeneration more frequently in the patients who were exposed to disc injection.
“Disc puncture, even with modern discographic techniques, causes definitive structural injury to IV discs,” he said."

**Jack-of-all-trades** · 10-27-2010, 04:40 PM

Job 13

Thanks for the information. After having a discogram by a soon to be fired PM doc, I did some research and mostly came to the same conclusions. This was backed up by my neurosurgeon. I should have done the research before the procedure. Pain people are sometimes oblivious to rationality.

**mmarsh** · 10-27-2010, 07:54 PM

It was never my surgeon's idea to get the discogram, so I suppose he was right all along! I never looked at it as a risk certainly and didn't figure in the lack of motion as a reason for them being suspect. However, the CT scan done after the disco convinced me which level is problematic. It is much clearer than the MRI and also shows that the facets are in good enough condition to support ADR. In that respect, I'm glad I had it done. I could have just had the CT and skipped the disco!