Re: Re: I had my discogram and got bad news

[Guest guest]

hi, i am having my surgery for L3-L4 fusion on may 22nd. my surgeon said he

did not need to do the discogram. he knows what the problem is since i have

spondy at L3 and horrible pain down my front right leg settling into my knee.

has anyone else had this fusion and not had a discogram and been successful?

what was the outcome. thanks, marsha

[Guest guest]

sherry, which part did they fuse on you originally? did you have

spondylolethesis?

and if so, where? what did your mri say when you first did your fusion?

exactly where and what was your pain? thanks, marsha

[Guest guest]

Hi Marsha, This is my second Discogram. I had my first one right before my

first fusion. The new doc said that it is best to have this test so he knows

where the pain is and to make sure the other levels are not causing anymore

pain. I would ask him about it. It is a very unpleasant test but it does give

the doc the right info so he knows what he is doing. I would rather of had this

test done before surgery than go through the whole fusion surgery and find out

the wrong one was fused and have to have the surgery again. I have the same pain

as you and the levels with the most pain are L3-L4,L4-L5, L5-S1. With out the

discogram he might not have known that all of them are the cause and could have

just assumed that it was just one level. Good luck Sherry

BLEECKERST10012@... wrote: hi, i am having my surgery for L3-L4 fusion on

may 22nd. my surgeon said he

did not need to do the discogram. he knows what the problem is since i have

spondy at L3 and horrible pain down my front right leg settling into my knee.

has anyone else had this fusion and not had a discogram and been successful?

what was the outcome. thanks, marsha

[Guest guest]

sherry, i think it would be a good idea for you to get a few more opinions

before you do anything else. and i forget if you said this, but have you

gotten a recent mri? i am going ahead with surgery because i am in agony

especially in afternoons. pain in my right leg and into my knee. it has

gotten

really bad and i

am ready now to have the surgery. the spondylolethesis is that one of my

" bones " is not lined up and it is compressing the nerve. doc said a discogram

would be waste of time for me. he says he knows exactly what is causing my

pain. he said 20 years of experience tells him that. well, okay. so he is a

lot arrogant. as long as he gets it right, i won't care. marsha

[Guest guest]

Hi Marsha

I had my first fusion 4 years ago. And that was on L3-L4. I don't think I

have Spondyloethesis I never heard of that. I still have the same pain as did

before my first fusion. Center back pain and all the way down my right leg. I

have numbness, tingly,pain,weakness. I go to the doc on the 2nd of May to go

over the results of my Discogram. The doc who did it says that my surgeon has a

lot to deal with now that he knows that my pain is coming form all of disc. I

have post-surgical changes at L3-L-4 and at L4-L5 my disc is very bad and

leaking. (They could tell that they are leaking from the discogram when they

inject the die in and it seeps out.) And L5-S-1 is flat like a pancake. I will

keep everyone informed of what the doc says when I get back. Good luck to you

and I will keep you in my thought. It is nice to share my story with someone

who understands. Best wishes Sherry

BLEECKERST10012@... wrote:

sherry, which part did they fuse on you originally? did you have

spondylolethesis?

and if so, where? what did your mri say when you first did your fusion?

exactly where and what was your pain? thanks, marsha

[Guest guest]

Yes I had a MRI about 2 months ago. I am in pain all the time and can't handle

it any more. I have been putting this off for a while because I am a chicken

s***. I wake up in the middle of the night sweating because the pain is so bad.

I hope we both can get better soon so we can enjoy the upcoming summer. Keep me

posted on how your surgery goes and how you are feeling. Take care Sherry

BLEECKERST10012@... wrote: sherry, i think it would be a good idea for you

to get a few more opinions

before you do anything else. and i forget if you said this, but have you

gotten a recent mri? i am going ahead with surgery because i am in agony

especially in afternoons. pain in my right leg and into my knee. it has

gotten

really bad and i

am ready now to have the surgery. the spondylolethesis is that one of my

" bones " is not lined up and it is compressing the nerve. doc said a discogram

would be waste of time for me. he says he knows exactly what is causing my

pain. he said 20 years of experience tells him that. well, okay. so he is a

lot arrogant. as long as he gets it right, i won't care. marsha

[Guest guest]

At 03:32 PM 4/20/2006, you wrote:

> I had my first fusion 4 years ago. And that was on L3-L4. I don't

> think I have Spondyloethesis I never heard of that. I still have the

> same pain as did before my first fusion. Center back pain and all the

> way down my right leg. I have numbness, tingly,pain,weakness.

Sherry, your surgeon might have told you that your lumbar spine was

unstable or that your lumbar spine was slipping rather than use the word

" spondylolisthesis " ... or " spondy " for short. Mine never did, until I

asked him directly, and he confirmed that was what was going on. Then, I

asked him what grade of spondylolisthesis I had. I think many doctors

don't think we can handle the big words :-)

I'm wondering if you didn't have this, as well, and it was a reason for

your fusion?

http://thebacklog.blogspot.com/

[Guest guest]

I'm glad you found yourself a great surgeon, Sherry :-) Please keep me/us

updated on how it goes on May 2nd. My next appointment with Dr H is on May

16th.

At 07:40 AM 4/21/2006, you wrote:

>,

> I am seeing the doc you recommended in Newark. Dr. H. I will ask him

> about that. I do remember my old doc said that I do have an unstable

> spine. I see Dr. H on the 2nd of May and will let you know what is going

> on. Thanks Sherry

>

> <karens@...> wrote:

> At 03:32 PM 4/20/2006, you wrote:

>

> > I had my first fusion 4 years ago. And that was on L3-L4. I don't

> > think I have Spondyloethesis I never heard of that. I still have the

> > same pain as did before my first fusion. Center back pain and all the

> > way down my right leg. I have numbness, tingly,pain,weakness.

>

>

>Sherry, your surgeon might have told you that your lumbar spine was

>unstable or that your lumbar spine was slipping rather than use the word

> " spondylolisthesis " ... or " spondy " for short. Mine never did, until I

>asked him directly, and he confirmed that was what was going on. Then, I

>asked him what grade of spondylolisthesis I had. I think many doctors

>don't think we can handle the big words :-)

>

>I'm wondering if you didn't have this, as well, and it was a reason for

>your fusion?

>

>

>

><http://thebacklog.blogspot.com/>http://thebacklog.blogspot.com/

[Guest guest]

Thanks and I do have the same problem trying to get in contact with them.

Everytime I call it is either busy or there voice boxes are full then I get

disconnected. But I am happy with everything else. He is very nice and

listenes to me. Maybe oneday we will bump into each other at his office. Take

care and hope everything goes well for you. Thanks again. Take care Sherry

<karens@...> wrote:

I'm glad you found yourself a great surgeon, Sherry :-) Please keep me/us

updated on how it goes on May 2nd. My next appointment with Dr H is on May

16th.

At 07:40 AM 4/21/2006, you wrote:

>,

> I am seeing the doc you recommended in Newark. Dr. H. I will ask him

> about that. I do remember my old doc said that I do have an unstable

> spine. I see Dr. H on the 2nd of May and will let you know what is going

> on. Thanks Sherry

>

> <karens@...> wrote:

> At 03:32 PM 4/20/2006, you wrote:

>

> > I had my first fusion 4 years ago. And that was on L3-L4. I don't

> > think I have Spondyloethesis I never heard of that. I still have the

> > same pain as did before my first fusion. Center back pain and all the

> > way down my right leg. I have numbness, tingly,pain,weakness.

>

>

>Sherry, your surgeon might have told you that your lumbar spine was

>unstable or that your lumbar spine was slipping rather than use the word

> " spondylolisthesis " ... or " spondy " for short. Mine never did, until I

>asked him directly, and he confirmed that was what was going on. Then, I

>asked him what grade of spondylolisthesis I had. I think many doctors

>don't think we can handle the big words :-)

>

>I'm wondering if you didn't have this, as well, and it was a reason for

>your fusion?

>

>

>

><http://thebacklog.blogspot.com/>http://thebacklog.blogspot.com/

[Guest guest]

Sherry, if you're in the North Jersey area and have access to today's

(Friday's) THE RECORD, take a look at the " Letters to the Editor "

section. If not, check on-line tomorrow for today's letters. Maybe

someone there who can do something will see it, too.

At 10:16 AM 4/21/2006, you wrote:

>Thanks and I do have the same problem trying to get in contact with

>them. Everytime I call it is either busy or there voice boxes are full

>then I get disconnected. But I am happy with everything else. He is very

>nice and listenes to me. Maybe oneday we will bump into each other at his

>office. Take care and hope everything goes well for you. Thanks

>again. Take care Sherry

>

> <karens@...> wrote:

>I'm glad you found yourself a great surgeon, Sherry :-) Please keep me/us

>updated on how it goes on May 2nd. My next appointment with Dr H is on May

>16th.

>

>At 07:40 AM 4/21/2006, you wrote:

> >,

> > I am seeing the doc you recommended in Newark. Dr. H. I will ask him

> > about that. I do remember my old doc said that I do have an unstable

> > spine. I see Dr. H on the 2nd of May and will let you know what is going

> > on. Thanks Sherry

> >

> > <karens@...> wrote:

> > At 03:32 PM 4/20/2006, you wrote:

> >

> > > I had my first fusion 4 years ago. And that was on L3-L4. I don't

> > > think I have Spondyloethesis I never heard of that. I still have the

> > > same pain as did before my first fusion. Center back pain and all the

> > > way down my right leg. I have numbness, tingly,pain,weakness.

> >

> >

> >Sherry, your surgeon might have told you that your lumbar spine was

> >unstable or that your lumbar spine was slipping rather than use the word

> > " spondylolisthesis " ... or " spondy " for short. Mine never did, until I

> >asked him directly, and he confirmed that was what was going on. Then, I

> >asked him what grade of spondylolisthesis I had. I think many doctors

> >don't think we can handle the big words :-)

> >

> >I'm wondering if you didn't have this, as well, and it was a reason for

> >your fusion?

> >

> >

> >

> ><<http://thebacklog.blogspot.com/>http://thebacklog.blogspot.com/>http://

> thebacklog.blogspot.com/