Discogram shows torn annulus?? Posted: 01-23-08 22:29pm
Has any had this condition or any insight
.
Had a discogram done today and as soon as
the dye was injected into the disc it
leaked out and that was as far as they
went. I have severe back pain( I cannot
walk on hard floors, i wake up at night
screaming in back pain, it is very painful
to try to bend over and pretty much
everything to do is painful)I also have
sciatica that goes from my buttocks to my
calfs. I was hoping to get some input
after the discogrom but I was told to
follow up in the doctors office in a
month. Sucks to wait that long. MRI shows
DDD, Disc Bulges and arthritis.
Any insight would be great.
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rollar64
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Nov 2006 Posts: 146 Location: melbourne
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Posted: 01-24-08 05:52am
Can i ask how old you are? the short of it
is you are always going to have some
impairment, it depends a bit on how bad
the DDD, the bulges ,and the arthritis are
,and on how many vertebrae are affected
,pain management (medication ) ,facet
joint injections, and possibly surgery are
some of the things that may be recommended
to you. Make sure you have good doctors,
and get a second opinion before surgery.
all the best gman66
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gman66
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 18 Jan 2008 Posts: 8
Posted: 01-24-08 11:41am
Male, 41 years of age.
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algosdoc
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 Mar 2004 Posts: 186
Posted: 01-24-08 21:34pm
A grade V annular tear on the modified
Dallas Discogram scale is what you are
experiencing. It may or may not be
painful, but if it is, its because of
ingrowth of neural tissue into the central
part of the disc (normally the central
disc has no nociceptive pain sensors or
nerves). Such tears are not commonly seen
unless the disc is painful, but
demonstrating the pain produced on
discography is sometimes difficult since
the contrast dye injected may simply run
out through the annular tear without
permitting pressurization of the disc as
is required with discography.
The use of another disc as a control is
absolutely imperative ....so if you only
had one disc injected, then your discogram
results are highly suspect.
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RichT
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 910
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Posted: 01-25-08 09:28am
Hello Algosdoc,
A question if I may - What are
"nociceptive pain sensors". Or perhaps
did you mean "nonreceptive pain sensors"?
I'll appreciate your clarification.
Thanks
RichT
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algosdoc
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 Mar 2004 Posts: 186
Posted: 01-25-08 10:15am
Nociception is the process of pain
transmission through nerve endings or pain
sensors. That is different than
neuropathic pain which is a burning pain
and is associated with nerve inflammation.
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RichT
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 910
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Posted: 01-25-08 10:54am
Hello Algosdoc,
Thanks for the "enlightenment". You are
acquainting me with medical terms I never
heard before, let alone understand.
Talk about a steep learning curve from
your posts. LOL Thats okay, never too
old to learn.
Know what amazes me? - How you as a doctor
have time during the day to give your
input on this forum. In my area, the docs
are running from one room to another so
fast that one barely gets time to ask any
questions.
Have a GREAT Day!
RichT
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rollar64
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Nov 2006 Posts: 146 Location: melbourne
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Posted: 01-26-08 04:55am
41 you are still fairly young. It sounds
like you are still going through an
evaluation period. I don't think you can
expect a doctor to fix everything up for
you, however there may be a course of
action that they can take can improve your
situation a lot,
one thing that is not often mentioned is
that the spine needs to be exercised so
the disks remain healthy, and arthritis is
kept at bay, this is hard because most of
us with back trouble are in pain and
exercise makes it worse, ask your doctors
what they think you are capable of,
hopefully they are interested in this
aspect of your health and know how to
help. You might have to take it easy until
after your evaluation is finished and some
kind of intervention has taken place. You
may have to see a number of health care
professionals in your fight to get some
relief be patient and persistent and
always make sure your doctors are good
sorry if this sounds like a lecture i can
only really guess about your situation i
am just trying to cover all the bases.
