Dear Libby & Sue,
I also know how the two of you are feeling, my ovaries were drawn down, encased in adhesions and attached to my vagina, bladder bowel & abdominal wall. This created an unbelievable amount of pain for me and after seeking many opinions and weighing up the odds, I took the plunge and allowed my Gyno to do a laparotomy to clean out adhesions and possibly save my ovaries. Sadly when he got in there he found it impossible to free the ovaries because they were so deeply imbedded in scar tissue and they were removed. (the surgery took around four hours)
Previously, I had no diagnosis of endometriosis, but one of the additional doctors I visited when seeking opinions before surgery, had suggested that it was a very strong possibility. Pathology on my ovaries revealed that they were in fact covered in it and it is highly likely that I have endo spread throughout my lower abdominal area. My Gyno told me after surgery that it was impossible to view any area of my abdominal cavity because of the density and number of adhesions filling that area.
Having my ovaries removed was a nightmare, directly after surgery I could tell that a particular nasty pain was gone (the fact that my ovaries were no longer attached to my vagina. One docotr described the pain to my husband as being in a male sense as a "kick in the B*lls", sorry, his words not mine!).
I now have many other issues to deal with including increased pain (I can no longer sit at my desk for any longer than an our or two before being forced back to bed to recline and work on my laptop computer). I am on stronger pain medication than previously, have a greater amount of difficulty sleeping, doing easy household chores and I rarely drive myself anywhere as it causes massive pain. Not to mention the horrendous forces involved in living through instant menopause which is a torture which in it's own right, deserves to be enough to make me a cot case....and possible mental patient for the rest of my life!
My story can be found on my website: www.bombobeach.com as well as other information on how I manage my pain. I hope that you will consider VERY carefully before you agree to any further surgery, because from the large number of people I have spoken to since I became aware of the IAS site 12 months ago..... a far greater number find themselves in a far worse situation after surgery and often wish they could turn the clock back & not have gone down that road. There is also another adhesion sufferers story on there that I would ask you to read, Karla has had over 50 surgeries in her lifetime, of-course not all of them adhesions related, but at least 28 to 30 of them have been. Karla is now watching the clock, her time on earth is limited to relying on her NOT getting another serious kidney infection, because if this happens, she will die from kidney failure. Karla cannot be a kidney transplant candidate (her body rejects anything and everything introduced that wasn't already a part of her own body) and she would not gain any benefit from dialysis.
Please ladies, I urge you to think carefully before you consider another surgery, I know that ultimately, only you can make that choice, but please make it a well informed and thought-out decision. Read all the information available on the IAS site, read my story and Karla's story, and count your blessings that you found this site and information before you made any decisions to have further surgery. I hope you will leave a message regarding your thoughts on my note pad, I look forward to hearing from you both again soon.
Love & gentle hugs