I am sooo sorry; I understand your frustration, anger & despair! Three years IS a long time to deal with adhesions pain without validation! Then to suddenly have them discover the cause of your mysterious pain & recognise the need to do something must have been exhilarating & a HUGE relief.... I KNOW that's how I felt.
Now Chantale, you have gotten to know me through the bombobeach.com chat room, this message board, bombo's message board & private emails to each other.... Chantale I believe EVERYTHING happens for a reason and while it may not be obvious at the time, eventually all the cogs and wheels will fall into place and everything will happen according to the plan...
Perhaps the reason for delay in your surgery is so that you can wait for SprayGel to be available for you in your surgery. I know you are experiencing the pain now, and I know that it isn't easy to accept such delays. Remember the doctors have your best interests at heart and it is important for them to be prepared.
During my recent surgery (just a fortnight ago) they worked micro millimetres away from both my large and small bowel! Imagine the situation if the surgeon made any mistakes and nicked my bowel?? It is very important that surgeons plan for all possibilities and do their best to ensure that everything goes according to plan. Surgeons are only human too, and the fact that they are being cautious makes them seem more professional to me.
Chantale, ask your surgeons about how many times they have operated successfully on adhesions patients, ask them IF they believe adhesions cause pain, and ask them if they think that this surgery will be the last one you will need. If they PROMISE you that you will be pain free, step back & consider carefully, that is a very bold statement and one only has to ask some of the "veterans" of this board to realise that sometimes more than one surgery is necessary, and if adhesions are very extensive, there is never an assurance that we will be completely pain free, OR remain that way happily ever after. Even SprayGel can’t promise us that yet, it’s still to new on the market.
While I have announced to you all that I am free of adhesions pain, I am not completely free of pain. I have lived with pain my whole life and have learned to accept it as a part of my every day life. It is easier to accept a situation, an illness, disability or challenge than fight it and rail against it.
Your reaction to the delay in your surgery is natural and expected Chantale and my heart & soul aches for you.... I understand perfectly how you are feeling right now.
Visit bombo and read the "How to Cope" section, perhaps there you will find a suggestion that will help you live with your pain, or help reduce it's affect on your every day life.... just until your surgery date can be rescheduled. I am sorry Chantale, I trully understand your disappointment and frustration, but I know that in the long run.... it will work out for your best interests.
You know you can always email me personally, leave a message on bombo or here on the IAS message board. I am here for you, just as I am here for all my special adhesions friends. So far I am enjoying a renewed feeling of freedom of pain, I am working on small restoration projects and having a great time. There are still restrictions and trade-offs so that I can do these things... but as far as I am concerned, what I have now is a special gift & I am enjoying time with my family.
Write to me soon my friend; I am always available to read ranting, raving, venting, tantrums and even jokes ;-)
Love & the warmest gentlest hugs I can muster for you... Joey
-- Love and gentle hugs, Joanne Eslick Founder Australian Adhesions Support Group http://www.bombobeach.com NSW Australian Co-ordinator of International Adhesions Society http://www.adhesions.org
-- I am not a medical person, and all my messages are based on personal experience. I am a fellow adhesions sufferer reaching out to help others.