Left Flank Pain

From: Joyce (jcleveland26@charter.net)
Sun Dec 8 11:28:32 2002


Hi, I visited this message board a couple of years ago because I thought I had more adhesions. I had some lysed in 1996 but the pain returned after about a year so I assumed it was the adhesions. I've been through a lot of pain and doctors since then, but now I'm better after having a complete hysterectomy with removal of both ovaries. But I'm still left with a very aggravating and persistent pain in my left flank area. I've had this pain for about 5 years and was hoping somehow the hyst. would take care of it. Well I had the hysterectomy in April of this year but I'm still left with the pain in my back on the left side right where my kidney is. But I've had the whole Urology work-up to check for stones, infection, etc. Everything was normal. I now have a visible knot in the area of my pain. My doctors think it could be muscular so I'm doing Physical Therapy exercises everyday. Sometimes I think it's helping but I always end up laid up on the couch a day to rest my back so I can work the next day. Physical Activity makes it worse, like lifting or even bending a lot. And when it hurts, it not only causes pain, it also makes me feel terrible. It's like that spot on my make contains all my nerves or something and when it's really hurting bad, I just want to crawl in a hole and cry. I've been diagnosed with having an Illiopsos muscle problem, but by what I've read the usually affects you more in the groin area. Which I used to hurt there, but I don't now. It's all in the one area in my back. Bowel Movements make the pain worse but I try my best to stay regular because constipation makes it a lot worse. When the pain is at it's worst, it hurts to breath. I wonder if maybe it is adhesions from my transverse colon to my diaphragm. I asked my gyns to check out that are during my last 2 laprascopic surgeries, but I have videotapes of the surgery and neither one of them looked there. They just keep saying it has to be muscular. I'm so frustrated and tired. This pain makes me very, very tired. I need proof of the pain so my PCP will continue to give me the 30 vicoprofen a month he gives which is not enough but I make it through work with those. My house is a disaster area. I have seen a Physical Rehabilitation specialist about the pain and she acted like I should not be there that I should be seeing a Gyn again or something. And their the ones that said it was muscular and just needed rehabilitating. Erghhhhh! Where do I turn now? I'm the type that I need to know what's going on in my body so it's driving me crazy not knowing exactly what it is.... But do I just worry about living with the pain now? What other tastes can they run? I just had a follow up CAT scan.... one I had in 1999 showed scarring in left front bottom of a chest scan. Which is same area as pain, only in the back. But the follow up scan was completely normal, of course. And what is this knot on my back. Doctors seem unconcerned about it.... I'm sorry this is so long, guess I just really needed to vent. Any ideas? Or anyone else with similar pain? I'm a total loss right now as to what to do next. BTW, my meds that I already take are Effexor XR, Wellbutrin, Buspar, Estrogen, Progesterone Cream, Acculate (for coughing form of Asthma), Neurontin (which does help the pain), and Vicoprofen as needed (30 to last 30 days). Thanks to anyone that reads this completely, sorry so long...

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Joyce (other posts may have been, BJ or KJ)

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