Hi Michelle,
I was reading your post and was thinking it sounded just like Melissa!
I hope you have read Melissa's success story! HOORAY! She is
finally well!!
Yep, that old IBS verdict........works every time, huh? If your belly hurts
then IBS is a good diagnosis............so you learn your bowel is irritable
(we agree with that) but are we ever told WHY it is irritable? No....they
have no answers..........
I can tell you Melissa had 2 surgeries in the States with excellent
surgeons,
however, she did not get well. When we called them to explain she was still
sick, and in fact worse, we began seeing quickly that there were no
solutions
to be offered. In fact the last surgeon said, "You should be well"..........
...
well "should be" and "reality" are worlds apart! I told Melissa (after that
advice)
"and I should be queen of the castle with servants surrounding me, however I
have to go wash the dishes!"
So I hear your desperate plea! I think surgeons think they did their job,
so you SHOULD be well........and in turn they ignore or DO NOT HEAR
you saying "I STILL HURT"..........
I can only tell you that I believe the difference in Melissa's 3rd surgery
was #1. The surgeon/skill . #2. The AbdoLift #3. SprayGel................
The surgeon is the person taking down the adhesions and must have
the skill, knowledge and ability to use his (her) eyes, hands & instruments
in the proper fashion to bring the patient to an adhesion FREE state.
I believe Dr. Kruschinski is a gifted artist and he is using his gift to
bring
the sick ARD patient into reality..........(not a "should be" state)
The AbdoLift HAS to be a major factor in creating an operable environment
without the risk of new adhesion formation occurring.
I am not sure there are any doctors outside of Dr. Kruschinski using
this important technique for adhesiolysis.
I KNOW Melissa developed NEW places of painful
adhesions from the US surgeries~you have to ask why new adhesions
were formed? It has to be the CO2, as doctors acknowledge it is a co-factor
in
adhesion growth!
SprayGel, unapproved in the US, is the barrier that seems to be instrumental
in the successful outcome of adhesiolysis. Many have asked me wasn't I
scared to allow something into my daughters' body that did not have US
approval............I answer a resounding "NO"........not scared at all. My
fear was sitting back and watching my daughter lose her life to this
miserable
illness.
Michelle, I don't understand your question, "Do some people really need the
combo of gasless and spraygel, even if it isn't endo?"
I hope my statements above help clarify the gasless and spraygel as I know
it............please let me know if you have not viewed the exciting
interviews
with Dr. Kruschinski concerning gasless laparascopy, CO2, adhesions and
endometriosis. If you missed those--they are a MUST see.
If you are living "like a cripple" at 24 years of age, you KNOW you have
had adhesions, you had surgery, but you are still miserable, sick and your
pain is being ignored, there is a reason--------the help is not in the US.
I am not giving any medical advice, as always, just sharing what we have
been
through and hoping others will be able to avoid some of the hoops we
jumped through before landing firmly on the rock solid answer!
Good day,
Karen
-------Original Message-------
From: adhesions@adhesions.org
Date: Friday, June 06, 2003 12:16:50 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list ADHESIONS
Subject: New here and need some info
Hi everyone. This is the first time that I post a message but I have
been reading the messages on this board for many months now. I have a
few questions that I have been wanting to ask for a while now, but
first, I will give a quick snapshot of my history.
I am 24 years old and my problems started over 2 years ago now. At
first, I started to have some pain in the left upper quadrant area and
also began to have some bowel difficulties. I went to see my doctor as
I was sure that he would no sweat figure out what was wrong and that he
could help me. That's when the nightmare began.. as you all know.
Upper GI, Sml bowel follow through, endoscopy, colonoscopy, Ct scan, MRI
etc, etc. All to show NOTHING. So, finally, IBS was the verdict.So I
tried the medications, all of which made me worse and increased my pain.
My Mom and I went from one doctor to another, from one surgeon to the
other, to some of my Mom's friends since she used to work in the
hospital, and finally, all we ended up with was an anti-depressant and
to be labelled as two completely neurotic women.
My condition got worse and worse and my belly grew bigger and bigger, I
couldn't believe it! I was tiny before, but I wasn't gaining weight, if
anything the rest of my body seemed to get smaller.
I got so fed up of doctors and knew so much that my pain and mostly
extreme discomfort (trapped gas everywhere, tightness under diaphragm,
etc) was NOT IBS.
I started researching the internet, so desperate, because as time was
going on, I couldn't keep up with my classes anymore, not could I do all
the sports that I loved so much to do. I just felt like I couldn't move
my body properly.
I came accross adhesions and immediately knew that that was my problem.
The symptoms, and all of what you are describing on this board is so
much what I am going through.
So I found out info about Dr. Reich and the ADLAP crew as I decided I
wanted the best surgeons to treat me, besides, no one here (I am in
Canada) would do anything, they all thought I was nuts (we were actually
sent out of one surgeon's office when my Mom lost it on him and kindly
threatened him that one day he will see his name in the paper).
To make a long story short, they were extremely kind and I had a surgery
booked in July of last year (2002).
The outcome was Left upper, left lower and right lower quadrant
adhesions. Exactly in the area where I had the pain.
The only problem was that as I felt a lot of immediate relief in certain
areas, I was never fully well and then, after a few weeks, I felt like I
was right back where I started. :(
When I followed up with Dr. Reich a few weeks later, I told him about
all of my symptoms again, and he didn't seem to think that adhesions
could still be my problem since I don't have endometriosis and I didn't
have that many to begin with.
But what about what I FEEL???
So I am not in the process of booking another surgery. "We may not find
anything" is not good enough for me, I am the one living like a cripple
at 24 years of age! It's not like I like to be sick!!!
My question is the following:
* Although I know that Dr. Reich is one of the best surgeons in the
world and has had many successfull adhesiolysis, and is also a very kind
and compassionate man (their whole team, from beginning to end are
always extremely polite and understanding), has anyone gone to him but
not been better yet?
If so, what did you do after that? Did some of you have to end up going
to Germany? Do some people really need the combo od gasless and spray
gel, even if it isn't endo?
Karen, when I read your stories about what you went through with
Melissa, it is an exact replica of what I have been going through with
my Mom!! She is so lucky to have you the same way I don't know where I'd
be without my Mom.
Anyways, this message has been long enough and I thank you so much for
having the patience to sit through it.
I would really appreciate all the ifo I can get from anyone of you.
Sincerely,
Michelle.