Re: New here and need some info

From: Karen Steward (kann@charter.net)
Fri Jun 6 19:03:43 2003


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.
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