I was very bothered and saddened to read about your adhesion problems.
Mine first started in 1977 (I was 22). I was having a lot of stomach
pain that the Doctor's said, "Was all in my head". After a year of
suffering, I was operated on where it was learned that I had Crohn's
Disease of the appendics. Everytime, my appendics would flare up and
rupture, the Crohns - being a sticky disease would keep my infection low
keyed and localized. I had tons of pain and nausea, but no fever. When
I had my first surgery, I was already full of dense adhesions. Six
months later, I was re-opened to clean out more adhesions and from then
on a lifetime of painful bowel problems. In June of 1998, I started
having severe pain in my upper right side just under th rib cage. That
was all in my head too, I was told. After 18 months of intense pain, I
was operated on. The adhesions had spread up to the liver and
gallbladder. My liver was stapled to my diaphragm and my gallbladder
was 80 percent dead. They were going to send me home without the
operation and give me fibercon and an anti-depressant, but one Doctor
faught hard for me and the surgery was perfomered.
After the surgery, all the pain was gone, but I had four months of
severe disarrhea. I developed a bowel obstruction in Feb 2000 and the
intense upper right pain returned. I had to repeat all my tests again,
was assigned to the same gastroenterologist who said, I was a head case"
and, once again, prescribed fibercon and more anti-depressants. The
extra fiber brought on another bowel obstruction. From 2000 - 2002 I
searched for Doctors to give me relief from pain. One Doctor said
surgery was too risky because of the scar tussue, another was scared off
by the complicated symptoms, a third Doctor did not believe adhesions
caused pain in men - but operated anyway. My entire pelvic cavity is a
spider web of adhesions, He cut away as much as possible, but since the
surgery (May 2002) I have been in worse pain and suffering severe
diarrhea every day. In Sept. 2002 I had a complete bowel obstruction,
worse pain in my life. I was checked my a Surgeon and told, "You are
just having a simple bowel spasm". My white count showed infection,
other blood work was abnormal, x-rays showed complete obstruction, but I
was told "simple bowel spasm". The pain is much worse now, sometimes it
is a tearing, ripping pain, other times it feels like someone rammed me
with a spear. The pain goes from the upper right front of my stomach
into the back and then it travels up deep inside my rib cage and down
into my hips. I am taking Vicoden in moderate amountsd, but I can not
get out of this pain. It hurts to eat, use the bathroom, walk, even
breathing hurts. I feel so alone in all this. My friends, who were
initially supportive, are slowly drifting away. They are finding it
hard to believe in my when all my x-rays are normal - the pain must be
my fault - they reason to themselves. I am getting very little moral
support. On Wednesday, June 11 I will be getting a colonscopy and an
Upper GI endoscopy all on the same day. Problem is, they are looking
inside the intestines - not outside - looking into the abdominal cavity
to view how the adhesions are growing back and where they may be causing
problems. I do not push to hard for laporascopic exam, I just wait and
see if they will suggest it, but after 5 operations, the chances are
slim unless I present myself as a surgical emergency - and even then -
they want to watch and wait. The Doctors clear up the little medical
storms in my life, but do not know what to do about the cause. I hope
you do not view this as a "whining session", it's just that I do not
have much contact with people sharing the same affliction. I am
primarliy homebound.Reading some of these messages is quite said and,
though difficult to read at times, brings comfort anf I am no longer so
alone. Please keep me posted on your progress.