I have had over 30 surgeries for abdominal cyst, endometriosis, hysterectomy, obstructions, gall bladder removal, peritoneal leak due to cuts on intestine by doctor who forgot to fix it at the end of procedure for lysis of adhesions - lead to life support, respiratory and heart failure, but God spared my life. I can tell you that adhesion surgery alone to me looking back was truly not worth it. But if your pain is as bad as the pain I have endured sometimes it may be worth it to you. I do get some relief but it does not last long and usually comes back worse than before the surgery. Check your directory for pain management clinic and/or for spine and back specialists, they are usually very good with pain mangement. I go to a Spine, Pain and diagnostic doctor who is a surgeon, and advises me against ever having surgery again. He referred me to physical therapy in a heated pool, and myofascial massage therapy which after trained you can do for yourself, also check out TENS units they are used at home and work great for temporary pain relief w/o having to take all the meds. Muscle relaxants such as Baclofen and Zanaflex which both help with pain. Here a brief description of a TENS unit but you can look it up at: T.E.N.S. is an acronym for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. With the development of modern medicine doctors and scientists have perfected the use of electric pulses to treat and eliminate pain. TENS units use electro frequency at about 80 to 90 MegaHertz. According to doctors and medical professionals the TENS device is the most highly effective treatments for pain relief. A TENS unit is a device that transmits small square electrical pulses to the electrodes, which transmit this electrical pulse to the underlying nerves. The fundamental components of a TENS unit are the electrodes, a highly advanced computer chip, and an electrical battery source. The small amount of electricity is transmitted through the computer component then to the electrodes, which transmits the electrical waveform to the underlying nerves. The user can personalize the pulse frequency, which is the strength of the electrical current given to the electrode.
Rebecca Mitchell,
>----- Original Message ----
To: Multiple recipients of list ADHESIONS <adhesions@dns.obgyn.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 3, 2007 7:16:38 PM
Subject: Adhesions
Sender: "Rebecca Tucker" <rjtucker@peoplepc.com>
Subject: Re: Adhesions
I've had 8 adhesiolyses and several resection surgeries and can vouch that my average is 17 months. I had severe, continuous pain after one of the surgeries and ended up on chronic, high-dose opiate pain control for 2 1/2 years. I'm now pain free after the third try with Seprafilm and am just now starting to have the familiar adhesion pain return.
Best of luck to you in the ongoing saga of adhesion-related disorders.
Rebecca
>----- Original Message -----
To: "Multiple recipients of list ADHESIONS" <adhesions@dns.obgyn.net>
Sent: Monday, July 02, 2007 10:22 PM
Subject: FW: Adhesions
> Sender: rogerit678@msn.com (Heidi (Go Beavs!))
> Subject: Adhesions
>
> Hello Everyone!
>
> I'm new to this forum after reviewing it for awhile. I'm very impressed
> with its content and am glad that there's something out there to help
> all of us! I agree, we're not alone, which I have to keep reminding
> myself from time to time.
>
> In 1998, after delivering my second child by C-section, the surgeon
> neglected to sew up my uterus before closing me up. As a result, my
> internal bleeding (2 units)'primed' the way for massive abdominal
> adhesions. It was 'corrected' the next day, yet was constantly scoffed
> at by the doctors, when I complained of pain afterwards.
>
> Four years later, I had a hysterectomy to try to 'ease' the pain, and
> remove the ovarian cysts. However, the pain following surgery was much
> worse. In addition to the burning sensation I constantly have along the
> scar area, my adhesions pull across my diaphragm, giving me shoulder and
> neck pain, which trigger my migraines.
>