Hi everyone:
I just got back from vacation and checked in on the forum and was
surprised to see that Igor found it! I had heard from Igor privately
awhile back, in response to either a post I made on a GI forum or a
crohn's forum, not sure which. After a few e-mails I never heard from
him again.
I have found Igor's posts and the responses to them interesting. First,
I would like to say that you have to keep in mind that there is
something lost in the translation. Not having a complete command of a
language, especially written where there are no body clues, can cause
misunderstandings. That's easy to do as it is, even when both parties
are using their native language!
Some of what Igor has said I disagree strongly with. For example, his
statement that all adhesion sufferers have liver failure. This is just
not true. Everyone has already heard many times on this forum that some
people have adhesions (found at an unrelated surgery) that have caused
them no trouble at all. Now, someone might say the adhesions caused the
trouble that caused them to have the second operation that discovered
the adhesions. This is very debatable. Another thing I disagree with
is Igor's suggestion that in old times people were cured by going off by
themselves and communing with God/nature.I'm sure some people are cured
doing this, I also wonder how many die doing it also. It is known that
sick animals do this to die! I guess they don't have a positive
attitude!
The thing I found most amazing was, even with his decreased proficiency
in English, that Igor picked up on the same thing I did, that there
appears to be closed minds on this forum. This is not intended to
offend anyone, rather to make people think. The forum really should be
able to be more than just a source of hugs. If that is all it is, then
it is missing out on a lot of participants, because many people are
looking for more than hugs. (I also disagree with Igor when he says not
to surround yourself with negative comments. Negative could turn out to
be positive if you think about it) (I don't know if I am getting this
out right so that my intent comes across. Even as a native speaker,
this is difficult. Igor, please do not be offended when I comment on
your abilities. The fact that you are able to participate in another
language is more than I could do. I even get into trouble with my own
language!)
This is the same impression that I received when I insisted on posting
that perhaps adhesions were not totally (or at all!) responsible for my
pain problem. Granted this is an adhesion forum, but there is the
possibility that someone has reached the forum who thinks adhesions are
their problem but may not be. I felt like I was talking to a wall! It
seems that everyone has their problem figured out, they have adhesions
in this place and they are causing this type or that type of pain. Yet
when I posted my experiences about the lack of/contradictory correlation
between my pain and findings at surgery, etc. there was very little
interest. This wasn't just an opinion I had, but actual findings at
surgery along with subjective descriptions of pain, yet no one seemed to
think it could possibly apply in their case! Someone has told me that
she takes what she finds useful and disregards the rest. Well, I
believe this can be detrimental. It was only when I started listening
to other opinions (other than the one I already had) that I started to
improve. I was floored when I went to a colo-rectal surgeon and he told
me my problem was *probably* sacroiliac inflammation! Instead of
thinking,"Oh great, here is another professional telling me that
adhesions don't cause pain", I thought, "Do you think...." So I stopped
the very intensive fitness program that I had begun (exercise is
supposed to be good for you) and my pain decreased tremendously. I was
also amazed that spine/hip problems can refer so much pain to the
pelvis/abdomen. If I am right about my case (and maybe I'm not) then
pelvic/abdominal pain was ALL they caused for two full years!
I do believe there is a lot of sharing of information on this forum,
what works for pain relief etc. etc. and that is great, but there
seems to be a line that you don't cross and that is to question the
diagnosis. This may be okay in cases where a diagnosis is certain, but
that is not the case with adhesions. This is probably the reason for
the controversy abong the medical profession concerning adhesions.
Instead of discussion, (on this forum) there is silence. There has been
a suggestion that my problem is really endometriosis. While that person
has not changed my mind that endo is not my problem I have discussed it
in depth. In other words, I think I practice what I am preaching.
Although I found traveling across time zones exhausting I did very well.
I did a ton of walking, often carrying an overloaded shoulder tote,
without an increase in pain. This made me question the SI business,
because you would think so much walking might cause increased pain, but
I don't think walking is considered high impact. I found it interesting
that I had very little abdominal/pelvic pain and wonder if this could be
due to the low fiber (and high fat!) diet I ate for 2 weeks. Or was it
the celebrex I took for about 6 weeks before I left?
Well, as I heard all the time for hte last two weeks, Cheers everyone.
(seems to be a general greeting, hello, goodbye, thank you, whatever is
appropriate.)