I am a medical professional, and I strongly agree with Helen. You need to find someone who will treat your pain with medications that will do the job. OBviously, removal of that which is causing the pain would be best, but with adhesions, that isn't always possible, so the next logical step is to treat the pain with meds that are strong enough to do the job. Your best course of action now would be to get your MD to refer you to a pain clinic where they are not afraid to rx the type of pain meds you need!
As for the antidepressant Elavil, it can help raise your pain threshold but it can not take the place of appropriate pain relievers. Helen is one of the lucky few who don't experience many side effects from it. I take it myself and I gained 20 lbs. It also basically knocks me out at night. It is so sedating that new patients are warned about the daytime drowziness that carries over for the first week or so when you first start it. The other tri-cyclicic antidepressants in this class cause somewhat the same side effects that Elavil does but to a lesser degree. Each person is different so each persons response to meds are also different. You will just have to work with your MD to find which works the best for you without causing too many side effects. But I must stress again, this may help you deal with the pain but it is not a cure for it. With the level of pain you are experiencing, you need to find someone who will work with you and find the right pain med with the appropriate dosage so that you can function.
I wish you well in your search and let us know how things develop. If you need more info on good pain clinics, feel free to write me privately and I will help you all I can.
Hang tough, there is help out there, you just have to be persistant until you find it.
Tina