Dana wrote:
> I am sorry you are so frustrated. I understand your feelings as I had a
> similar situation. I trusted my doctor and then felt like he didn't
> take care of me.
>
> I would encourage you to give yourself time to heal from this last
> surgery. If you just had surgery this month, it could take a while to
> start feeling better. I had surgery in February, and it took a full six
> weeks to get over my surgical pain. Mine was a laparotomy, but it will
> still take a few weeks to get over a laparoscopy. After my surgery, I
> kept feeling the pain would return and was so fearly of every discomfort
> I felt. But after taking it very easy for six weeks, I am finally rid
> of the pain.
>
> I think another thing that has helped me is being on anti-depressants.
> If you're not on them, you might ask your doctor whether that's a viable
> option for you.
>
> Please know you are in our thoughts and prayers. Dana
>
> At Tue, 28 Mar 2000, Jessica wrote:
> >
> >Hi all! I have to write and tell you what I, with a little help from my
> >obgyn, have done to myself. I am frustrated, ashamed, and a little
> >depressed. My mistake in all this was trusting my doctor. He has the
> >best reputation in this area for obgyn surgery. He is a perfectionist
> >and all the nurses I have talked do say he does clean surgery. Sounds
> >like what we are supposed to look for right? What he has done to me is
> >taken me piece by piece, and not listened to me or communicated with my
> >GI doctor. Heres a quick run down of the proceedures I have had him do:
> >!. Oct "98- Lap to diagnose left side abdominal pain. He found a
> >corpus luteum cyst on right ovary, and adhesions to my bladder. Pain
> >returned 3 days after surgery, though it was less intense.
> >2. May 99- Open abdominal hysterectomy. I told him to remove anything
> >that looked like it would cause trouble in the future. I told him I did
> >not have a problem loosing my ovaries. At this time no adhesions were
> >mentioned.
> >3. March 2000-lap to remove ovaries due to severe pain. I could not
> >even work (teacher) due to the pain for 2 weeks prior to surgery. He
> >said I was a mess inside. He had trouble locating ovaries due to
> >adhesions and had "great difficulty" removing them. He said that he
> >almost had to open me up but was able to get 90% of adhesions. He feels
> >that they will almost certainly come back. 3 days after surgery, the
> >pain returns. Since I had a failed attempt at a colonoscopy and the GI
> >doctor diagnosed "tortured colon-probable adhesions cause" in 1998, I
> >feel it's the adhesions on the colon causing the problem. My obgyn
> >wrote in his report on the ovary removal that "If this patient requires
> >further exploratory surgery it is recommended that it be an open
> >abdominal proceedure with the use of an adhesion barrier.
> >Why did I let this man open me up so many times? Why did I not demand
> >that he remove my ovaries when he took my uterus? The only excuse I can
> >think of is that he is very arrogant and hates to be questioned. When I
> >begin to ask questions or state facts he shuts down. That's still no
> >excuse for me. Through this forum I knew better than he did what needs
> >to be done. You can bet I will begin interviewing surgeons today for
> >the future! Before the pain gets so bad that I would let a monkey with a
> >can opener do the surgery!! I'm going to wait as long as before the next
> >surgery.
> >Thanks for letting me vent and for always being there and understanding.
> >Any hints on choosing a surgeon would be appreciated! Here's to a pain
> >free day for all.
> >
> >--
> >Jessica Baleyko
> >
>