> I thought it might be helpful to some of our members/readers to hear
> some good news that I received after my own surgery this summer.
>
> In mid-June I had what is somewhere around my 20th surgical procedure
> (I've quit counting) over a 19 year time span. Being still very young,
> this is not exactly a great track record, but one that I hold due to
> severe endometriosis and adhesions. I've worked with the same doctors
> over these years in my current home town (Texas) and find I am very
> fortunate to have their knowledge, skill sets and patience.
>
> For the first time in 19 years I heard these statements from my doctors
> after the surgery: "the pelvic was clean of endo and adhesions" and
> "the
> abdominal/chest adhesions were not nearly as bad as we expected based
> on
> your prior surgeries". Never before have I heard these
words.....ever.
>
> The endo has resided everywhere you can think of and in a lot of other
> places it should not - liver, diaphragm, etc. The adhesions have taken
> on a life of their own, partly from the endo, partly from multiple
> surgeries and my body's ability to just keep making the tissue or at
> least allowing it to grow.
>
> Over the years they tried most everything to help with my stubborn
> adhesions. Intergel was removed from the market in the months prior to
> my surgery, otherwise, it may have been used.
>
> It seems Sepra Film has become my body's most accepted adhesion barrier
> and after two applications ('97 & '99) there has been some success in
> reducing the quantity of the adhesions. To go a longer time period
> than
> ever before with a lesser amount of adhesions that before is a HUGE
> accomplishment for me. Many of my surgeries were laps. The last 2 ops
> were mini-laparotomies. The surgery this summer was a full laparotomy
> straight down the center -- they found a hernia to repair (ouch). Now
> my husband thinks that I will fall apart at the seams where my
> horizontal and vertical incisions all meet. [he is such the funny
> guy!]. Could the fact that CO2 was not used in the last couple of
> surgeries have some impact? How long will the Sepra Film help this
> time?
>
> I've been through a lot myself with all of this over the years and I
> know that one of these days we will find something that will work for
> me. I do not expect this to be the end of my dealings w/adhesions or
> endo - - my doctors and I know my body all too well. But we do feel it
> may be a little bit longer this time before I have to have another
> surgery. Its taken many years to get here - a lot of pain, a lot of
> crying, lack of money and a lot of everything else I never anticipated
> I
> would have to deal with -- but the fight is not over yet. I'm
> fortunate
> in that I am always pain free after surgery -- a lot of practice at
> getting myself prepared mentally for feeling better maybe, even though
> I
> know there will be a "next time"?? In these later years I am able to go
> a while longer before things get me down, but the diseases are always
> in
> the back of my mind.
>
> I'm not sure what else we have done differently to achieve this outcome
> besides create havoc with my hormone replacement regimens and I do take
> GLA supplements to help w/the inflammation (approved by my doctor).
>
> Not everyone gets the same results w/the variety of adhesion barriers
> out there, and if someone else went to my doctor - he may not be right
> for that person. We all go through this disease - uniquely. With my
> surgery in mid-June, I took time away from my IAS duties for a much
> needed recovery period. Getting out of the hospital after only 48hrs
> was a huge coup. I still do not know why they look at you funny when
> you walk the halls at 4am w/your IV pole tagging along behind you --
> could I really look that funny?
>
> My energy has been slow to come back, but I'm getting stronger each day
> and am now 10 weeks post-op. I don't know what the future holds and in
> time, the familiar pain will probably return, but I try not to dwell on
> that just yet.
>
> Until then, I'll just be sitting here putting extra virgin olive oil on
> my incision w/a cotton pad twice a day to minimize the appearance and
> hope that nobody mistakes me for a salad :)
>
> --
> Tracy Joslin
> IAS Administrator
> tracy.joslin@adhesions.org
>
> Neither the IAS, Synechion, Dr. Wiseman or any other representative
> offers
> medical advice. Always consult a qualified medical professional.
>
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>