Still OK after 1 year

From: Nancy (anonymous@msn.com)
Mon Sep 6 22:13:28 2004


I thought I'd take a moment to write a quick update one year after my last surgery. So far, so good.

My last surgery was my sixth. This last time, I traveled to PA to have surgery with Dr. Reich and Dr. Gerhart. One year later, I still believe it was worth the effort.

I had adhesions everywhere. My first two surgeries were to deal with the endometriosis and adhesions that had effected my fertility. That doctor was very skilled at creating a window where pregnancy could occur. I was successful twice and have two wonderful children, ages 6 and 9. Unfortunately, his technique was to burn the adhesions away with a laser. I suspect that the thermal damage caused the extensive regrowth of adhesions that caused significant pain and digestive trouble within a year after the birth of my daughter. In retrospect, it was all worth it to have these two great kids, but the aftermath has been significant.

The pain got unbearable, and I wasn't very knowledgeable, so I let my OB/GYN go in and clean things out. She used cautery to remove the adhesions. Three months later, I was back to square one. Pain so bad that I couldn't function without vicodin. Plus my digestive system shut down. I was using enemeas weekly to function. My next step was to try surgery again with a surgeon at a teaching hospital in a big city. He also used laser and heat, so three months later, again, square one. In desperation, I finally consented to a total abdominal hysterectomy. I was still ignorant about this condition and just wanted everything to stop. This was a mistake. I should never have consented to an open surgery. This surgeon used interceed, but it didn't help. I had some relief, for a little longer, but within a year I was going down hill again. I changed my diet. I stopped eating meat and cheese. I had to keep things very soft or my digestive system would shut down. Over the next year, even enemas wouldn't work. I had to take magnesium citrate, or draino as I like to call it, just to function. I was very sick and losing weight. It was during that last year that I discovered the IAS and began to learn about ARD. All of a sudden it had a name and a specific set of complications. At first I couldn't understand why all of my other doctors minimized the adhesion angle. I had to do something, so I consulted with Drs. Reich and Gerhart.

Their techniques were significantly different. They had minimal use of thermal tools. Mostly, they just cut the adhesions. They suspect, and I agree, that the heat causes more damage than is fixed when the adhesions are removed. They did have to use laser to remove a hidden area of endometriosis, but nothing like my other surgeries.

I am not completely symptom free. I take lactulose daily to keep my digestive system moving, but with this medicine, I can almost convince myself that I am normal. Lactulose wouldn't touch my difficulty before. My colon was frozen in a "N" shape and solid matter just couldn't make it around the curves. They called this "stricture." I get twinges occasionally, but have not had to take any prescription pain killer since the surgery. I take Advil occasionally. I have a little pain if I eat bad for a few days and allow myself to get consipated, but once it resolves I am OK again. I consider myself 75-80% normal. Considering where I was, I am extremely happy with this outcome. I am not kidding myself into believing that I am "cured." I suspect that I will again some day have to have surgery again, but if I can get maybe 5 years with the knowledge that I can travel to see these experts again, I have hope for the future. The best part is that I do not feel like I am getting progressively worse. I think that I am the same now that I was after six months. In the past, progression of symptoms was constant and unrelenting. I was extremely hopeless and depressed. Now, I am cautiously optimistic. Plus, I have heard through the grapevine that these doctors are experimenting with that SprayGel. Maybe by the next time I have to have surgery, I'll have the benefit of their techniques as well as this product.

I'll try to remember to pop back in during the next year. Hopefully, the second year will be as good as the first. Please feel free to e-mail if you have any questions.

--
Nancy

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