Quality of Life
From: Nicole (nknigge@hotmail.com)
Mon Dec 19 17:03:50 2005
I have adhesions, albeit from the messages I have read, they are not
quite as bad as other people's stories I have read. I am going to be
having surgery, again, to have them removed. The last three times they
were removed was during other surgeries, a c-section with tubal
ligation, D&C gone wrong ending up in laparascopic surgery, and a
hysterectomy. My doctors have been telling me that they can't even see
my organs through all of the adhesions. During my hysterectomy, my
uterus was adhered to my abdominal wall and "glued" to my bladder; with
luck they were able to separate the two without ripping my bladder. I
was happy because I did not have to wear a catheter for 4 weeks. Here
it is a year later and I am having a lot of pain and problems. I have
been to the ER several times, and admitted right before Thanksgiving for
a volvulous. It was straightened out with enemas and a colonoscopy. I
keep hearing things like, "You are just constipated." It is extremely
embarassing and demeaning to go to the hospital to hear that there is
nothing they will do for you. I have gone in tears, bearly able to
walk, etc. They load me up with pain killers and send me out the door.
I can't take pain killers during the day because they make me so tired.
I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, but by the end of the day I
hurt so bad, I can't stand it. I am grumpy with my kids and husband and
I still have to take care of the house and everything else. Sex, when
it happens, hurts and my husband is withdrawing from me. We are working
on it, but it has been really hard. The only thing I have been given
for pain is vicodin and they will only give it to me in small
prescriptions.
I only take them at night so I can be pain free for a
while, but can't function on them during the day. I'm at a loss. I see
people who are on very heavy pain killers and don't know how they do it.
I guess I am venting here, but I am not sure how to get anyone to take
me seriously. I live in a very small town with no major cities closer
than a 2 hour drive away. There are no chronic pain facilities here or
nearby. How can I get my doc. to understand what I am going through?
How did you manage to get your doctors to start managing the pain?
--
Nicole