I'm sorry to hear all you've been through (an all too familiar tale) - but with regards to the question about pain management...you usually need a referral to them; they ARE the best next step if the pain is too much to bear and you're not getting help from other Dr.'s; and I don't think you need to get the referral from your surgeon if your Primary Care Dr. does the
referral but it's better from the surgeon. If at all possible, ask the surgeon if his/her staff can call the pain clinic for your first appointment. I had to wait 3 mos to get my first appointment and then another 3 before they would prescribe any pain medicine. My surgeon said if
I had only told him he would've called and gotten me in within a week or two.
Give it a try - and hang in there. DT
>----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, October 25, 2006 10:25 PM
Subject: Adhesions and Pain Management
Sender: daniel.kuntz@brescia.edu (Daniel J)
>
> Some of you know my story, but its been a long year testing (CT scans,
> EGD's ERCP's, Ultrasounds, Hydrogen Tests, a test for Celia disease and
> others) and we are left finally with the adhesions that we thought were
> the problem all along. Seven years ago, when I had my ileostomy
> surgery, the doctors had me on the table removing the adhesions I had
> acquired from the surgery fifteen years before to remove my colon. The
> surgeon I have lately seen (but who did niether of the previous
> surgeries) sent me for a Barium X-Ray to see if the pain was caused by a
> blockage due to adhesions. He found nothing, as did the rest, but the
> pain is still there and absent a blockage, he will not perform a surgery
> for the adhesions because, of course, surgery will only produce further
> adhesions. So he has put me on Librax to calm my intestines, hoping
> that that will relieve the pain. It really has done nothing for the
> pain and as of now, he wants to wait and see with no further
> appointment.