Brenda,
My name is Jennifer and I am seriously ill with adhesions but the Jennifer who wrote the letter below was not me. My adhesions started at 13 years of age and I have gone thru multiple surgeries since and am now on morphene around the clock as well as cancer medicine because the pain caused my blood sugar to go dangerously high plus my psychiatrist thought that everything I had heard on this board I had made up in my head so he put me on an antipsychotic med that has lowered my white count dangerously and caused my weight to go up which has put my already compromised liver (not from drinking or drugs, just genetic) to be in danger. The doctors in my state no nothing about adhesions but my pain doctor does seem to be somewhat informed so I don't have to suffer but the Jennifer that wrote the letter below should be addressed because it seems she is new to this condition. Thanks Brenda for all your information and God Bless you!
On Sun, Sep 11, 2011 at 8:13 PM, IAS Admin <tracy.joslin@adhesions.org> wrote: Sender: lovelyirishrose@yahoo.com (Brenda) Subject: Re: adhesions
Hi Jennifer, I'm 35, have gone through 12 abdominal surgeries. I have been living with adhesion pain since 2004. My adhesions are so bad that I have almost died during a surgery to remove adhesions, now I can only have a surgery to save my life. My last 1 was in March for bowel obstruction, also. I've done a lot of research, & seen many specialist. I will share some information that I have knowledge of.
Adhesions can be caused by any trauma to the abdomen, including pregnancies, miscarriages, any abdominal surgery, & car accidents, etc... They begin to grow within the first few weeks of trauma, about 6 months later they will begin to thicken, & more can develop. If your adhesions are still in the early stages, you can try to brake them up by doing abdominal exercises & rotating your hips. For most people who do this in the beginning stages, they have very minor or no pain at all. If its too late to brake them up, unfortunately they can cause mild to severe pain for the rest of you life. The only treatment at this point is surgery & surgery will cause them to be worse, each time you have another. It also becomes more dangerous for you, & you can end up only being able to have a surgery to save your life. 700 Americans die from adhesion related bowel obstruction each year. When they get to far, they can cause infertility & also tubal pregnancies. The problem with adhesions is that they can't be seen with any diagnostic test, so many Dr's don't believe that they are there, can cause extreme pain, & depression. I was told by my specialist that powdered latex gloves used in operations show a link with adhesion growth. Every body is different, some adhesion barriers work for some & others don't help at all. They have used all of them on me & my body fights them & develop even more adhesions & scar tissue. You won't know how your body reacts till its used on you. My Dr's monitor my adhesion growth, with how high my White Blood Cell count is. I'm currently at 13,000, when it gets to 16,000 I have to be hospitalized & placed on IV antibiotics, at 18,000 I have to have surgery (10,000 is sign of infection). Not many Dr's know about this, I'm lucky to have a team of Dr's who actually know what they're doing. My best advice to you, is to search for a Internal Specialist & a GYN or Surgeon, who understands adhesions, are caring, will do everything they can to help you. If your pain is to much to bare, & disrupting your quality of life, then you should see a Pain Management Dr who specializes in pelvic/abdominal pain (they will also help with depression), they go hand & hand.
I hope that some of this helps you, & best of luck to you.