Re: Please........Desperately need advice!!!!!-Peggy

From: Christine M. Smith (smithy@maine.rr.com)
Tue Aug 3 11:03:36 1999


Hi PeggyAt Tue, 3 Aug 1999, Peggy wrote: >
>At Mon, 2 Aug 1999, Valerie Gates wrote:
>>
>>Thanks for reading this! I need all the help I can get!! I have been
>>very sick again.....the fourth time this summer! My doctor finally took
>>me serious enough to recommend some tests and I don't know much about
>>them. On Friday I am supposed to have a Sigmoidoscopy? and a Barium
>>Enema.......doesn't sound like much fun. The Friday after that I have
>>to have an upper GI. If all of these are negative, he wants to schedule
>>exploratory surgery. If I have to do that it will be my 9th surgery for
>>adhesions. Should I have all those tests first? Will that just be more
>>misery for nothing? I feel like I have to do what he says, at least he's
>>doing something besides sending me home with antibiotics and pain
>>pills!! What about more surgery? Is it worth making this worse to maybe
>>get a few months of being better???? I have missed 17 days of work this
>>year alone and I'm scared to death that I will lose my job! My boss
>>thinks having more surgery is the thing to do, but I am so unsure!
>>Please tell me what you think.....and any info you might have about
>>these tests!
>>
>>Thanks
>>
>>Valerie
>>
>>--
>>Valerie Gates
>
>Hi Valerie,
>I can't tell you to much about the tests other than the barium.You will
>have to do a prep for that test which is drinking something to get you
>cleaned out.I can tell you that whatever they give you to drink is not
>very pleasant tasting.As for the test,No it is not very pleasant
>either,THey have to pump air into your colon so that the contrast that
>they use goes through easier.I had a little problem with that .I broke
>out in a cold sweat and thought that I was going to pass out.The nurse
>gave me a cold compress which really helped.When the test was over you
>then have to try to expell the contrast {Which can be very noisey}ASk if
>they have a bathroom that has at least some privacy.I was in a bathroom
>that the other door led out into a hallway that people were walking
>by,It was very embarresing for me.I went by my self because I did not
>think the test would be to bad,I should have had someone drive me.On the
>way home I ahd such gas pains that again I thought I was going to pass
>out.THey tell you to drink alot of fluid to get rid of the cntrast.It
>took about 2 hours after I came home before Iwas felling better.My
>history is.
>1. D&C 2/98
>2. hysterectomy w/removal of left ovary 4/98
>3. infection from hysterectomy which required going to surgey 4/98
>4. laporoscopy w/ extensive lysis of adhesions 10/98
>5. steroid injections 1 every other week for 4 weeks 2/99
>6. laporoscopy with sever lysis of adhesions 4/99
>7. cystoscopy to rule out anything urological 7/16/99
>8. colonoscopy to rule out anything gasterial 7/29/99
>9 today i have to go for a M R I
>I ahve also had 2 ct scans and at least 3 intravaginal
>ultrasounds and 2 regular ultrasounds.
>My gyn was afraid that after the second lap. and having the pain return
>that he was over looking something. Fortunatlly the last 2 tests have
>come back negetive so I have been cleared with there being nothing wrong
>urologically and gasterial.
>I am seeing a pain management Dr.{which has just been for the past 2
>weeks} and at least I am capable of living a somewhat normal life at
>this point.If nothing shows with the m r i today I guess the conclusion
>will be that I have adhesions again and probably will the rest of my
>life.I have an appointment with my gyn on 8/13 and will discuss where we
>go from here.I hate the thought of having to take pain meds. the rest
>of my life.I hope that I have helped you some.I know how you feel about
>not wanting to have another surgery,It is a diffacult dicision{sp} to
>make and you are the only one that can make it.Good Luck with whatever
>you decide .this forum is a very supportive place to be.we are here for
>you.
>"FRIENDS THAT STICK TOGETHER" PEGGY

Hi Peggy: It sounds like you had a vasovagal reaction during the barium enema. My husband had one during a sigmoidoscopy-he broke out in a sweat just like you described. These can be quite severe (these reactions) and sometimes the staff thinks you are about to "code". My mother had a barium enema once and she took the bus home!!! I offered to come pick her up but she said no, she felt fine and would take the bus home. Apparently she had no problems. I have never had a barium enema, but I have had an upper GI many years ago. The barium drink was not pleasant, and I understand it has not gotten any better!! Good luck on your MRI. I did not find that a fun experience. In fact, I was terrified. I took 5 mg of valium before hand and if there is ever a next time I will double the dose. The enclosed space didn't bother me (which I thought would be the part that would bother me, not that I'm claustrophobic, but it is kind of enclosed) it was the sounds. First it sounded like a jack hammer at my head, then it stopped and sounded like someone was firing a machine gun at me. I had to hold my hands folded tightly against my chest to keep it from heaving I was breathing so hard. They told me not to breath hard because it could blur the image. Great!!! They gave me tapes to listen to but I couldn't even hear them. They also gave me a bulb to push if I felt I had to get out of there but I persevered. They did the procedure in 5 and 10 minute increments, stopping between each one and asking if I was okay. Then they told me how long the next session would be. Of course, this would depend on what kind of MRI you are having. Mine was 1/2 hour long. (lumbar spine) Good Luck! I found it interesting that your doctor is not considering anything muscularskeletal causing your problem. I can't remember if you said you have gi symptoms or not. I had severe adhesions also, but no gi symptoms. The pain went away after both laps, making the adhesions look even more like the guilty party. But it is becoming more and more apparent it is a muscle/joint problem, something my gyn suggested the very first time I saw him for this problem. The diagnosis of "myofascial pain syndrome" is very controversial among the medical community. My pcp told me "he wasn't ready to label me with that yet" (kind of tells you his opinion of it) but the pain clinic doctor, who happened to be a DO, suggested it right from the start. However, he did not say the other "intraabdominal" causes (i.e. adhesions) were not possible, just that he felt that they had been sufficiently ruled out. He told me that inflammation of the sacroiliac joint is a very common cause of undiagnosed pelvic pain. This agrees with what the colo-rectal surgeon told me also. When I mentioned to him that I had read about psoas muscle syndrome and pyriformis muscle syndrome (also known as ballerina butt, lol!!) he nodded his head that they are all possibilities. What kind of steroid injection did you have and where? The pain doctor also mentioned these but said he would not recommend them unless the other things (celebrex, pt etc) didn't help.

Chris


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