Re: Adhesions/Gall Bladder...I Need Some Advice

From: khickey (khickey@mciworld.com)
Mon Nov 29 08:56:49 1999


Hi everyone, I wanted to let you know how my family doctor's visit went today. I was in terrible pain today, and when he tried to feel where the pain was(lower right abdominal quadrant), I almost came off of the table. He said he definitely wanted me to get to a doctor who had more skills on this subject. He gave me a new drug for pain that doesn't cause drowsiness. It is called Vioxx. Has anyone heard of this? He said it is finding to be the best drug for chronic pain with no side effects. He also gave me a prescription for Vicodin, and Talwin. He said he knew I was careful with narcotic drugs, but felt I definitely needed them. He was referring me to another surgeon, and wanted to know about Dr. Semertzides (who is calling me back today), and the problem is, Dr. S. is not in my HMO plan. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get around this problem? I am having a painful day today. My walking is very hard to do, and I find that even moving around the house is almost impossible today. I am scheduled to meet with a representative from SSI today at 2:30, so maybe having a "bad" day is good, so they can see how bad this pain is. Of course, the doctor will not let me go back to work today, so I will have to face this mean boss when I return on Wed. He just doesn't understand pain, and how it incapacitates a person. Well, I will let everyone know what the SSI office says today. They are giving me some helpful items on Adhesions, and what the SSI is doing with these cases. Thanks everyone. Kim Hickey -----Original Message----- From: Rhonda R. White <samuels1@us.net> To: Multiple recipients of list ADHESIONS <adhesions@talk.obgyn.net> Date: Sunday, November 28, 1999 7:10 PM Subject: Adhesions/Gall Bladder...I Need Some Advice

>Questions are at the end.
>
>I recently had a HIDA Scan which showed that my gall bladder doesn't
>excrete. In October I had a laparoscopy to remove pelvic adhesions.
>While the gyn was doing the lap, she told me that my liver & gall
>bladder were covered with adhesions. So bad that she couldn't even see
>the organs. Because I had limited her to the laprascope, she couldn't
>take those adhesions down. When I relayed the gyn's findings to my
>primary, she said I needed a general surgeon. The general surgeon says
>that she doesn't take down adhesions without a bowel obstruction, which
>I don't have. She says she absolutely won't bother the adhesions, and
>will only bother them (as few as necessary) if they get in the way of
>her removing my gall bladder laprascopically. She also says that my
>pain covers a larger area than just from my gall bladder and that for
>that reason, she's not sure that my gall bladder is the sole (or even a
>part) source of my pain.
>
>I also gathered from my gyn, that while my adhesions had re-formed, they
>weren't nearly as severe as they had be during a previous surgery
>meaning that I didn't get any new ones and that the ones that had grown
>back weren't as bad as they had been. This gives me hope that if
>perhaps much care is taken then to remove my adhesions in the upper
>right quadrant, they won't grow back; and if they do, it won't be as
>severe. Because I want to avoid having surgery again for as long as
>possible, I want to have my gall bladder removed as well as having the
>adhesions taken down. That way, I'm covering all the bases.
>
>I don't have much experience in dealing with insurance companies but I'm
>wondering how much success I can expect with Cigna (HMO) in getting them
>to allow me to have 2 surgeries at the same time. Can a gyn remove my
>gall bladder? Liklihood of getting a gyn & a general surgeon to work
>together? Can anyone recommend any good surgeons in the Washington,
>D.C. area? Finally, I've noticed that all of the doctors who seem to
>care anything about adhesions are gynecologists. Am I imagining that?
>If not, why are gynecologists the only ones who seem to work on
>adhesions?
>


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