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How It All Began ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Grab your cup of coffee and maybe even a cookie or two ,,,,
sit back and well ,,,,, just read!
On February 9 1999 I was trimming a tree with a pole saw. { An extendible fiberglass pole used to trim branches on a tree usually out of reach} Having been born in a Landscaping family, I knew how to use the pole saw. As I was trimming the tree, nearly done sawing through the branch, I slipped with the pole saw and jammed it into my right side. Kind of like a "hip pointer" or so the E.R. Dr. had called it anyhow.
I tried to explain to the Dr. that I knew my Appendix was not normal and that I felt as though I may of damaged it. I asked repeatedly for him to do some kind of "test" to see if there was any problems. He asked me how I knew that my Appendix was not normal ,,,, I replied ,,, " your board of Director's is also my OBGYN" and he had already told me so!!!
To no avail did this statement even register much less do any good! I was sent home to "rest" and take pain medications. For almost two weeks I walked around in so much pain it was unreal!!! Everyday I would try so hard to get up out of bed and just do my daily routine. Finally, I gave up!! I decided to go to a different hospital's E.R. and boy am I ever so glad I did that!!!
Within an hour ,,, they had called in my surgeon, he came in and asked me what it was! I told him it was my Appendix and I knew it was not a normal one either!!! He informed me that he was due for surgery at another Hospital close by,,, and afterwards he would return to do my surgery. He asked me if I thought I could wait another 90 minutes more,,, and I gladly told him,,, "heck yea"!!!
He returned as promised ,, and began the task of removing my Appendix. Which by that time, was less than 4 hours from rupture!!! In the process ,, since the Appendix was not normal ,,, { it was coiled up and laying on it's side } hiding in fact ,, behind the Intestine. The Intestine got nicked in trying to get to the Appendix. It was a bleeder and it had to be cauterized. I was closed up and sent home the next day. I felt so much better. Until ,,,,,,
One month later ,,,, I began having pain in the lower right side. It felt so much like the Appendix was still there ,,, and hurting still !!!! I was almost afraid that maybe it actually got left behind somehow. When I went to see the Doctor for the check up ,,, I told him about the pain and how badly it hurt! I even asked him ,,," did you really remove it"??? He assured me that in fact he had removed it ,,, but he was concerned that maybe since there was so much difficulty in removing it and the nick and cauterizing ,,, may in fact of caused me to now have "Adhesions".
Exactly one month and two days after having my Appendix removed ,,, I was back in having an "exploratory" surgery to see if in fact I might have any Adhesions growing. It was like a stick of dynamite went off inside me! There were so many Adhesions in there that even the Doctor was amazed by what he found! From that point on ,, both the Doctor and I knew ,,, it was going to be a long road to tow!!!
Within the first year ,,, I was averaging surgery every two to four months for Adhesion related surgery. On two different surgeries ,,, they placed "Interseed" in me ,,, that would be the "shinny Silver" looking stuff you see on the picture page. Neither time did the "Interseed" work, in fact it seemed like it actually made them come back even faster and bigger each time!!
On February 10, 2000 I was taken in for surgery again ,,, this time by my OBGYN for "Endometriosis" and "Adhesions" again. In this surgery, I lost any and all hopes of ever having another child ,, since it was this surgery that they did a full "Hysterectomy" since the Adhesions were fully engulfing my "Ovaries and Uterus"!! Funny ,,, it was about this same time that I became "Divorced" too!!! Afterwards ,, both Doctor's told me I could not keep having these surgeries ,,, since the more surgery you do ,,, the more Adhesions you get. It is after all ,,, scar tissue!!!
Three months later ,, I was having surgery again!!! They just kept growing and growing!!!! By February 9 2001 a "new" Doctor, & I was having a "Full Abdominal Cut" 4 inches down the front of me!! This surgery now made number 15!!!! The surgery consisted of removing my full Intestinal track and scraping any and all Adhesions they might find. Which was a great deal. Also, they were scraping the inside Abdominal wall and the back Abdominal wall !! Then they replaced all of my Intestines back inside of me ,,, and covered completely my full Intestinal track with "SepraFilm".
"SepraFilm" is a clear substance. Sticky on one side and smooth on the other. It breaks down within a very short period of time. Like "Interseed" ,,,, It becomes "Gel Like" { but it lasts longer than Interseed} as it acts as a barrier between the Intestine and the Adhesions. The propose is ,,, if the Adhesions can't stick to something ,,, they will fall off and stop growing. Unfortunately ,,,, it is not a permanent solution. Although I will say this ,,,, it bought me 6 months of no surgeries!!!!
By August that same year ,, I was beginning to feel the Adhesions again! Maybe out of "fear" or even "denial" I refused to go to the Doctor. Since I already knew that none of them would do another surgery on me ,,, what was the point?? Right?? So I waited ,,, everything I did ,,, I did carefully. Nothing to make them grow faster ,,, guess I was hoping that if I didn't think about them ,,, they might in fact ,,, not grow!!! Boy was I wrong there!!!!
Well ,,, I put it off for almost a year! But by that time ,,, I wasn't walking in an upright position! I went back to my original Doctor ,,, and yes ,,, I did beg him to do the surgery again!!! He had been worried about me since he knew the last surgery that was done ,,, was a full cut. He knew the "exposure" to air was not a good thing ,,, especially since we both knew ,,, I was one of these women that seem to mass produce Adhesions!! Lucky me!!!
On August 8 2002 I was undergoing surgery number 16!! My Doctor did everything he could humanly do to remove the Adhesions. But as he told me when I woke up ,,,, my Intestines were and still are ,,, riddled with tiny dense Adhesions. He was not able to remove them all ,,, since to do so would of meant perforating my Intestines. So they were left there ,,, to continue to grow ,,, to cause tremendous pain and discomfort!!! He placed "Interseed" in there again ,,, but we both know ,,,, it's a temporary fix!!
Up until now ,,, there really was not a cure for Adhesions. There were "temporary fixes" such as "Interseed" and "SepraFilm". Recently however, I have discovered that in Germany and also in Australia ,,, they have done quiet a remarkable job in helping to aid women that suffer from Adhesions. They have a product that is called "Spray Gel" and from the testimonies I have read ,,,, this stuff really works!!!!
Our F.D.A. began Clinical Testing on "SprayGel" June 17 2002. From what I understand ,,, it is a 24 month research test. That means it is still more than 2 years away from F.D.A. approval in the United States. This product has been proven to work in all the surgical procedures that have already been done using this product. These women swear to feeling 100% Adhesion pain free!!!
Since this last surgery in August ,,, I have been experiencing difficulty with the Incision, since Adhesions formed behind the stitches. I had to have "injections" into the Incision to break up some of the scar tissue so the stitches could finish healing properly. As if that was not enough ,,,, I took my son to Disney two days before his Birthday ,,, as a surprise Birthday Gift. As we were trying to leave the park to return home ,,, I was assaulted{{ punched in the stomach right where I had just had my surgery done and also the injections just a short time before}} by a woman who was also a visitor of the park!! Her daughter ,, then assaulted my teen age son too!!!
This action has now caused serious trauma to my insides. It has caused the Adhesions to grow at an alarming rate.
Any kind of stress, trauma, or anything of this magnitude ,,, can cause Adhesions to grow faster. "Stress" I would have to say is probably the worst one! But then I think we all know already ,, stress is a "no-no"!!!
I hope you have enjoyed looking around my site. Please feel free to leave comments or questions on the "Guest Book Page". It is my intention to try to help with answers or to even possibly help with some insight to the " Nightmarish Realm" of Adhesions.
Your Friend,
Denise
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