Striking out
This post is the latest in a series chronicling my battle with abdominal adhesions.
Click here to read from beginning
I had my 2nd opinion appointment with a surgeon last week. As hard as I tried to be positive and hoped that this surgeon would be willing to help me, I couldn’t help but feel that this appointment would be a waste of time, money, and most importantly a waste of my physical and emotional energy. As it turns out I was right.
From the moment the surgeon entered the exam room, I could sense that he was not interested in helping me. Not only did he show no concern or interest in my symptoms or the pain I have been experiencing, he didn’t even pull up my records to get a better understanding. This surgeon was against performing surgery for something that would return, even though it would give my body a temporary break from intense pain. He said that he refused to be the surgeon who performed my 9th abdominal surgery and recommended pain management. It didn’t matter that 2 of those surgeries were C-sections and one was an appendectomy. As for the remaining 5, the number would have probably been less had my hysterectomy been done correctly. He still refused. At this point I knew that there was no changing his mind and I ended the appointment.
Before leaving I agreed to schedule a consultation with pain management. But wanted to know what he thought they could do for me besides write prescriptions, so I asked. He didn’t have an answer. The only reason I have agreed to meeting with pain management is so that my provider can’t say that I didn’t explore that avenue. Maybe I will get lucky and they will have some ideas that don’t involve drugs, but I am not counting on it.
One thing that I am going to inquire about is Therapeutic Ultrasound. I have heard from others that they have had success breaking up scar tissue with this type of therapy. Like I have told every surgeon, it is not that I want or like having surgery. In fact after my last surgery, I swore that I was done and would live with whatever pain my body threw my way. All I know is that there has to be a better way to ease my abdominal pain than to fill my body with chemicals that not only will, but have a history of making me sicker than I am. Part of me is beginning to accept that always present and never ending abdominal pain is going to be a part of my life. That isn’t to say that I am giving up, more that I am prepared to figure out how to live despite it.
So that is what’s up for now. I should hear from scheduling next week to schedule my consultation and hope that I won’t have to wait months to be seen. In the meantime I am continuing to make changes in my diet and to not let this battle with abdominal pain consume me. The last time I went through this I put my life on hold and lost two years of my life. I refuse to lose two more. Read my post “Living while waiting instead of waiting to live” to find out just what I am talking about.
Gentle hugs,
The Disabled Diva
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