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Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS)
Digestive Health | Last Active: 1 hour ago | Replies (1229)Comment receiving replies
Thanks so much for your reply! I am so sorry you went through this pain for 16 years! I can’t imagine. I have had a consult w dr Hsu and he has ordered the block. I am concerned about getting checked for the conditions you mentioned, I don’t have a super helpful pcp or gastro, they all think I’m nuts. Can you tell me what type of dr manages Ed and other compressions?
How are you feeling now, was the recovery as bad as I’ve read? It seems like a lot of people end up worse afterwards, especially if they have other compressions unaddressed. My other concern is that I have had consistently low blood pressure through this whole time, but no one seems to worry about it even though I’m extremely short of breath and feel faint most of the time. My velocities were low 100s and doubled to over 200 on expiration but from what I understand dr Hsu does not address the blood flow at all. Do people usually have both nerve and blood flow involvement and the ones that do have both do they both need to be surgically addressed?
Replies to "Thanks so much for your reply! I am so sorry you went through this pain for..."
The recovery is so different for each person. I only had nerve involvement and not problems with blood flow. I have always had low blood pressure and I think bc of that I don’t have pots. If you can’t get your pcp to order tests for pots, elder danlos, nutcracker, smas-I would look for a different pcp. I don’t think the GI Doctors order these tests, more likely pcp or a vascular surgeon. Your recovery will depend upon if you have any of these other issues, so it’s best to know what you’re going to be faced with. MALS surgery only fixes MALS pain, if neurogenic and blood flow. Hope this helps. Dr. Hsu and his whole team-medical and office help are amazing!
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Hi @tlkc1
You mention blood pressure something which I think is very important to keep track of and talk to your physician about. I'm not sure if you are taking any pain medication, but what you take can have a marked effect on your blood pressure.
I was on high dose morphine for over 8 years with the pain specialist putting me on transdermal patches. In the last 2 years my blood pressure was bottoming out. I was suffering some severe cardiac symptoms with chest pains that sent me to A&E on several occasions. Last year my average blood pressure was 85/45, the lethargy was brutal and I found myself passing out after eating something as basic as breakfast cereal.
I decided last year to take myself off morphine and find other ways of managing the pain. The cardiac symptoms disappeared and my BP improved too. I still get low BP but I don't pass out quite as often. I have compression in more than one artery which my surgeon said he will try and repair.
If you are concerned talk about it with your MALs team and Dr Hsu. Just remember you are the patient you have a right to be heard.