Good morning. I am glad to hear you are making progress! I hope to say that soon!
Yes, being on pain meds is not going to be an option for very long. It's not how I want to live. I am doing as much research and trying everything to get this under control. With the absence of sjogrens and lymphoma per lab work, I feel I might need to go on a round of steroids to get things back to 'normal'. I'm not sure. Did they try that with you? And I don't want to be on steroids long term either. The only abdominal surgery I have had was my gall bladder out about 20 years ago. Not sure if that has been a contributing factor, and I do tend to carry a lot of stress in my life (work, kids, etc...). I've read stress complicates it all. I have retired (yay!) and I mediate everyday and walk. Just added a bit of exercise with light weights every other day (when I am not in pain).
Thank you for the link to Mayo. I meet with my new GI doctor tomorrow (because I am having issues currently, they pushed up my appointment). I am going to talk with her about Mayo and see what she thinks. I really like her. My first meeting with her, she talked with my for an hour and a half! I thought that was amazing. Now that she has all my records I hope she will have a plan to move forward with controlling this. I get this feeling it might be something I will live with or I also read it can just go away on its own...who knows!!! Please stay in touch. It's nice to talk with someone who is in the same boat and understands. :-). Take care!!