recurring abdominal adhesions

Hi, @sunnshyne - just wanted to check in with you and see how things are going? You mentioned 4 abdominal/pelvic surgeries and that you could not feel any touch in that area prior. Did your surgeries help? You also mentioned a massage therapist and Rolfing bodywork. Wondering if you could share more about how that worked for you (e.g., less bloating, increased sensation)?

@smiles444 - I believe your question about whether the adhesions were due to surgery or from unknown causes was directed to @sunnshyne? I recognize you shared a little related to adhesions in another discussion on Connect, but wondering if you'd share a bit more here about your concerns?

@rdrdhap and @giza - How are you doing?

Hi everyone, I am new here and wanted to reply because I’ve had over ten years of experience with our lovely friends, abdominal adhesions. I also noticed that some of you mentioned the Pelvic Pain Center in Birmingham, Al. This is near me and as of two weeks ago, an absolute godsend. I don’t know if I can help but I’m going to share my story and if nothing else, leave a recommendation for an amazing doctor for adhesions. In 2009, I was often checked out of school to be taken to the emergency room with severe pelvic pain. It hurt to sit. Sometimes my whole stomach burned and I felt like some parts were trying to pull down which was very painful. The ER couldn’t find anything on the MRI or the vaginal Ultrasound so I was always sent home. My Dad raised hell every time. They recommended I see a gynecologist so I did. For several months, I tried different birth drontrs to control my periods as my doctor suspected endometriosis. She put me on seasonique and it helped to an extent but the pain didn’t stop. I was told to go to a gastro because I would sometimes go two weeks without having a bowel movement. This would obviously be a reason for pain but it did not always account for it because sometimes I had good weeks. He told me to change my diet and do take colace, I did. No luck. He didn’t offer a colonoscopy because I was 17. Eventually my gynecologist agreed to do an exploratory laparoscopy in Feb of 2010 and found that the entire left abdominal sidewall was obstructed. My intestine attached to the sidewall, the ovary adhered to the intestine, and the Fallopian tube to the ovary. I had a lot of dense connective tissue but she did not diagnose me with endometriosis at this point. I had gotten pregnant while using birth control and condoms in September of 2011 and I lost the baby within 48 hours of finding out. I took multiple tests and all were positive, even used different brands. I’m not sure what happened. By this point, the gynecologist who had done my surgery had released me and wanted me to see a pelvic pain specialist because she felt there was nothing more she could do for me. I was an idiot and kept coming back because I didn’t want to drive 45 minutes further in bad traffic so I saw a didfeeent doctor there. The other doctor said there was nothing she could do for me since I had already passed the fetus. So that was that. I had went to see a gastro in between 2011 and 2016 and found that I have GERD and Gastroperesis which is stomach paralysis among other disorders. In 2016, I go back to the office with severe lain and a cyst is found. I follow up a month later and it had not burst on its own so surgery was scheduled. The cyst was found on my Fallopian tube and removed. I had some scar tissue but she said it wasn’t too bad. I had the mirena at the time and had gained like 50 pounds. She also managed to cut me vaginally with the speculum while removing instruments post surgery and didn’t tell me or my family. I discovered that when the stitches started falling out after I had suspected something die to the amount of pain I had been in. I called and asked wth happened and they said that I was bleeding a lot and had to be stitched and she’d tell me when I came in. Needless to say,after my follow up, I did not see her again. I finally got the guts to see her colleague although I’d never consider using that practice again had my friend not raved about this woman in 2018. I told her I was having severe pain and couldn’t wear tampons, etc. Thanks to that woman, I have a serious case of vaginismus. The severe pain from 2009 returned with a vengeance and I was determined to push through. I had my mirena our and lost 43 ish pounds. I refuse to have it put back in. My doctor tries to convince me that the pain is from the vaginismus but that doesn’t explain the 27 day period that an increased dosage of birth control can’t control. I bring my old post-op report because I am certain I have adhesions again. It hurts when I lift my arm like I’ve got a pulled muscle times 100. I get sharp pains when I move, and I don’t go to the bathroom for weeks no matter what I do. She agrees to the surgery. She orders no bowel prep and makes ONE incision in my belly button. She comes and tells me she didn’t find anything. Nah duh... you obviously didn’t look! She told me my bowel sure were very full and I needed to see a gastro doctor. I’m furious. This was a complete waste. She butchered my belly button and I have marks from the scope embedded in my skin two months later. She also did a bladder scope. I had clots the size of eggs in my urine and she wasn’t concerned. I went to the Er and I had ecoli all while she was telling me there was no way there was anything wrong with me because she performed the procedure perfectly. The gastro doctor does a colonoscopy and finds nothing. The first bowel prep didn’t work, at all. I finally get in to see Dr. Alex Childs at the pelvic pain center. I waited four months on this appointment and I had found him and scheduled it myself. Before my surgery, my doctor had told me she thought it was a great idea. I see him the next month and he checks my abdomen and is looking for the other incisions and I told him the only fresh one was the umbilical. He said he may be biased but there’s no way she could rule out any disease or make a diagnosis with one incision. He said he hated to take me back to surgery two months later but it was the only way to get to the bottom of this. He also did a pelvic exam and said my muscles not were in terrible shape and after the pt I’ve seen, they should be much better because she is wonderful. I agree to the surgery. He performs the exact procedures. The Lap, D&C, bladder scope, etc. I had a bladder lesion that she charged but did not remove and did not inform me of. Dr. Childs removed it and sent it to pathology. He ordered no bowel prep prior to the surgery as requested. This is a must if you think you have adhesions. They can’t see them if you don’t!!! Plus it’s too dangerous due to the risk of spilling bile into your abdomen so they can’t manipulate your sidewall and intestines if you don’t do the prep. He found bowel adhesions in multiple places. My left ovary was covered by bowel, and this showed on an ultrasound he ordered. Unfortunately the tech tortured me and pushed and prodded until she found it. I had bowel stuck to bowel. Bowel wrapped around my appendix, adhered to ovaries and Fallopian tubes, the bladder lesion, and a rectal lesion. There may be more but that’s all I can think of right now. Nobody took me seriously or would listen about my adhesions but Dr.Childs. He told me before the surgery that he thought it was the best choice over hormonal therapy. He told me e after that he was glad that he did the surgery. He saw me three or four times the day or surgery. I’ve never felt rushed or like my questions weren’t answered. I’ve been trying to get help for years and my family was so thankful for him. Not only did he help me, but he showed me proof of what was done and gave me photos and a dvd to take home. He sent several tissue samples to pathology. I’ve never had incisions look so nice from a surgery before. People come from out of state to see him. I paid over $1500 for the surgery so far and missed a semester of college but he’s worth it. If you are near Birmingham, Al and have any kind of pelvic pain, you will not find better than Dr. Childs. I’m sorry this is so long by the way. It’s a lot of history to pile into one post. I hope this helps someone.

I asked the question know that this was an old post because I was diagnosed with abdominal wall pain in 2017. When I had an oophorectomy in November 2018, part of my small intestine was stuck to the abdominal wall. My doctor did not have an explanation as to how occurred. Could have been previous surgery or injury. Since the surgery in November, I now have pain in my side and the pain goes down my leg. I attempted to go for a walk today and had to turn around because of the pain. I am now wondering if scar tissue is developing where the ovary was removed.

Were your adhesions due to surgery or from unknown causes?

Hey there! You describe a lot of things that I went through. I totally agree; if the physician you are seeing and you have agreed to surgery and they don't prep your bowels for surgery...please run, I mean really fast. Because if they accidentally cut your intestinal, what ever is in your intestine has now contaminated your entire abdomen. I had my first surgery in 1988, I was 17 yrs old; I sustain a gunshot wound to my pelvic and because the gun was a 22 caliber the bullet bounced around and eventually stopped in my left buttock. I sustain injury to my intestine, bladder and not to mention this huge hole in my pelvic. When I was shot I was at the very top of stairs going inside and I fell backward down the flight of steps. I was in the turning position because someone yelled my name and said to get down. Some person start shooting from one end of the block to the other end and I happen to be that unlucky person that was at the top of steps. This happen Boston, MA but I'm from Birmingham AL where I currently live now. Each time I had surgery my intestines were accidentally cut while trying to remove adhesion. My second surgery they suspected endometriosis but it was abdominal adhesions but my doctor still prep my intestines and had a colon dr on stand by.

@sunnshyne My goodness, you sure have been through a lot. How horrible to have had a gunshot wound, and that was in Boston makes me feel even worse. You must have such horrible memories from that. Do you still have problems dating back to the wound? I read back on your prior messages and see that you have had to have many surgeries but I hope you are now functioning well and not suffering with chronic problems.
JK

I don't have time to really think about the memories. However, my health has decline tremendously and I'm receiving social security disability. Although I've been through a lot but I think it's ridiculously that it has taken 2 yrs to get a favorably ruling for my disability and additional 6 mon before receiving my first check. So, I'm working to have Adhesion & Pelvic Disease added to Soc Sec Disability Compassionate List. This would allow for a disability ruling within 30 days.

Hi, @lisalucier -Here I am responding 6/2019 but for some reason no notification of question was received. I did Rolfing about 2 yrs before I met Dr. Mack Barnes and he performed my last surgery. I would say Rolfing is more like a deep massage but with more intensity in designated area; in my case the pelvic & abdomen. For me, Rolfing was used to break up the scar tissue (adhesion) in abdomen/pelvic. I would say around the six session I started to notice more flexibility were the pelvic muscles connected to my upper leg. I always felt that something was restricting me from walking, bending and stretching in my lower body. Also, around the same time I notice I could feel a little and the more session I had the more I could feel sensations ( touching), Basically, the therapist was literally breaking the adhesion apart; I should say separating the bands of adhesions to individual strain causing more flexibility and less pain. The only instruction that the Rolfing Therapist gave was to increase my water intake and lymphatic system would take care the rest. For me, that did not happen. I developed an abdominal cyst and liquid substance incase all my abdominal organs. No one new why but I had so much fluid until it was smothering my lungs/heart and I could not breathe. On the ultrasound my primary thought she say a lot of fluid in my abdomen and made the decision to have it drained. She was right and 2 liters were drained from my abdomen. I was awake during procedure at hosp but the more they drained the better I felt by the time I got back to my room I was a new person and was ready to go home. However, I started to develop the same symptom in less than 30 days. So that when I was referred to Dr.Barnes and the fluid did not show on any tests. In conclusion I had surgery and removed all female organs, the cyst was back and incased my entire abdominal, adhesions had attach to my abdominal wall, around my intestine and pretty much everywhere. Would I do Rolfing again? Yes, I would. A lot of time has past by and I still benefit from Rolfing Treatment. The only thing I would do is figure out why my lymphatic system failed.