He actually said that. He hopes the problem will just go away. In other words he has no idea what's wrong and either doesn't believe me or doesn't care.

I can not STAND this doctor and only went back to get the order for an ultrasounds and x rays to check if I have gall stones.

My boyfriend wanted to kill him. He prescribed me levsin to 'see if there really is anything wrong' with my bile ducts. Since my liver blood work came back normal, I must be lying.
Just like when all those gallbladder tests came back normal, I was lying.. OH! WAIT! No! It was adhesion ridden and horribly infected when they took it out, a week later.

The minute I mentioned I thought it could be adhesions, since the pain is in exactly the same area, only worse, he seemed to write me off. I told him I can't lie down it hurts too much. Can't wear a bra. Can't ride in a car. Can't climb the stairs. He said I should just call my surgeon, it was unlikely that adhesions were the problem and there was nothing he could do for that anyway since they can't check for it.
I took 1 leftover vicodin yesterday (I waited about 5 days to take it because I was waiting to see if the no fat diet helped with the pain.. it didn't) and I finally got some sleep. He said he didn't think narcotics would really help me at this time.

I know I'm diving right into another pit full of people who won't believe me
I'm trying my surgeon tomorrow and going to try to find another GI but switching takes time.. moving records and such and I need help NOW. Since this isn't a surgical problem, yet, I don't know what my surgeon could possibly do. I can't even walk around the house and I hate that!!!

Thanks for letting me yelp and holler.. very aggravating.

Sarah

He 'hopes', Lol, that's extremely unhelpful! You're like Yes, I've been hoping too, but it wasn't working so that's why I came to the doctor! It's definitely frustrating trying to describe symptoms, I think especially in the 'area' that bothers us. If it was localized to a smaller area it would be a lot easier - I've often wished I had a severe toe problem, that seems like it would be more desirable. Perhaps your surgeon will be able to give you more insight, or maybe you do need another opinion from a GI if yours is drawing a blank. Until then, i'm sending some "Hope" your way.

Perhaps your surgeon will agree to do a surgery to clear up adhesions. Geez after reading some stories on this forum I feel so blessed to have doctors that trust me and BELIEVE me when I tell them something.
My surgeon told an intern one time, "Listen to her, she knows her body."
I guess I had to earn that trust by telling them what was going on and being proven right but it sounds like you've already earned that right just with the gallbladder instance.
I would just push your surgeon to try and clean up the scar tissue if you can.
I hope he's more receptive to you.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Olive Oil,

Thanks guys, I have an appointment with a really nice doctor tomorrow, one who listens!

Sarah

I tried the Levsin this morning and it was very weird.. after about 10 minutes with it under my tongue I got lightheaded, then I got a weird headache, then nauseous and then I barely made it to the bathroom before becoming violently ill.
That certainly did not help with my abdominal pain, lol.
I called the doctors office just to let them know I seemed to have a reaction to it and wouldn't be taking it anymore.
About 5 hours later the nurse calls to ask me what pharmacy I'd like my painkillers called into. I was really surprised, since I didn't ask for anything else when I called. Maybe he DOES believe me. :/

Sarah

Sometimes I think some doctors have tunnel vision. The GI I had before the present one was convinced that my elevated liver enzymes were due to taking Motrin. Made sense at first, but when the enzymes did not come down when I stopped them, I wasn't so sure, and it turned out it wasn't related. Anyway, he said no NSAIDs, including the COX-2 like Vioxx and Bextra. So, I ask him, what am I supposed to do about my joint pain? Oh, just take some Tylenol. Well normal doses of Tylenol is like nothing, and high doses are liver toxic. But, he was stead fast on that. The only good thing that came of that was that my pain got bad enough to get me to see a rheumatologist for proper diagnosis.

It is hard to find good doctors who pay as much attention to symptoms as lab tests. When you find one, hold on tight! Good luck with this new one.

Definitely sounds like you had a bad reaction to the levsin.

Jan

Well I went to my new doctor today and I couldn't believe it.. First off he came in and immediately shook my hand, introduced himself to my boyfriend and shook his hand.. NONE of the other doctors, aside from my surgeon, that I've been going to will do that.. it's hard to even get them to look you in the eye!

He sat and talked with us for like an hour. When I asked about my cat scan results he said C'mon and we walked into his office. He opened my cat scan on his personal computer and showed us all of my organs in 3D which was REALLY amazing to see! (Now I know why cat scans are so expensive!!)

This was just incredible.. he pointed out nearly all my organs, I was even able to see some of my j pouch! He showed me one spot where adhesions had moved my small intestine directly behind my belly button.. Right where they do an entry for the laproscopic surgery! Good thing to know in case I ever need it again.. I can tell them to pick a different entry point

He showed us that the adhesions weren't causing any visible problems. I have no gallstones. Apparently my uterus is pushed over to the right quite a bit because of my scoliosis but hopefully thats ok.

I DID learn that I have some staples and clips inside of me. I didn't know that! lol. There are two small clips from my gallbladder and some staples from the jpouch.
My boyfriend knew.. he said the doctor told me about it when I was brought back to my room, after a few surgeries. I must have been too drugged up to remember!

We think my pain is definatly from the evil adhesions.
Since I keep on growing them, it would be counterproductive to go in and cut them out. If they start causing any problems, like blockages, or the pain gets too intense, we may decide to go in but hopefully we don't have to.
He told me some folks take anti-inflammatories and it calms the adhesions/swelling down, lets things move more easily. Of course, I can't take ibuprofen by mouth, makes me very ill so that's out.

He also told me that there are some people, soldiers especially, who have been taking an antidepressant for phantom organ pains and it also seems to work for a few people with adhesion pain/problems. I'm going to look into that for sure.

He gave me percoset to take instead of the darvocet since they weren't working very well. I'm hoping I won't have to take them for very long.. I'm not going to push myself too hard, need to do this very slow, he said. I just need to start getting myself moving a little bit more day by day and see what happens.

This doctor is a general surgeon, he wants me to go to a new GI and get a colonoscopy asap because of the bloody stools I have been having off and on for months. He said it could be hemorrhoids or something like that but he wants them to look and see, not just guess. My old GI had told me that 'some' bleeding is normal because of all my 'problems'.

I was on the verge of tears almost the entire time because he was so nice. He acted like he actually gave a crap. He told me to please call and let him know how I was doing, even if I didn't need to come back in to see him again. I wanted to hug him when I left, lol

Everything hurts pretty bad right now from being out and about for the entire day. When I left the office I was in a ton of pain but I was smiling and laughing.. it's so amazing what good a doctor can do just by talking. I feel like I have a goal now..

- Sarah

I feel that once you remove the fear of the pain, the pain does not seem so intolerable. You think, "OK, it's just pain, but it is not going to kill me." You don't like it, but you can understand it, then learn to live and cope with it.

To me, that is what good doctoring is all about. I don't expect them to work miracles and make me feel like I am floating on a cloud all the time. I expect them to find out what's going on and fix it if they can, and if not tell me if it is OK to go about my business and ignore it as much as I can. I don't like to worry that it is something that can turn into something dangerous if I just treat the pain.

Don't let this one go Sarah!

Jan

Ding! Ding! Ding! Sounds like you have a winner! This doctor seems unlikely to tell you that "your problem will go away soon" unlike the former doctor.

Somebody, somewhere, either on this board, or another board I visit, mentioned the use of myofascial release for abdominal surgical adhesions. Myofasical release is non-invasive. Since surgery is not an option at this point, this may be a potential alternative to investigate. I can't speak from personal experience or about the efficacy, but may be something to consider. Best wishes!

At last, Sarah! What a great doctor
So glad you got some decent care this time.

Thanks guys!!
LuckyOne, I have no idea what that is! Going to go look it up Thanks!!

Congrats! I'm so glad you found a caring physician that takes the time to explain things to you!