Hope For Those Who Suffer From Adhesion Related Disorder.

Tea For Taylor. Harley For Thomas.

My granddaughter, Taylor (2 1/2) is quite observing. There's a local restaurant near our home where I often swing through to get an iced tea. When she is with me, I order one large unsweet and one kiddie cup, sweet. A few days ago, I made the turn toward the restaurant. From the back seat Taylor pipes up: "Going to get tea, Gram?" I laughed, "Yes, baby, Gram is ready for some iced tea!" She was watching closely as I pulled to the speaker to place the order. The girl is taking my order when from the back seat Taylor begins hollering: "Taylor wants SWEET tea! Taylor wants SWEET tea!" I died laughing and was amazed at the same time, as the week prior they had made an error....giving both of us unsweet teas!!

Thomas, (2 1/2) is much quieter than Taylor, and all boy!! Fom the time he and Taylor were born, I bought all sorts of sweet baby books, anxious to rock them and read to them. Taylor ADORES all the books and listens intently. Thomas, however, was never interested. He looked at the books and frowned up his nose. One day when I had both of them Taylor began pulling books from the shelves, ready to read. She was trying to cajole Thomas into participating as she patted the floor beside her saying, "Pawmus! (Thomas) Sit here! Gram read! Sit here, Pawmus! C'mon, Pawmus! See this book, Pawmus? Gram read to Pawmus and Taylor!" Thomas stared at her, saying nothing, then took off running toward his Grandpa's media room. Within seconds he returned with a large book of his own: Harley Davidson. To this day when it's time to read, Taylor gathers nursery books and Thomas runs to get an Auto Trader or the Harley Davidson book!

Melissa and I recently took them for pictures:

You Have All The Classic Symptoms Of Crohn's. But, Do You Have Crohn's?

The classic symptoms of Crohn's disease are: abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. Have you been adequately diagnosed? Do you have Crohn's disease?

When Melissa became ill at age 13, a gastroenterologist finally determined that she had Crohn's disease. She had all the "classic" symptoms, and, in addition, wasting.

Of course, we already knew why she was wasting away...she simply could not keep food down and she had constant diarrhea. Each meal was trying, painful, and almost always came right back up. Many times she couldn't even keep liquids down, so it was easy for us to understand why our daughter was fading right before our eyes. Panic stricken over her condition, we had her drinking Gatorade. When it came right back up we waited an hour and had her try again.

By the time Melissa was diagnosed with Crohn's disease she was very frail, to say the least.

And, it seemed the doctor who had been assigned to Melissa's case and who made the Crohn's determination, sealing our daughter's fate with this dreaded disease, was correct in his diagnosis.

And then, I decided to study the disease, which I chronicle in the book:
Doctors:Bound By Secrecy? Victims: Bound By Pain!

Since I've talked to many other adhesion sufferers who were originally diagnosed with Crohn's, it goes without saying that sometimes the diagnosis that's given is indeed incorrect. Had we sat back and accepted the Crohn's diagnosis, Melissa would still be living her life hovered over a toilet.

This statement is found at the following Crohn's site:
When a patient is critically ill with severe pain and weakness, an intestinal blockage or perforation (which may or may not be due to Crohn's disease) as well as appendicitis or diverticulitis must be considered and quickly diagnosed. See: Crohn's,

Looking back, we now know that Melissa dealt with repeated bowel obstructions, but, unfortunately, she was left to suffer in incredible pain..doctors' never mentioning the possibilty of a bowel obstruction (which we now know that they knew she had). Rather, they insisted that she "up the corticosteroid" when the pain increased. Sadly, what they termed as "increased pain" was, in reality, excruciating, life-threatening pain!

Adhesions, perhaps resulting from inflammation in Melissa's body, gave way to symptoms that were characteristic of Crohn's disease. However...she did not have Crohn's disease! The adhesions, wrapped around her small and large bowel, had not only bound (strangled) her intestines, but had bound (strangled) her entire life!

In addition, we never once heard the word "adhesions" from any doctor or specialist in the entire 13 years that she suffered. Each time Melissa had an upper gi and small bowel series and we were shown the results, the doctor always referred to the compromised areas as: "narrowing" or "narrowed bowel."

It is (now) all too obvious that many doctors surely knew that "adhesions" were the reason the bowel was 'narrow.' Very often, literature on Crohn's disease makes mention of 'scar tissue' rather than 'adhesions.' Likewise, the unsuspecting patient, (or parent to the patient) skims over any terminology, whether it be 'adhesions' or 'scar tissue,' as the person who studies the illness will likely accept 'scar tissue' or 'adhesions' as part of the disease itself.

And we, for years on end, were none the wiser. However, we did continue to fight our way through the frustrating medical maze of medicine...which finally resulted in our daughter regaining her health, her life!!

Note: Click Merck (To learn more about intestinal obstruction.) Click: UMHS (To learn more more about intestinal adhesions)

The Medical Dance.

Doctors' claim they don't, consumer affairs say they do. Doctors, Drug Companies and You

The Power Of The Tongue.

Thanks to Helen Dynda for providing this posting.

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the unfortunate frogs they would never get out.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead.

Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and simply gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs outside the pit yelled at him to stop the pain and suffering and just die.

He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs asked him, " Why did you continue jumping? Didn't you hear us? "

The frog indicated to them that he was deaf. He had thought they were encouraging him the entire time!

Moral of the Story:

1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.

2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them. Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path.

Happy Mother's Day!

Adhesions. Endometriosis. Let Me Think About It.

When you turn to a doctor for help, be thankful if your condition is quickly revealed and 100% confirmed. It's always easier to handle something if you know what it is that you must handle! One thing I learned after fighting for Melissa's health was that I had placed too much confidence in doctors. I expected "them" to find the root cause of her pain and I expected "them" to take the necessary measures that would restore her body to health. That's what doctors are for, right? I wanted her back, just as she had been before her body was assaulted by illness.

Years passed and Melissa was not any better. In fact, she grew worse. We sought out "new" doctors, believing someone held the magic key to the mystery of her debilitating pain and misery.

It took a long time, but I finally realized that doctor's are mere men (and women). They are not walking answers to illnesses. They are often limited to the training they have had and, understandably, they rely heavily upon tests to help them determine what has gone wrong in your body. Sometimes, even the "best" of these men and women will pin an illness upon you, though all the tests may not have provided a definite diagnosis of that illness.

Many doctors also rely on the "rule out" theory. They rule out illnesses: X, Y and Z...eliminating the illnesses that they are certain you do NOT have. (This is where you must hope and pray that the doctor is well versed in all illnesses, common and uncommon, and/or hope he (she) will spend their evening hours pulling medical books from the shelves, desperate to find an answer to YOUR problem!)

Let's face it folks, it ain't happening! (In all fairness to physicians, I'm sure there are a few physicians, perplexed by certain cases, who do search for an answer for their patient.)

Inconclusive tests results may also give way to a symptomatic diagnosis. If your "symptoms" (say: vomiting, pain) match the "symptoms" of a certain disease, (and diseases X, Y and Z have already been eliminated) you may soon find yourself popping pills (corticosteroids?) for that particular disease.

If your tests are inconclusive, lab work is 'normal', and your "symptoms" are vague, your doctor may likely determine that you are simply 'depressed,' and an antidepressant will be the order of the day.

Now, more than ever, all people must become savvy in regards to their health. For the woman who suffers from endometriosis, only YOU can decipher the pain that you deal with inside your body. Endometriosis is said to be a "puzzling" illness, with no known cure. Many times there is much more literature and emphasis placed on the issue of endometriosis and little emphasis in regards to adhesions that are often a subsequent (and perhaps, in some cases) the debilitating, life-limiting factor of this "puzzling" illness. If you suffer from endometriosis, I encourage you to STUDY endometriosis, along with an in-depth study about adhesions. Study the SYMPTOMS of both issues, endo and adhesions, by reading the stories of other women who have dealt with these illnesses.

You may find that YOU are the key to uncovering the answer to the pain and misery in your body!

Think. Take time to listen to your body. Decipher the different types of pain, all which can help YOU to determine what might be going on inside. Certain ailments often produce specific types of pain. (Adhesions are often described as pulling, tearing, etc.) Certain ailments also produce specific types of symptoms (Abdominal adhesions, for instance, can cause nausea and vomiting.)

Finally, fight for the right to become whole in body and find a doctor who will help you in that fight.

SHHHHHH! If You Suffer From Adhesions, Don't Tell Anyone.

The pain of adhesion related disorder, (adhesions) is one that has been shrouded in silence. Many doctors do not speak the dreaded word.

WHY?

Adhesions, (scar tissue) is the body's way of healing itself after trauma. Surgery is trauma to the body. Countless unsuspecting women have become victims of adhesion related disorder due to surgical procedures, especially in cases of open abdominal surgery (laparotomy).

Adhesions can also form in the body of a person who has never had surgery (as was in Melissa's case), as inflammation, endometriosis, ruptured ovarian cysts, etc., can all lead to adhesion formation.

Click here for more information

Knowledge about your pain and suffering, especially when it concerns adhesions, or adhesion related disorder, will likely come via your own research! Be your own best doctor by researching and studying your condition!