Adhesions

Question: Adhesions..? About a week ago my doctor performed a Laparoscopy on me she was looking for endometriosis when I got out of surgery I was informed by a nurse that I didn't have endometriosis and they had to perform a second surgery on me. They did a Laparotomy with Lysis of adhesions. My question is what is this, what caused it and can it affect getting pregnent in the future? They also said that my left fallopian tube with twisted which they also had to fix. I've never had a stomach surgery..so why did this happen..what will it fix and what exactly is adhesions? And how long after surgery should you wait to have sex

Answer: Adhesions as I understand it can occur after any type of surgery during the healing process - basically the tissue that has been cut or disturbed can heal together leaving scar type tissue on internal organs. This can become worse over time resulting in the need for more surgery to relieve the adhesions and this can set you up for further adhesions to occur - not a good success rate. Adhesions can twist or distort internal organs as they grow and need to be taken seriously although it seems the medical profession isn't deeply concerned. They can also be formed after suffering some sort of trauma to the area which may not have been surgery. My lady has suffered from them most of her life after undergoing an unnecessary appendix removal. There is a lot of info available on the net try searching for adhesions. With regard to any activity after surgery you should take it easy for a while whilst healing takes place. A bit of caution now can save you a lot of pain later on, please check the net or ask more than one medical professional.

Question: My doctor says I have adhesions. How long do I have to wait until they will do surgery? I have had a colonoscopy, abdominal and pelvic sonograms and multiple blood tests. All are normal. I have had a total hysterectomy and appendectomy. My surgeon says he is almost 100% sure I have adhesions and that is what is causing my severe pain. I have been experiencing constant severe pain for nearly a month now. I have talked to the surgeon, who says talk to the gp. I am wondering how long they will make me suffer before they actually do something to help me with my pain other than pain meds. I know surgery causes more adhesions. There are adhesion barriers that can be used to help.

Answer: depending on the adhesions... sometimes they resolve themselves within a few weeks. Sometimes they are resolved by physical therapy. Lack of moving the different tissues in relation to each other and their scars lining up is the cause of the adhesions. Its the scar of one layer of tissue sticking to the scar of another layer which normally would "slide by" when you move. The adhesion means the 2 layers bonded at the scar. First sign I had of adhesions from surgery on my leg (within 2 days of surgery) I took my foot and pulled until it came free... then made sure I moved my foot enough to prevent it "re-sticking". Works for small adhesions... but hurts like hell while you break the scar tissue. Note... carving you open and cutting the adhesion free will just make a LARGER potential bonding area... If you will not commit to the necessary physical activity despite pain... you will be just making things worse if they go in and cut it apart.

Question: what are adhesions and how do in they affect the fertility or menstruation of a woman? i have not seen my period for 2 months and i am not pregnat. i do not have endometriosis. sometimes i feel some movements like contractions though not painful in my stomach but i am puzzled as to what they are. somebody today at a workshop for family planning talked about adhesions and how they can cause a period to seize.

Answer: I have Adhesions Disease and I'm infertile. Everyone gets adhesions after a surgery but some people (like myself) get them worse. It's like my defenses go crazy and make more scar tissue than normal. They act like super glue and can cause pain and infertility. Sometimes when you move you can feel a pulling sensation. There is a site that may help you www.adhesions.org It has helped me a great deal. Hope this helps, Kristie

Question: Has anyone ever had a laporoscopy to remove adhesions only to have the adhesions come back in a few months? My Doc tell me this isn't posible but I have the same pain again. I had the surgery in december of 2006 and the pain came back in february of 2007. I am having another laporoscopy thursday,anyone else out there with a similar expewrience? And can the scar tissue and adhesions form again that fast?

Answer: You will need to have a mechanical barrier ("foil") in order to prevent adhesion regrowth following laparoscopic and/or open surgery. "An important paradox is that the current method of managing adhesions – surgical adhesiolysis – is complicated by further traumatic disruption and a high rate of adhesion reformation (mean 85%), regardless of the method of adhesiolysis or the type of adhesion. Studies indicate that compared with unaffected peritoneal tissue, adhesive tissue contains higher levels of growth factors, suggesting the greater likelihood of adhesion reformation. As these factors depress fibrinolytic activity and induce tissue fibrosis, it is not surprising that reformed adhesions tend to be more dense and severe than de novo adhesions." ... Meaning the more surgery you have the worse things can be ... but obviously with newer methods (i.e., foil barriers) hopefully the cycle can be closed. http://www.touchbriefing.com/pdf/1816/ACF427D.pdf http://www.karensteward.typepad.com/

Question: What can abdominal and pelvic adhesions cause? I am 31 years old I have had all female reproductive organs removed. Because of my age it took 12 surgeries. I have had large amounts of adhesions removed from my abdomin and pelvic area. Also my bowel has been taken off the pelvic wall 3 times. It has been 2 and a half years since my last surgery and I am left with terrible abdominal and pelvic pain mostly on the left side, terrible cramps with bowel movements back pain and my legs hurt horribly. Could these adhesions cause all these problems? Can anyone Help! My Doctor says it is basically all in my head. I have seen a couple other gynoclogists in the area and they either beleive adhesions do not cause pain at all or say its in my head too. I am not crazy I know when something is not right with my body, I just do not understand. So Does anyone out there know anything about this subject any helpful information would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: Hi there I just wanted to let you know that I am also suffering badly with pelvic adhesions and I am also in total agony. My surgeon is fairly unconvinced about the possibility of the adhesions causing me pain, but my GP is more convinced.....it's a really contentious issue, it seems....one where you are not always guaranteed of getting the sympathy you deserve. I am suprised they let you have surgical procedures if they knew you had adhesions....intervention would only have aggravated the issue... I have been told by one GP that I should accept that I will be on pain relief as a long term management of the pain I am in...but having researched thoroughly on the net I know that I am going to be pushing for surgery to try and rectify the problem a bit. It is tempting for me to think about a total removal of my reproductive organs too - if I am in this much pain and likely to have major fertility problems due to the adhesions, I think I would rather get it all out and try to get on with my life......harsh but cruel. So for sure, your pain is very very likely to be due to these adhesions...and you have my sympathy as the pain is untold and no-one understands what the hell these adhesions are all about.....but mail me if you want to talk [email protected]

Question: Has anyone ever heard of labial adhesions? I just took my 3 month old daughter to the Dr and am very dissatisfied. Toady her diaper have been foul smelling with a green puss in them, a sign of a UTI if you ask me. But the Dr said she had no tenderness and she didn't even look at the diapers I took with me. So she said that she has labial adhesions and there is nothing to worry about that the odor and puss is normal for this condition. Has anyone else had this condition or heard of it?

Answer: YES!! on a friend of mine's little girl... she came to a playgroup right before her doctor's appointment and showed it to us all... she wasn't having any odor or puss... but she did have the fusing. hers was very mild, so just gently putting pressure on it on a daily basis was all she needed... but another lady in my scrapbooking club said her daughter's was so bad she needed regular "medical maintenance"... sounded almost like she got regular episiotomies!! it's apparantly pretty common, though I'd never heard of it until about 3 years ago.

Question: what are pleural adhesions in the lungs and how does it affect the lung's function? what are pleural adhesions in the lungs and how does it affect the lung's function?

Answer: Basically it is like scar tissue. Pleura is the lining of the lungs and adhesions are usually growths formed on scarred tissue. It can significantly affect lung function, it just depends on the severity of the adhesions and the overall respiratory health of the person.

Question: Can you tell me what does this sentence mean: "Adhesions are thin bands of scar tissue formed within the body? Adhesions are thin bands of scar tissue formed within the body in response to inflammation or injury. I don't understand this sentence. Can you explain it?

Answer: The sentence is very simple, I'm guessing you don't understand some of the words. A scar is thick or stiff skin that sometimes appears when the skin is healing. A scar can be on the outer surface of the skin, or inside the body, on an organ or tissue (group of cells forming a "skin"). When scars form inside the body on some tissue, and they are thin bands (like thin strings or threads), they are called "adhesions". "adhere" is a word that means to stick, like glue. In fact, this is where we get the word adhesive (glue). "Adhesions" probably comes from this word as well. This often happens as a result of injury or surgery, the body is trying to seal the injured organ, but this may cause the organ to "stick" to other organs or tissues, like glue.

Question: can you get knee adhesions even if you have not had any surgery? I partially tore my left knee MCL. 3 weeks later MCL feels good but I have pain at my medial joint line. It is painful to touch as well as I cannot bend my knee more than 100 degrees without pain and bending past 90 degrees is excruciating pain. My mom says it might be adhesions, but I havent had any surgery and its only been 3 weeks since the injury. Also, I wouldnt think knee adhesions would hurt to the touch. What could this be?

Answer: The MRI revealed a tear in your knee. Now it needs time to heal and that means a lot of inflammation which equals pain and swelling. That is why it is sore to touch and bend. Outside of opening up the knee and suturing the ligament, time is the best healer and it will take longer than 3 weeks.

Question: Does anyone in Houston Texas know of a doctor that specializes in adhesions? I'm looking for a doctor at the Texas Medical Center here in Houston that specializes in adhesions . Thanks!

Answer: You need to look for a gastroenterologist. Good Luck, even most of those will not treat adhesions.

Question: Could I have adhesions after having my appendix removed? I had my appendix removed on 13th November 2008, a couple of days ago I started having pretty serious pains in the same place where I had the operation. Could this possible be because of the operation? I've heard that maybe it could be adhesions? But I'm not sure what these are. If anyone could help I'd really appreciate some!

Answer: I too have han an appendix removed and have had some pain in the same places, not too serious for me but the same sorts of pain (only less). I don't know why.

Question: Can you have adhesions from a laparscopic Gall Bladder Removal? I had my GB removed in August and still experience major pain. All my bllod tests and scans are coming back normal. I was wondering, is it possible I have adhesions that is responsible for the pain, or could it be abcesses? Because I read that if adhesions and abcesses are small they will not always show up on cat scans, x rays, etc... I 'm thinking of anything short of exploratory abdominal surgery.

Answer: I would have to say no to the Abscess, it should show in your white count and if the blood tests are normal, then you don't have an infection anywhere. You might have the adhesions though. That is just extra scar tissue and it could be rubbing on things there. Info pretty much says that the only thing they can do for them is remove them, but chances are very high they will return. You need to talk to a doctor about this, seems it could be what is wrong. good luck and hope you are pain free soon.

Question: How do you treat muscle adhesions causing painful spasms? I have been icing and doing specific exercises as well as Active Release Techniques. These things have not helped. Any other suggestions?

Answer: What do you have muscle adhesions from?

Question: How do you cure pain from surgical scar tissue (adhesions) without taking OTC painkillers? Over the counter painkillers do not work for me. Neither does a heating pad. How can I relieve the pain from this surgical scar tissue without having more surgery? My doctor gave me some Vicodin in the past, which did help, but she is worried about addiction with that. So I have to find an alternate pain relief. Please help, going out of my mind!

Answer: In the long run, the best relief is to get rid of adhesions as quickly as possible. In the short term, there aren't a whole lot of options for pain relief. A cortisone injection sometimes relieves pain for a month or more, but only if the pain is caused by inflammation, and this only makes sense if you use the pain-free time to tear the adhesions. There is an electrical device called a TENS that might help. If muscle tightness or spasms are aggravating the problem, a magnesium supplement several times each day might help. Depending on the location of the adhesions, you may be able to get rid of them in a relatively short time. If that's possible, your doc may be wiling to prescribe something like vicodin or stronger just so you can tear the adhesions. Adhesions can be broken up with ultrasound, deep tissue massage, and physically stretching the scar tissue. Daily cycles of warm-up, stretching, and stopping inflammation can get rid of adhesions if they span joints. To do this, take a normal dose of ibuprofen, apply heat to the scar tissue and surrounding muscles for 10-15 minutes (the heat is not intended to relieve pain - its to loosen the connective tissues), gently stretch the affected area to warm-up, then stretch again by pushing just a little beyond the point where the tightness begins to restrict movement, then finish out by applying ice to the area for 15 minutes.

Question: adhesions.What are the best ways of dealing with these for long time sufferers? My mother has been suffering over 20 years.Has been to all sorts of doctors and alternative medicine with no success.

Answer: I have got these and have not found a real good solution for the pain. I got adhesion's and a abdominal hernia when I had my gall bladder took out by key hole surgery. It took 4 years before someone would operate on me. They were telling me it was all in my head. The hernia operation fixed the hernia for about a week, and then it popped out again. The op Caused more adhesion's so I am not willing to get it fixed again. Because my adhesion's are at my belly button and a little higher. I also have a lot where I had my hysterectomy I have had 6 ops on that site. I get bloated on my stomach (near belly button and below) and this causes my pain to get worse. I find if I rub my stomach it bloats more so I don't rub my belly anymore. I take oramorph for my pain when it gets to the stage I can't cope with it anymore. I did a pain management course, this was quite helpful as it explained about pain and chronic pain. I think the best thing I got out of it was that I wasn't the only one there are others out there having similar problems to me. Not sure if sharing my problem helps but knowing I wasn't alone helped me.

Question: What is the best way to avoid abdominal adhesions after surgery?

Answer: It is a very good question as most of the problems after abdominal surgery are indeed caused by adhesions.There is an interesting book I just read called Doctors Bound by Secrecy?Victims'Bound by Pain by Karen Steward. There seems to be certain ways a doc can do surgery plus there is a gel which I read about in book that is supposed to really help however, it is not available in us. I would make sure you have to have the surgery. also when i had surgery several years ago they let me lay there for several days a big NO NO get up and walk as soon as you can even the same day not rug marathons but just gently moving so the scars are less likely to form mine are so bad that my utereus ins connected to my bowels and all of my organs are tied together. so do everything you can to avoid these problems and talk to your Doc

Question: Has anyone had an Epidural lysis of adhesions for herniated discs? I have 2 Herniated discs and im thinking about getting an Epidural. I would like to know about peoples experiences and the outcome. It involves inserting a cathedor under my tailbone for this particular type of epidural. If anyone has had this done I would really like to know if it helped with the pain and what kind of experience you had. Thanks

Answer: Never had it done but I am wishing you the best .Good luck

Question: How do you test for adhesions? Had a hysterectomy a year ago and still having trouble passing even soft stools (with lots of fiber in diet). Could scar tissue be causing this problem. Had colonscopy and everything was OK.

Answer: There is no test for adhesions. An abdominal x-ray or CT scan may show small bowel obstruction which can be caused by adhesions. You may want to see a gastroenterologist or surgeon for additional tests.

Question: Can I treat abdominal adhesions naturally, without surgery? My Dr. told me today that the #1 cause of bowel blockage is adhesions. Scared me to death ! Plus, I have no health insurance.

Answer: did your doctor mention anything or if a bacteria could cause this adhesion? if so then colloidal silver might help but if not then i dunno.... tough situation there

Question: I am just 5 weeks postop from a laparotomy with removal of left ovary and adhesions? Is it normal to still have pain and burning at incision site. I have had 3 other abdominal surgeries and felt nothing like this. I have followed all dr instructions to a T but still am weak and quite frankly i am in a lot of discomfort at times. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Answer: Each person heals at a different rate. I would however recommend seeing your doctor if you are feeling weak and are still in pain. Hope you feel better soon!