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Adhesions visualised with Barium Swallow?

Hi. I'm a 27+ year sufferer of abdominal and pelvic pain, bloating and the usual IBS symptoms. I have had some surgeries- vaginal hysterctomy, myomectomy (done with the full cut, not laparoscopic), right adrenal gland removed.

None of these surgeries helped me to feel better and the gynecological ones only made things worse. I suspect adhesions play a big part in my issues since there are areas that are very tight and just don't move. It really does feel like tight rubber bands and/or crazy glue.

The first surgery I had was an exploratory lap which I was told showed nothing. The only thing they recommended was a hysterectomy due to large fibroids which I chose not to do at that time because I did not believe that was the cause of all of my pain/issues and besides I was hoping to get the pain and GI issues dealt with so I could get on with my life which might have meant having children.

What was interesting after that exploratory lap back in 1991 was that I experienced a loosening effect. The tightness went away and I had normal digestion and my stomach shrunk to nearly half its size. This only lasted for two weeks and then slowly the tightness came back along with the pain and GI issues. The doctors could give me no explanation for the brief reprieve. I did not know about adhesions until just a few years ago when a couple of physical therapists said that I had a lot of restrictions due to adhesions. I can only assume that during the exploratory lap that they might have removed some adhesions while looking around but gave no thought to the idea that adhesions could be a problem because even to this day there are many doctors who insist that adhesions cannot cause pain or problems. If I bring the topic up, doctors never want to discuss it- they become very defensive and don't want to consider them, even though based on my experience back in 1991 I have good reason to think they are causing most of my problems.

Anyway, one of the reasons adhesions often go undiagnosed/untreated has been that they do not show up on any imaging tests. I had read about the use of a Functional MRI being used in Europe for that purpose but could never find it being used for diagnosing adhesions in the U.S. I know that another reason that is given for doing nothing about them is the fact that they often come back after removal, like it did with me.

Anyway, I just saw this post on EndoTimes where they are saying that a woman who had a barium swallow had her adhesions diagnosed unexpectedly from that test. It seems odd that nobody would ever have noticed this before but I think it is great IF it is true. I also wonder if a Barium Enema would also show adhesions. I think it would be great if this were true and maybe would get the topic of adhesions out of the closet and maybe lead to more research on effective and safe adhesions barriers to allow for more effective, permanent treatment.

I'm hoping to see a new gastro next month and I hope he will be open to the topic of adhesions, as well as SIBO. Adhesions are a risk factor for SIBO because they keep things from moving properly.

So this isn't really a question, just some info.I don't know if we can post links here but this would be where the info would be.

http://endotimes.blogspot.com/2011/12/breaking-news-adhesions-easily.html

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Avatar universal
SIBO is small intestinal bacterial overgrowth where there is bacteria in the small intestine that should not be there. The small intestine is supposed to have few of the bacteria that normally reside in the large intestine. Adhesions can be one cause of SIBO occurrence. SIBO has also been found to be the cause of some cases of IBS. This was first written about several years ago by a Dr. Pimentel in a book called 'A New IBS Solution.' There are tests for it although they are not always reliable. I was tested for it last year and was told I didn't have it. For those that do test positive, they use an expensive antibiotic that often only works temporarily and is very expensive as it isn't approved for anything except travelers' diarrhea.

Anyway, I haven't found any Dr. who will consider that adhesions could be an issue for me. Last year I also had a transit test where I ate a radioactive breakfast which showed I was OK until the end of the colon. I was told I had pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) and the only treatment was an expensive two-week physical therapy that insurance won't cover because it is coded as biofeedback. You'd pretty much have to win the lottery to even try it and a letter of medical necessity to my insurance failed. I have read of other women who went through the treatment and it did nothing for them except lighten their pocketbooks. And if it doesn't work, the clinic has no other options.

I did mention adhesions to the gastroenterologist that I saw last year- told her how the physical therapists said that they thought I had a lot of them- but she just laughed and said that there was no way I could know that I had adhesions unless I was opened up and that was that. I have a really tight, painful pulling sensation on my back left vaginal/rectal/thigh area that I think must be adhesions- maybe affecting the pudendal nerve. That area was bad before but it got much worse after my vaginal hysterectomy in 1998 and the gynecologist who did the surgery refused to follow-up with me afterwards- just dropped me like a hot potato.
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Avatar universal
What is SIBO?  I suffer with adhesion and my surgeon is very knowledgeable on adhesion, and he seems to can tell when I have them long with me, from the tugging and as you put it the rubber band feeling.

This may I had to have open surgery due to  my bowels being totally kinked u to
the  severity that I had to have 4" of my bowel removed.  Bloating and bms were a problem.  l

Have you heard of any solutions?
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