I am Christine and I am 32 years old. When I was 16 years old I had a ruptured appendix, peritonitis and an emergency surgery. My life became a hell with bowel obstructions and 31 surgeries followed. My last surgery was at Adhesiologicum and it was the best decision of  life  because it saved my life.
Christine K., christine.warnecke@gmx.net, +49 176 5434 2030

My adhesions journey started in 1998 when I was 16 years old.  On Friday 13th I woke up in the morning with pain in my lower abdomen but I thought it would be nothing so I went to school. Over the day the pain got worse and when I came back home from school at noon I felt really ill. I got fever, started vomiting, had bad cramps and pain so my parents called a doctor at the following day (Saturday). When the doctor came he asked me if I would have love sickness or a test in math because it would fit to my age to have symptoms like this in stressful situations. But I did not. He pronounced that I would have a gastric flu, left and gave me some Paracetamol against the fever. I didn´t feel better the next day, so my parents called another doctor. When he came his first question was “Why did you call me? Another doctor was here yesterday? Your daughter just has gastric flu. She will be better soon!” My parents asked if it could be an appendicitis and the doctor said “No!” This night when I was laying in my bed with this horrible pain I suddenly felt something burning and tearing inside me. This excrutiating pain made me scream into my pillow. The next day I was in a really bad condition. I was laying semiconsciuosly in my bed and I didn´t even had the power to lay on the side without a pillow in my back. So my parents called another doctor and this doctor said “Maybe it is an urinary tract infection! If it won´t be better tomorrow I will take some blood tests!” It wasn´t better the next day and I felt that life was leaving me. My parents called the doctor again and she came and said “Okay, maybe it is an appendicitis. I will take some blood. I need to have some urine values as well.” My body just couldn´t give the urine anymore, my body couldn´t do anything. Some hours later the doctor referraled me to the hospital because she thought I would have an appendicitis.The surgeon there said that he would take the appendix out which shouldn´t be a problem at all. I didn´t care. I just wanted to have peace for my tortured body and I was so so tired. I just wanted to sleep. When I woke up after surgery I felt something was totally wrong. I had tubes in my throat, my neck and abdominal cavity and after some days when I woke up more and more, I found myself on the ICU fighting for my life because of a sepsis. The nurses told me that the surgeon found my abdominal cavity filled over with pus and excrements due to the ruptured appendictis I had for 5 days.

After this big surgery on March 17th 1998 the surgeon told me, that without the surgery I would have been dead during the next 1,5 hours due to not-diagnosed ruptured appendicitis, severe peritonitis and sepsis. I took me a long time to get out of this life-threatening situation and after 5 weeks with ICU and hospital stay I was able to go home. The first day I came home I got fever some hours later and it stayed over night with abdominal pain, nausea and cramping. So the next day I went back to the hospital and they put me on TPN for 2 weeks and gave me antibiotics and pain meds. The symptoms got better so they send me home. Some days later the pain came back, the cramping, the nausea. I couldn´t eat, I have been constipated. I went to a gastroenterological doctor and he said “Well, you might have adhesions due to the peritonitis and the laparotomy. But there is nothing I can do for you because there is nothing that helps!” I asked if there would be a way to remove those adhesions but he claimed that this would not help. I should drink enough water and eat more oatmeal for breakfast and that would help enough! I tried. I drank 3 liters of water every day and I tried oatmeal as well. (For everyone who doesn´t know how oatmeal makes your intestines feel if you have really severe adhesions: imagine a huge gas bomb..in your intestines. At one point you really don´t know what to do of PAIN!).

When I was 19 I was diagnosed with Endometriosis.  I had my first surgery and started my first round of Lupron injections which throws your body into menopause so that you don’t have your period.  Shortly after I stopped the Lupron, the pain came back.  About six months later I went in for another endo surgery.  When my doctor talked with me after the surgery he mentioned that they had found some adhesions and took them down as well.  I had never heard of adhesions and it was explained to me that adhesions were actually scar tissue.  This was the first time I had ever heard of them and I had no idea that I was entering into a nightmare.

Over the next 6 to 7 years I began the cycle of living with pain, having surgery, Lupron injections and as soon as the Lupron was stopped the pain would begin again.  Each time the surgeon would go in they would also take out down the adhesions.  I ended up having surgeries twice a year during this time.  I was rushed to the hospital at one point as I started to have horrible pain that felt different than anything else I had experienced.  They found that I had a large cyst on left ovary and it had to be removed.  So another surgery.  Finally my doctor felt that we had tried everything that was available to fight the endometriosis and agreed to give me a full hysterectomy.  I was 27 years old and had not had any children.  At this point in my life I had been living for so long in pain that I did not have any hesitation in having the surgery and being rid of the pain that endometriosis caused.

I thought this would be the end of the pain – for a short period of time it was.  I started having pain again but with this pain I also experienced extreme nausea and vomiting.  Again I was in and out of the hospital.  This was being caused by adhesions ( I have to say that I am one of the lucky ones because my doctor always believed that adhesions were causing my symptoms and my pain.  Unfortunately this is not the case with most adhesions sufferers).  So again a cycle emerged,excrutiating pain, constant nausea and vomiting, countless trips to the emergency room, partial and complete bowel obstructions, long stays in the hospital and surgery after surgery.   I never got more than 6 months of relief after the surgeries and after time went on the relief became shorter and shorter.

Approximately 12 years ago my large intestine stopped working completely.  I went through numerous tests and I was diagnosed as having colonic inertia.  Basically that means that they don’t know why it became paralyzed.  So I had a subtotal colectomy and they removed all but about 4 inches so that I did not have to wear a bag.  Unfortunately my symptoms returned, as did small bowel obstructions and surgery.

For the longest time I kept thinking that I was doing something wrong during my recovery process and I was causing these adhesions to grow back.  If only I could do it “right” then this wouldn’t keep happening.  It took me a long time to realize that I wasn’t doing anything wrong; there wasn’t anything I could do to prevent this.  But it didn’t stop me from blaming myself.   I think the emotional stress and depression is every bit as painful as the physical symptoms.  There were so many times that I didn’t know how I was going to be able to live with all the suffering ARD gives you.  I hate to admit it but there were times where I really wanted to die.  This was just another gift that ARD gave to me.

A few years after my subtotal colectomy my nausea and vomiting began to happen all the time – every single day.  After more hospital stays and test, I was diagnosed as having idiopathic gastroparesis (fancy way of saying they don’t know why I have it).  Since there is no cure for this I began living on a low residue diet and ended up spending month long stays in the hospital on iv antibiotics, TPN and pain relief.  They were able to find a medication (that is not FDA approved) that helps with my stomach emptying.  During all this time I still had to go in and have lysis of adhesion surgery.   The adhesions would get so bad that I wasn’t able to stand up straight; the adhesions kept pulling me forward.  I was unable to move without feeling like all of my insides were being ripped away from my stomach lining.  This was always a sure sign that they were getting really bad.  I had been living with constant pain for so long at this point it felt normal to me.

A few years ago I was surfing the web and stumbled across Dr. Daniel Kruschinski.  He was the first doctor I had found that speacilizes in adhesions and was successfully treating them.  I immediately emailed him and he got back to me by the next day.  I was shocked.  I read up on him and his technique and felt like there was hope for me for the first time ever.  I was directed to his patient contact list and I began talking with some of the women who had been to him.  While each woman had their own experience the one thing each said was that they would do it all over again because these surgeries with him gave them all an increased quality of life.  OMG, I felt like there was a chance that I wouldn’t have to suffer for the rest of my life.  I talked with my family and my husband and everyone was so excited.  The only downside was that he was in Germany and insurance wouldn’t cover surgery with him.  My family assured me that we would make this work.   Unfortunately for me within a week of finding him I had another bowel obstruction and ended up having to have surgery.  So I sort of filed him away for the next time.  Because at this point in my life I knew there was going to be a next time I just didn’t know when it would be.

The last few surgeries in the United States were so hard and I didn’t receive much if any relief from them.  The majority of my surgeries have been full laparotomies.  The first few were horizontal incisions and they were done by my bikini line so the scars weren’t too bad.  It got to the point though, that weren’t able to reach everything they needed to do so the rest have been vertical incisions.  Needless to say my stomach looks like a road map!!  I have had a total of 21 surgeries in the United States.

In 2011 began the worst couple of years of my life.  I was getting sick and sicker.  Nobody wanted to operate on me anymore unless it was life threatening.  I was in and out of the ER frequently due to partial bowel blockages.  But I couldn’t get admitted because they weren’t full blockages. Up to that point   my quality of life kept going down and down to the point of being basically bedridden off and on.  The pain was unbearable – the nausea was unbearable – the vomiting was unbearable.  My diet consisted of Slurpee’s because it was about the only thing that I could keep down. I prayed that God would bring me home because I couldn’t bear living like this anymore.  I contacted Dr. Kruschinski again and sent him my operative reports from the last few surgeries.  He agreed to help me.  This was in September of 2012.  The hardest decision for me was feeling like I was worth spending the money to go to Germany.  My husband told me that we couldn’t afford for me not to go.  I was so afraid to get my hopes up – my expectations were very low but I did have some hope.

I went to Germany in October of 2012.  He was able to take down 80% of my adhesions.  20% were in the small bowel and it would have risked my life to try and get those.  I knew after the first surgery that something was different inside.  I remember standing in my room and lifting my arms above my head and I felt something.  I panicked at first because I thought I felt pulling but then I realized that I felt my abdominal muscles.  OMG, I can’t remember the last time I could feel those!  Everything felt loose – I could actually twist and move without hurting.

It’s been over a year since I went to see Dr. K in Germany.  It was so difficult for me to believe the women who had gone before me that these surgeries really did bring them relief but now I was one of them who was experiencing this relief.  What they said about it drastically improving the quality of their life was true.  I am  experiencing this for myself.  My life today is drastically different.  I’m not perfect but the quality of my life is better than I could of every hoped for.  I have a friend who calls it her “new normal” and I think that is the perfect description.  I have not vomited one time since I went to Germany.  I don’t experience daily nausea.  I don’t have unbearable constant pain anymore.  Most of all I am able to participate in my life again.  I get to do all the things most people take for granted – cooking, laundry, etc. (still don’t like folding it though lol).  If I say I am going to be somewhere, I actually show up.  I don’t have to worry about being too sick to do what I say I am going to do.  I get to physically and emotionally show up for the people I love.

I am so unbelievably grateful to my husband and family for all of their support –  to Dr. K for being such a gifted surgeon and not giving up on us adhesion sufferers  – to the women on his contact list who shared their stories with me –  to the people on “Lets find a cure for adhesions” page for opening their hearts to me and sharing their lives – whether it’s a good day or not – to my “healthy” friends who kept on loving me even when they didn’t understand.

To anyone who is suffering with ARD, I promise you there is hope out there.  If anyone reading this has any questions or would like to talk, please don’t hesitate to email me at

kcoffey117@yahoo.com.

I am Shawn and am 52 years old. My story began in 1997 when my appendix was removed. I was not informed of the risk of adhesions with abdominal surgeries or the pain, vomitting or the bowel blockages. I am a mother of 3 beautiful children was a Treachers Aide, helped my husband farm and tend cattle. Beforing having surgery with Dr. Kruschinski no other surgeon could help as each surgery the adhesions got worse. I could not eat, pass my bowels without terrible pain and was having trouble even walking, breathing & sleeping. I am so thankful to Dr. K. for he gave my family back a mother & a wife.

I had surgery with Dr. Kruschinski twice this past summer in Germany. I am at home in Canada healing and getting better everyday.

I had severe endometriosis. It required extensive excision surgery. During this surgery, my uterus, left ovary, and appendix were removed; and endometriosis was excised (cut off) off of several areas: including my right ovary, which was severely adhered to my pelvic sidewall; my bowel (which was severely covered in endo, making it adhere to things it should not have, like my uterus – which caused pain with bowel movements during my period); my cul de sac was obliterated; and, due to a “chocolate” cyst that had burst a few years prior to excision surgery, I had debris/old blood throughout my pelvis…

Because my endometriosis was so severe, and so much excising (cutting) was done, I developed a few adhesions; and, my remaining ovary re-adhered to my pelvic sidewall (ie: it was covered in adhesions, again). The adhesion that caused the most difficulty, was one attached to/pressing on my bowel. This caused somewhat of a blockage, and made it very difficult to have a bowel movement. When my bowel movements became irregular, I knew something was wrong! Also the strange, sharp, shooting pains in my pelvis, that would sometimes shoot up into my chest and almost take my breath away, were another indicator that I had adhesions.

Luckily, I found Dr. Kruschinski, and Karen Steward (an ARD advocator), in an endometriosis support group on Facebook. After several email conversations with them, and previous patients that I found in an ARD support group and on Dr. K’s Endogyn website, I booked my trip to Germany…

My case can be seen here:
http://laparoscopyofadhesiolysis.com/symptoms-endometriosis-surgery-adhesions-might-be-the-reason/

I am happy to report that Dr K’s surgery made all the difference in the world! My bowel is functioning properly, and I am happy to report that I have no further issues!

smartassdesigns@live.com

My ARD Story

My name is Charla. I suffer from chronic pelvic pain and adhesion related disorders (ARD) due to prior abdominal surgeries and endometriosis.  I have endured several abdominal/pelvic surgeries, to include two laproscopic endometriosis procedures, appendectomy, and gallbladder removal.

The first laproscopic procedure caused the majority of the scar tissue as the surgeon left me under sedation and CO2 infusion for over an hour waiting for a surgeon to come in and remove my appendix. I ended up with a staph infection and a navel that never looked normal again. The second endometriosis surgery resulted in a second staph infection with pneumonia. I ended up with a pic-line for several week of intravenous antibiotics.

From 2004 to 2010, when I had a series of painful attacks and ended up being misdiagnosed with fatty liver, irritable bowel syndrome, spastic colon, interstitial cystitis, and psychologically disturbed (pain all in my head). It was not until January 2010, when I was hospitalized for 24 hours, that the test results indicated that there was something wrong with my gallbladder. It was full of stones and infection. Unfortunately, some of the infection caused my liver to adhere to myperitoneal wall. Over time, I began having symptoms of gallstones again. My gastroenterologist told me to add fiber to my diet. Adding fiber only caused more pain. My primary care physician said it was all in my head and referred me to the ER for psychological evaluation.

It was not until July 2012 that I found out I had major abdominal adhesions AND there was nothing available in the U.S. that could be used to ensure that the adhesions would not return once they are surgically removed. Moreover, the FDA adhesion barriers that are available in the US have been shown to cause the formation of more dense adhesions!

I was misdiagnosed by so many US medical doctors along this journey. I was misdiagnosed with interstitial cystitis by a pelvic pain center. The diagnosis was not confirmed by any diagnostic procedure. This misdiagnosis resulted in three rounds of trigger-point injections (12 treatments per round), which only caused more adhesions, pain, and the inability to empty my bladder without the use of catheters. I ended up having to self-cath up to 6 times a day as a result of these unnecessary treatments. It was only when I refused further treatments I was told by a new primary care physician that I possibly was suffering from abdominal adhesions due to prior surgeries and endometriosis.

At this point, I was on daily doses of heavy narcotics. I had built up a tolerance that was requiring increases in dosages to get the same results. My new primary care physician referred me to a pain management center.

This hellish experience involved a series of excruciating spinal and pelvic nerve block injections. Needless to say, the blocks lasted a max of two weeks and I could only get one every six weeks due to the side effects and insurance regulations. I quickly learned that pain management centers sells what makes the most money…spinal procedures. It’s never about being cured. Treating patients means returning customers, which correlates to more money.

Eventually, my pain management doctor suggested that I was an ideal candidate for a neurostimulator implant. He indicated that the device would allow me to get off the narcotics all together and give me a higher quality of life.

The opposite occurred. The device caused burned me and caused pain that I did not have initially, and more trips to emergency rooms. The device was causing me to experience continuous shocks, even in the “OFF” position. My doctor at the pain clinic was no longer with the practice and no one would return our calls. Even the technicians from the neurostimulator manufacturer refused to return my calls. I had been abandoned by the very medical community that promised us a miracle cure for my pain. No other doctor would touch me with the device in my body. I was now in so much pain I couldn’t stand anyone touching me at all. I would fall without warning. My eyelashes and eyebrows started coming out.

I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t sleep. I had bouts of either constipation or diarrhea due to eating only ice cream, when I could stomach it.  I couldn’t do anything but lie on the floor in a fetal position and cry to God to just let me die.

I was desperate to find somebody, anybody who could save my life. One night in an ER, my mother got angry with one of the nurses who was acting like we were there seeking drugs. She asked her, “Are you waiting for my daughter to die before you decide to do something?” She replied, “No one dies from adhesions!” We went home and did an Internet search to prove her wrong. That is when my mother came across an article about a doctor in Germany, Dr. Daniel Kruschinski, known as the “Adhesion Slayer!”

We found several negative postings and sites on the Internet about Dr. Kruschinski. I will admit that I was apprehensive about going to Germany for surgery under a doctor I had never met and having to pay for the procedure upfront. I even had a teleconference with a US surgeon who stated he had a similar procedure to Dr. Kruschinski (without the adhesion barrier), but with a much lower success rate. When I totaled up the cost of both doctors, my out-of-pocket expenses would be about the same. The determining factor was my conversation with the doctors. Dr. Kruschinski responded to my emails immediately. He did not make me any unrealistic promises including the importance of follow-up care and adhering to his diet plan. He laid out the facts based on my medical history. There was always the possibility of additional surgeries depending on the extent of the adhesions and the type and location of the endometriosis sites. His techniques and rationale for his approach were based on medical research that my primary care physician agreed with. My doctor never said “GO!”, but, she stated if I was her daughter, she would be on the next plane to Germany. My mother and I got the same “go to Germany” responses from the last two ER physicians who treated me.

Dr. Kruschinski is the only surgeon we could find who has an 85% success rate with adhesiolysis. He has developed a surgical procedure, technology, and uses SprayShield (TM) barrier that is not available in the US (because it is not FDA approved). Having surgery in Germany under the skillful hands of Dr. Kruschinski was THE best decision I could have ever made.

At this point, I have developed new adhesions from endometriosis near my bladder, just like Dr. Kruschinski predicted would happen as he suspected I might have microscopic endometriosis. Should I need follow-up surgery to be PAIN-FREE, I will returning to Germany for another surgery under Dr. K. We are grateful that we found Dr. Kruschinski and the Endogyn Klinik. I have no regrets! Dr. Kruschinski is an awesome doctor.