Sorry to ask again but need more advice on condition

[Guest guest]

I think this is the third post I've made regarding an ongoing condition I have,

which has lasted about 6 weeks now.

My original condition was colon cancer, stage 3. A tumor was removed, and no

cancer remained. But 6 months of standard chemo caused the cancer to re-appear

as revealed by a PET scan. My blood tumor markers have always been negative,

but I have not had a CT / PET scan in a year.

The symptoms I described previously were pain and cramping after eating. Mike

Golden originally thought a duodenal ulcer from my limited description. Others

suggested pancreatitis or gas.

The doctor said he was almost 100% sure it was a small bowel obstruction. But

an upper GI test using barium revealed no obstruction, although the barium was a

bit sluggish getting through.

I then tried ulcer medicine to help. Pepto Bismol helped just a little at

first, then none after awhile. I received several suggestions for ulcers -- all

good -- and thank you. I tried an ulcer medicine that has been exceptionally

effective for me in the past -- carafate -- and it didn't work. In the past, it

would remove pain almost immediately if an ulcer or pre-ulcerous condition was

present. This time it had no effect or made the situation worse.

I have since found that I can drink smoothies fairly easily. There is no pain

with smoothies. And the pain in the stomach is almost gone. However, with

solid food, cramping and obstructive feelings still exist in the small

intestine, towards the end of the small intestine. I have to take larger doses

of vitamin C to get things moving and to reduce the pain if I eat solid foods.

My large intestine is temporarily disconnected and I have an illeostomy, so the

obstruction cannot exist in the large intestine. (Unless the large intestine is

inflamed???)

In some senses, it is like my digestion as a whole is way slowed down, and food

is not being adequately digested, period. Then it sort of gets stuck lower down

causing a LOT of intense pain and discomfort, unless I drink only smoothies or

take a few grams of vitamin C to push things through.

This is going on 6 weeks now. A lot of pain. Little sleep. I'm losing weight.

And a lot of frustration and fear. The pain is so bad at times that I am

starting to think that death would not be so bad, then realize what I'm thinking

and get mad that I am losing my will to fight this, whatever it is.

I do have two hernias -- an inguinal hernia and an umbilical hernia. But the

doctor said that the upper GI barium test would have revealed if the hernias or

if scar tissue (adhesions) were causing problems. He said there was no

indication from the upper GI test of such problems. So he said hernia pain

and/or adhesion pain is not possible. (True? False?) It is true that most of

the doctors around here don't want to take me seriously because (1) I'm doing

alternative methods and (2) I'm on MediCal, and they don't get much money off of

me.

I've visited several " spiritual " healers trying to find a psychological cause

for the pain and symptoms. They all say the same thing -- the pain, and

original cancer -- is/was caused by anger. Well DUH. Gimme a break. What I

need is help, not " blame the victim " advice.