As a woman, women's health is obvious important to me, but I do not feel that some topics are covered as much in the media as they should be. We all know about breat cancer, myself from personal experience as my mum has the illness twice whilst still in her 30s. We all know a little about PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)as a result of some high profile celebrities being diagnosed with the condition, Victoria Beckham being one of them. And yet we know little about ARD, or Adhesion Related Disorder.
Doctors are well acquainted with ARD today and yet nobody talks about it. It can actually be very debilitating, and yet I had never heard of it before until a friend on Facebook formed a cause to proote awareness because her daughter suffered from it. Now I know this is a little off topic because this blog usually concerns healthy eating and other similar topics. However, I believe that it is worth mentioning because we do need to raise awareness of this women's health issue sooner rather than later.
ADR actually occurs in both women and men but is more common in women as a result of our reproductive organs being internal. In fact, over 93% of people that have had major pelvic or abdominal surgery suffer with ARD today and the number is rising. It is not the surgery that causes ARD but rather infections and inflammation that seems to come hand in hand with surgery these days. The adhesions that result from infection and inflammation can cause serious abdominal illness and excrutiating pain.
Furthermore, although doctors know about ARD, very few diagnose it correctly first time. Instead, the majority of that 93% are diagnosed incorrectly and thus receive the wrong treatment as a result. This can make the illness worse instead of better and some people often have lifelong pain as a result.
If you do want to find out more about ARD then you can go to the UK Adhesion Society website or read an amazing book by a lady that has experienced it first hand. Karen Steward had to stand by and watch her daughter battle against ARD for 14 years and her book is an account of their story. You can find a description and order the book here.
Karen has actually set up a cause on Facebook to help raise awareness of ARD. If you have a Facebook account then you can sign up and show your support here. It is important to get the message out so spread the word today!
4 comments:
great for passing on the information about adhesions!
There is one error in the posting, however, surgery IS the number one cause of adhesions. Inflammation or infections in the body can also cause adhesions, but surgery is the number one cause of this disorder.
Apologies for the error there! Thanks for pointing it out too - the more we know about it the better!
I suffer from ARD after a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. If you have a chance, please read my story on my blog. Thanks for raising awareness!!!!
http://ergowrite.blogspot.com/
I just found this websight. My daughter has suffered for 16 years. She had adhesion surgery 2 times in the last 15 months. We were at the surgeon again today, who would like to try pain therapy for the nerves surrounding the scar rather than another surgery. Anyone who has had this surgery knows the relief. My daughter is at her limit, and is very upset at this recommendation. As always...we have to go yet to another doc, and explain 16 years of issues. Does anyone know if there is a Doctor in IL/Chicago who specializes in adhesion surgeries? Your help/advice is greatly appreciated.
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