Persistent Stomach Pain & Digestive Issues After Surgery - Seeking Answers

Question
I have been having server stomach pains for two weeks now and my doctor has been sending me to see different specialist that are not giving me an answer to what is causing my stomach pains.  I recently had a tummy tuck and a breast reduction done in South America August of 2005. Since then I have problems with my digesting of food.  I've had several test done this week and the only conculsion is that my food is travels too quickly through the small intestine. Other than that my primary doctor thinks that a nerve was damage while my operation in S.America.  I've been giving Hydrocodine for the pain but I can't continue to stay on it.  I've seen a surgeon because at one point they thought I had a hernia but that wasn't the case.  I am sick of being in pain and now I am trying to do the research my self.  If you have any ideas or advise please let me know.  My pain starts on top of my belly button to the bottom of my tummy on both sides.  I have like a lump on the area where the tummy tuck was done.(that's what they thought was a hernia) When I eat my stomach swells until my food is digested.  When I drink hot or cold I can feel the temperature in my stomach of the drink or food.  Please if you can give me any advise or tell me any things I can research.  I really need help. Thank you! Betty Tamayo, Tampa Florida

Answer
You might research the following topics:
-Irritable Bowel Disease
-Gastric Colitis
-Crohn's disease
-Helicobacter Pylori

Just look them up on Web MD and see if any of those illnesses sound like you.  All these cause extreme stomach and intestinal distress.  They may or may not be related to your surgery.

It's hard for your American docs to get in the middle of what this South American surgeon has done.  Docs, in general, don't even like to follow up on what fellow american surgeons have done; they always want the same surgeon to follow up. By the way, I wonder if the surgeon removed too much fat, considering that you can feel the temperature of your foods, as you say.

Maybe there is a better pain medication than vicodin for your internal/stomach pain.  I suspect there is, because people with the above mentioned gastrointestinal diseases take pain medication, but not typically vicodin, as far as I can remember.  I just don't think it targets the stomach very well.

My prayers go out to you, Betty, for your pain and for a solution to your ongoing problem,

Maggie Smith, RN, MSN