Hi to all going through this. I had a Gallbladder removal in March 07. Hospitalized 3 days later with bile leak. I have been in excruciating pain since that time, have been on Strong Narcs every day for three years, have had several pain blocks and am now facing having a electrical device implanted in my spine FOREVER.
TRAVELBUG00 may be more right than we think. For three years the Drs. have refused to investigate what happened and why. Therefore I, (we) don't get better. How do you get better if you are not diagnosed? I have a lawyer now, and he calls it "Circling the Wagons". No Doctor wants to be the one to reveal that another Doctor made a mistake. They all have to pay Malpractice Insurance. It is easier to let a patient suffer for years and continue to make money from it than to admit that someone made a mistake.
MY ADVICE: YOU HAVE TO BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE! Do as much research about your personal condition as possible. Take print-outs to your Dr. (they hate that, but DO it.) Don't let them beat around the bush. Ask questions and demand answers. I have had to learn to be hard-nosed because of this horrible experience. If you aren't, nothing will be done, and you will not only not get better, but you will likely get worse. If you don't feel your Doctor is paying attention, get another one. It is your body and it is your life. Pain affects every aspect of your being. I have been in bed for three years and was once a healthy, athletic, young person. Today I am 15lbs underweight, I look 7 years older, my teeth are rotting from continuous drug use, and I have attempted suicide. All this because Doctors don't want to find out that one of their colleagues made a mistake. DON'T LET THEM TELL YOU THAT THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING ON VARIOUS TESTS, THEREFORE "JUST GIVE IT SOME TIME". TIMING IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT--I ENDED UP WITH CRPS/RSD BECAUSE OF THIS SURGERY. CRPS/RSD NEEDS TO BE DIAGNOSED W/IN 3 MONTHS OR IT WILL NEVER GET BETTER. IT IS ALSO DEGENERATIVE.
Start working for yourself NOW. The Physicians aren't going to do it. And the rest of your life is at stake.
Hope all of you fare better than I did.