Post surgery care

The facts you need to know about surgery, and everything that should happen afterwards- Part 2

The second part to “The facts you need to know about surgery, and everything that should happen afterwards”

In this new video blog I talk about the most important part of helping a chronic health issues, and that is the management of an issue post surgery.

All too often people have surgical intervention, but then do nothing as part of the follow up, and this is where many go wrong, and end up back at where they started from

Have a listen to my latest post of this very important subject.

 

Regards

Andrew Orr

-No Stone Left Unturned

-Master of Women’s Health Medicine

-The Experts Program

Surgery

The facts you need to know about surgery, and everything that should happen afterwards- Part 1

After my 8th operation, and just having had extensive 3 hour surgery for a disease process in my sinuses, which is very similar to endometriosis actually, I thought it was important to talk about this much needed subject.

Sometimes, surgery is very much needed and will be the only thing that will help your current symptoms and health issues.

I also want to talk about the importance of proper ongoing management, following surgery, and why this is actually the most important component, that many just do not end up doing. This then just creates another vicious cycle of needing more surgery later on, or sooner that should be needed.

what if they dont find anything

Surgical Intervention- “But what if they don’t find anything?”

One of the things I often gets asked is “If I have surgery, what if they don’t find anything?”
All sorts of things go around in people head, and rightfully so, but may think that if nothing is found that that their symptoms are all in their head. Not so.
Just because there is nothing found via surgical intervention, does not mean that there is nothing there, or there is no disease state. It just means it cannot be visually seen.
Here in this video I explain all this and more.
Menstrual issues traced back to age 13

Many Fertility & Women’s Health Issues Could Be Traced Back To Mismanagement At Around Age 13

Early this week,  I was talking with a colleague about how I would love to be able to see all women before they head into IVF, or see them when they were a teenager to educate them and help the with a better future for their fertility and gynaecological health.

My colleague then said to me “The issue is that most women are mismanaged at around age 13 and this is why they end up having fertility issues and ongoing gynaecological and menstrual related issues later on.”

The truth is, if we really to trace back the cause, or start of a woman’s fertility, gynaecological, or menstrual related issues, it would most likely be due to mismanagement at around age 13 when she first got her period. In this video I bring light to this very introspective, and very interesting topic that many probably have not thought about. It isn’t always mismanaged by the people you think it is either.

Let’s bring better education and awareness to women’s health issues because we know that early intervention and early management if the key to better future outcomes. It all starts with education first. Have a listen to my video on this very important topic (click on the youtube video link to watch

If you, or your daughter needs help with a menstrual issue, or period pain etc, please give my friendly staff a call and ask how I may be able to assist you.

Regards

Andrew Orr

-No Stone Left Unturned

-Master of Women’s Health Medicine

-Master of Reproductive Medicine

-The Endometriosis Experts

-The Experts Program

Expectation versus reality with surgery and ongoing healthcare management

I have talked about expectation versus reality before but I wanted to go over this subject again. I think that many treatment plans and even surgical interventions and treatment outcomes are not explained very well.
This then leads to people not really knowing what realists health outcomes are and also what realists healing times are either.
In my latest video blog I talk about the expectation versus reality when it comes to surgery and recovery times. I also talks about being realist about time frames with treatment and results on ongoing healthcare.
I also talk about the realist time frames to help with certain conditions and also being real about healing times for pain.
Watch my latest video post to see what I am talking about and trying to explain
Regards
Dr Andrew Orr (DOAM, MRepMed, MWHM)
-No Stone Left Unturned
-Reproductive Medicines and Women’s Health Experts
-Women’s and Men’s Health Advocate

Understanding Why Hysterectomy Does Not Cure Endometriosis

Hey everyone. I’ve just recently put up a post about the facts about why hysterectomy does not cure endometriosis.

It seems this is a very contentious issue and many people are not understanding the facts, or how endometriosis presents in the body. I also think that some people just haven’t read the actual article, as I do explain all of the reasons why.

But, it does seem some people are still not getting the reasons why, or have been told the wrong things. As usual, I am here to give the facts and this is what I am here to do with this post.. Give the facts.

I am sorry for many of the journeys you have been on too and that some of you are not being listened too as well. That is why I am here. To raise awareness and give the facts and help women with endometriosis have a voice.

This is to also raise awareness about adenomyosis too. Many really do not realise that they have this disease state, or have it coinciding with endometriosis as well.

So, I have done up the video blog to explain things in more detail and hopefully it helps all of you understand things better. It is also so people can see a visual explanation and see why hysterectomy will not “Cure” endometriosis.

Ovarian Cancer Awareness 1

Let’s Talk About Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer often has no symptoms in the early stages. Later stages are associated with symptoms, but they can be non-specific, such as loss of appetite and weight loss.

Ovarian cancer often goes undetected until it has spread within the pelvis and stomach. At this late stage, ovarian cancer is more difficult to treat and can be fatal. This is why early intervention is something I am very big on and why we all need to not put things off when they present themselves.

Ovarian cancer is the 9th most common cancer diagnosed in Australian women.

Ovarian cancer is the 6th most common cause of cancer death in Australian women.

The present life expectancy of Australian women is 84 years. One in 77 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer before the age of 85.The risk of ovarian cancer increases with age. About 83% of all new cases of ovarian cancer diagnosed in 2005 were in women 50 years or older. The median age of first diagnosis is 64 years.

The five year survival rate for ovarian cancer is 45%.

Symptoms
Most women with ovarian cancer experience at least one symptom of the disease in the year prior to their diagnosis. The following can all be signs of ovarian cancer:

  • Abdominal bloating
  • Abdominal or back pain
  • Appetite loss or feeling full quickly
  • Changes in bowel habit
  • Urinary frequency or incontinence
  • Pain during intercourse
  • Menstrual irregularities
  • Unexplained weight loss or gain
  • Indigestion or heartburn

Why is bloating a sign of ovarian cancer?

Ascites (a build-up of fluid in the abdomen and a sign of advanced ovarian cancer) is probably the major cause of bloating in women with ovarian cancer. Therefore, waiting for bloating as a key ‘sign’ is too late and we want to encourage all women to ‘know your normal’ and if this changes, to seek medical help. This is why any changes in the body need to be looked into. Many may think that they are reacting to foods, or they have a gut issue etc, but it may actually be the signs of ovarian cancer. This is why proper investigations and proper differential diagnosis by a trained professional is so important.

Family history
While having a family history of ovarian cancer increases a woman’s risk of developing ovarian cancer, 90-95 per cent of all ovarian cancers occur in women who do not have a family history.

Key factors associated with increased risk include:

  • Multiple relatives on the same side of the family affected by breast cancer (male or female) or ovarian cancer
  • Younger age at cancer diagnosis in relatives
  • Relatives affected by both breast and ovarian cancer
  • Relatives affected with bilateral breast cancer
  • An increase in age
  • Inheriting a faulty gene (called a gene mutation) that increases the risk of ovarian cancer
  • Being Caucasian (white) and living in a Western country with a high standard of living having few or no full-term pregnancies
  • Starting your menstrual cycle early (before the age of 12) and beginning menopause after the age of 50
  • Taking hormone therapy (HT) after menopause. Some studies suggest this may increase your risk of developing ovarian cancer, but others don’t make this connection
  • Never having taken the contraceptive pill – the pill has been found to reduce the risk of cancer of the ovaries and uterus
  • Only five to 10 per cent of all ovarian cancers are associated with a family history. The risk of developing ovarian cancer increases with the number of affected first degree relatives (parents, siblings, children)
  • Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.

Diagnosis for Ovarian Cancer

There is currently no evidence to support the use of any test, including pelvic examination, CA125 or other biomarkers, ultrasound (including transvaginal ultrasound), or a combination of tests, to screen for ovarian cancer. The only way to properly screen for it is through histology done at the time of laparoscopy.

While CA126 can be a diagnostic, it really has limited value and I have to let people know that it isn’t the best diagnostic at all. 50% of ovarian cancers will actually have a normal CA125 reading.

The cancer council’s guidelines are quite clear about this after numerous research studies show that CA125 has limited diagnostic value for Ovarian cancer. If markers and symptoms are suggestive of Ovarian Cancer, the only true diagnostic is Laparoscopy with histology to really get an accurate diagnosis.

Treatment for Ovarian Cancer

At such an advanced stage, the cancer is more difficult to cure. As ovarian cancer advances, cells from the original tumor can spread (metastasize) throughout the pelvic and abdominal regions and travel to other parts of the body. Cancer cells are carried through the body through lymph vessels and the bloodstream.

If a woman is suspected of having ovarian cancer, she should be referred to a gynaecological oncologist. Research shows survival for women with ovarian cancer is improved when their surgical care is directed by a gynaecological oncologist.

Treatment for ovarian cancer usually involves surgery and chemotherapy. It may also include radiotherapy.

Usually your healthcare practitioner, or GP, will generally arrange for initial tests and looks after your general health as well as coordinating with your specialists. Depending on your treatment you will be seen by several specialists, such as: medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, radiologist, gynaecological pathologist, cancer nurses and other health professionals such as a dietitian, physiotherapist, social worker and a counsellor.

With any condition that affects the body, we often get early warning signs and this is why early intervention and making sure you are investigated and management properly is so important.

Regards

Andrew Orr

-Women’s and Men’s Health crusader

-No Stone Left Unturned

-The Women’s Health Experts

01 Dr Andrew Orr

Endometriosis Facts endometriosis can only be definitively diagnosed via surgical intervention 1

The Only Way To Definitively Diagnose Endometriosis Is Via Surgical Intervention–

The only way to definitively diagnose endometriosis and the causes of period pain is via surgical intervention. Scans, blood tests etc do not diagnose endometriosis. You cannot have a scan to diagnose endometriosis and you cannot have a blood test to diagnose endometriosis either.

The definitive diagnosis of endometriosis needs to be done via a laparoscopy

The definitive diagnose ‘is’ and ‘always will be’ via a laparoscopy/laparotomy, along with histology (biopsy) and tissue samples taken to examine. Most times a hysteroscopy is done at the same time and if there is an evaluation for fertility, dye studies for tubal patency will be done at the same time.

Women with endometriosis need to see an Advanced Trained Laparoscopic Surgeon

A laparoscopy is the goal standard investigation of examining the pelvis and for investigating gynaecological disorders such as endometriosis. The laparoscopy also needs to be done by what we call an Advanced Trained Laparoscopic Surgeon, who has extra years of surgical training, and who specialises in this disease and specialises in the excision of endometriosis.

It can’t just be done by a regular obstetrician/gynaecologist and this is where many go wrong. Many women just haven’t seen the right surgeon first up who has he proper skills to deal with endometriosis effectively. The first surgery should always be your best surgery and early intervention and management of this disease is crucial. The longer it is there, the worse it can become.

Ultrasounds and Bloods Tests etc Cannot Diagnose Endometriosis

All too often I get women telling me that they do not have endometriosis because their doctor has ruled it out via an ultrasound, or blood test. This is so distressing to hear and this is why so many women are missed and dismissed with this horrible disease that affects 1 in 10 women world wide.

Endometriosis Management Requires a Multi-modality Approach

But, please know that surgery does not cure endometriosis. It is just the first stage in the management of the disease and the active lesions that have been expressed and are present now. Endometriosis can, and will return for many suffers and this is why endometriosis needs ongoing care and a multimodality approach to treat it effectively. It needs a team to manage it properly. While surgery is an important part of evaluation, management and diagnosis of endometriosis, it is to help with symptomatic pain and then other treatments are needed to suppress the disease from further developing and also managing ongoing symptoms.

If you need help with period pain, or  assistance with endometriosis, please give my clinic staff a call and find out more about how I may be able to assist you.

Regards

Andrew Orr

-No Stone Left Unturned

-Women’s and Men’s Health Advocate

-The Endometriosis Experts

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Sometimes The Body is Like a Well Sprung Spring & Other Times Not

Sometimes the body is like a well sprung spring, and over time the spring gets stretched, but , bounces back to its original shape, but overtime, one day, it will get to a point where it is slower to recoil to its original state, or, will no longer spring back to its original shape and have no more spring to recoil to its original state. No matter what you do to it, it just will not recoil and will in essence become to a state of non-repair.

As everyone knows, I always use a very integrative medicine/ multi-modality approach to treating people and getting the best for people’s health. I always believe that preventative medicine is the best approach to any health problems, but sometimes medical intervention, in the form of surgery,  is needed for some acute complaints.

It is always hard when someone comes into the clinic and they are doubled over in acute pain from endometriosis, or an acute skeletal issue, and while I can help them, I know that the best thing for their long term health would be intervention in the form of surgery. That is not saying I cannot help and assist people with acute pain, but sometimes the best thing to do is get the person in for surgery to help with the acute pain, and then follow up with preventative and rehabilitation care.

Often it can take several months to help regulate hormonal issues and pain from conditions such as endometriosis, or pelvic inflammatory disease, with more conservative forms of treatments such as pharmaceutical medicines and hormones, complementary medicines, acupuncture, supplements etc. While the outcome after treatment is always great, is it really beneficial for people to endure constant pain for months, when surgery could produce a faster result, for the pain?

In saying that some of these conditions have a high rate of return, so that is where an integrative medicine/multi-modality approach can help post surgery.

I was talking to a medical specialist colleague recently, who promotes a holistic approach for all his patients, and he explains it to his patients like this;

“Sometimes the body is like a well sprung spring, and over time the spring gets stretched, but , bounces back to its original shape, but overtime, one day, it will get to a point where it is slower to recoil to its original state, or, will no longer spring back to its original shape and have no more spring to recoil to its original state. No matter what you do to it, it just will not recoil and will in essence become to a state of non-repair.”

I see people in my clinic just like this spring. Some are well oiled, and well sprung, and bounce back into shape very quickly. Some are showing the signs of starting to lose their spring, and then others have just pushed their body to the point or no spring, or worse still to the point of non-repair.

Obviously I like seeing people do the right things and use preventative health so that they stay well oiled and well sprung. I do like to see people coming into the clinic when they get the first signs of ill health and the spring is starting to recoil slowly.

The sooner you get onto any health complaint the easier it is to treat. Early intervention is the key to any disease state, or health issue. But, we all know people who push through pain and say “She’ll be right mate” and get to that point where they just can’t recoil anymore. Then we get the ones that have gone beyond that and unfortunately no matter what they do you will never be able to get them back to what they used to be like. So, please don’t ever let your body get to this point if you can.

The reason for this blog was to not only inform people to be proactive with their health but to also make sure people are covered if they do need surgery. It is always such a shame and I always feel sorry for people who need urgent medical attention, but they don’t have private health cover. I know that not everyone can afford it, and I am not pushing it either. But, it is worth considering for anyone who have a long term health issue, or especially for women trying to conceive.

Every woman is going to need to see a gynaecologist at some stage in their life and you don’t want to be relying on a failing public health system that could have you waiting months, or even years, for an appointment, or much needed surgical intervention. Those experiencing fertility issues will need some investigation at some stage so it’s almost necessary to be prepared and well covered.

I’ve seen so many people over the years that come into my clinic, for so many different ranges of acute conditions, that actually do require some sort of urgent surgical intervention, but only to find out they can’t get the necessary treatment they need because they aren’t covered.

The public health system is in such a mess at the moment and wait times are becoming increasingly long. If you have an acute condition, you don’t want to be waiting months, or years for treatment. The other issue is that you don’t get to see a surgeon of your choice and can then end up with the lucky dip of whomever is there on the day. The other issue is that this person may not specialise in the disease state, or issue you are there to have treated. This is what happens to many and this can then have long term health consequences if you aren’t given the right care that you need, or they actually miss crucial issues as well. It is a big issue.

Then when you finally get to having the surgical intervention, it may require multiple surgeries, and the first surgery may be just for investigation only. I’ll give you an example.

I had a friend, with acute period pain that got nausea, vomiting and even fainted, (from severe endometriosis) go on a 12 month wait list for surgery in the public system. Finally she got in for surgery only to wake up and find that the operation was one of many to come and the first one was only for investigation purposes only. She would need ‘three’ more surgeries spaced at months apart. So nothing was done with the first surgery, she was still in pain and now had to prepare for further surgeries.

Yet, a similar friend who had a private cover, got to chose the gynaecologist of her choice, got someone who specialised in her disease state, was an advanced trained excision surgeon, had no wait time, had not out of pocket expenses, had everything tidied up and the endometriosis removed on the first surgery. This same lady also saw me for assistance.  There is a huge difference in the time, the surgeon who did this the surgery, the treatment and the amount of surgery needed.

As I said, it is a hard topic to talk about and is by no means a push for private health cover. I am only talking about this to educate people that sometimes it may be a necessary part of your overall health. It just distresses me seeing people who need desperate immediate help, not being able to get it. I know that not everyone can afford it and believe me you have to shop around when you do start looking at it. The big companies are usually the worst to deal with and the smaller companies are usually the best to deal with, and give you better rebates.

In saying that, private health is a sometimes necessary part of overall health care, especially for those with ongoing health concerns and especially those that may require some form of medical intervention. There are some great smaller funds out there that don’t cost that much and give you full hospital cover with an outlay of a couple of dollars per day. You can also look into having extra’s cover as well, which will cover part of the treatments with us also.

Again some of the smaller funds provide better rebates and the best thing would be to give us a call and we can tell you who those funds are. I hate talking about these sorts of things but at the end of the day I care when people aren’t getting the right help and am here to help people with every area of their overall health. It is a very important issue that we all need to consider and that we all need to discuss too.

If you do need help with pain, or a women’s health condition, help having a baby, or just need someone who cares and can help you get the right advice and health management, please give my clinic staff a call and find out how I may be able to assist you.

Take care

Regards

Andrew Orr

-No Stone Left Unturned

-Women’s and Men’s Health Advocate

-The Women’s Health Experts

-The International Fertility Experts

-The Endometriosis Experts

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Endometriosis a burden on women’s lives

Research published in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care found that endometriosis affects women’s sex lives, personal relationships, work life, and emotional well-being.

Endometriosis often takes a long time to be diagnosed and affects all areas of a women’s life, a study has found. Endometriosis is a chronic, recurring disease that is experienced by approximately 10 per cent of women worldwide. This number could be greatly understated as many women have not being diagnosed properly and many women still think period pain is normal.

But, while period pain is part of endometriosis, a significant portion of women with endometriosis are asymptomatic (meaning no symptoms) and only get diagnosed when there is a need for fertility treatment.

Common symptoms include of Endometriosis
• Painful menstruation,
• Heavy menstrual bleeding,
• Painful sex
• IBS like symptoms
• Bladder issues (UTI like symptoms)
• Ovulation Pain
• Pain with bowel movement
• Chronic Fatigue
• Infertility

The Research Unit at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, reviewed a number of papers that documented women’s experiences of endometriosis. The most common theme was that women had experienced delays in diagnosis.

Many women feel they are being dismissed and this is evident in the fact that it often takes up to “10 years, or more” for women to be diagnosed properly.

The study found that women were more likely to be diagnosed sooner when they approached their doctor describing symptoms as fertility-related rather than a menstrual issue.

The study showed that some women initially delayed seeking help for their symptoms because they believed all women had painful periods. When women revealed their symptoms to a family member, friend or medical professional their experiences were typically normalised as being what all women must endure. Period pain is not normal and all women need to know this.

The study also found that women often felt frustrated and angry at unsatisfactory experiences with healthcare providers, and had concerns about the effectiveness and side effects of treatments.

Women want their doctors to really listen to their experience and concerns. They want to explain the true impact of the condition on their lives, rather than simply rank their pain on a scale from one to 10, or be dismissed each time they try to have their doctor listen to what they are going through on a daily basis.

The study found that further research was needed to gain a comprehensive understanding of endometriosis as experienced by diverse groups of women.

This research will contribute to the improved health care of women with endometriosis in Australia, and around the world.

Too many women being ‘missed’ and ‘dismissed’

I see so many women who have been misdiagnosed, had symptoms missed and been dismissed for years and seen multiple healthcare practitioners, both medical and complementary.

There are clear-cut signs and symptoms that point to endometriosis and we need for healthcare practitioners to start to know this. We also need for practitioners and the public to know that endometriosis can only be diagnosed by a laparoscopy (surgical intervention) and that scans and blood tests, do not diagnose endometriosis.

Lastly, my message to all women is ….. “Period Pain IS NOT Normal” and people need to stop telling women it is.

There is too much BS out there about endometriosis and we need all women and all healthcare practitioners to start knowing the facts. 10 years, or more, to a diagnosis is unacceptable for any health condition. It means many women are being ‘missed’ and ‘dismissed’ along the way.  Let’s put an end to Endometriosis.

If you do need help with period pain, or help managing endometriosis properly, then please call my friendly clinic staff and find out how I may be able to assist you.

Regards

Andrew Orr

-The Endometriosis Experts

-The Women’s Health Experts

-No Stone Left Unturned