Abdominal-Pain Books

I, too, am an ARD sufferer. I only discovered Karen's beautifully written book the day after I came home from having surgery for adhesion removal. I am one of the lucky ones in that it only took me 2 years to find a surgeon who was willing to help me. It's only been 2 weeks and I feel like a completely different person. So much of what Karen and her daughter encountered in dealing with the medical community really hit close to home for me, as I experienced many of the same things. I laughed and cried as Karen described what her daughter and their family went through on their long journey. Karen writes so well with much insight. This is a great book for anyone to read! I contacted Karen after I got the book. She was kind enough to respond and to offer her support. I'm also proudly wearing the ARD pins that she had designed to help promote awareness of this debilitating disease. Thank you, Karen, for telling the story that is so close to home for more of us than many know!

Doctors: Bound by Secrecy? Victims: Bound by Pain! With amazing honesty and humor, Karen Steward shares the painful journey to find help for her daughter, Melissa. You can find inspiration in this book if you have ever struggled to conquer any confusing illness.

Though the book is uplifting, be prepared for other emotions that may surface as you read. I stopped reading near the beginning and couldn't continue for quite awhile. Karen's honest accounting of her trials broke open the emotional wounds I still carried from my own battles with illness. Only someone who has been there can understand how unloving some loved ones can be, how unprofessional some professionals can be, and how unchristlike some Christians can be toward a person who is hurting so badly.

But the book is not a pity party in print. Karen helps you laugh through the tears as she calls upon real faith to find solutions for her daughter's adhesion related disorder (ARD). This heartfelt story just might inspire you to do the same for your own illness.

Where do I start. When I got this book the first part I read was the acknowledgement. OMG!!, this book was written for me. I imeadiatly contacted Karen Steward and have struck up a friendship with her. I am so thankful she wrote this book. It has help me and my family tremendously. Anybody or any one who knows anybody with ARD you HAVE to get this book for yourself and them. This book provided be hope and clairity regarding my condition. I HIGHLY recommend this book!

Thank you Karen and Melissa for sharing, with honesty and humor, the long and painful journey that you endured with the rest of the world, especially the medical community. As someone diagnosed with Adhesion Related Disorder (ARD), I know all about the pain, nausea, many partial bowel obstructions, one complete bowel obstruction, many wrong diagnosis, and friends that are tired of hearing about it and turn away from you. Fortunately, I have a wonderful husband that is always there for me. My own emotional battle with ARD resurfaced while reading about their struggle; however, they were victorius in the end thanks to a very caring surgeon. I couldn't put it down until I saw how it would end. This was an inspiration to me NOT to give up my own battle with pain. This is a very informative, and inspirational, book. A definite must read!!

Mrs. Steward shares and intimate view of faith, love, and tribulation as her family navigates a health care system that fails to listen or understand her daughters debilitating illness. This story spans a painful fourteen year search for answers in an often rushed or hostile health care system. In this system women are quickly labeled depressed or hysterical if diagnoses are not easily found and patients easily cured. This nightmare journey of multiple physician visits, painful tests, and ineffective treatments eventually takes Karen and her daughter Melissa to Germany. At last the elusive cause of much suffering was determined to be multiple adhesions and effective surgical care was provided, thus returning quality of life to a bright young woman and her family.

The story of Melissa's victory over pain and illness and her mother's determination to not give up are certainly inspirational. This book not only sheds light on a medical condition that is often not considered on list of differential diagnoses, but also sheds light on a fractured and rushed health care system. The descriptions in this book of various physicians visits range from hysterical to infuriating. Mrs. Steward's impressions of physicians from the patient's point of view are so insightful and well written that I believe all physicians should be required to read this book. In the words of Robert Burns "Oh what a powerful gift to give us, to see ourselves as others see us."

It is my hope that this book will bring awareness of ARD to both patients and health care providers as well as remind us all to treat others with the same respect and kindness that we would like to be treated with.

I have suffered from Endometriosis for 7 years and this is a very informative book. Lots of information for the newly diagnosed. If you think you have endometriosis or know you have it...get this book!

I checked out every endometriosis book that my library had, this was by far the best. If I could only choose one book to buy before surgery, or right after being diagnosed, this is the one. I appreciated that the author is a well known expert and not just a fellow Endometriosis sufferer.

Excellent resource for women and girls!! Detailed and easy to understand. Dr. Lyons is truly the expert on Endometriosis.

After four doctors attempted to convince me to have a hysterectomy for endometriosis, I traveled to Atlanta to consult with Dr. Lyons. He was the first doctor to take my condition seriously, and through skilled surgery and medical assistance, has changed my life.

great for students and general surgery residents to lear pediatric surgery from a case based approach.

If you'd like a quick, easy reading book to review before taking pediatric surgery written or oral boards, Larry Moss has just the book for you. Concise, authoritative, well written, and at times dryly humorous... thanks to Baird's contributions! A must have.

Tom Inge
Pediatric Surgeon
Cincinnati Childrens Hospital

Celiac Disease is difficult to diagnose and even more difficult to live with. This book should give hope and encouragement to anyone with Gluten Intolerance. I have recommended it to our local support group as it is well researched and very well written.
Thanks Sylvia - Great job!

CELIAC DISEASE: A GUIDE TO LIVING WITH GLUTEN INTOLERANCE is the only book on the topic co-authored by a nurse, dietitian and clinical pharmacist, and provides an excellent guide to living a wheat-free, gluten-free lifestyle. From symptoms and diagnosis to managing daily life and complications, Celiac Disease comes complete with recipes and nutritional ideas and also includes management tips for all ages, adult to child. An excellent health library addition; especially for collections emphasizing allergies and dietary control.

This paperback book is excellent....It may well be unavailable other than through Amazon.com since it is several years old. However, it has information in it that is timeless.......I value this book.....Thank you...Dr. J.

This is an excellent book. There is a more current book by
Dr. Raphael Kellman MD of the Kellman Center in NY.
The Taylor book espouses the value of reducing stress as a
condition precedent to managing gut reactions. He cites the
Bernstein test involving acid drips in the esophagus to measure
pain triggers. In addition, lab tests can distinguish between
gut disease and gut reactions. Brisk walks help as a stimulant
to the intestines. Celiac disease may be managed by reducing
gluten and increasing fiber in the diet. At times, surgery may be
needed to cope; such as, cholectomy removal of a portion of the
colon. This book is an excellent purchase for the personal
library as is Dr. Kellman's more up-to-date work. Both works
should be in your alternative and conventional medicinal
library.

Something happens to a parent when their child gets sick. Normal life vanishes and Mom or Dad have only one goal - restoring their child to health. When the illness drags on, or medical personnel can't make a diagnosis, normal life becomes a distant memory.

Kay Day faced this situation, to a much greater degree than many parents, but with a happier ending than some families get. She shares her story, with detail, humor, and the background of not only her own family history, but also the familiar hassles and concerns of a family move. I identified with the Day family's experiences and learned from the medical research the author did.

My favorite part of the book is the contribution of the patient's older sister, describing the impact of her sister's illness on her life and the conflicting emotions she experienced during that time. It was a forthright revelation that reminded me strongly of my feelings towards my younger siblings, a long time ago.

This is a great read, for young people and their loving parents.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends KILLING EARL as an interesting & sometimes humorous memoir of a terrible time in a family's life when their 12-year-old daughter suffers severe abdominal pain. It gives practical advice about navigating today's medical establishment, as well as useful Internet links & tips for patient advocates.

The courage of both mother & daughter, who refused to give in to defeat, is the backbone of the book. It should bring encouragement to everyone who suffers from "undiagnosable" pain. Rebecca's "mystery illness" affects over 86,000 American children every year. Up to date information about treatment for such cases is given. If it saves even one child from enduring the year of horror & agony that Rebecca & her family lived through, KILLING EARL was well worth writing.

This is an exellent piece of work, still of major importance for understanding recurrent abdominal pain in childhood.

Many tells that Cope's is the best on subject but I read many books on acute abdomen and this is another story.

This book contained a tremendous amount of useful information for me. I enjoyed reading each part of it and did not put it down until I finished it. I have a very good GI doctor that I trust. But, I could never imagine, I could have got that much accurate and scientific information in a very simple format even in 10 or more visit to my doctor's office. Thanks a lot for putting together this helpful guide.

This book is correct. Do not eat foods with flour, yeast, or preserves while you are recovering from heartburn. Rice gruel and Ginseng root broth helped most at the beginning, after a while I could eat normal food but I still followed this book's recommendation so I don't get sick again. For your information, rice is sticky rice for gruel (wash about 1/2 cup of rice, soak for least 30 min. to 1 hour first before boiling the rice) you can get dry ginseng root in Asian market(rinse 1 dry ginseng root, boil for 20 min with 3 cups of water in medium heat). One or two months later I felt much better. Acupuncture treatments also helped. When the doctor first told me that I had chronic heartburn I was in great pain. It felt like I had swallowed a golf ball. He instructed me to take prilosec everyday. It hurt really bad. I was told that I would have to take it for the rest of my life. Currently, I do not take prilosec and the burning stopped. I can eat a variety of foods, however I am still careful of what I eat (especially foods with preserves).

I have to say that before buying this book nothing had ever worked well for me, I had suffered gastritis for 3 years when I decided to try the book, inmediatelly started following the diet, it was difficult and strict but I manage to follow it for 5 weeks, after that I decided to continue with a less strict diet, including new foods and beverages, so far (two months later) keeping the diet in combination with DGL has kept me 100% away from my symtoms.

If you're seriously thinking about changing your lifestyle and eating habits, read this book and do it once and for all! This book convinced me that antacids is not the way and that we just abuse our digestive systems. I followed the diet for three weeks and got rid of my heartburn. What a relief. I was getting fat from being able to eat anything I wanted with Prevacid...but I attacked the cause of my ill health and now will continue to watch what I eat for as long as I can. My cravings for rich and sweet foods went away and I learned to get off my keister and cook healthy food for a change! I also ended up buying the author's other book, Macro Mello for more advice and recipes and I love it. I find cooking to be therapeutic, even if it's just for myself, since my husband and daughter eat at different times and have their own foods.

If you want true relief that will last and not compromise your body, this book tells you how to get it.
Dr. Sherry Rogers is on a mission of helping people who want to help themselves and I'm grateful to her for that.

I got this book for my husband,who suffers from multiple heartburn/GERD symptoms and does not do well with traditional meds like Nexium or Prilosec. He has gained a lot of insight from this book.