i have been suffering with abdominal pain for 2 years,i have had to give up nearly everything i enjoy doing,i have been a postman for 18 years and i am very proud to have had a job for this length of time but i am on the verge of losing it,bit by bit i have had to give up more and more things,i used to be a keen cyclist and drummer,but had to give them up because of the pain i am in,i do not visit my friends any more and cut off from my family,i feel like i am on a downwards spiral,i have spent nearly 1000 pounds trying to get healthy again,it all started when i had an operation on my feet,i had a bilateral foot operation to straighten my big toes as i had bunions on both feet,i also had 6 of my little toes straightened,the doctor said they would operate on both feet at the same time as my brother was off work and could look after me as i recovered,after the operation i was in a lot of pain and making involuntary movements jolting forwards and backwards,i got 2 hours sleep and i was in agony,the nurses eventually gave me morphine to calm me down,i was getting no abdominal pain at this time as it was my feet that was hurting like they had been broke in two,the next night was similar after that my feet although were sore,started to calm down,i didn t know if i had damaged anything and as i was getting no pain from my abdomen i thought i must be OK,but i was on a lot of tablets at the time,i always worry about side effects but thought the medication would do me more good than bad,about 2days after finishing my medication i started to get a pain in my right side half way between my naval and side,like a glowing ball,it was uncomfortable to sit,and very painful,it felt like someone was pressing a knife into my side,the pain seemed to calm down if i lay flat after a while,i went to see the doctor,she said it could be a stone and sent me for ultrasound,endoscopy,colonoscopy this was over a few months and all came back clear,i was also sent for blood tests which came back clear,although my liver profile was slightly high,by this time i was getting a pain in my left side as well halfway between my naval and side although this was not constant,i went to see a herbalist who nearly got the pain to go,but the pain came back twice as bad,after one year i went back again to the herbalist who gave me the same medicine again,i tried it for longer but my symptoms did not improve,i was going back to the doctors who was telling me it was nothing to worry about,sometimes these things sort themselves out and they couldn t see my having this the same time next year,all this time it was getting worse,i was put on lanzoprazol which just gave my direah,omoprazol which did the same,there were no improvements to the pain,my symptoms were getting worse,ihave seen 3 or 4 consultants,the comments i have had are,sometimes these things cant be found,it might get better over time,try to do things as normal and see how you are,what will you do if we cant find out what it is?all the time my symtoms have been getting worse,i was also put on anti-depressants which just put me to sleep and i woke up with the same pain,more recentally ive been put on gabapenin and pain killers which are not getting me any better as my symptoms have got worse still,i told the consultant the tablets were not working and he said you must not be on a high enough dosage,ill increase them and see you in 6 months,i felt the worst i have ever felt,he was telling me sometimes these thing cannot be found we just have to learn to cope with them,if it was him i bet he would be trying harder,at the moment i am getting pain in my right side halfway between my naval and side,pain in my left side halfway between my naval and side,pain right across my stomach,like severe stomach ache,pain in my lower back,sometimes both sides,severe pain in my groin,sometimes when i am urinating i have to stop halfway,sometimes i get shooting pains up my backside,sometimes pain between my ribcage i have to go sleep on my back,i cannot go sleep on either of my sides,and if i turn over by accident it takes hours to get back sleep,i cannot bend down,as the pain in my stomach intensifies,when i have had a poo on the toilet the pain in my stomach is unbearable and i have to lye on my bed,which makes me dread going the toilet i am more exhausted than i have ever been and when i get up everyday i feel like i have not been bed at all,i am writing this now as i cannot get back to sleep,over time my symptoms are getting worse,the last thing the doctor said to my was it is just a symptom,i feel like my life is over to say that to me when i am a person and i deserve a life to,i am in constant pain ,i feel like i am living a nightmare,i do not know how much longer i can take of this,i have been to herbalists,physiotherapists,acupuncture,i have spent loads in health shops,i am eating the healthiest i have ever ate,i have worked all my life and i want to work and have a normal life,i do not want to lose my job over this,i have missed family birthdays,holidays,Christmas,new year,i am just living my life on auto pilot,i feel like i am just waiting to collapse till my body gives up,i feel like i have always been like this,i cannot remember what it was like to be healthy or happy,i feel like i am living someone else s life and mine is over,thanks for reading this letter,i hope you can help me,any input you have i would appreciate i am a good,honest,hard working person,i just want to lead a normal life,Matthew