Have stoma, lump above belly button. Hernia?

[Jer's Girl]

How do you know if you have a hernia? I have a hard lump above my belly button that is new and hurts. I know people with stoma's are prone to them. It doesn't hurt that bad, and it's not huge, but it has had me doubled over a little bit today.

 

[D Bergy]

You often can push a Hernia back in, if that is what it is. I had one once, and would have to shove it back in, although it hurt like hell.

It will have to be fixed surgically to permanently get rid of it.

Might be a good idea to have a doctor look at it before poking at it too much.

Dan

 

[Jer's Girl]

Thanks a lot for your quick reply. Mine is pretty small. It feels like a walnut. It hurts, but not horribly. I'd frankly like to ignore it.

 

[Jer's Girl]

I think it is an incisional hernia. it is actually a lot larger than I thought, but all under my scar. It is red in the area, but not bulgy. I really want to ignore it.

 

[Keona]

HAHA, sorry to laugh Jer's girl but your comment "I'd frankly like to ignore it" sounds like something I would say..hehe. It will probably get to the point where you wont be able to anymore. I have a hiatus hernia and it gets worse with time I find. I was told with all hernias youre not supposed to lift anything heavy at all. Unsure of how long ago your surgery was so it already may be doctors orders.

http://www.simondodds.com/Other/Hernia_FAQ.htm

 

[Vivvian's Mommy]

I have a hernia where my scar is at but they won't fix it because I don't have enough intestines left.So unless it gets worse they said I just have to live with it.Mine causes a great deal of pain when I bend over too long and shortness of breath.I have a 8 1/2month old to take care of and already have a weight restriction.

 

[CDDad]

I had something that sounds similar a few weeks ago. It was a lump right under my incision and was very tender. I was worried about a hernia so I ran to the doctor. He poked and pushed it (which hurt even more). He thought it could be fat or fluid which escaped and got under the skin.

After a few days it resolved and now it is like it never happened. Another one happened again lower down my incision, but not as bad. It also went away.

I think they both happened after doing some light house maintanence too soon.

Good luck - I hope it goes away as quickly for you!

 

[acg101]

@Jer's - It is possible an incisional hernia but it could be also a fat deposit. I had one about the size of a dime which hurt when I pushed in but after few days it went away.

When is your next Dr appointment?

 

[Busy]

I had one about 2 inches below my ribcage in the middle. It was about the size and shape of my eyeball. Hurt like hell if I tried to do anything like situps (which were impossible). It protruded and looked quite hard but it was in fact kinda soft-ish (eyeball again?).

Anyhoo it turned out to be a hernia and I had to have a surgical repair. Maybe get your doc's opinion?

p.s. I don't have a stoma though.

 

[Jer's Girl]

Thank you all for your responses. It means a lot to me that people care enough to give advice and try to help in these situations.

Busy- it feels a lot like that but bigger. i can't even feel how far it goes back.

I called my GI, who's nurse called me back and told me that I had to call my surgeon. I called my surgeon, and his nurse said that EVERYONE with an ileostomy gets a hernia and that I probably shouldn't come in unless it becomes unbearable. Huh? I don't think that that is true. Also, it isn't unbearable, but (contrary to my earlier posts) it doesn't seem like the kind of thing I should ignore.

It is getting bigger and hurts more too. It makes it quite uncomfortable to wear jeans. I am hoping that I will be able to get a reversal after my wedding in July and maybe I can get it repaired then.

I hate when I feel like my Dr's don't take me seriously.

 

[acg101]

The nurse is ignorant because not EVERYONE gets hernia, and more importantly, you should never be ignored or in pain and the doctor should respect you because they ARE in the service business and you are the customer and they get paid very well.

 

[Jeff D.]

Nicole that's just not right. Your doctor should definitely check you out because you shouldn't have a hernia after surgery. I asked my surgeon about it before surgery as that was something I was worried about and he said not to worry as most of the time if you stick to their guide lines you should be fine. If you do have a hernia it is something to check out and see. Good luck

 

[Keona]

I agree, if the GI people wont help...can you go to your family doctor and maybe they can advocate for you? I dont like that doctors dont take people seriously either.
Good luck!

 

[Jer's Girl]

Thanks for your support guys! It means a lot. I know that, unfortunately, a lot of us on here know how it feels to not be taken seriously by a Dr at one point or another.

 

[Silvermoon]

I had a white "bump" show up at the bottom of my surgery site about 2 weeks after surgery... I kind of ignored it, thinking it would go away... until it openned up and a bunch of puss came out... turns out it was an abcess....

Your scar is quite a bit older than that, and it SHOULDN'T be any kind of abscess, but I always think of these things when someone says "pain" and "bump" in the same sentence..lol... :redface:

Our bodies do such retarded things to us... either way I would get it checked out....

(and BTW, if I ever give such retarded advise to a patient as what your surgeon's nurse gave to you, I hope someone yanks my licence and slaps me stupid .... that is just sick and wrong....)

 

[Jer's Girl]

Thanks Silver. Your note really cheered me up. That was retarded advice she gave me, as it really wasn’t any kind of advice at all!
They STILL haven’t bothered to get back to me about this, but although it hasn’t changed in size it is less uncomfortable. It had gotten to the point where it was awful just to wear jeans over it.

 

[Jer's Girl]

So,in case you were wondering what happened with my hernia...
I called my GI again and the nurse finally called me back a week later and started giving me the name of the surgeon I should see for my operation. I was like, "ummm... i don't want to go strait to surgery. I'd like to be diagnosed first." She was like, "oh really? Okay then your GI can see you in two weeks." Stupid.

Now I have a pain behind my stoma that I can't figure out. It feels like a stabbing pain. It can't be a block because my output has been good. Anyone have any ideas? It is even more painful than the hernia.

 

[CDDad]

Sorry - no help here. But you do have my sympathy!
How long has this new pain been going on? Does it come and go?

 

[Jer's Girl]

It has only been a few days. It does come and go, and it is worse if I am standing.

 

[Jeff D.]

I'm sorry you've been having so many problems. I also don't have much help to offer but I'll be praying for you and I hope your doctor can figure out what's going on to get you better soon.