#1 ·
I was wondering if anyone here might have some insight or perhaps some lived experience regarding umbilical hernias or maybe some kind of intestinal blockage. I suffer from these bouts of abdominal pain—it’s hard to put into words, really. It starts with this sudden, intense bloating, and then comes the cramping. It gets so tight that sitting or even walking becomes an ordeal. Does anyone else deal with this? It happens roughly once a month. Sometimes the episode just dissipates on its own after fifteen or twenty minutes, though yesterday, for instance, it dragged on for two agonizing hours. The very first time I felt this level of excruciating pain—the kind where you can barely breathe, let alone move—was about ten days after I gave birth, which was four and a half years ago. I finally saw my doctor today. He noted that my navel feels... different. When he applies pressure with his finger, it seems to shift and retract inward. He suspects it might be an umbilical hernia. He assured me it isn't an emergency, and that surgery is an option if I want it, but at this stage, it is merely a suspicion.