Buring Sensation

[Leaps]

Hello,

I am 33 and have had Acid Reflux for about 10 years. I've been on and off Nexium randomly (as needed). The pain used to be in my esophagus. I did have a random doctor requested endoscope (he was a new primary care doctor that just wanted to "check current status") about 2 years ago that proved all well and good. However I have a new pain recently (past 8 or 9 months). It mostly happens after a burp but sometimes randomly as well.

It's a burning sensation about 1 inch below my belly button. The pain is horizontal. It's feels to be about two inches wide. It's not an excruciating pain but it's enough to make me scratch, itch and apply pressure to the area when it occurs. So something is going on.

Could this be a progressive stage of acid reflux, an ulcer, or something else? How to even check? I went to see a specialist gastro doctor and he told me nothing. He literally brushed it off as it's nothing. That was about 6 months ago. It hasn't gone away.

[ggreg]

I realized as I re-read my post that you might be a male and sorry for that!  I may know about digestive issues, but I know next to nothing about the male anatomy!  It really did read funny when I checked back over it.  

I am posting back to you because I wanted to tell you that a colonoscopy procedure is nothing like people think they are going to be, especially in this day and time.  Normally they put a lot of "twilight" anesthesia in your vein, to where you feel mighty good during the whole event, or you don't remember a thing about it, just depends on the person.  You are kept well-covered, a nurse and doctor are together with you in the room they roll you into on a gurney, you lay on your side, and as I said, the medication stops any discomfort, BUT if you feel the least bit uncomfortable, let them know, and they'll just inject more anesthetic right then and there.  My general doc referred me to a gastroenterology group in an outpatient building of offices, and my experience is pretty much the standard, altho there's always a few folks who still have a bad time with a colonoscopy.  

But I agree, if you also believe it might be some sort of erosion or diverticulitis going on in your guts, colonoscopy is the way to go.  But you could still also have a hernia, and when the doc consults with you a few days before the scheduled colonoscopy, he will check for that, and so the solution may wind up being different, perhaps surgery to repair any hernia, and they'll hold off on the colonoscopy until you get that straight.  Hope it all works out for you.

[Leaps]

Thank you for the post ggreg. Well we can rule out the female problem issue as I'm male. I did not state that. So fair for you to assume.

As for the itch, it's not a real skin itch as a rash or a bug bite would itch. It's more of how a burn would itch and it's def under the skin, which really makes itching the only form or recourse not necessarily the preferred method of soothing.

That fact that it predominantly hurts immediately after I burp makes me think your statement of having "developed some sort of erosion or ulcerative tissue in that place, OR you could have diverticuli" seems very logical. It's the way my mind has been leaning lately without the appropriate medical terms.

While I really do not want to go through a colonoscopy I guess it's the only way to check, and as I get older I'm sure I'll have to get use to it.

Thanks for the info!

[ggreg]

First and foremost, I think it's a skin problem, not a digestive problem.  But I'll go into that at the end of this post, since it could indeed be a serous digestive problem instead.

Could be a little hernia, where the muscles inside can rip or tear loose, but this gastro should have noticed if it was.  I had an umbilical hernia, and my gastro felt of it and immediately knew that's what it was.  So, while a new doc may have a better opinoin for you, right now I'm left with thinking a dermatologist issue of the skin, so you could visit one of those docs and see if he knows what it is.  See, it's below the belly button, and what's down there is intestines, the ovaries join up there, urine leaves the body there, so could be you have a female problem down there, since the intestinal thing was dismissed by the gastro, so you can visit your OB-GYN and let them investigate.  She may find you have a female problem or a kidney problem.

But since you have had all this acid in your body all this time, if you ask me, you may have developed some sort of erosion or ulcerative tissue in that place, OR you could have diverticuli there, which is a little pouch made when the intestinal wall bulges inward, I have may diverticuli but no problems with them.  Anyway, those things can get infected, absessed, and cause some distress there.  Looks like the gastro doc could have offered to do a colonoscopy, so a scope could have a look inside your intestines to make sure it's not related to that, since the intestines is basically all that's below the belly button, except for the other issues I already mentioned, a dermatologist problem or OB-GYN problem including the kidneys.  You could always go see a different gastroenterologist.

Sometimes an appendix problem can give sensations in other parts of the abdomen further away from the lower right corner.  People can get them around the belly button, or over on the left side somewhere, or even up near the chest... you name it, people have felt a problem with the appendix that occurs a long ways away from it.  The gastro should have also suspected this, so could be another doc might do better on looking at that possibility.  If you ever feel the pain move over to the right, or if you push on the lower right of your abdomen and it hurts like the devil, then go to the ER, it will need to come out.  

But what throws me off is it itches you.  I tell you what, before you spend a lot of money with colonoscopy, dermatologist, and GYN people, instead get you some antibacterial soap and also a good lotion that you like, plus get a mild laundry detergent like Arm & Hammer, no bleach.  For the next week you bathe, use some of that antibacterial soap around that whole area to include the belly button, rinse well, and after toweling off apply the lotion all around there liberally.  Check any under pants and outer pants you wear and make sure they're not causing red marks to happen around your waistline anywhere.  And wash all your clothes in the mild detergent, and of course use fabric softener sheets in the dryer.  If any of your pants have some older elastic in them that are pushing on your tummy, throw them away and get some new gentler and larger kinds.  If this doesn't help you in a week, well then, back to visiting the doctors.