Navel Pain - What is it?

[maylee]

Hi, I have a been experiencing pain in my navel for about two weeks now.  It's happened once in the past (3 months ago?), but I thought it was caused by wearing jeans that were too tight (the button pressing into my abdomen in the belly button area).  The pain went away and I didn't think twice about it afterwards.

The pain returned about two weeks ago.  It's not intense, but more like an uncomfortable "pressure."  It occurs if I bend over, lean forward, or stretch.  It also occurs while lying in bed, if I turn over to lay on either side.  If my waistband touches my navel, or if I brush against it by accident, it hurts.

There is no discharge or bad smell coming from my abdomen.  I'm pretty sure it's not appendicitis (since I've had this for weeks now with no severe complications).  However, when I try to look inside my navel (I have an innie), it appears to be swollen in the lower part of the navel.  I pressed on it yesterday and it was firm (not rock hard) and caused discomfort.

Does anyone have any idea of what this may be?  I was going to go to my doctor last week, but it felt like it was going away so I cancelled the appointment.  Now it's back and seems like it's getting worse.  Any help will be appreciated - thanks!

[AllaynaD]

I had similar pain to what you are describing. I was having the pain but they completely ruled out a hernia. In my tenth grade year of high school they found out that the line from my umbilical cord to my bladder never closed up after birth, turning my belly button in to a giant hole to the inside of me that would occasionally get infected. They told me that usually this is caught when a child is an infant but for some reason it slipped by my doctors. I don't remember the term for it. I do remember them doing an ultra sound and not seeing it. They could not see it until they did a dye test to look at my bladder. It's very rare but it DOES happen.I hope that helps.  

[abby_help]

Your symptoms mirror mine.  What has transpired since your post several years ago? Did your problems cease, or did you have any medical intervention that helped?

[abby_help]

Started having problems after a routine pap test. I'm having navel & abdominal pain, with recently enlarged abdomen and sudden stretch marks, despite eating little since I feel so full that I can barely eat/drink/breathe. Going back in time, I went to a free government clinic 7 months ago for a routine pap test, started spotting 3 weeks later, and 3 months later went into labor and delivered a fetal-looking tissue with a tail, leg buds, curled head area, and black "eye" area. Two days later, a bifurcated cord attached to a placental-looking tissue with arteries/veins on one side and a whitish almost fat looking marbling look on that side, but the flip side had no veins only looked like red tissue. Lochia was discharged appx 6 weeks, as is normal. Began sudden hemorrhaging 5-6 times over 14 day period, I presumed from retained tissue. Had ultrasound, showed 1.5" x 1.5" x 1" hypoechoic mass inside lower uterine segment and enlarged uterus. Several days later discharge began smelling very awful with small pieces of brownish tissue. I called DR, but on vacation, so I reached in vagina w/2 fingers and felt cervix dilated with something poking out that I was able to grasp between 2 fingers and tug until it came out. It was appx 1.5" X .75" X .5 red fluffy mass (under microscope saw a few flat crystal-like fragments with jagged edges that when lifted off the tissue and pressed with a needle they shattered (what could these be?); also, were a few dark blackish long thread-like things that seemed very long and winding, sparsely imbedded in tissue, some single, some in groups that I dug out with needle and examined under microscope at 20X---hard to identify as I am a lay person, but looked somewhat like blood flukes (but blood test showed zero eiosinophiles (sp?), or Morgellen fibers, also saw what might have looked like Loa Loa (with spots interior of its body) in some of the previous brownish discharge,but I have never been to Africa, nor out of U.S.  A day later I reached in vagina to try to remove more tissue, and tugged out a piece of cylindrical red tissue that was firmer than prior, and had nothing embedded. Tissue removal solved smelling problem and the cervix is now closed but discharging tiny pinkish fragments seen in toilet bowel and brownish liquid daily on pads non-stop--I presume this is he uterus breaking down and the retained tissue, I can only hope. Abdomen is enlarged and now pain around navel for about 2 weeks and hurts so bad that I feel so full that I can barely eat or drink, and it is difficult to get a deep breath. A small amount of food or two glasses of water make me feel that I overstuffed at Thanksgiving. Meals cause immediate pain around navel, strong pain. Can barely have BM for last 45 days, when never had problem previously in my life. I have limited food intake last 2 weeks to clear what might be impaction caused by possibly "sympathetic contractions" in uterus/front lower pelvic area as BM is about to begin---center front pelvic area contracts painfully when attempting to BM that I react by preventing. Never before took a laxative in my life, but tried Senna on advice of pharmacist to evacuate digestive system in event of impaction---what a nightmare---the most painful diarrhea and abdominal pain--worse than being in labor and I had mine naturally. If I press on my navel area I get chest and heart area pains. Having bad nightmares of abdomen problems now due to ongoing pain during the night that is infiltrating dreams. Gas hurts painfully and intestinal system is not working properly. What should I do? Something is very wrong. One possible complication I forgot to mention is that prior to pulling the tissues out of the cervix, I started eating 3 bunches of parsley every 2 days made into pesto with olive oil, 12 garlic cloves, a cup of walnuts and cup of Parmesan cheese, put on crackers. The parsley intake was done to try to get cervix to dilate and uterus to contract to get the retained tissue out, which I think I got most of. (Could it be the garlic or excess parsley components that might have done something to the intestines? I read something about the oil overdose can be deadly and can affect intestines. I do not smoke or drink, and eat organic home grown fruits, went years without sugar, but did begin drinking coffee over the last year. I realize none of my problems are from my diet, with the exception of the parsley/garlic excess recently. Also, I read that with In Vitro Fertilization, that if an excess of follicle stimulating hormone is given to a women that it can cause complications with pain around navel that radiates up to the shoulder (right I believe), and cause pelvic inflammation, among other problems. My symptoms seem to mirror that information. 7 months ago after the pap test, the phlebotomist inserted a large needle into my arm and kept pushing the plunger in while she dug it deeper into my arm and twisted it a bit---not sure if a hormone was injected or what, or if nothing. I am post menopausal. All seems strange, confusing, interesting, frustrating, but mostly concerning now as I am in pain and need my abdomen and digestive system to return to normal. I feel like I am going to pop. I can only wonder if something passed through the fallopian tubes and ovaries and has gotten into the abdominal cavity and attached or is causing other complications not detected by the pelvis ultrasound; I did not have an abdominal u.s. What should I do? Where should I go, and what should I have done? Who should I trust? I was healthy and fine until 3 weeks after the pap test at the government-run clinic, then all this started...yes, I am convinced the clinic is doing some of kind of undisclosed research on postmenopausal women, or else they inserted an unclean pap brush or speculum or ? that had cells from someone else, but I lean toward the research aspect. I had not had intercourse for over a decade. Is there anyone else out there who had any similar kind of experience after going to a clinic for a routine pap test? Most of you out there who are sexually active of child-bearing years would never know the difference between your own tissue being miscarried, or foreign tissue. I however was sure nothing came from intercourse. No, it was not a hydatidiform mole. I would love to post the photos if there is any way to, for feedback. the sequence of events and timing are too coincidental to not be questioned.  

[abiodug]

It works San2011, thanks. could you possibly provide explanation for this...

[BellaPi]

I went to bed with intense navel pain and the surrounding area last night and when I woke up this morning it was still there, so when I asked my brother about it he told me that means my belly is getting bigger and that I eat too much smh. Im not sure if he was kidding but he has a big belly so i figured he was speaking from experience. So that's another theory. But I will monitor it over the next couple of days

[JillsStory]

IF THE DOCS CAN'T FIGURE IT OUT, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE TO!

Ok sorry, I just read ALL of the stories and want to add a few things I noticed. We have got to figure this out. I am disgusted that docs are clueless and won't explore this to come up with an actual diagnosis. Here's a bit about me... Maybe we can start to put pieces together.

My issues/symptoms that may help us figure it out.
-I have stabbing pain always within one half inch of edge of belly button. Now... It's actually dead on BB. I can put my fingertip on the sharp pain.
-Pain has gotten worse after eating but not always.
-Pain has gotten worse when bladder is full at times. Peeing can cause quick burst of same pain if I'm in "flare up" mode.
-Pain worse when walking/ straightening body.
-Pain may subside if I sit on couch in crouched position (like knees bent, feet up beside me, but not all the way under my bottom)
-Pain may not be bad all day. I never eat til dinner time. My eating patterns are 1 full meal a day, snacks later, 1 decaf coffee/day, 1 reg/coffee/day.
-I rarely eat fruits/veg.
-I AM VERY THIN. NOT OVERWEIGHT. 107 lb.
-I live a SEDINTARY (sit a lot and poor posture) lifestyle.

Medical:
- I have had cysts on ovaries repeatedly.
-I've been on birth control for years.
-It doesn't matter if I drink soda or Gatorade, or water. Pain still same.
-I have constant worry about my health and MID REGION is always the problem.
-3 months ago I had fingertip sized pain on very edge of rib cage (this is what covers your actual stomach organ) Doc suspected ulcer. Took Prilosec Perscription strength 45 days- pain went away but new pain started in entire stomach organ, with twisting ache, full feeling, knotting pain in the organ. Caused me to obsess and get depressed, didn't want to leave home. Finally got angry enough to "denounce" the pain & start moving around. It went away within a few days.
-JUST PRIOR TO (THE WEEK PRIOR) the stabbing belly button pain, the week before, I had pain that I thought was urinary tract. My friend, a doc, called in Cipro for me. The pain was strange. It hurt at top/center/inch left of pubic bone. Pain came in "throbbing waves", and was mostly IN my crotch, on left side of vaginal area (where ones panties cover, directly RIGHT of where your LEFT leg meets crotch, ON THE BONE. No amount if water helped, Cipro failed. Doc said its not a urinary infection. It went away yet FADED INTO the belly button pain, the SAME WAY my supposed ulcer faded into twisting pain.
-I've had, in last couple months, chest burning (severe) upon exercise/carrying laundry. This came with tightness in chest. A general doc did stress test and blamed SMOKING, and diagnosed COPD/emphysema. I doubt these are related but some of you said you had chest burning too, so I'm including it. This was one month prior to bb pain.
-I smoke a LOT.
**Once my bb pain flared up when a man was emotionally hurting me.
**Again a man is hurting me and this immediately started. ARE ANY OF YOU HAVING EMOTIONAL ISSUES WHILE IT'S HAPPENING?

And here's a really weird one, just for kicks. Try this. I have had nail fungus on toe and athletes foot. If you rub the webbing between your 2nd & 3rd toes, you'll feel an instant "twinge" in your middle abdomen. It feels funny, and strange. It's almost like there's a trigger there between toes. I looked it up. Sure enough I found there's a pressure point there that hits mid abdomen.

Anyone else - can you please document any weird other happenings before or during your "flare ups"? We have GOT TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS!

March 2013
Length of pain- on/off 2.5 yrs.