It was about eight weeks after having my third child when I had a surgery to repair an umbilical hernia. It has been nearly three years since that time and every now and then, it becomes painfully clear to me that something is still wrong.
It was only a year after having the surgery when I again began having a pain just beside the area where the repair was made. I went back to the same general surgeon to express my concerns and suspicions. I dreaded having another hernia.
The doctor took a look and felt the area of my skin where he had made the repair. He told me that the lump I felt next to the surgery spot was scar tissue. I was relived to hear that I wouldn’t need another surgery. He didn’t think I had another hernia. Still, my mind was uneasy because something still did not feel right.
I still continue to experience pain from time to time. I can feel a small lump just under my skin. The pain increases when I perform uncommon activities like continuous heavy lifting such as during travel. I have not been able to narrow what triggers the strain to this area, but I always know a day afterwards or sometimes hours after it occurs.
Something feels wrong but I don’t know what to do. I don't want to go back to the same general surgeon. He doesn’t believe anything is wrong. I am reluctant to go to someone new. A new doctor will not know what repair has already occurred, not to mention, it takes much time and effort to find someone and make an appointment. Life just doesn't slow down for pain or sickness.
So, for more than a year, I have done nothing and suffered with the occasional episode of pain. I take some Advil and make another broken promise to myself that I will have it checked out.
I believe that my general surgeon did a good job. But doctors aren’t perfect. Only you know when it is time to get a second opinion. No one knows your body quite like you. When your body is trying to tell you something, you have to listen.