Kind of Freaked out

As I wrote in my last posts, I am waiting on gallbladder surgery....well now there's something new.

Two days ago I had some mild pain in my stomach area and when I rubbed it, I felt a lump. Now I don't mean a small lump - the thing is HUGE (maybe the size of an egg or even bigger). It dosn't hurt to the touch but it does have an ache and just so happens to be located right under one of my lap band incisions (the scar on the far left). It's not hard to locate either, it's pretty apparant.

I called my family doctor to make an appointment, but only got one aug 3rd. If I get called for gallbladder surgery before then, I plan on bringing it up to the surgeon at that time for sure.

What's VERY strange is that not even 3 weeks ago, I had an ultra sound where they checked my liver, kidneys, spleen, gallbladder and liver. I'm quite shocked this was not brought up or even noticed.

After some research, I wonder if this isin't a hernia? I just find it so strange that it's directly underneat one of my incisions and heard that incisions can turn into hernias. I didn't have a hernia when I had surgery or at least Dr. Savoie never mentionned he fixed one. 

I have to admit I am a little bit freaked out by this. I hope nothing is wrong with my band or that it's nothing serious. I can eat normally and everything and this lump is somewhat painful, but nothing compared to a gallbladder attack or anything...

anyway i'm very freaked out...

did you say left  side could be your port  sounds very much like your port  some times they move don`t freak out  call your surgeon  your regular doctor doesn`t know that much about your lapband most regular doctors know very little if anything about your lapband  hope that helps   jacqueline

Hi Jaqueline,

No this isin't my port, I know where my port is and I can eaily locate it. This is much higher under the small incision on the left side.

This to me is more like a hernia, the reason I say this is that to find my port, I need to actually dig in there to find it cause I still have an substancial amount of abdmonial fat.

This lump is almost at the surface of my skin,I do not need to dig to find it at all. it feels like there is no muscle at all, which is what gives me the belief of a hernia plus it's under an incision.

Thanks. I will be calling my surgeon tomorrow to see what they say. I'm trying not to freak out but as you can imagine, is very hard to do feeling this lump in my stomach, plus it is also painful.

If it's a hernia, the good news is that I am already facing gallbladder surgery before the end of the summer so I could have it repaired at the same time.

Mon

Just a little tip - make sure your gall bladder surgeon knows about this well before your planned day of surgery. It may or may not be a hernia - and it may or not be able to be taken care of the same day as your gall bladder. I would see someone about it ASAP! Good luck!

thanks mary. do you think this would be a good cause to go to the ER? I called my GP and she can only take me on Aug 3rd....I 've always been under the assumption you go to the er when you're dying but I would really like to have this checked out before Aug...just for peace of mind at least

Hi Scartears. I wouldn't even hazzard a guess what your lump is but thought I'd share my lump story with you. 2 years ago I got up one morning and after having a shower while standing in front of a mirror I saw a huge lump netween my breasts. I freaked. It was the size of a boiled egg cut in half sitting on my chest wall. It aches on occasion and I saw my doc who examined it. She says it is a lipidema ( translated into english means a fat lump) I saw a surgeon about it and he suggested leaving it alone because it was not doing any harm. So I now call it my third boob and sadly the third boob is more upright than it's 2 sisters. LOL It still aches at times and it hurts when my bra sits across it. Oh well, could be worse. Could be on my face. LOL

Did you tell the receptionist why you needed an appointment? They have appointments that are not filled for last minute things. I would go to the ER if i didn't get an appointment soon- if for no other reason than to not put off the Gall Bl;adder surgery..

Hi everyone,

 

I wish I had more of an update, bit unfortunately I do not. Last Sunday I went to ER at the George Dumont about the lump. The doctor had no idea what it could be and basically argued with me awhile that it was my port (which let me clarify it is not****il I had her feel the port.

 

She sent me for an Xray and blood work and both came back fine. At that point, still confused, she had me return the next day for a CT scan. Once the CT scan was completed, I saw a doctor again at ER for the results (different doctor).

 

Again, this doctor said my scans look normal and that it was my port. At this point, maybe feeling a little defeated, frustrated and discouraged about it, I accepted their answer and just left.

 

Only one problem – the lump in question is NOT my port. I know where my port is, can feel it easily and this lump is not even in the same area. Plus the lump is the size of a grapefruit and the port is like the size of a dental floss sample!

 

You can imagine my disappointment. Finally I contacted Dr. Savoie. Basically he sent a fax yesterday to Dumont to have my scans transferred to him ASAP so he can review them. I feel more confident because I know he knows what to look for as far as band & port placement. From there we will decide if I need to go to Bathurst for an endoscope or what.

 

Tomorrow is my 1 year anniversary and I am praying nothing is wrong with my band. I can eat without any problems and really have no problems band wise except for this large lump under the incision.

 

According to the 1^st doctor I seen at the hospital it’s not a hernia because I would be throwing up non stop?

 

I just do not get it because its right underneath the top left incision it’s HUGE and you can easily feel it with no fat or even muscle over it,.  It showed up all of a sudden and it’s painful but truly not the worst pain in the world. Most times I have no pain, but this morning I woke up and did a full body stretch standing up and felt slight pain, again not crazy pain but I guess an ache would properly describe it. Why does it scream muscle to me, I don’t know.

 

Anyway wish me luck that all is well with my band and that it’s nothing serious.

 

I’ll keep you posted.

 

Mon