[NancyG]

Surgeon is now saying I do not have an incisional hernia after he saw cat scan with contrast film and narrative which say nothing showed. He said he originally thought I had an incisional hernia because my colon was distended when he did the ultra sound test in his office. But he even pointed out on the ultra sound the white area where he thought the incisional hernia was.

I have lost confidence in this surgeon. He looked exhausted when I saw him and he initially did not remember he gave me a dx of incisional hernia 2 weeks before.

When I commented that he looked tired he said he had gotten 5 hours sleep which was a lot for him. He apparently does not think he needs much sleep.

Distention is a little worse this morning. I am looking about 4 months pregnant today. I continue going to physical therapy twice a week and I am doing exercises on my own daily.

Surgeon has ordered a pelvic scan to evaluate for ovarian lesions. My question. What kind of Dr. should I go to get a good evaluation of my stomach distention?. It am still full of air in my upper abdomen.

[NancyG]

Dr. Towfigh. Thank you for responding to my post. Here is some additional info. The gastropheresis test was negative.

My stomach has stayed distended since I had spine surgery for spinal stenosis in June. At first I thought it was due to constipation from pain meds but even after i stopped pain meds my stomach has stayed distended. It has gone down some. I looked 9 months pregnant and now only look about 3 months pregnant. I have distention all the way across and Surgeon says it sounds like I am filled with air. No history of pregnancy. I have lost 10 lbs since surgery because I can only eat a very small amount. Surgeon tells me I have an incisional hernia from a previous surgery about 15 yrs ago and says my diastasis recti is small. I had a cat scan in June at the ER and it was negative except I found out I was anemic. I am taking something called Easy Iron for anemia.

I am worried that I have Cancer. Is that a possibility? I do not have an appendix or a gall bladder and I am 73. I also use a Cpap but recently stopped using it thinking I have Aerophagia. Could the incisional hernia be cause of my symptoms of distension, pain, upper stomach filled with air, and burping and feeling so full so quickly.

[NancyG]

I have been doing a lot of reading since I posted separation of abdominal muscle. My pcp called it a Diastasis Recti. Apparently its not a hernia. I do also have a small hernia lower down. on belly. I will continue researching. I believe several factors caused my problem starting with the steroid injection over one year ago which made connective tissue weaker. Also, my age 73, and previous abdominal surgery to remove a benign tumor on my spine.in 2002. In addition I believe cpap use and swallowing air and constipation from recent back surgery aggravated this problem. Will research more about pelvic floor physical therapy and try a new position for sleep suggested by Dr. Falcon. I am less emotional today and trying to figure out what to do next. Anyone else with this problem or suggestion from any of the doctors would be appreciated.