Asymmetric abdomen

[ConstantWorrying]

I'll preface this by saying I'm really skinny (I'm normally 5'10" 135 pounds, and I've probably lost 10 in the last few months thanks to social distancing and not eating as much).

About 2 years ago, I remember feeling really bloated after a meal to the point where I felt like I was going to burst. I started worrying that it was ascites from some sort of cancer. Eventually, that concern evolved into me noticing my abdomen was asymmetric - the area in my lower right umbilical region (diagonally downward part from belly button) stuck out more than the corresponding left side.

I worried about this on and off over the last couple of years.

Recently, I was sitting on the toilet and noticed that further down my abdomen, about half way between my belly button and groin (in my right hypogastric region), there's a vein bulging out, and to the left of that vein is a horizontal bump/bulge protruding slightly. It's thin and horizontal. This seems to be the main thing causing the feeling that that part of my abdomen as asymmetric as well, lifting up the area on the right (again, nothing corresponding to this on the left side).

Now, I had a colonoscopy a little over 10 years ago and that came back clear (this was for rectal bleeding...they only found internal hemmorhoids), but I know that not only are those things imperfect, and doctors can miss things, but it's also possible it's a small bowel tumor, which isn't examined via colonoscopy.

And if that weren't bad enough, I discovered today that "visible peristalsis" (when you can see your abdomen moving during digestion) is almost pathognomonic for obstruction. I think I have been having that over the past couple years...although it's difficult to tell because I can see my pulse in my umbilical region, and combined with breathing, it's hard to tell what movements might be from that, rather than visible peristalsis.

I did see references to visible peristalsis being possible for hernias (though this doesn't seem to be a location where you can get a hernia), and also that it can sometimes be seen in thin people, but taken with the other signs, I don't see how this isn't cancer.

I just ate a couple hours ago and that area is now bulging out more than usual.

[NotDeadYet]

ConstantWorrying

It looks like Google is one of your best friends.

If you are truly concerned about this issue, then make an appointment with a doc and have them give you the all clear. If this was something really sinister you would be having many more symptoms than what you describe.

Regardless, stay off of Google. It is only serving to feed your dragon.

Best Wishes

[ConstantWorrying]

ConstantWorrying

It looks like Google is one of your best friends.

If you are truly concerned about this issue, then make an appointment with a doc and have them give you the all clear. If this was something really sinister you would be having many more symptoms than what you describe.

Regardless, stay off of Google. It is only serving to feed your dragon.

Best Wishes

The problem is, these things I found on Google are from actual scientific literature that doctors use for diagnosis.

With Covid-19 everywhere, I'm not sure whether there's much that can be done even if I did get a doctor to look at it.

[Fishmanpa]

About 2 years ago, I remember feeling really bloated after a meal to the point where I felt like I was going to burst. I started worrying that it was ascites from some sort of cancer. Eventually, that concern evolved into me noticing my abdomen was asymmetric - the area in my lower right umbilical region (diagonally downward part from belly button) stuck out more than the corresponding left side.

I worried about this on and off over the last couple of years.

Sadly, it seems its back on again :( IMO, this is something normal being made into something its not. We're asymmetric by nature so there's that, and if it were sinister after all this time, you would be very ill or not with us... But its the behavior of hyper-focusing and self-examination that is indicative of HA.

Being that you've had this worry for as long as you have, you know deep down you're Ok. Consider this a bump in the road and utilize the things you've learned from your past experiences with this worry.

Positive thoughts

[ConstantWorrying]

Sadly, it seems its back on again :( IMO, this is something normal being made into something its not. We're asymmetric by nature so there's that, and if it were sinister after all this time, you would be very ill or not with us... But its the behavior of hyper-focusing and self-examination that is indicative of HA.

Being that you've had this worry for as long as you have, you know deep down you're Ok. Consider this a bump in the road and utilize the things you've learned from your past experiences with this worry.

Positive thoughts

Unfortunately I don't know that, because the lower abdomen thing seems new. I assumed after enough time passed that I was OK for the asymmetry that was higher up, but it seems that the tumor spread.

[NotDeadYet]

The problem is, these things I found on Google are from actual scientific literature that doctors use for diagnosis.

The problem with Googling isn't misinformation or false information. When I was in my HA spiral I was only looking at medical journals and scientific journals. The problem lies in how you interpret what you read. I'm assuming you aren't a trained medical professional so your ability to take in what you read and interpret that information with only your limited medical knowledge creates an issue. A doctor however has an abundance of information that you don't have and can create a differential diagnosis based upon years of medical training.

I feel that you are putting the cart before the horse by assuming you have a tumor and that said tumor has spread. I agree with Fishmanpa in his assessment.

Best Wishes.

[ErinKC]

I've been to several doctor's visits during Covid. You should definitely be able to get an appointment, even if just for a telehealth visit.

But, you said you're 5'10" and 135. I think that would qualify as thin enough to have what you're describing without it being anything other than based on your body type. I'm 5'10" and my lightest weight ever as an adult was 150, which was "too skinny" for me. I'm not saying that to be judgey of your body AT ALL, but just to say, I think this is probably benign.

[ConstantWorrying]

I'm starting to wonder if the asymmetric areas of my abdomen/the slight horizontal bulge I recently discovered in the hypogastric region might be from lymphoma, as that would explain how I can still have normal bowel movements but still have a mass present (I would assume a swollen lymph node or more that pushes things out).


I have had so many symptoms over the years that I have long wondered if I had some kind of indolent form of lymphoma or leukemia. On and off night sweats. On and off petechiae (just a few of them at a time; individual ones in different locations...not a rash). I have had plenty of "shotty" lymph nodes all over my body over the years.


I remember around 10-12 years ago, I would get extremely itchy every time I took a shower. That eventually went away.


I also get spontaneous hypertrophic scars (elevated, pink) on my shoulders/upper back/chest, and have been getting them since around 2003 or so. I have never been able to find anything online about this, but I have seen mentions that lymphoma and leukemia can cause skin tumors. In the summer of 2015, I also developed a ton of flat white bumps on my back and upper shoulders that never went away. I don't know if they're fibrofolliculomas or some kind of cutaneous lymphoma or leukemia.


Whenever I lie down flat on my back in bed, I feel like it's somewhat of a struggle to breathe fully. It seems more noticeable when I have anxiety, though, of course. I have also thought this might be from a hiatal hernia, since I had twice woken up with acid in my mouth last year (incidents about 6 months apart). And for several weeks, I had a feeling of something pressing on my neck, which I thought was GERD-related...it eventually went away and hasn't really returned...as least not in a way where it lasted. During the several weeks where I had it, it would go away after I slept, and then return as soon as I got up.


In 2018, I remember feeling way more bloated than I should have after I ate a meal, prompting me to suspect it was ascites...which was also what started me palpating my abdomen and eventually finding asymmetry.


In 2018, I also noticed spontaneous brown spots appearing on my face literally overnight, as well as spontaneous indented scars. I also have a ton of sebaceous hyperplasia on my face. I wondered if this stuff was all paraneoplastic signs (Leser-Trelat sign). I have also wondered if I have Birt-Hogg Dube syndrome. I just can't explain all this bizarre skin stuff. When I went to a dermatology physician assistant to look at a changed mole in 2017 (I think it was just traumitized from acne having involved it, but I'm not sure), he noticed one of the "cysts" I had, but only agreed with me that it's a scar, and said nothing about all the other crap on my skin, including the white bumps everywhere.


I have on and off periods where I see a sparkling floater/shooting star drifting across my line of vision at random intervals of once or twice per day (went for an eye exam and nothing found except normal aging). In either 2018 or last year, I had a 3 week period of hyperacusis in one of my ears.


When I bend over, I feel an unnatural amount of pressure in my head/sound gets muffled...seems like blood doesn't fully pump to my head. I feel like I could pass out/die if I stay in that position.
I have a visible pulse in my abdomen.


Every once in a while I wake up with dizziness.


I have gone through periods over the last 14 years or so where I'll feel like I'm sinking (like in an elevator) while I'm standing...this seems to happen mostly when I'm on an upper floor somewhere, but I have also had it in the shower.


I also have a slight cough/mucus in my throat that seems to go away if I breathe through my nose (I don't think it's Covid-19). I don't have it when I wake up.


My body is just a complete mess. I have had a million bizarre symptoms most of my adult life.

[NotDeadYet]

ConstantWorrying

Wow! You have been through the ringer. I'm so sorry that you have experienced all of this. It definitely appears that you suffer from health anxiety. This is evident by your posting on an HA forum and by your long list of symptoms/sensations that you have noted. Have you or are you currently in therapy?

Best Wishes

[ConstantWorrying]

ConstantWorrying

Wow! You have been through the ringer. I'm so sorry that you have experienced all of this. It definitely appears that you suffer from health anxiety. This is evident by your posting on an HA forum and by your long list of symptoms/sensations that you have noted. Have you or are you currently in therapy?

Best Wishes

That's not even nearly all of it, either.

The problem is, all of these symptoms are real. Most of them I can actually show people and they're visually noticeable and bizarre. I have no idea how I even lived this long.