Belly button incision pain: Hi all, had my... - Endometriosis UK

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Belly button incision pain

jelleytots10 profile image
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Hi all, had my first lap yesterday where i was diagnosed with severe Endo on my bladder, bowel and left fallopian tube, my bowel is stuck to my uterus 😔. I’m in quite a lot of pain around my belly button incision I’m just wondering if this is normal or if i need to see a nurse at my doctors surgery in the morning. Any advice would be great, normally i would use Google to find my answers but this surgery has scared me for life! Thanks x

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Hazel173 profile image
Hazel173

Hi has there been any changes? Change in intensity or type of pain? new smell? dicharge from the wound? Any redness? Is it hot to the touch? It could be an infection as the belly button can hold alot of muck and germs, mine got infected after the surgery too. But it could also be the stiches are getting tight. Its not been a long time which would also suggest it is just painful from the trauma but if you can manage it I would get the practice nurse at the surgery to have a look just to be on the safe side.

jelleytots10 profile image
jelleytots10 in reply to Hazel173

Its more sore today than it was yesterday. I didnt get very good after care from the hospital i was at. I was told to take all bandages off today and my belly button has been glued. Its just very sore and hurts even when i am laying down. Its too painful to touch. Think I’ll ring the nurse tomorrow. This is my first surgery like this so I really didn’t know what to expect or what type of pain is normal. Thank you x

HellyLlewelly profile image
HellyLlewelly in reply to jelleytots10

Yes the belly button one seems to be the most sore and I found after surgery and after leaving the hospital I really felt the major pain kick in 1 to 3 days after as by this time anaesthetic had wore off. I kept my painkillers bang on every 4 hours set by my phone alarm and I found if I missed a dose I was in agony. I used Ibufrofen and co-codemol together as it's allowed.

Some hospitals send patients home with morphine tablets which I believe would be better for pain as a temporary treatment after surgery.

Good luck. Keep your wounds clean and dry and don't poke or irritate them. No baths, a shower isn't really necessary for a good few days post surgery just sponge bath yourself and take it easy. X

Nicola83 profile image
Nicola83

Hi, I had my lap last Tuesday and my belly button was really painful for a few days, I still get pulling pains in it now but it is much better. It definitely is the most painful of the incisions, just watch out for any signs of infection. Wishing you a good recovery xxx

HighlandMoo profile image
HighlandMoo

Hello lovely :)

Welcome to horrible world of Endo. However, nothing has helped me more than this forum for answers, so you've come to the right place! I had my diagnostic (and my first) lap 3 weeks ago. Similarly to you, I am riddled with the stuff. Now for me, the gas was the worst pain but my bellybutton pain was second. So for the moment, keep an eye on it. Give it a couple of days, keep the dressing clean and if by the weekend the pain is still as intense, call NHS 111 if your doctor is closed. Just for a wee bit advice.

Hope this helped? But its sounds like everything is normal so far! lol, "normal" , nothing about this is normal but you know what I mean :)

C x

jelleytots10 profile image
jelleytots10 in reply to HighlandMoo

Hi, I haven’t had any gas problems so far... i had a little bit of pain in my shoulder but all my pain has been around my belly button. I went to the doctors this morning as i was told all my incisions have been glued but they haven’t they have been stitched 🤦🏼‍♀️. The aftercare i received from the hospital wasn’t great they couldn’t even tell me when my next lot of pain relief was!

Thanks for your advice x

Hello. My bellybutton incision was a problem too. It was glued. I was ended up with antibiotics and my advice is get an appointment with your local surgery, a nurse can review and prescribe for you. The antibiotics helped. Also, keep it as dry as possible. I thought my BBH (belly button hole) smelt, but it was the incision down below. Nevertheless it was painful and weeped sticky gunky stuff. When I had a short shower I tried to keep it dry, but after the shower was going to bed, nightime. My advice is shower in the morning and then be upright for as long as possible to allow any moisture to evaporate, and let air get to it. the glue will get harder as it dries. In the end the gunk meant the glue lifted off. My BBH healed much better after this time. I kept clearing the gunk with water and letting it dry. Mine didn't heal for 9 weeks. Best of luck x

jelleytots10 profile image
jelleytots10 in reply to

Yeah I’ve just been to see my GP as i was told they glued all 3 of my incisions but I actually have stitches 🤦🏼‍♀️🙃 he said its fine for now but has booked me in with the nurse next week as he doesn’t think my stitches are dissolvable. What a nightmare! X

in reply to jelleytots10

Yes I forgot that, the BBH does have a stitch as well as glue. I think that because it isn't flat, moisture (be it sweat or clean water) gets behind the glue and that's why it takes longer to heal. It's the same for the cervix stitch. A lady on here recommended me to use Colloidal Silver spray. It has silver in it. I bought 'higher nature', make sure you get the 200 parts silver. You can buy them on Amazon. I think it has helped, but not 100%sure. For me the pain improved after the antibiotics. I think it sounds like you will need them. I saw a medical professional 3 times before they did anything, so be persistent. As CJessicaD says below, BBH are treated rough and not the cleanest of places. Mine now goes up, which is why I stopped having night showers and went to day because I think water was staying in the BBH when I lay down, by standing up the water can only go one way.

CJessicaD profile image
CJessicaD

Hi found my belly button very painful, it was the sorest of all the incisions! In the end my belly button got infected (so keep an eye out for that, particularly if it smells) but my doctor explained that they aren’t gentle at all. Once you’re asleep they need to be pretty quick and the instrument they use in your belly button is actually thicker than you think and if they’re pushing and pulling it back and forth.... I think you get the idea 🤮🤮 I would keep an eye on it though! Belly buttons aren’t the cleanest of places. After about 4/5 days once I was ready to touch the incisions, I used saline water (or kettle water once it’s cooled) and dabbed it gently with cotton pads xxxx

ElaineKC profile image
ElaineKC

Put some ice on it. A lot of people said heat, but icing my incision sites helped.

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