There is not a lot of pain. You lay on a massage table and the therapist wjust rubs your abdomen and stretches the connective tissue. They rub pretty hard but it is nothing that you can't handle. You will be sore for a few days after.
I just read all 14 pages of this thread, which spans several years now, and am stunned that nobody has been able to consistently diagnose this issue or that we haven't had a real doctor post here!
I'm currently having my 4th 'attack' now, slightly hunched over in the only position which doesn't stab me. This one occurred while sitting on a bus, last one was sitting in the office, the one before that was getting into my car after a run. I'm 23, male, healthy.
The attacks for me are like everyone else is describing, like someone stabbing me straight in the belly button, there is a similar stabbing pain at the tip of my penis when I urinate at the time (but not normally). Pain is severe for 30-45 minutes and generally subsides after resting for 3-4 hours and seems to occur after (not during) exercise.
My doctor was also as useless/confused as everyone has described. My initial thought was either hernia or appendicitis. However, because the pain was localized and not moving to the right of my abdomen (and as I'm still alive) appendicitis was ruled out. Because there is no bulging, discharge, bleeding, etc a hernia seems unlikely. I'm going to see a different doctor this week and hopefully get an ultrasound to rule-out hernia for sure, and I'll ask about this pelvic floor therapy.
Thanks everyone for posting, this clearly sounds like a condition doctors aren't usually taught in medical school... but I'm hoping a forum like this can crowdsource the problem!
I'm currently having my 4th 'attack' now, slightly hunched over in the only position which doesn't stab me. This one occurred while sitting on a bus, last one was sitting in the office, the one before that was getting into my car after a run. I'm 23, male, healthy.
The attacks for me are like everyone else is describing, like someone stabbing me straight in the belly button, there is a similar stabbing pain at the tip of my penis when I urinate at the time (but not normally). Pain is severe for 30-45 minutes and generally subsides after resting for 3-4 hours and seems to occur after (not during) exercise.
My doctor was also as useless/confused as everyone has described. My initial thought was either hernia or appendicitis. However, because the pain was localized and not moving to the right of my abdomen (and as I'm still alive) appendicitis was ruled out. Because there is no bulging, discharge, bleeding, etc a hernia seems unlikely. I'm going to see a different doctor this week and hopefully get an ultrasound to rule-out hernia for sure, and I'll ask about this pelvic floor therapy.
Thanks everyone for posting, this clearly sounds like a condition doctors aren't usually taught in medical school... but I'm hoping a forum like this can crowdsource the problem!
I've been having these pains occasionally for years. What I've noticed is that when I DO have the pain, it's set on because I failed to urinate when my bladder was full. Everyone has explained the pain better than I ever could have: a "string" attached from the belly button to the groin. My guess would be that it's caused by some sort of strain due to the bladder being full (I usually get the pain when I've had to wait for a bathroom for a while, and left my bladder full for an extended period of time). I came to this thread looking for answers, but it seems no one has found one just yet. Good luck, guys! I hope we can someday diagnose this pain!
this info is really helpfull. i've been having pain in the belly button and it seem to have started after lifting rocks up for a flower bed and of course being on my period didn't help.. dumb dumb me wasn't thinking. my husband says it was a torn ligament. i in a way dont' want that either, i was hoping for mentration symptom. i had a c section,about 15 years ago and a torn ligament with an up and down scar don't sound very good. but thanks for the info.
34yr old female.
i'm so glad i found this thread. i also have this pain... stabbing pain behind belly button and at exit end of urethra, feeling that 'string' connecting belly button to urethra has snapped / muscle has been pulled, pain during bladder evacuation that increases as bladder is emptying, pain made worse by stretching / elongating torso, made better by hunching over / fetal position. happens as much as 3 times per year, but sometimes 1 or 2 yrs without incident. first incident was at about 16 yrs old. prior to today i hadn't had an incident in about a year
in past 6 months i've had multiple doctors visits with symptoms of a UTI, but with urinalysis negative for the infection indicative of a uti. this led my doctor to wonder if i have Interstitial Cystitis - a bladder condition that can have similar symptoms to a UTI. it's difficult to diagnose - i declined hydrodistention and cystoscopy for financial reasons - besides as i understand it, there is no cure. at best symptoms can be controlled by diet modification (cutting out acidic foods...) so my doctor suggested i get a bottle of prelief tablets (fairly cheap at walgreens - i think i found it by the antacids. it's pretty benign stuff) and take those as needed. so i've been taking 2 preliefs whenever i start to feel a little 'funny' in the bladder, like the hint of the sensation that comes along at the start of a UTI, when it happens it's usually in the morning when i'm drinking coffee (admittedly i drink a lot of coffee). i ultimately only have to take them a couple times a week, max.
today i experienced that old familiar awful sensation of that 'string' snapping and then had painful urination (started ok, but pain increased as i went). i was walking around the house all hunched over waiting for this pain to pass, which it always does gradually over about 4 hours, and had the idea to take some of this prelief. after all, this pain is bladder related... who knows how else this IC could affect it if that's what i have. i took 2 pills and within 30 minutes the pain was gone. the next time i peed i had zero discomfort. so i don't know... i guess it's possible that it was completely a coincidence and that the pain was destined to be super short-lived this time, but i thought i'd share. i'm pretty excited that i may have found something that will ease my pain in the future... i'd be curious to see if this works for anyone else out there who is experiencing this garbage.
so happy i found this! i actually have the pain right now. im 18 and i have been getting the pain ever since i was a kid. ive been telling my mom about this pain my whole life but she thinks im a hypochondriac and never believes me when i say there is something wrong. everything you guys are explaining is exactly what i have. idk what to do to make it go away. what i have noticed is if i am messing around with my belly button like pulling on it or cleaning it in the shower or anything it ends up hurting the next day or a couple days later. idk why there would be a delay in pain, but for me there is. i cant stand up straight when it happens and i just have to lay in bed curled up. it hurts so bad! and a couple times after sex i get this pain. i have gone to the doctor about it, but it conveniently goes away right before i leave to my appointment....i hate it! so when i get there i feel dumb telling them about a pain a did have, but dont anymore, so i usually cancel. i read one thread saying it was from a full bladder but i have had this pain since yesterday evening and i kept trying to go pee and it would hurt really bad so i would just let a little bit out then go lay down again. why dont doctors know anything about this pain??? i hate it!!
I finally decided to check out online about the pain and here you all are. I'm 33, male, kind of in shape and have had these for as long as I can remember. They are fairly random in occurrence. However, this seems to have a greater chance of showing up the morning after drinking. I'd say 75% of the time I get this I am hung over. I always associated it with dehydration.
Other than that, I have never really been able to pin it down. I would have to say though, this whole thread makes me very dissapointed in doctors. Dozens of doctors and dozens of tests later, they are just throwing their hands up and saing "it must just be in your head". Whatever happened to finding the problem? Then again, the last few times I went to a doctor, I knew more about what was wrong than they did...
Hi
I'm a 40 year old (not virgin LOL) male. I've had this pain for as far as I can remember. In my twenties I had two surgeries for umbilical hernia. Both times it seemed to solve the problem but the symptoms reappeared. Second time just today after 10 and some years. Mine never goes to the penis although. Just during urination it tightens up and then stays tight for hours. I really think something was messed up at birth with the umbilical cord. Anyway. Just got a new family doctor who is vigorous about figuring things out. I'm gonna go see her this week. Bookmarked this page and WILL post what I find out. Love and Light
Stretch SLOWLY backward and it will go away. VERY SLOWLY BUT AS FAR BACK AS YOU CAN GO. This helps a lot.
hello, everyone... for days and days, i was getting this stabbing pain in my belly button, like something was pulling on my insides. i kept on reading different things and doing a study on this. i found that constipation can cause this pain. if you didn't go to the bathroom every day.. well this could be alot of people's problems. i didn't go to the bathroom for days.. i mean the #2 thing.. poop. it says that if you are backed up. the pooh is in the large intestine and it just keeps on backing up and cause belly button pain. look up about belly button pain on constipation and torn ligaments. if i do pick up something heavy, it will cause it too. back to the constipation thing. i did finally go to the bathroom about 4 times in 1 day and then i poohed again the next day and i farted and alot of gas came out and at the same time of the fart, my belly button got pains in it and went away. i have been going to the bathroom lately at least 2 times a day and haven't had the problem again. and hopefully not again. hope all you guys and girls this will help.
Ive been having this same thing occur to me after I had my son in 2007. Really thought something terrible was wrong with me but now i see that im not alone. The muscle tear sounds to be a valid reason on why this pain occurs and I will probably do some research on that. My stomach muscle was ripped after having my son.
Wow, good (but bad) to see so many others here. 34 y/o male here; haven't had this pain in probably 10 years but it reared it's ugly head today. I've all the posts from the first topic and second topic. Here's where I'm at and what I think:
I'm not dehydrated at all. This feeling hit me about a minute after stepping over our baby gate. It hit me lightly until I grabbed it thinking wth just happened and then it was sharp. I've urinated probably 3 times now with no issues but it's definately still lingering 4 1/2 hours later. I did notice if I flex my abs and draw my stomach a little closer to me and keep it tight when bending down, etc I only feel a slight tug.
I'm off to be and hope this solves itself but I'm confident it's nerve / muscle related. It's a terrible feeling and I hope it goes away.
A part of me wonders what we really need our belly buttons and bundle of nerves behind it for anyway and that maybe getting rid obit all will solve that. If anyone finds a solution please post up!
Good luck all!!
Herneas are when a piece of your stomach lining pops out. In my family they are hereditary. I had one when I was a baby. My dad was changing my diaper and he a piece of my skin pop up so he took me to the doctor. My brother had a hernea my dad had hernea surgery. If it's a hernea you would probably be able to tell but I have done no research on it so you would have to check it out on line or in a book. You may have a weak stomach lining or something and be suseptibal to herneas. I would definitly find a different doctor or go to one who specializes in Gastrointestionolgoy or with the stomach.
Posting 12 hours later now, I had a lousy nights sleep but have been up and about at work today moving slowly making sure I don't move funny. No shooting pain today not even while urinating but I still feel something there and it's sensitive to my clothes touching it. Hoping it will go away in a couple says.
Same pains! It is great to feel validated now I thought I was over sensitive. I had a BAD weekend which included bladder infection. I had CT scan Monday which showed tiny umbilical hernia. Thanks to this forum I asked about the Urachal Remnant which did not show any cysts but I think may have been infected and the antibiotics helped from the bladder issue. All bladder tests showed nothing special yet this is now 30 days of infection.
I personally am tired of feeling this string and belly pain! I am having bb hernia fixed in two weeks and hope to report no more pain or sensation from that area.