@invisiblepain2 Good afternoon, this is to invisiblepain, as well as anyone who can identify what we have going on in our bodies.

I am a 63-year-old male that has had chronic right flank and oblique muscle cramping that causes a lot of pain when sitting or standing. These muscles are locked from when I get up, until I go to bed. Laying on my back is the only way I get relief. This has been going on since July 7, 2023, the date of my first ER visit for the pain.

Over the past 3 years I have been to 5 hospitals, I have seen more than 30 doctors/medical professionals. After imaging and blood tests were done multiple times, every person I've seen tells me I'm not a textbook case, or that I'm an anomaly. That is why I've seen so many providers, everyone gives up, anywhere from the first visit to the 6th visit (physical therapists give up after 6 visits when no improvement is noted). So, I keep moving forward, I keep reading and watching videos, and I have written to numerous medical professionals around the world trying to find someone that has heard of this, or that has had this, so they can start an effective treatment.

The reason I'm commenting here is because of the abdominal pain, and the umbilical hernia that invisiblepain mentioned in his post. I have had multiple x-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans, and MRIs done over the past 3 years. Something that came up on a CT scan of my abdomen and pelvis was in the EXTRA ABDOMINAL SOFT TISSUES category in the scan report. The report states there is a Small Fat-Containing Umbilical Hernia present. This was after the ER doctor told me everything was normal in my CT scan. No infection, no fluid build -up, no mass, and NO HERNIAS were found. Then I read the CT scan report the next day and saw there is a hernia, so why would a doctor tell me there wasn't one?

When looking at my naval (belly button), there is a noticeable lump in the opening of my naval. However, there is no pain in that area of my abdomen. My pain is in the right-side only, and it goes from the oblique muscles around to the flank muscles. Those muscles will not release no matter what treatment or procedure I have done. Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Physical Therapy, Epidurals, Nerve Blocks, Trigger Point Injections, Dysport (a version of Botox) injections.

I have been wondering if every umbilical hernia has to have surgery done, or, with this being on the outside of my abdomen, it would not be required. Any experience and advice/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for reading this far, sorry, this was longer than I expected.