Sudden Dent in Stomach After Physical Activity

Hi guys,

I noticed a new entry in the littany of things that are wrong with my body-- while changing my wafer this afternoon I noticed there was a thumbprint sized DENT in my stomach about 4-5 inches straight down from my umbilicus.  I have been putting on a little belly fat and the dent is inline with where some people get a little fat fold, but it's not a fold, it's very definitely a dent.  I don't think it was there even this morning.  I vaguely remember having a weird, short-lived pain in that area maybe a week or two ago, but nothing looked wrong at the time.  Last night I helped a neighboor move and carried boxes around for several hours; I've also been going to the gym and doing resistance training for the past month or so.

Does anybody have a guess as to what might be going on?  I'm really worried because I know people with ostomies are at risk for things like hernias, but nothing's sticking OUT.  I think I had a laproscope incision in this spot from at least one of my surgeries, though, so I know that's the kind of thing that predisposes you.

I scheduled an appointment with my doctor but I'm really freaked out at the moment.  No pain though.  Idk.  Just please let me know if anyone has seen something like this before.

Hello theluckyfrog. From how you describe the dent, it sounds like the place where they go in to do the laparoscopic surgery. I have one such dent that shows and the other one was deliberately put through my navel so that it would not show. This scar tissue does occasionally hurt in its own way but I DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT  because the surgeon explained it to me before I left the hospital. In any case, the pain and other sensations at these places is nothing compared with the pains I get elsewhere so I tend to ignore them and eventually my mind is distracted elsewhere.

Lifting boxes for a long periods is quite another issue and should definitely be discouraged if you don't want to develop a hernia or two. Same goes for the gym. You need to be very careful after surgery of any kind. To put it in perspective, those nurses that do forewarn people or the dangers of hernias say that even lifting a kettle of water can cause a hernia.

I was once told that one of the most common causes of hernias in men was the tendency to push things on the floor, sideways with their feet. Whenever I'm about to do this most natuaral of movements, I am reminded of that snippet of information and choose an alternative method of shifting stuff.

Best wishes

Bill