Ascites and bulging belly button? - Liver & Pancreas Disorders Message Board

maxsam · 08-30-2003, 04:35 PM

I know this sounds crazy but I think my husband has a tumor coming through his belly button - either that or it has herniated.
He has always been a heavy drinker - actually although he doesn't drink that much anymore he does have about a six pack a day - I would classify him as an alcoholic - and in the last few years has gotten quite a beer belly. He will never go to the doctor unless he is in intense pain.

I have read that it could be an umbilical hernia because of fluid build up if he has cirrohsis. I don't know if he has cirrohsis but he did have hepatitis (alcohol induced) a while back and pancreatitis. I don't know what a hernia would look like as opposed to a tumor.

I am really worried about this but he doesn't want to hear about it and definitely will not go to the doctor.

Has anyone had something like this or known anyone with a similar problem?

Thanks

projapoti · 08-30-2003, 11:43 PM

What you describe sounds normal given the circumstances. In people that have massive ascites, the belly is so full of fluid that it not only distends, but the belly button "turns inside out"! If a loop of bowel is caught in there, you can get a herniation that way, but that would mean that there's a weakness in the muscle of the stomach wall, and your husband would be in much more pain.

The other thing that it COULD be is something a Sister of Mary Joseph umbilical nodule which is a metastic tumour from a GI source which has placed itself "behind the bellybutton"....this however is much less of a possibility than just an "inside out bellybuton" as a result of ascites.

maxsam · 08-31-2003, 04:34 AM

I think you are right about the fluid build up. Sometimes his stomach is bigger than others.

I wish he would see a doctor but he won't. He thinks he is fine - or he's just in denial.

I imagine sooner or later this will develop into an emergency room situation and then it will get resolved. But I am also sure he will never stop drinking or smoking.

How long can people live with cirrohsis and not take care of it?

Do you know what phaze of cirrohsis he would be in with the ascites. He has had this belly for a couple of years now. He's in his fifties.

We have a home based business so that if anything happens to him I can take over fully - although it would be very hard to do all the work and I may lose some of our international buyers because they don't like to deal with women. So I would probably be able to stay relatively stable financially if anything should happen to him.

We are buying a new house that will be about 3 hours away from the rest of our family so I am kind of worried about handling things alone. I just wish he would stop the drinking altogether (he never gets drunk but does still drink about a 6 pack a day - he used to drink a lot more than that). One time he quit with the help of a psychiatrist but then he started the nono-alcholic beer (which still does have alcohol) and progressed back to the real stuff.

Well thanks for your reply and for letting me vent. Sometimes it is not the person who is sick who needs the most care.

projapoti · 08-31-2003, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by maxsam:
I think you are right about the fluid build up. Sometimes his stomach is bigger than others.

I wish he would see a doctor but he won't. He thinks he is fine - or he's just in denial.

I imagine sooner or later this will develop into an emergency room situation and then it will get resolved. But I am also sure he will never stop drinking or smoking.

How long can people live with cirrohsis and not take care of it?

Do you know what phaze of cirrohsis he would be in with the ascites. He has had this belly for a couple of years now. He's in his fifties.

We have a home based business so that if anything happens to him I can take over fully - although it would be very hard to do all the work and I may lose some of our international buyers because they don't like to deal with women. So I would probably be able to stay relatively stable financially if anything should happen to him.

We are buying a new house that will be about 3 hours away from the rest of our family so I am kind of worried about handling things alone. I just wish he would stop the drinking altogether (he never gets drunk but does still drink about a 6 pack a day - he used to drink a lot more than that). One time he quit with the help of a psychiatrist but then he started the nono-alcholic beer (which still does have alcohol) and progressed back to the real stuff.

Well thanks for your reply and for letting me vent. Sometimes it is not the person who is sick who needs the most care.

I'm glad I was able to be of some help! It's hard to tell what stage of liver disease he's in without seeing him. There are many different liver disease signs--over 20 different symptoms! The only way, really, to see these symptoms is to do a physical exam, liver enzyme profile and possibly a liver biopsy. One of the most dangerous problems with liver disease, other than liver failure itself is the presence of something called varices (especially the ones in the esophagus). Varices are basically very distended veins which appear in the esophagus and rectum (i.e. hemorrhoids). What can happen with these abnormal vessels is that they can bust and cause a HUGE bleed (often which is very disturbing because the patient will throw up blood until (s)he dies) which can result in death if not taken care of.

Take a look at your husband and see if you see any of the following:

reddish colour on the palms of his hands

the appearance of woman-like breasts

loss of hair on his body (such as chest hair, or armpit hair)

white nails

distended veins on his stomach

tiny red spots on his body (especially on his chest) which turn white if you press them

swollen ankles

complaints of hemorrhoids

There are more, but see if you can see any of these.

maxsam · 08-31-2003, 07:29 PM

He has already had hemorrhoid surgery two years ago but I think he is having trouble again. Of course he eats no vegetables except maybe corn or beans once in awhile. Yes he is does all the wrong things healthwise.

The thing is he NEVER gets sick. I have had the flu - stomach viruses etc. and he hardly ever even gets a cold.

Yes I know about the possiblity of a bleed out. I am worried about that one the most.

His palms are good - I will have to check down the rest of the list.

He does bruise easily and has a spot on his wrist he is constantly scratching - there is nothing there.

He had hepatitis and pancreatitis about 2 years ago when he was drinking much much more. He probably only drings a six pack a day at this point in time. He doesn't guzzle the beer either - he sometimes makes a beer last 45 minutes or more. He has one or two at lunch - probably two around 5:00 and probably another one or two around 8:00 or 9:00. I don't allow the beer in the house but the dog does go for lots of walks.

He stopped taking his B complex and multi vitamins because I wasn't putting them in front of him every day. They really seemed to help him in the past. Yesterday I started being his "mother" again to make sure he takes them.

Since he won't go to the doctor do you know of any natural diuretics that are fairly safe to use?

I appreciate your help. I will let you know about the rest of the list.