Not constipation but Shingles…
I think it was early last year…
Out of nowhere, I started feeling a subtle pain just above my navel. It was a new kind of discomfort, something I had never experienced before.
But there was one strange thing about it.
When I pressed on my stomach, I didn’t feel any pain. Even when I lightly touched my skin, there was no discomfort. Yet, the pain was definitely there every time I moved—and it was getting worse.
It was so odd.
This unfamiliar pain wasn’t coming from deep inside my stomach, nor was it on the surface of my skin. It felt like it was just beneath the surface, somewhere in between.
The real problem, however, was that the pain was gradually spreading outward from my navel.
If this was an internal issue… that would be serious.
Could it be… cancer?
After waiting a few days with no sign of improvement, I started to panic and decided to visit urgent care.
The doctor ran a blood test and an X-ray. Then, as if it were the easiest thing in the world, he gave me a diagnosis.
“You have chronic constipation. See here? This dark mass—looks like a black boa snake.”
Wait… what? That can’t be right. I go to the bathroom every day… how is this possible?
Constipation???
If constipation was causing pain all the way up to my navel, did that mean the “snake” had coiled up so tightly inside me that it was now poking into my stomach? And what if it started to rot inside me?
I suddenly remembered a news story about a woman who ended up in the emergency room because her constipation had led to a perforation.
Looking at the X-ray, I could clearly see something that did, in fact, resemble a massive dark snake inside me. I had no choice but to accept the diagnosis. The doctor prescribed Metamucil, and I went home determined to get rid of this so-called “snake” as soon as possible.
Metamucil vs Purgative?
That night, I drank a whole glass of Metamucil, hoping for quick results. But by the next morning, nothing had happened. Growing anxious, I even considered ordering a purgative for overnight delivery on Amazon. But remembering a past experience where a purgative had completely exploded my daily life, I decided to wait a little longer.
Three or four days passed, and the strange pain still hadn’t gone away. In fact, it seemed to be spreading even more. That’s when fear took over—was the “snake” finally starting to rot inside me?
Panicked
Panicked, I rushed back to urgent care.
This time, I was seen by a different doctor—a young, pretty, white woman. After running the same blood tests and X-ray, she found no other abnormalities aside from constipation and was about to send me home. But after everything I had been through, I wasn’t ready to leave without getting to the bottom of this.
Eventually, she prescribed two things: an enema and a CT scan.
An enema… in front of a nurse… That was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life.
CT scan
Afterward, I went to another hospital for a CT scan and waited two hours for the results. The doctor finally came back and said, “Well, the only thing I see is that same ‘snake.’ You have chronic constipation.”
I couldn’t believe it.
Then, as she examined my stomach more closely, she suddenly noticed something—tiny, pimple-like bumps forming just above my navel.
“Did you have these before?” she asked.
I hadn’t even realized they were there. Looking down, I could see a faint line of acne-like bumps around my navel.
Maybe shingles….
She took some pictures and later returned with a possible diagnosis.
“This might… just maybe… be shingles.”
She prescribed antiviral medication, saying that it wouldn’t hurt to take it just in case. And sure enough, after two or three days, the bumps started to fade.
Though it all seems simple in hindsight, I went through over a week of anxiety and even had to get a CT scan before finally receiving the correct diagnosis.
The irony?
When I initially described my symptoms to ChatGPT, it immediately suggested that shingles might be the cause. I was dumbfounded. When I later told my primary doctor about it, he confirmed that it was indeed shingles—and that he had had it himself. He also informed me that even after recovery, immunity only lasts about six months, so I would need to get the vaccine to prevent future outbreaks. Since my insurance covered it, I got the two recommended doses and officially said goodbye to shingles forever.
Important lesson
In the end, I learned an important lesson: experience is everything. I also discovered that even though I go to the bathroom daily, I might still be suffering from chronic constipation due to a lack of fiber in my diet. Since then, I’ve been taking Metamucil regularly to supplement my fiber intake. Looking back, this whole ordeal might actually have been a blessing in disguise for my long-term health.
If you’re reading this, do yourself a favor—eat more fiber!
