AIBU to be worried? Pulse in tummy

[mummy2b2011]

Hello!
I haven’t posted on here for years, but am hoping to receive some advice. I can be an anxious person and a miscarriage last year/ pandemic has made me develop a bit of health anxiety.

I had noticed a pulsing in my tummy - just above my bellybutton. Googled it, worried myself sick about aortic aneurysms, made app. to see GP. I saw her today and she has referred me to have an ultrasound scan.

GP said it’s really hard to tell, but it feels like it (my aorta) is between 3&4cm (I think it’s supposed to be around 3?), but as I have a fair amount of fat in that area (my words!), it hard to know for sure how big it really is. I’m 13st and have lost 1.5 stone within the past year, so perhaps I’m just noticing a normal pulsing which I couldn’t previously notice? She said it’s pulsing up, rather than out, so that a good sign (?).

I’ve never smoked, don’t drink, run regularly and am outside most days. I eat plenty of fruit and veg.

Does anyone have any experience of this? I’ve got a private ultrasound booked for Wednesday evening as the wait for a NHS app. Is likely to be months.

Thank you in advance!

I went through this same experience a few years ago. Had the scan, all came clear. Just chalked down to being on the slim side! Hope it’s the same for you :)

@MaskingForIt

My GP picked it up in a routine appointment and was the one who insisted on a referral to the ultrasound department...

@MaskingForIt
Do you mean in the busy covid times, or just generally?

Thank you @Inpersuitofhappiness !!

Strangely, I had slightly elevated ALT levels in a recent blood test, which can indicate fatty liver.
Unfortunately I haven't been feeling great for a while, dizziness, bounding pulse and skipped beats so have been having tests for these. Everything is so slow with the NHS at the moment, understandably with Covid.

I had this op was an aortic aneurysm sp? It cleared itself really fast but i had to have a couple of scans to make sure it was fully gone.

@RaeCJ82
What sorts of things do you eat? I’m trying (TRYING!) to be as proactive as possible and have stripped out sugar, dairy and gluten from my diet, and am increasing veg as much as possible. Kind of a Mediterranean/ whole 30 approach to reduce any and all inflammation in my body. Perhaps this would help you too?

I think my anxiety is worse when I have sugar. And certainly to reverse my fatty liver I need to have a v low carb diet. It’s an insulin issue, apparently, though my fasting glucose levels are fine.

Whilst you’re waiting for things to progress through the NHS, you could try tweaking your diet and see if anything changes? It might help you to feel less anxious to start working towards something. I have 2.5 stones to lose, so that’s my focus for the next 6 months or so.

@Shaniac oh wow! That’s good it cleared itself!

I think you ought to consider having some therapy too. You seem to be something of a hypochondriac (or “health anxiety” as it is now called) in the way you have jumped with delight on having a fatty liver and Chinese medicine “imbalances”.

Do you have a job and hobbies? It seems like you could do with something to take your mind off navel-gazing.

Thank you @Eckhart - very interesting :) actually weird because when I googled it one of the first things it mentions is a white coating on the tongue, I've been plagued by this for years and I can't shift it, been to dentist, had thrush treatment, no luck. It gets worse when I eat crap food and too much sugar.

Only just coming back to this - am I alone in having noticed my tummy pulse loads since this thread? :o I am not worried about it, it's totally normal for me. But it has just been there.