Hello,

about 3 weeks ago a bulge about the size of, well, perhaps part of a grapefruit appeared on the right side of my abdomen...right under my lowest rib. I had been doing some side bends that morning. I went to my doctor and he felt around and told me to keep an eye on it. It began to become painful (it wasn't painful before to the touch, it just felt like muscle soreness underneath and around). So I went back in to see my doctor (internist) and he found a very sore (sharp pain) spot on the right side of my oblique muscles. The results of a CAT scan showed excess fecal matter built up in the area of the bulge and I was told to take some magnesium citrate and then miralax for the next seven days (I'm on day 3). My brother happens to be a colo/rectal surgeon. He can't really get into the issue but assures me that nothing is wrong. I normally have 2-3 bowel movements a day. Every third day or so I will have a large stool 1-2 feet long, all connected and about an inch in diameter. I drink water all day long as I take some antidepressants that cause dry mouth and I smoke. I do not feel the situation is being looked at critically. Rather, I'm going through a process of elimination. I've discovered that this is the site where fecal matter enters the ascending colon from the small intestine and there is some kind of organ or muscle there to facilitate that. I have heard many times now that I am constipated and do not drink enough water. I'm going to pause here as I suspect I'm going to have to pay for this and proceed with "continue" to see what happens.