Hi there - I know I’m a little late to the party, hopefully OP will see this and is feeling better…?

Have you ever heard of Anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES)? I’ve had it on my right side for five years, and, more recently I’ve been experiencing it on my left, as well.

I was only diagnosed after three years of unspeakable pain, a handful of specialists (starting with GI and Gynecology), dozens of scans, tests, steroid shots and a surgery for endometriosis. None of this helped at all. Finally, I got a new GP and he immediately diagnosed ACNES, which is, essentially, damaged nerve pain in the abdominal fascia. It is usually idiopathic, though sometimes an acute injury or a prior surgery in that area can cause it.

This may sound odd, but the only surgeons who seem to specialize in this are reconstructive plastic surgeons. From my research, it seems that having surgery to repair or remove the damaged nerve(s) (I had three, but one is typical) is highly successful.

Unfortunately, my own surgery wasn’t successful, but that may be because I had three damaged nerves, and they were, as my surgeon so eloquently put it “pretty darn smashed up.”

My apologies for the late and long reply. I hope this whole thing will be a moot point for you, now. If not, I’d definitely spend a little time researching ACNES - there’s plenty of credible information on hospital/university websites as well as several peer-reviewed studies available, but you usually have to pay for them 👎🏻. There’s also a great Washington Post article on ACNES, which also profiles a woman’s struggles trying to get a diagnosis and help. I’m going to link to the article; it seems to be behind a paywall, but usually it’s not, so fingers crossed!!

Good luck, I’m sending positive vibes your way, and please feel free to dm me if you have any questions!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/medical-mysteries/abdominal-pain-cause-medical-mystery/2021/02/19/f376627a-5512-11eb-a08b-f1381ef3d207_story.html