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rbh05, I’m sorry to hear you’re going through this.
Perhaps reach out to one of the following doctors (or all) that are somewhat regionally close to you, these are doctor names that come up frequently on these forums:
– Dr Paul Szotek in Indiana, his website is https://www.indianahernia.com/ and phone number is 317-660-5362 or 765-655-2538, he sometimes answers questions on these forums and knows Dr Towfigh so is presumably familiar with some of her diagnostic protocols.
– Dr David Grishkan in Ohio is also a midwest hernia expert, phone number is 216-591-1422
– The east coast has other noted groin/pelvic/hernia docs, in NYC is Dr Brian Jacobs, in Philadelphia is Dr William Meyers at Vincera Institute
Here are a few generic ideas, this is just advice from a fellow patient and I am not a doctor:
– Request a dynamic ultrasound with valsava of the painful area in the groin, searching specifically for hernias, this is fairly cheap and most insurers should approve it
– You may want to request a dynamic MRI with valsava, Dr Towfigh has research that backs this up as another detection mechanism for hernias. A dynamic valsava imaging may show something a standard MRI/CT won’t. Also be sure whoever the radiologist is checks for other issues with hip, pubis, core muscles (sports hernia), etc
– When did the injury / pain first occur, and was there a related event?
– Where is the pain distribution?
– What makes the pain worse?
– What makes the pain better? Anything?
– Have you tried anti-inflammatory course? Nerve blocks?
– Gather detail about what you have tried for treatment so far
– Gather as much detail you can about the pain, where it is, what makes it worse / better, what caused it (if anything)
Also be sure to rule out things like core muscle injury / sports hernia, hip issues, bacterial issues, etc.
Good luck, keep us updated on your case.