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3 months post Op pain
Had an operation for direct inguinal hernia was very painful recovery. about 7 weeks in I started to cycle 5km turned into 20km after 3 weeks. Was getting very sore and stopped its been 3 weeks since I last cycled and I had an ultrasound to check if i had done any damage and it all looks fine but I’m still in pain in the abs just above hernia and I still a testicle ache.Some days worse than others. Am i stuck with chronic pain now Do i keep waitinf before jumping on a bike and starting slowly again. I’m at a loss? Do i have nerve damage? Is this common? Any help from you guys would help. Thanks
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9 Replies
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Your earlier post sounded like you don’t trust the surgeon who did the work to tell you the truth about what is happening. You might be best off to find a new surgeon who does hernia repair.
Pain management specialists will not know how to remove the source of the pain, only how to live with it. Be careful that you don’t get on the carousel of specialists. If you mention your genitals they’ll send you to a urologist. Pain gets you to a pain specialist. You might end up with several pill prescriptions and no solution. I would find a hernia repair specialist who also understands mesh removal. Just to be sure that all possible solutions are considered.
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Thanks for responses on this.Just yesterday I started to get sharp shooting pains in my lower ab. It is disabling at times which tells me something is going on. Do i wait and see if it goes away or should I see pain specialists. This is mentally draining and has stopped in my tracks for exercise. Its 4 months now.
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also, the surgery itself is pretty traumatic to the abdominal area i guess and there can be some remodeling of tissue that lasts a while. hard to say for sure. there can also be referred pain to areas around the surgery.
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It sounds more sore than a sharp nerve-type pain. That’s the good news if so. Sometimes the soreness can last a really long time and then dissipates after a while. You might be having a stronger inflammatory response. Doesn’t mean it will definitely go away, but for some 3 months is still ‘early’. Nerve pain is the really sharp shooting disabling pain indicating a trapped or damaged nerve. That’s more worrisome. But still treatable. There are treatments, and there is also removal. I’m almost 3 years out and still considering removal because of tightness and pain. Probably will do it. Tried to schedule before end of year but surgeon booked. So it can last a long time. Or I have seen some folks where it pretty much disappeared eventually but took a longer time. You should though check and make sure you don’t have a recurrence. A good removal specialist would be ideal as they have seen so much.
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Thanks for this. Im wondering why kind of pain is caused as it seems to be coming from my lower abs not so much from the mesh or scare area.
i feel bruised like. Could this be nerve pain. I’m looking into nerve injections first before surgery. Have you had any experience with this. -
Dan, here is a post I just did about a paper looking at open hernia repair with mesh. I don’t want to depress you, just let you know that people are aware of the potential problems. You just have more work ahead of you than you had hoped when you got your hernia “repaired”. Good luck.
https://herniatalk.com/forums/topic/16-pain-across-the-board-open-mesh-hernia-repair-2020-paper/
16% pain across the board – open mesh hernia repair 2020 paper
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Sorry Dan, but you have followed the path that many have.
Unfortunately, the people that have the power to collect data that would show which methods and materials work best and which should be avoided are the same people who benefit the most by not allowing that information to be collected. The medical device makers.
You should get your medical records. There is a very large number of different types and forms of mesh. Even the biologic materials are called mesh even though they barely resemble the synthetic mesh materials. Basically anything with holes in it that will allow tissue ingrowth is called mesh. And many surgeons are involved in developing these new materials and will try them on their patients, even though full long-term trials have not been completed. They just “believe”.
Get your records so that you and any surgeons that you talk to will know what they are dealing with.
Your best option might be to find a surgeon who will remove the mesh, if necessary. Most surgeons are only trained in mesh implantation and told that pain problems are not caused by mesh. Surgeons that remove mesh will recognize if your symptoms are from the mesh or from some other problem. Dr. Brown, for example, has a protocol for exploring specific nerves, along with nerves close to the mesh. @drbrown
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open surgery and mesh was used. The surgeon said there was no evidence that keyhole was an easier recovery. Im a little suspicious about that and also he just felt it and it was a little tear and he didnt get me to do an ultrasound. He said it wasn’t necessary. I Just feel like something was not right about the whole thing.
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What type of procedure, open or laparoscopic, and was mesh used?
There is a very large selection of materials and methods. If you don’t know what was done to you get a copy of your surgery notes from your surgeon or the facility where the work was done.
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