Burning pain post surgery

[Ed]

mccor50, Any update on the burning pain, now that is has been a year and half? What ended up happening? How are you now, well over a year later?

I’m curious as about 4-5 days post-op, I started to have sever burning in the skin on my left side (inguinal area). Oddly, about 3 weeks later, this burning subsided and I developed a severe herpes blister at the left base of my penis, next to my scrotum. I have had herpes forever, but never had an outbreak this painful, with intense skin burning. Anyway, just wanted to share, as this was odd for me. At first I was sure it was a nerve issue related to the surgery.

[Jnomesh]

The bard 3D maxx mesh is concave in nature and has a tendency to fold over-especially if there wasn’t any reinforcement to hold it in place. This can happen immediately of over time.
if the pain doesn’t go away I would-because if this type of mesh-get a MRI or cat scan or both and send it to either dr. Towfigh or another surgeon who specializes in mesh issues like dr. igor Belyanski and have them review it to rule out any shifting or bending/folding of the mesh.
i myself have had this type of mesh ball up inside me and have corresponded with 5 other people who have had to have there mesh removed and in all of these cases it was found that the mesh had folded over.

[ajm222]

quote Feuermann:

I agree with Momof4. I am a year out from open inguinal hernia surgery with mesh and the long-term recovery has been a “2 steps forward, one step back” kind of experience. I have felt burning, tingling, aches, heaviness, hypersensitive skin, itching, leg and back pain and discomfort. Since the initial post-operative pain went away, I have had some or all of these symptoms daily. Some days have been better than others and the issues have improved over time, but very slowly.

I don’t want to give the wrong impression – I have been able to live my life. I have just been surprised at how long these sensations have persisted.

That all being said, I am in much less regular pain and discomfort than I was even a couple of months ago. I hope this provides you with some comfort. For some of us, recovery from this surgery may be a longer long road.

I have also found that there is a psychological element to all of this. I don’t know if it is perception or if it is real, but I feel these sensations less when I am involved in something immersive like playing an instrument, reading or writing.

I was happy to read all of this as I am approaching 3 months since my laparoscopic indirect inguinal hernia surgery. I still have some discomfort in the form of very mild and regular soreness in the inguinal area (more if I am more active) and sometimes testicles, and occasional sharper, acute pains here and there in that same area along with mild pains in other parts of my side, hip and abdomen. I was hoping by 3 months out I would be totally fine as that’s sort of the marker for the official “chronic pain” definition, thought I think the understanding is also that “chronic pain” is defined as pain that is more intense than what I notice most days. But I also know that everyone has said all along that one should expect to feel a variety of different things for up to a year (and in some cases longer).

I also like what you said about the psychological element. As someone who is very OCD, has a lot of anxiety and is also a hypochondriac, I am personally extremely sensitive to even the slightest physical discomfort. I have also noticed that I can perceive pain just about anywhere in my body if I focus on it. I’ve been studying TMS theory a lot as a result and basically think there is a very close mind-body connection that makes some people more susceptible to regular pains and discomforts that often have no real physical cause. Long-story short, any type of surgery can do a number on someone like that for a long period of time. But I also think literally anyone is capable of suffering in the same kind of way under the right circumstances. I would add that I am not at all dismissing the very real pain caused by hernia surgery complications, which I don’t doubt for a minute. I think that type of pain usually starts very soon after surgery and never really abates but only worsens, and has very real physical causes that have been discussed at length on this site. I just know that personally I wake up every day wondering about my surgery and how I am progressing, and I feel that I am probably creating a mountain out of a molehill in the process. Like you, I tend to not notice as much or any discomfort if I am distracted. Hoping that as time goes by I will slowly but surely get better and better.

To the OP, I think that increasing pain is something to definitely keep an eye on as overall the pain should be going in the opposite direction. But it’s still so early that a day or two can make all the difference. How are you feeling now? Any concerns should immediately be brought to the attention of your surgeon. They should be more than happy to talk with you or see you in person if you are worried (though I think we all know that in reality that often isn’t the case).

[Feuermann]

I agree with Momof4. I am a year out from open inguinal hernia surgery with mesh and the long-term recovery has been a “2 steps forward, one step back” kind of experience. I have felt burning, tingling, aches, heaviness, hypersensitive skin, itching, leg and back pain and discomfort. Since the initial post-operative pain went away, I have had some or all of these symptoms daily. Some days have been better than others and the issues have improved over time, but very slowly.

I don’t want to give the wrong impression – I have been able to live my life. I have just been surprised at how long these sensations have persisted.

That all being said, I am in much less regular pain and discomfort than I was even a couple of months ago. I hope this provides you with some comfort. For some of us, recovery from this surgery may be a longer road.

I have also found that there is a psychological element to all of this. I don’t know if it is perception or if it is real, but I feel these sensations less when I am involved in something immersive like playing an instrument, reading or writing.

[Momof4]

I would say at 10 days out of surgery it is not unusual to feel all sorts of strange pains. I think we all expect too much of ourselves, even after lap surgery! We need to remind ourselves that we just had surgery and that any surgery is a big deal. Don’t let anyone minimize your experience. I can recall feeling aching some days, burning others and then days where I felt great. I think sometimes it depends on activity level and quality of rest and sleep and perhaps even diet and bowel habits. I recall my surgeon saying that there should be improvement, no matter how slight, over time. So, maybe two steps forward and then one step back but overall, moving in the right direction towards complete healing. Definitely keep track of the things that you are feeling so that if things continue to get worse you can have a discussion with your doctor. So, I would say for now that you are still recovering and may feel all sorts of different pains now and then. Ice may help with the burning. I had some burning after a hernia repair and it seemed to burn itself out with time. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!