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Mesh pain?
I live in the u.k and I need some advice. My story is quite complicated but I’ll write the basics. I had a hysterectomy in 2012, and since then have suffered with abdominal and pelvic adhesions. I had them operated on once but as is normal, they returned twice as bad. I also suffer with chronic pelvic pain, which there is no visible cause. I attend a pain clinic and take various medications to try and help with the pain. Two years ago, I suspected I had symptoms of a hernia, although there was no lump I had read that this could be the cause of my pain. On an ultrasound a small inscisional hernia was found so my surgeon operated to fix this. During the operation he also found that I had a femoral hernia.I had open double hernia repair surgery , my surgeon placed a large mesh over the area. It was a long recovery from the op and I found it quite painful. since the operation, I have continued to have pain in that area which has definitely got worse. I saw my consultant again last year and had another ultrasound. As no reoccuring hernia was found, I was discharged and told my pain was related to the adhesions. Recently the pain has got a lot worse, I have a lot of pain in my groin area, which sometimes goes into the top of my leg, I also get pain in my pelvic area which is different to my normal pelvic pain. My groin area is very sore to touch and sometimes I feel like I have to consciously move my leg to walk. I feel this pain when I walk, sit and especially when I lie down at night. The pain is like a dragging, dull and sometimes sharp shooting pain. I have also felt like it is burning sometimes. I have been back to my GP and he has referred me back to the surgeon again. I fear that because there is no lump, that he will just discharge me again but I know that something isn’t right. Could this be mesh pain? I also wondered if the adhesions had managed to wrap around the mesh, I need to be able to convince my consultant that something is wrong, if he does discharge me I will have to get a second opinion as this is making my life very difficult. I do not work due to all the pain I already have, and I feel that my quality of life is very affected. This affects all areas of my life and at 44 this really gets me down. Sorry for the long story, but any advice or experiences would be very helpful. Thanks for reading.
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1 Reply
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Pelvic pain is very complicated. It can be directly related to your repair or it can come from the hip, back, etc.
I use imaging a lot to help me differentiate among the different pathologies. I am not sure how liberally imaging is used in the UK.
I recommend seeking consultation with Dr. Aali Sheen. See his bio under “Hernia Surgeons” tab on this site for information on how to contact him.
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