[bmul100]

[USER=”2899″]PeterC[/USER] I talked to many surgeons including Dr Brown. I would have been comfortable with him as well if the logistics were different. You would be in good hands. The PHS is just flat out a bad choice for active people. It’s too complicated. I feel like the more active I was the worse I felt. It isn’t a quick fix to remove but I believe I’ll be much better in the long run. The permanent pain is already much less however I am not back to many activities at this point. I hope you find relief.

[bmul100]

J, thank you. In my gut I feel that I have made a good decision. Some things have been an immediate improvement. When the mesh was in me and my bladder expanded it felt like being cut by a knife. Now after mesh removal a full bladder just feels like it is pressing against tissue again. It’s a small part of this but just one of the ways that the mesh made me feel less than human. I understand that the big picture won’t be clear for a long while but I feel good right now. No sharp pain only muscle tightness right now and the nerves are beginning to feel less irritated. I will choose to be positive and have faith no matter the circumstance. This event has caused me to find myself and become a better human being. Thanks for your positive thoughts and tips.

[bmul100]

Dr. Repta in Scottsdale is worth considering if you wish to have no mesh used. He is right in your backyard. You can see my recent post about using him for removal and no mesh repair.

[bmul100]

I live in Oklahoma and know the surgery center of OK. They will use standard mesh but they do offer a cash price. I got an indirect hernia repaired with plug and patch mesh. I am 32 and it has ruined me. I am very thin. Over six foot and 150. Get the mesh if you are open to the idea of giving up physical activities. Trust me it is a very real thing when you realize you are in your prime and you can’t even mow your own yard. If you value your activities and it sounds like you do I would take a conservative approach and try no mesh first.

[bmul100]

I personally believe that my immune system has reacted negatively to the heavyweight polypropylene mesh that was put in my body a year and a half ago. Started feeling extremely tired about 6-8 months after implantation. Blood work shows abnormally low vitamin d and my thyroid is being attacked. I have an unusually high TPO level. Which if I understand correctly is a thyroid antibody measument. Anyways I am having my mesh removed next week and will definitely be paying attention to my body after the fact. The autoimmune component may or may not be related but my primary issue is nerve pain. I will try to report back at some point down the road.

[bmul100]

Also don’t worry about what caused it. I spent a lot of time doing the same thing but based on all the reading most of us that get one were likely genetically predisposed to the risk of getting it at some point.

[bmul100]

I golfed all the time when I had my hernia. No pain. Doctor told me was no risk because hernia was small. Then I decided to get it fixed. I got sold the mesh lies by a doctor who takes money from J&J. (Paper trails on the $ exist if you look hard enough) I played golf twice after I got cleared from surgery and have not played since. I had to give it up because twisting and turning is not very pleasant when you have hardening plastic on your insides. The problem was that if I did physical activities like golf the nerve running down my leg and into my testicle would kill me the following day. I’m having surgery again to have the plastic removed from my body. It’s not fun man. I got a PHS patch which is rather complicated with two layers and a connecting tube. It was open. I live every day wishing I could have a hernia again instead of this mesh. It boggles my mind that you can have surgery for a painless situation (in my case) and you are left with permanent pain. Maybe others have had success with it but the whole process was shady with my surgeon telling me lies about the mesh and claiming that he had done the same thing thing for MMA fighters and they had gone on to fight again. Then the reports on my follow up visits where I reported the pain said I was pain free and doing great. Flat out lying on my records. I wasn’t sold on the mesh but this slick doctor sold me and I did it. Biggest regret of my life. Hopefully removing it gets me back to where I can golf and play with the kids again. But I’m not counting on it. I’ll be lucky if I just lessen the pain in my groin a little bit. For reference I’m 32 and was healthy before this. Best of luck to you but if you love the game as much as I do choose anything but the mesh.

[bmul100]

Have you considered breaking it up in to two surgeries? A plastic surgeon could be a consideration for removing the umbilical mesh.

[bmul100]

Thanks…the CBD stuff seems quite expensive with a lot of uncertainty. I guess I’ll just grit my teeth until I get to surgery. They really should make you sign a waiver to get a mesh implant instead of just slapping one in like it’s no big deal.

[bmul100]

patient I tried to reply but it was unapproved. Not sure why. Basically the longer it’s been in the worse it gets. I returned to sports quickly but around 8 months post op it began hurting daily. My guess is I either injured it or it has chemically changed and become hard and keeps reinjuring me daily. I haven’t been active since it began hurting.

[bmul100]

[USER=”2826″]patient[/USER] I tried to reply but it was unapproved. Not sure why. Basically the longer it’s been in the worse it gets. I returned to sports quickly but around 8 months post op it began hurting daily. My guess is I either injured it or it has chemically changed and become hard and keeps reinjuring me daily. I haven’t been active since it began hurting.

[bmul100]

[USER=”2826″]patient[/USER] I tried to reply but it was unapproved. Not sure why. Basically the longer it’s been in the worse it gets. I returned to sports quickly but around 8 months post op it began hurting daily. My guess is I either injured it or it has chemically changed and become hard and keeps reinjuring me daily. I haven’t been active since it began hurting.

[bmul100]

[USER=”2826″]patient[/USER] the longer it’s been inside me the worse it has gotten. At first I returned to sports with no issue. They are right about the short recovery time. However, after about 8 months it began to hurt daily. My logic tells me I either injured it or it has chemically changed and become hard and it is continually reinjuring me daily. I haven’t been able to do even light activities since it began hurting.

[bmul100]

I’m 31 and athletic, 145lbs. I got a prolene hernia mesh a year and a half ago. I’ll try to answer some of your questions below.

quote patient:

1. Should I have a mesh or no-mesh repair
Mesh repair should be your last and final option. The risks do not outweigh the benefits if the hernia is small.

2. If I have a mesh repair
a Should I wait until it hurts more?
If it doesnt severely impact your daily life I would wait.

b What mesh is recommended?
Not a 2 layer mesh.

c I have read there are less recurrence with mesh repairs but you can have chronic pain?
Yes chronic pain is real. It can impact every aspect of your life.

d Is it true for thin, athletic and young patients the chronic pain is more frequently?
Yes. This is what I have been told by multiple surgeons.

e Once you have a mesh repair, and then you start having issues, doctors don’t want to get involve and don’t want to take the risk to remove the mesh and there are only a few drs who do it. Is this true?
Yes. Likely you will have to go out of state or out of network if something goes wrong. Either that or you live with the pain.

3. If I have no-mesh repair, do I should wait more until it hurts more?
a Wait until it hurts more to have the surgery?
b What are the risk of having a no-mesh repair?
c I understand an absorbable sutures are used in no-mesh repairs, what happen after the absorbable sutures are dissolved?
d Will I be able to lift my kids?
e I have read testimonies just for coughing or sneezing you can have a re-occurrence, is this true?
f what happen when you get old and your muscles get weaker, a re-occurrence is going to happen for sure?

I haven’t had a no mesh repair but I can tell you that a recurance would pale in comparison to daily pain caused by mesh.

Thank you!

I’m not a doctor but doctors don’t typically know what mesh pain is like so do not listen to them talk about chronic pain unless they have one of these devices themselves.

[bmul100]

Yep. This happened to me. It’s the mesh that is causing you pain. It has caused me to have to stop working out. Mesh isn’t for active people in general. Do you know what mesh you have? Was it open surgery? Lightweight or heavyweight? It might help us offer suggestions if you know what type of surgery or mesh you had?

[bmul100]

[USER=”2042″]Jnomesh[/USER] I’m not following on the difference between TEP and TAP? I know my surgery was open and the mesh was 3d so it’s underneath and on top of the muscle, I think.

[USER=”1916″]Chaunce1234[/USER] I have not tried nerve block. My issue are with the immune system response and the inflammation and muscle pain. I’ve felt nerve pain but it comes and goes based on activity level and is not constant like the muscle pain, ringing in ears, etc.

[bmul100]

quote Good intentions:

Your description sounds like the Prolene Hernia System. I don’t think that it is impossible to remove. It might actually be easier than removing a full coverage TEP mesh placement, since it’s localized to the groin and inguinal canal.

Thanks. I think that is it but am trying to get the details to verify. On my follow up the surgeon said that it’s one that shrinks a lot. I have spoken with another surgeon who said it was regarded as more difficult to remove due to it having two layers. Basically removing it leaves you with no flesh. But I am sure some of those comments vary based on the surgeon and their technique.

[bmul100]

quote drtowfigh:

There is very little in the literature about this to date. We have published two papers so far. Dr Tervaert has just published as well.

It is a rare problem and every patient must be worked up for another diagnosis first. Symptoms typically begin weeks weeks to months after surgery. They include a syndrome of chronic fatigue, joint pain, extremity swelling, headaches, hair loss, rashes, difficulty sleeping, bloating, and so on.

This is what I have been experiencing for months. Almost to a T. I never had any of these symptoms beforehand (except for hair loss but that is hereditary) I know how I used to feel before and it is so different. The thing I will add is I feel like my immune system is in overdrive. I get the chills frequently and my body temperature never stays constant anymore. It can swing 2-3 degrees in a short period of time.

[bmul100]

quote Good intentions:

If the industry is going to handle the situation by increasing “informed consent’ then the use of real numbers is even more important. Tell people the odds, that there’s a one in six chance that they might wish that they had chosen a non-mesh repair. They might have to have the mesh removed and there’s a chance that they will still feel discomfort and/or pain, for years afterward. That would be true informed consent.

In my case informed consent didn’t even come close to happening. Patients would probably be able to handle the expectations of these devices much better if they weren’t lied to during consultation by general surgeons. Why does everyone in the medical field say it’s inert when heavyweight polypropylene shrinks considerably? Those are facts. My surgeon looked me in the eye and told me he would hate for me to have to call him from the hospital if my hernia got stuck. I had a small indirect hernia as a completely healthy 30 year old. He stuffed a complex 2 layer mesh inside that is next to impossible to remove. Now every aspect of my life has come to a screeching halt. It seems unconscionable that this is happening in modern medicine. Generally speaking doctors that use these devices without informed consent are not helping people feel better. They are running a business with no regard for the outcome of their patients.

[bmul100]

Thank you for your response [USER=”935″]drtowfigh[/USER]. It sounds like you are saying everyone has a foreign body reaction at the local level but few have one at the systemic level. If that is the case I need to cast a wider net with specialists. Do you recommend starting with an immunologist or a surgeon or some other kind of specialist?