[MeshMangledMerritt]

I had a right ilioinguinal hernia repair with mesh almost 15 years ago and my life has never been the same. Go the no mesh route at all costs would be my recommendation

[MeshMangledMerritt]

Just got my letter from the VA, they are refusing to change my doctor. Looks like I’m stuck with the one who said “Its impossible to be in this much pain from the mesh!”

[MeshMangledMerritt]

I’m an idiot. My mesh is Prolene mesh. Prolene is trademarked by Ethicon, Johnson and Johnson. Went to my congressman so here’s hoping the ball gets rolling here.

[MeshMangledMerritt]

quote DrBrown:

[USER=”2967″]MeshMangledMerritt[/USER]
Dear Merritt.
You need to make lots of noise to get the VA to listen to you.
Do not hesitate to contact you congressman or congresswoman with your story.
Your best chance for improvement is to have the mesh removed with a neurectomy.
You can print the following articles as evidence that mesh needs to be removed.
https://www.sportshernia.com/treating-mesh-pain/reference-articles/

Regards.
Bill Brown MD

Thank you for all your help doc it was a pleasure to talk with you. Thank you for the links and letter. I will get those to my docs and the VA

[MeshMangledMerritt]

quote Arkj93:

Hi Merritt,

Good luck to you and please keep us updated. I’m not sure what the process is like but if I were you I would be fighting like hell to have the VA approve the case. There are of course other options that could help with the bills too. Here is a link to a short article about medical debt:

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/14/69467…m_term=nprnews

Whatever happens, just don’t give up. Just be confident that you will be able to find the right doctor who will acknowledge your situation and be able to give you your life back. You’re already on the right path by coming to this forum and reaching out to Dr Brown.

We’ll see. I sent all my record I could in email. You’ll have to forgive me for not sending pics of my naked body I’m not about to do that. I know his site says to but I sent all medical records instead

[MeshMangledMerritt]

Sent email to Doc Brown after speaking with his office. Fingers crossed for me brothers and sisters

[MeshMangledMerritt]

quote Arkj93:

Hi,

Yes that article was written about our own [USER=”2608″]dog[/USER], he was very active on this forum for a while about his positive experience with Dr. Brown. If you want, you should be able to look up his posts. Dr. Brown is a very talented surgeon who performs no-mesh surgery and I believe he is capable of removing mesh openly as well although from what I have heard, removing mesh with the open method is a bit tricky. That being said I think it would be in your best interest to at least call his office and set up a consultation. Make sure to explain your situation with the VA and I’m sure his office would be willing to help you.

In my opinion, it is a shame and should be criminal the way the VA has treated someone who is in your condition. There is absolutely no one on this forum who will tell you that what you are feeling is not real and that it is inside your head and that goes for the doctors on here as well. It is unfortunate that you had to go through this for 15 years just to find answers to your problem. That’s why I am confident that in the right hands you can get your life back on track.

Good luck and please keep us updated on your progress.

I called his office but I’m gonna need to get referred out by the MISSION ACT for consultation first

[MeshMangledMerritt]

https://www.meshmedicaldevicenewsdesk.com/one-week-from-hernia-surgery-to-swimming-in-hawaii/

this is him right? I literally have tears running down my face reading about this guy. To think I’ve been in such pain for 15 years and not 4 hours away is someone who could cure me and yet it seems like it’s so far away. He doesn’t seem like he’s like other doctors I’ve seen who treat me like it’s all in my head. He seems like someone who could really do this job right and fix me. Should I just call his office tomorrow or what?

[MeshMangledMerritt]

I see doc Brown is in the Palo Alto area. If that’s him then I should be able to get the VA to send me to see him through the MISSION ACT. Which would alleviate my financial concerns about getting this done.
​​​​​

[MeshMangledMerritt]

quote Arkj93:

Merritt,

I see that Jnomesh and Good intentions both chimed in here as I thought they would. It is clear to us that while your situation is very dire, you may not be getting the best care from the VA that you need. We have seen this kind of thing on the forum before, the VA is a government run medical system with hundreds of thousands of patients and that system is clogged with lots of red tape. Mesh removal is a risky surgery especially when performed openly so we are just trying to convey that you need a competent doctor to perform it. Although it seems like your case is severe enough and that the mesh is definitely causing your pain. That being said the doctors on here won’t be able to make a diagnosis unless you are willing to see them in person. If I am correct, you may be able to set up cash payments with Dr Bill Brown in CA he definitely should be able to help you. The VA is great for some things but I’m afraid not in extreme cases like yours where their doctors have already caused you enough damage and suffering.

Good luck on your journey to recovery.

Doc Brown does seem like he’s in my area of Norcal or close enough to it anyway. Maybe I can get the VA to send me out to see him.

I know the mesh needs to come out, I know I need to see someone outside the system, I would have no qualms about doing so I just need to talk with him before hand to set my mind at ease. You gotta understand I have severe PTSD from all this.

They labled me a malingerer in the army. Do you know what they do to you when your chain of commander labels you that? It was a year and half of pure hell until I was finally medical boarded out on top of the mesh complications. It’s very hard for me to leave my house even today. I only go shopping at night and I stay away from people.

All I’m really asking is if he is on here just to talk with me about some things and set me ease I agree with you all I just wanna cross Ts and dot some Is you know?

[MeshMangledMerritt]

quote Jnomesh:

Unfortunately there are only a handful of surgeons in the US or In the world for that matter that can competently remove hernia mesh.
If the VA doctors are denying you or saying that you will be worse off after mean removal it is code for they don’t have the skill/experience to remove your mesh. And believe me you can be made worse off after mesh removal by a surgeon who doesn’t have the skill set needed-which is probably 99% of all surgeons.
Maybe consider a go fund me forum in FB to raise money for your surgery and travel expenses.

I’d feel a lot better if a doc would chime in here and tell me about the procedure and that I’m not Looney tunes for having these symptoms. Understand my trust level is very low and I don’t just rush into things blindly without knowing more about what’s happening. I did that before and that’s why I’m in this mess.

I also don’t have facebook. Message boards like these and Reddit is the most I “social media”. To me there’s no point. Everyone I know or grew up with has kids and family or they go on trips or lead an active life. I’m literally stuck in my house or bed most days why would I want to broadcast that out into the world?

so yeah Facebook isn’t for me.

I don’t mean to come off as dismissive of your suggestions I’ve just been misdiagnosed and lied to or abused so much in the past 15 years that I’m very jaded to say the least

Edit – I am talking with a lawyer now who thinks he can go after the mesh manufacturer for compensation and if that goes well I can afford surgery then but that’s the only logical way I see that happening

[MeshMangledMerritt]

quote Good intentions:

Determine how much cash you can save up or extra debt that you can take on first. We’ve all been trained to try to use the “free” stuff first, when really we should be choosing the best value for our time and money, and long-term health. No offense. Trying to stay within the insurance system just locks in the best solution for the healthcare providers and insurance companies. Not the patients.

Like I said I’m paycheck to paycheck I can’t take on extra debt when I have no way to be able to pay it off. That’s just trading the yoke of daily pain for the yoke of usury debt. And the juice keeps running on that.

especially when I’m not 100% sure I won’t be left in worse pain afterwards

[MeshMangledMerritt]

quote Good intentions:

Arkj93 and I posted at the same time, but I agree with what he says. If you can get out of the VA system you’ll have more possibilities.

If only it was that easy. VA health care doesn’t work like that. We can’t just pick our own doctors and go see them. The best we can do is if a specialist is too far away request for community care which in my town North of Sacramento leave my options very limited

[MeshMangledMerritt]

[USER=”2029″]Good intentions[/USER]
Unfortunately I’ve met 3 surgeons in the VA.

One said “removing the mesh would cause more nerves to be cut, scar tissue cut away and possible removal of right testicle”

The other two looked at that paper and my letter from doctor sedlack and both said “it’s impossible for you to be in this much pain” with one even saying I doubt this charade is even real!!!

So yeah not much for competence in the Northern VA health care system

[MeshMangledMerritt]

[USER=”2716″]Arkj93[/USER] .

I know, the problem is I don’t have health insurance and the only income I have is my SSDI and 100% TDIU rating from the VA and most of that goes to paying bills, my dogs, food, etc. The only insurance I have is VA health care and unless outside help gets approved per the MISSION ACT I’m stuck with VA care.

I’m on the West Coast in NorCal.

I’ve had the injections, ice/rest, Epsom salt warm baths, TENS unit, every pill you can think of and lyrica and gabapentin did nothing for me and they had me at 3500mgs a day of it in the army. Next they tried every opiate you can think of from Vicodin to Percocet to morphine and now I’m methadone 5s three times a day.

Competent doctors is what I’m having trouble finding here in NorCal. Even with that letter from Dr Sedlack saying I need the mesh removed and all the problems I have from it the VA doctors still deny it and make me out to be crazy.

I truly would love for a doctor in here to chime in and give me some advice on what to do cause it’s been 15 years of absolute hell

[MeshMangledMerritt]

Would like to add more of my symptoms.

1) I had pain after the surgery that I attributed to normal after surgery pain but it didn’t go away and instead got worse as time went on. 4 months later I required a cane to help me walk as putting any weight on my right leg hurt excruciatingly bad. The more I tried to soldier the worse it got. Also I would notice swelling at the surgical site where the mesh was implanted. Sometimes barely noticeable other times the size of my fist.

2) the pain gets so bad at times I need help out of bed and into the tub and also when the pain gets really bad I get nausea and dizziness.

3) if I eat more than 1 meal a day I can feel pressure at the mesh area and more nausea followed by throwing up whatever I ate.

4) pain when I ejaculate

5) I need Viagra as I have erectile dysfunction from this

6) have weird sensations of ants marching in my thigh/groin area or a very dull ache to numbness to stabbing pains in my groin

7) urinary incontinence

8) difficulty and pain sometimes with blood passing stool

this is all I can think of for now but I’m sure I’m forgetting something but I’ve had a long day and am tired