mitchtom6
Forum Replies Created
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Deeoeraclea, thank you for sharing your experience. Best of luck with your ongoing recoveries. wishing you the best.
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Yes, x2 for AJM’s question. I am in the exact same boat, although I am 32 years old with a toddler at home and another little guy due next month. I’ve had (laparoscopic) mesh pain and spasms for 14 months and would like to have it removed, if not for the heightened recurrence risk. Especailly since I pick up my 30+ lb toddler countless times per week. I’ve posted my story before, but a stair running routine left my surgical site feeling funny, and then there was a ripping sensation a few days later when I crossed my legs. It’s been problematic ever sense. I want to know about the durability of the “scar plate” and what a realistic recovery would look like.
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I would avoid stair excercises like the plague. Ordinary stairs for general mobility are fine. But don’t do stadium running, stair masters, etc. I made that mistake 5 years after my mesh repair. After my workout, which was pretty darn intense, things felt a little bit irritated in my groin. The next day, I crossed my legs on the couch and felt a ripping sensation in my groin. It hurt for many months, and I have now had over a year of spasms, with multiple doctors suggesting mesh removal. I was doing fine until the stairs. Take caution, my friend.
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He responded to my email about a year or two ago. Said that he was retired.
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Hey fellas, it seems we are combining two different threads here or something. This one is about our brother Ark and his removal w/ Dr. B. Let’s hope for his full recovery.
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This is clearly SPAM. The user name is the same as the website being promoted, the content sounds like jibberish, and the link appears to be a background check.
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Thanks, doc!
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Ark, best of luck. I think you are in great hands w/ Dr. B. I am glad you were able to visit him after all. Here’s to you and your future, hoping for all the best.
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Andrew, from the timestamps on your post, it appears you had your surgery about 1 month ago. That is pretty recent. I would encourage you to give it more time. It will take several months for things to settle down.
My repair (bilateral, mesh, TEP), while different, took a few months to settle down. Occasionally I would get flare ups, and even random sharp, burning pains for up to 6 months, sometimes if I moved funny, or sometimes when I would urinate. With time, they decreased in frequency. After 6 months, I was relatively pain free until about 5 years later when I felt something tear. Now I am contemplating mesh removal.
Point being, you are too early in your recovery to become despondent. Don’t assume worst-case. Give it time and things may settle down. We’re pulling for you. Be glad they were able to do it without mesh.
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Those symptoms certainly could correspond to a hernia, although I am not sure if the lower back pain would be related. I am sure you have asked a doctor to evaluate you for one, right? It will come down to a physical exam, clinical judgement, an ultrasound, and potentially an MRI to issue a diagnosis. Some are obvious, others, not so much. Your best bet is to be evaluated. Just ask your doctor you want to be checked for a hernia. If they give you a clean bill of health, but you still have doubts, then ask to see a general surgeon, who will likely be more skilled at doing the same evaluation.
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Thank you Dr. Brown for your thorough response.
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Nice to know that the laxity of the FDA approval process is getting some attention. Mr. Oliver has a rather large audience, perhaps this will start some discussions. When I had my surgery, I assumed that every part of the process was quality-controlled.
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CJ, that is encouraging. Thanks for the positive feedback, we could use more of that.
Ark, you and I continue to live parallel lives. I just got on some nerve meds myself as I consider mesh removal.
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Thank you for your reply. It was very insightful, and I appreciate it. I am glad you had a good doctor who was able to get to the bottom of things.
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Thank you for the responses, I am appreciative.
Here is a re-upload, this time with the entire note, for whomever may be interested.
Attachments:
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AJ,
Thanks for posting. You already seem quite knowledgable about hernia repairs. I’m sorry about the difficulty you are going through.
Some of the other posters have shared their mesh recovery stories in the past. I would be interested in seeing some updates from them. Based on their testimonials, I am going to consult with Dr. Belyansky in Annapolis, MD for my issue – whether it is a recurrence or a mesh complication is to be determined, but he is skilled in mesh removal in case it comes to that. It seems, from others’ stories on this forum, that he is the go-to doctor on the East Coast for mesh removal.
As for me, I have been having serious trouble in my lower ab/groin region ever since Dec/Jan, when I crossed my legs and felt a tearing sensation. Now, I get spasms daily, accompanied by burning pain, or sometimes sharp, stabbing pain when I reach for objects or lift things. The spasms/twitching is, perhaps, the worst part. It has been going on daily for months. Prior to the tear, all was fine and I was happy as could be.
Best of luck on your search for answers, and I wish you a full recovery.
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My cousin’s repair was mesh. In fact, I believe he said they did a double layered mesh repair. It was done in Richmond VA about 5 years ago. It freaks me out to see him workout like nothing ever happened. Using the Ab Wheel with full extension, etc. Stressing the area to the max. Appears to have had no complications.
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Fascinating question. My NCAA athlete cousin had an inguinal repair, and if I recall correctly, his doctor told him he could expect it to last 10 years. This discussion reveals, as Dr. Towfigh noted, how we just don’t have the data, which is shocking and alarming considering how common this surgery is.
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Thank you all for the kind words and follow up. I apologize for posting 4 times, there must have a been a time delay with my initial post.
I am going to see Dr. Belyansky next month. I wish I could see him sooner but logistically that will not be possible.
To answer some questions – the surgeons I visited did a brief “cough” test and pressed to the side of my pubic bone while I did so. They said it felt good and tight, but my initial surgeon didn’t put much stock in that test, saying it’s not really a good way of detecting a small hernia. She said that a CT scan is required to really know.
CT Scan was negative.
Second doctor I visited told me before he even did the cough test that he didn’t think it was a hernia. Then he, too, said all felt good and tight and suggested NSAIDs. He did order a pelvic MRI to confirm/rule out hernia which also came back negative.
Interestingly, when I was first diagnosed with inguinal hernia in 2014, they did a rather uncomfortable evaluation where they put a finger “up my scrotum” and felt around that way, which is how they detected it. Nobody has repeated that test this time, which makes me feel like they aren’t being as thorough as they were at first.
A third doctor I saw ordered another MRI with his own, special protocol. Nothing definitive still, but he did say there was a modest amount of fluid built up near the pubic bone.
In any case, I was very active after my first repair. They only thing I didn’t really do was lower body weights or pullups. I did just about everything else, including rowing. A recurrence was always a fear of mine and I didn’t want to risk it. When I started my stair running routine 4.5 years later (so foolishly), it was probably the most lower body exertion I had done in years. I was running up the stairwell of high-rise office building every morning, and then started doing it twice a day (18 stories up each time). I felt great at first. But after 3 weeks of this routine, there was a small tender spot halfway between my belly button and pubic bone. I called of the stairs after that. Things felt just a little bit off. A few weeks later I felt a ripping sensation in my groin when I crossed my legs on the couch, and I knew something was very wrong. I wonder what ripped – my mesh? My tissue? Who knows. Then the pain/complications took over.
I really have been devastated by this and I am not handling it well. 6 months ago I had it all. Great new job, 1 year old baby, happy with life, active lifestyle. Now it is considered a good day if I can manage to mow the lawn without complication or roll over in bed without waking up due to the pain. Spasms, spasms, spasms have come to define my days. Now in the 5th month, it has been very trying on me and my wife. 90% of the pain is on the right but I do get left sided spasms that make me wonder if this issue is bilateral, even though that is statistically unlikely. I would give almost anything to go back in time and avoid those stairs.
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@good-intentions is correct again. I was 95% pain free for the first five years, and then a rip occurred, and now I have daily pain that I have to take meds for. I would strongly disagree with the “no limits after surgery” mantra as that mindset assuredly contributed to my complications. In particular, soccer players tend to have complications. An olympic hurdler had his career upended and had to have his mesh removed. My complications arose after a stair running routine. I think any sort of “high knee” action puts a large amount of strain on the site and compromises the site. You won’t find “official” studies to back this up, but take my word on it and use your own deductions. Most of us on this website are part of that 15% GI was referring to. The way people talk about “just a hernia,” you’d think it would be as benign as having a tooth pulled. It’s a routine, outpatient surgery for goodness sake. My repair would probably still be problem free if not for my high-knee activities.
