[WasInTN]

Just wanted to let you know some details. IH is not a tumor that grows. In fact IH grows through your pelvic floor hole. IOW, your own intestine or other parts of body that were nicely resting above the pelvic floor are dropping out because of the hole. The hole does grow or may even puncture and cause other problems. the weakness may just expand like a balloon and may not cause any hole.

Does getting heavy matter? Does having large body matter? Depends on many things. If you are like Shaq at 7′ then you can be 230 lb and not considered heavy but if you are 5’6″ and 150 lb you can be heavy.

So what size is bad for surgeon to consider it to be a danger? There is not just one factor.

All said and done, my PCP told me that I had this IH and should be careful not to lift heavy etc in 2005. I, wanted to behave like a smarta$$ and ignored him and had a bulge by 2013 which had to be corrected via surgery. In a way I did wait – whether it was watchful or not. If you have no pains, nothing to worry, follow what your PCP says or better yet see a good surgeon. Do not go to a guy who has a hammer in hand looking for nails to drive. He will just say yes.

Does this answer?

[WasInTN]

quote dog;n10380.:

.Possibly doctor Brown will correct only one think in your writing ..he fixed that genetic disorder ..I also myself think Bench Press has nothing to do with hernia..?

I do not think Dr. Brown corrected your genes. He corrected your hernia. Your genes are what you got from Russia/Poland from your dad, his dad and may be others before him counting back to Adam and Eve. When hernia is fixed at one location, that very location gets enough strength to protect you from further hernia. But the other areas of the pelvic floor have your grand daddy genes still and can break if you push them further causing another IH. So in a way you have to watch for another hernia rest of your life.

On a related note, anything can cause trouble on pelvic floor if you do not do it well. Bench press puts pressure on stomach and other muscles. And mind you if you feel like a superman, keep this caution in head, you developed hernia in the first case because of your weak genes (like mine and many others). You can blame your grand daddy from Russia/Poland if that helps but weak genes continue for generations. Godspeed to you.

[WasInTN]

Dog
Congratulations on your surgery and good recovery. Not to throw cold water on your face, but a surgery IS A surgery, however small or big. Your body needs time to heal. Yes surgery can fix you well but it won’t make you lift a mountain and throw it across the pacific. You need to be careful rest of your life about hernia because IH happens due to genetic disorder (mostly). If you think that after 3 weeks you are good enough to go to gym and bench press 100 lbs I say please stay away till you reach 6 or 8 weeks.

Listen to your body. It knows how to mend fences and how to make you feel good. If you put mind over body, you will only end up with more trouble. I would say even your wife will know better if you are ready or not. But please don’t take a risk – not at this stage at least.

If Dr. Brown said “shut up and comply,” he meant it and do as he says. I am sure he said it because it is good for you. Trying to be a superman, skipping a dose of medicine because you feel good are the worst causes and reasons to defend yourself.

Disclaimer – You did not ask me for advice. Feel free to throw it away

[WasInTN]

I flew from KY to PA with a bulge (Right IH) to get surgery done by Dr Goodyear. I flew back on 3rd day after surgery with the band on surgical site. Flight time was 2.xx hours, nonstop. I could walk with a bit of pain (not from IH but from fresh cut) and took the pain medication Dr. G gave me. I did not experience any problems going or coming back.

[WasInTN]

quote drtowfigh:

For the record, insurance payment to the physician is not linked to whether complications or other treatment is resolved or completed.

This looks correct to me. The medical field is not like going to car mechanic where if the mechanic makes a mistake, he will refund or refix the issue. Medical field is rather, like virginity, Once you pay for it, it is gone for good. But you can sue your surgeon of course for wrong practices. The problem is to prove he made a mistake and make him admit that he made a mistake.

A few months or years ago I drove my kid to urgent care and the diagnosis was he had ear infection but the kid kept saying something else as symptom. Nobody – the urgent care physician assistants or the PCP we visited next day, would listen to me or the kid. Antibiotic was given and when I asked these people to check the kid’s ears, I was told, “yes we checked.”

So reckless and horrible. I still had to pay and the kid got better after 3 days of sleeping and drinking Gatorade. The lesson learned is….

God cures you, doctors take your money.

[WasInTN]

More updates:
As I walk on treadmill or outside the pain goes away. Right now my pain is almost gone and is like 1/10 or even less. But I noticed that last week, when I tried to sit on a stationary bicycle to ride a bit, I had extreme pain from back and sternum. It lasted about 30/45 minutes and I felt it was crushing me. Then I walked around and all was well. This makes me think I have some kind of slipped disk or two on my spine that is causing these pains.

I also cancelled my SCROTUM Ultrasound which the doctor wanted. My scrotum looks good and I have no pains or problems with sex or any other kind. No absolute problems with bowel movements – I have regular daily bowel movements and everything is clean. And BTW I gave blood for work as a part f physical and will know results soon.

What am I expecting – elevated blood sugar (bloody hell, I avoided diabetes so far but I guess finally the genes are catching up. last time it was 107 and around but only since last year it was over 100. Then may be PSA can show something. I also feel there could be a small kidney stone but I have nothing to show in the urine or pain during urination. So I am not sure. Blood pressure has been running high since last year too. into 140/90 and now I am on 10 mg tablet. Not sure if that is working or not but I am using it since a week LOL. The biggest problem is that, every time I check BP it is 140/90 and the next reading when I redo in the next minute is 130/80. I stopped believing all these machines at home, in store and all. How on earth are they selling these machines that cannot show a consistent reading in two minutes time frame?

For now I also found a couple of hernia surgeons from my office colleagues and will keep them on hand. Will update sometime next week when blood results kick in. Thanks all.

[WasInTN]

Update:
I went to PCP yesterday and after routine cough check and all he says I do not have another hernia. I am disappointed (LOL) because he did not test properly (I think) and refused my idea of Ultrasound with groin Valsalva but I forced him again and again and reluctantly he wrote ultrasound of scrotum. I do not understand why I need US for scrotum when I have pelvic pain. Anyways I have decided to wait and watch.

The pain now extends from my back (little above the belly button but on the back side), sometimes goes to base of penis and around it. All on left side. PCP thinks it is bone spur of hip and blah blah and wanted X-Ray. I said I will not do another X-ray. He was bored at the end of appointment for having to talk to me about this again and again and so was I for rejecting my reasons. May be I have a combination of back spasm, bone spur and a little hernia (and who knows what else). When I sit, due to pressure on pelvic bone sometimes it pains and sometimes it does not.

But for the physical itself I am doing OK – cannot say great but just OK due to some elevated blood pressure and glucose levels; Never had those before. Got the blood work paper and will test in a day or two. My first thought was a kidney stone or elevated PSA or a swollen prostate (no such symptoms). This blood work would prove that probably. And once if everything is clear then I will chart out what to do.

Dr. Towfigh, thanks for the help with Dr. Scott Roth. I am now in wait-and-see mood and will update.

[WasInTN]

Dr. Towfigh
Seems like Dr. Scott Roth is in Lexington KY? A quick search with Google does not show me anything in Louisville. Thanks a lot

[WasInTN]

Thanks Dr. Towfigh and all others who replied. I did not check this so far. I am seeing my PCP today and plan to wait. I have pain (sometimes 1/10 and sometimes 5/10) but can manage. I am more interested to first clear my annual physical and blood tests and see if it is not anything like kidney stone or such and then go to a surgeon later. Yes I am around here but randomly. So I will update. Many thanks all and again

[WasInTN]

Good Intentions
My “last” choice is surgery. First thing is to find if I need one. I am not sure if I have another hernia or not. When I first went to PCP he took x-ray and called and said I had a femoral bump. ha. But the pain on right I went to see the doctor for, disappeared and came back on left. Now that is going away too but I do have some pain once in a while. If as the PCP said it is femoral bump, how did it go away? And surprisingly if the right femur bumped, why am I getting pain now on left?

So my first concern was to find what I have. My annual physical is on 19th Feb and I plan to ask the PCP what he thinks (aka bark in humor) and test if I have a kidney stone that’s causing a pain or whatever. I do not have any other symptoms like UTI etc., blood in urine etc.

If worse comes to worse I plan to drive to Knoxville to see Dr. Ramshaw at least to know what I have (and may be see the smokies on the way). If then Ramshaw thinks I need to get the mesh out, we will see. Thanks for your reply.

[WasInTN]

I have received the following message from Dr. Goodyear today. So I guess he is either retired or not in good health.

“I am no longer seeing hernia Surgical patients or doing surgery at this time.”

[WasInTN]

[USER=”2029″]Good intentions[/USER] You fit the profile of people who “demand” data but will not lift a finger to find anything by themselves. I have no interest to argue. If you have read my earlier posts or at least tried to type my name in the search box….

I have repeatedly said – do not go to a guy with a hammer in hand who is looking to drive nails. I have no clue how you thought I am selling a surgeon or his tactics.

Alas…. Good luck to you. Au revoir.

[WasInTN]

quote Chaunce1234:

That’s unfortunate, I assume Dr Goodyear is retiring?

.

I have no clue. But you can send email to the address given in that link. I am planning to say hi to him sometime next week.

[WasInTN]

With and without are used for contract and comparison. You will be out of CT scan in less than 3 to 5 minutes. I assume the power used is negligible to cause any trouble. There should be a presiding doctor at CT scan and you can tell your concerns to him ahead of scan.

CT scan is lot quicker than MRI where one is buried under tube for 40 minutes. I dread MRI due to severe claustrophobia and cannot imagine going in again. I went once with a large bore MRI and felt no fear at all. I also falsely assumed that all MRIs are that way. Second time MRI was a nightmare with a Chinese guy as technician who could hardly speak and gave me a relaxant. It made me more nervous and I felt I would die because the contrast liquid made me vomit immediately.

In CT too they gave me contrast but I did not vomit bcoz my stomach was not full but the nausea lingered for at least 20 more minutes after the scan. I dread MRI more than anything. Once I also refused MRI and walked out for this reason. OPen MRI? It is the same piece of junk with the side open but if you are going inside for a neck or back scan they attach more items to your neck and make it miserable.

Why cannot the new technology speed up MRI (to 5 min or less) and CT to one minute? I hate the medical companies because all they want is money and never worry about patients and their fear. Damn!

[WasInTN]

quote scaredtodeath:

Is dr Goodyear’s office closed permanently??

It is going to be, it appears

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/herniadiscussionforum/nphi-status-t4326.html.

I am very surprised too

[WasInTN]

quote Jnomesh:

Not saying it is the mesh but rather suggesting not to rule mesh out as the problem because it has been 4 years of no issues. Many people have had issues where their mesh years down the road.
also mesh extends significantly past the hernia defect area both medially laterally as well as above and below. It extends over the upper front hip/thigh area laterally and medially over the lu if bone area.
meeh hardens and continued to contract over time
and can even move or migrate or bunch up.

Were these conditions caused by Dr Goodyear type surgery? he uses a different type of surgery that causes mesh to be better functioning. You may want to read it on his website. I heard of some older generation guys’s meshes moving, and stiffening but never about Dr. G’s method.

[WasInTN]

[USER=”1453″]MO[/USER], I have observed this while going through the IH pain, selecting a surgeon and going through the surgery. Most people do not worry about who the surgeon is. First mistake. The skill of surgeon is THE MOST IMPORTANT since this is sensitive area, mesh insertion and positioning and all those need better skillset. A general surgeon who claims to have done “many” surgeries may not be able to do IH surgery correctly. He may be a good surgeon of something else but when it comes to IH choose wisely. How to choose wisely? See the Indiana Jones movie where Harrison Ford goes and picks up the glass to drink the sacred water and the Knight in shining armor tells him “You have chosen wisely,” or “he has chosen poorly” just kidding.. research can help, forums can help and other friends’ help and word of mouth is good too. Talk to ask as many questions. After all it is your body and a sensitive area and you do not want to spend rest of your life with pain.

And when such surgery goes awry, people THEN come to forums and say this mesh caused me troubles, screwed my life blah blah. Yes I understand we are all limited by the way Insurance pays, in picking up doctors and surgeons but we do have a choice. For example for me insurance paid the surgeon and hospital only. The hotel bills and airfare for 4 people (Entire family said they must accompany me) and all that associated stuff I had to shell out. So be it, I thought. I spent money and do not even remember about it now. I think I took good decision before going to Dr. Goodyear after research, checking, talking to people in person, email etc. I met one surgeon locally and when I asked him the material the mesh is made of, he was scratching his head and I had to prompt him – was it ultra… Then he said yes yes that one. I did not feel comfortable at the way he talked or dressed. I spoke to Dr. G over phone before going and his reputation was good, his answers were straight and short and assured. A good IH surgeon can and should be able to talk with authority and that should be visible in his talk and actions and in the number of IH surgeries (s)he did. Right?

I met Dr. G at 8:30 Am, he looked at my IH and said yes, this one we can fix and after 2 hours I was out of hospital with him showing me thumbs up. He came to my hotel room (no kidding!) next day to see me and said all was well. I flew out 3 days later and never saw him again. I do email his office and he replies if it is a serious thing. I do not even feel the mesh. Do not assume I am the best, but I did what I knew I could do. I was scared to death to go under knife but hey, they wheeled me in put nasal cannoli and next thing I knew was waking up outside 2 hours later. LOL

Anyways, back to problems with mesh. So after surgery if someone has a problem, now everything – stomach ache, pain in hip, back front, head ache and some urinary problems and even indigestion is attributed to mesh. Ha! I agree mesh might cause problems if not done well and some people have mesh material allergies but those need to be sorted out *before* going to surgeon and putting the soft parts in his hands. Surgeon is NOT GOD and can make mistakes and may hide them to save his face but what about our homework? Have we done that before going to the surgeon?

Also meshless surgeries (Desarda, Kong etc) have their own problems and we do not know how good they are. May be they are the best but I have read on Dr. G forum that Desarda guy developed hernia again. I choose mesh because my entire family had IH – father, brother etc. So it is genetic and meshless surgery might re-develop IH again. If it comes back, then what? I remember reading someone developed a urine block (cannot piss at all and had to be taken to ER and tube inserted via penis hole.. imagine that and you will faint). I asked Dr. G the same question if I could have it. His answer was – if I have bladder or Urine problems to worry then let him know. I had none and after surgery when they wheeled me out, they gave me cola to drink and within minutes I had to go to bathroom. While I was pissing I remembered the question I asked Dr. G about urine block. I laughed right in the bathroom since I never experienced any problems. It was a free flow.:-)

So what I am saying – once surgery is done, many things can go wrong or right and all wrong things may or may not be due to mesh. Once you select to go to surgeon, tell him EVERYTHING about your problems – head to foot, diabetic, hypertension and even a cut on your finger – just let him know you have a condition and see what he will say about it.

Other thing about people who had surgery and start lifting weights. Yes you may be able to lift weights and all but listen to your body. Once you IH surgery it does not mean you can lift mountains. You have a weakness in tissue and it will prevail – over your life time. You can have quality life but can you become Ahlawld Shwarzneggar? I do not know if that works out for each and every person. let it heal. and heal well. I would say 8 to 10 weeks is a good time to relax and then before lifting that mountain let your surgeon decide if you can do that. Most people say – I am such a fitness freak I must run or job etc. My foot I will say. You need to first heal well before your freakiness kicks in. Or you will suffer. This happened to NBA Star Grant Hill. He had some surgery and surgeon told him to rest but someone else decided that he was ready to play. Surgeon got furious and Hills career was cut short or over. Something like that. You can read it in his autobiography. His was not IH surgery but something else. Any surgery needs healing and healing well. Rushing it will only deteriorate things.

Anyways mesh surgery may be good or bad for one person but after mesh surgery, every problem that develops in body cannot be attributed to mesh and mesh alone. Well that’s my non-medical point of view – from what I learned.

You can have your own view. No harm done.

[WasInTN]

gstantiago1, I forgot to add. Mesh surgery or any other hernia surgery corrects the defect but NEVER can make you a superman. A weakness once happens need to be taken care of and it does not mean everything will be like when you are 18 and can lift the mountains and thrown them in the pacific. You can enjoy quality life but always need to be careful otherwise hernia can develop on another location. The reason? The weak tissue – your original hernia came due to weak tissue and it will remain weak and may get weaker as you age. So always be more careful.

Disclaimer – the superman/woman theory exists in movies only. There is no such thing in life. 🙂

[WasInTN]

[USER=”2761″]gsantiago21[/USER], let me give an example. Imagine the stomach as a pot. it is 3D pot and the stomach you can touch is the front surface The bottom surface extends from front to back. This bottom surface is the lining that keeps everything together or your intestines and all organs falls off ha ha. Now that the bottom surface gets weak somehow – genetic or other reasons – there is a small weakness or hole, through which something like an intestine falls through. You then have a hernia. There are dozen other ways hernia may develop but basically the weakness in this wall causes the hernia. So now coming back to find where the hernia is.. That is the tough part because the bottom surface extends from front to back in a 3D area. You cannot touch it since our body has other parts that prevent our hand to go in. This is one main reason sometimes even MRI can miss it – lying in supine position in MRI tube can hide the hernia.

An experienced surgeon can find some but still not everything is possible to be SEEN. Once a surgeon cuts, he can see the hidden hernias and put a mesh. Why the mesh? Because once the tissue is weak, repair may fix fine but it will happen again. So a mesh is introduced to keep the internal organs where they belong. Like you cannot see the hernia easily, it is hard to feel the mesh too.

So can you feel the mesh? No way. But if your pain persists, after the wound heals you should talk to the surgeon. Wound pain is different from the hernia pain. Not sure if I explained it correctly or not but that’s what I tried to, and what I understand.

[WasInTN]

quote scaredtodeath:

Does the Twix bar effect your flexibility/mobility

No, it never even feels anything. It is like you do not even know it exists. I do yoga, run and all and never causes any trouble.