[WasInTN]

It is funny how everything can somehow be correlated to Mesh. Thin or heavy, how does that effect mesh? IOW, heavy person may put some kind of pressure on mesh but thin ones have an added advantage that mesh can help ideally. The question really made me laugh.

[WasInTN]

Since I am male I cannot answer the first question 🙂 but second one I may be able to. I will be able to learn if someone answers. But I am assuming the pain is coming when the surgical area has not healed yet. Three weeks and still hurting? Did you talk to Surgeon? What did he say?

For up to 6 weeks the surgical cut area is painful and for some it can feel hard till a year. The scar tissue in some heals quickly for some it takes time (me). Scar tissue – when some cut happens to body, the blood system activates the clotting mechanism. People used to think clotting was simple but the last few decades revealed that clotting mechanism is very complex that releases a variety “factors” into the blood stream. So this scar tissue protects the cut and surrounding area. The white cells will slowly remove the scar tissue over a period. In other words, they are macrophages that eat up the dead tissue and repair it to normal. So the surgical cut area can feel like you have a frozen Twix chocolate bar inside your body. This will soften slowly. For some people softening happens in 2-5 weeks and for people like me it takes a year and more. For me, it took more than a year and my surgeon (Dr. Goodyear of PA) told me that after the body has done its max work if scar tissue remains, well, it remains – so you get used to that small size bar inside. It does not hurt but it is there nevertheless.

If the scar tissue itches, do *NOT* scratch or it may lead to some condition which will itch rest of your life. ha ha. So give it time. As long as it does not hurt, you are good with slow healing scar tissue (and the diminishing chocolate bar). 🙂

[WasInTN]

Before surgery with Dr. Goodyear with mesh I had limited food intake and whenever I ate a big meal it gave me trouble with pain and such things. Also foods like cheese etc caused some indigestion and while on Toilet seat I had to hold my hand on hernia when I pushed.

All that disappeared after surgery and I started eating fine. That made me realize I was gaining weight. I gained 5 lb but now I am around 140 and do eat normal but do also worry about weight. One thing I know is this. If you do not maintain healthy lifestyle – and assume that surgery can make you superman who can lift mountains – no, it does not. Rather you will develop hernia on the opposite side if you had surgery on one side because the repaired side is 8x stronger than the tissue. If both sides are repaired then hearnia will happen elsewhere. Why? because in the first case the tissue was genetically weak and caused that hernia. Doctor did not fix your genes but added mesh to make your life better. So keep this always in mind. Maintain a healthy lifestyle eat well but maintain the weight or lose a bit.

And finally, nobody has died of hunger by eating a bit less but by eating more many have died of heart attacks, strokes and other reasons. I sometimes wonder (while shopping) if I am buying the food to sustain or buying my own tools that dig my grave. 🙂

[WasInTN]

Great question about scar tissue. I had surgery back in 2014 July by Dr Goodyear of North penn hernia Institute. After surgery I spent two weeks off from work and kept walking regularly. The surgery was simple but the scar tissue was like a snickers bar inserted inside me. I asked Dr. G and he said for some people it will take time to heal. After 3 years I still feel some hardness but it is now 80% gone. Scar tissue takes years to heal. So do not worry.

[WasInTN]

Kevin-pa
I was diagnosed with IH sometime around 2008 with no bulge, no pain and nothing. Never knew even what IH was. PCP during a routine exam said I can wait since it was beginning to form. So I just ignored and continued my life. Till 2013 that is. I used to jog, do yoga and all. No pains no nothing. Then during 2013 I noticed a bulge forming and increasing in size by week. The pain was bad during bowel movement and sometimes during hoops shooting in the driveway. Other than that there was nothing. But during long drives when I sat for hours, the pain would kick me with sharp interruptions (thanks to the pain I never slept while driving. LOL). At that stage I tried the yoga and other exercises to see if the hernia could be reversed. Did not work. I also found my brother and father had similar IHs. My dad died without ever having a surgery and waited over 20 years and never had a bulge or anything. But my brother had bulge and had surgery after I had mine. Brother also had surgery on both sides. I had only right side.

Long story short, I got my hernia repaired in 2013 with Dr. Goodyear of PA with mesh. I flew there with family (wanted to go alone but family said nothing doing, we are coming with you) and spent 4 days. This was after research on Internet and talking to Dr. G on phone.

So my impression (note that I said impression, not medical advice) – Till the bulge forms you are OK to delay the surgery but need to be V-E-R-Y cautions. Once the bulge formed you are out of luck for waiting. You need to get it fixed or it will only grow further. If your lifestyle is like lifting heavy stuff then it will get worse quicker. But surgery is the way to go from now on. Which surgeon you choose what kind of surgery he does and what suits you depends on your heredity since IH runs in families and the tissue is weak by genetics. If you want advice from me I would first research your surgeon because surgeon skill is THE MOST IMPORTANT factor in mesh surgery. If you choose tissue surgery consider genetics since it can reoccur. I would wait a month before doing extensive research and then go for surgery. I waited over 2 months after the bulge showed up, and yes and bulge is also not noticeable when you lie flat and pain diminishes but that does not mean IH has gone away. The yoga exercises etc., at this stage when the bulge has formed will only make it worse – from my point of view.

Now the question – what happens if your situation goes bad before your research and you are rushed to ER? Well that can happen and you will need ER surgery. It is that simple. But hopefully it won’t happen that way. Well it did not happen to me but that does not mean it cannot happen to you. It can. It is like driving on highway. Will you be safe? Yes probably. Can you be killed in an accident. Yes it is possible. So what to do? Stop driving on highway? You know the answer. It is an obvious thing.

Choose wisely. And if you want to know how to choose wisely, rent the Indiana Jones movie in which the steel shirt wearing knight tells Indiana “your friend has chosen badly,” and “you have chosen wisely.” Just kidding. Do your research, select a good surgeon, go in peace. You will be alright. With my name handle you can search this forum for other “wisdom” I threw randomly for help if you think you need any. But research well. I say this because a bad surgeon can screw up an easy surgery and can cause life long problems. All good luck to you.

[WasInTN]

rd9432
Let me ask you a quick question. Is healing of the hernia important to you or testing the surgery area; so you can mess up with the tear, more important?

For asking this question you already are cursing me, aren’t you? So there we have the answer already. A surgery is S-U-R-G-E-R-Y. Let it heal well and while you can do some walking and move around, better not to do anything that could tear the wound or mess up. First of all what is the hurry to do anything excessive? I waited 6 weeks before I could venture out on the roads, walking. But as I gained better health and the pain reduced from surgical wound, I started jogging. I keep saying on this forum, surgery will fix you up but will NEVER make you a superman. There is no such thing as a superman. Movie guys create a fictional character portraying Ahnold Schwarznegger as a superman but Arnold himself may have his own health problems – may be even went through hernia surgery ha ha. I do not know. If I were you, I will rent lots of DVDs, enjoy those, or read books or do something like playing chess. Better yet, write your hernia surgery details here on the forum and share your experience. Or even buy a Rubik’s cube and try to solve it. 🙂

Let the body heal and heal well. If you do anything wrong now, it will only mess up much worse. What I did was to walk normally first, slowly increased that to brisk walk, then to quicker walk and then jog and by 8 weeks run normally. But the cut remained hard for me for over 2 years. As any surgeon will tell you the surgical area wound heals over several months. Yes sir, you read it correct, outside would closes up quickly but inside it takes MONTHS to heal and become normal. So give it time.

You said your surgery was few DAYS AGO, so I would say you can start your normal routine by New year very well. Normal routine BTW is NOT lifting 2000 lbs on a bench press. For that kind of lifting I would wait 6 months to one year. In the end the best option is to listen to your body.

Disclaimer: Nobody is forcing you to sit on couch all the time anyways and this advice is free. So feel free to dump it.

[WasInTN]

ajm222: Quick note on waiting. As I said earlier my PCP said the same thing back in 2008 – hernia was small and I go with watch and wait. I ignored it. Never even considered losing weight (I am 5′ 6″ and 145 lbs). And continued to do things like lifting heavy stuff (not weight lifting but others in day to day life like lawn mower etc). I also continued jogging, basketball and yoga. No pain felt and I totally forgot about hernia until one day bam! The bump showed up.

I regret ignoring that advice by PCP. In a way I dug the hole myself for surgery. Once the bump showed up I feared I would die of the hernia or on surgery table since I never even had any kind of cuts by doctors before. All gory thoughts came up and I even wrote a secret will and apology letter to all those people who I thought would have to excuse me. 🙂 BTW I tried losing weight just before surgery and it was going nowhere. I incidentally gained weight a bit after surgery – now @149 lbs. I think once the hernia pain stopped after surgery, I lost my willingness to lose weight. Since all other blood work results are normal I am ignoring it for now. Time to start again I guess.

Anyways, losing weight is a good thing for you. It puts less stress on the pelvic floor and makes you better. To my knowledge nobody died by eating less but people definitely kill themselves by overeating. Unfortunately our system is set up such a way that killing myself by suicide is considered illegal but killing myself by eating junk food is perfectly legal and all insurance companies will pay all the bills. 🙂

And about surgeon – I will start with Google, back ground ratings, your ins company ratings, and if possible ask the nursing dept. in hospital where the doctor does surgeries. Also the nurse phone line of your ins company if there is one. Yes PCP too. And finally if you are really going for surgery, before you set up the appointment ask surgeon directly if you can talk to any of his old patients; You can say you are scared to death and that’s why you are asking. Yeah why not, if you are going to car mechanic to fix the transmission you have the right to find about his skills. No question is useless when you are facing surgery. A good surgeon understands that and will never object to any question.

Let me close this with a great surgeon’s advice to me. The body has its own mechanism and can protect itself mostly. It is built for defending itself and can withstand attacks. Once damage happens you can fix things but it will NEVER be the same. It is like wearing glasses to restore eye sight for myopia. You can see perfectly with glasses but if you compare your original eye sight (before myopia) with the eye sight with glasses, how do you feel? With glasses it may be 99% or may be even 99.99% but never be the same as original eye sight. You have to live with that fact. Instead of myopia, it can be with heart valve, a rod inserted in your thigh or anything else. Unfortunately we all have a shelf life and within that time, we all decay. It is inevitable. Everyone – you, me, your surgeon, mine and everyone living now – will be gone ultimately. That’s some soul food philosophy, Huh?

Take it easy and be well.

[WasInTN]

Jnomesh
Excellent insight into robotic part. Yes I agree with you. I did not have robotic surgery. I went with the skill of surgeon. I did go to local surgeons and talked to a few people but did not feel comfortable. With Dr. G I did not even see him but with experience he had, his web site and what people were talking about him, I felt good. I spoke to him on phone first. Fixed apt and went to surgery room straight away. He examined me 30 min before surgery, I was given an operating toom dress, pulled in, within 2 hours I was back on feet. Did not even know I had surgery. In the operating room they put nasal canuli and it was not fitting well but before I started saying “wait, let me…” I felt asleep and woke up when my family was patting my hands to wake me up. I woke up and asked “what happened?” LOL. Dr. G came after a few minutes and showed a sign “Thumbs up!” and said you are good to go! That simple. A couple of years later I had colonoscopy in the local hospital (this time the local gastro who is known to be very good) and worried that mesh might interfere. The gastro said it won’t since he will never push the scope that hard to even tear the intestines and the support tissue below. LOL. I laughed at my own ignorance for asking that question.

ajm222
Do not repeatedly keep saying about FACS of the surgeon. Those are normal qualifications of a surgeon I guess. Like “board certified pediatrician,” etc. Even if it is not, a FACS surgeon can screw up too. I cannot stress anymore than jnomesh said it. Skill of surgeon is the most important. May be your surgeon is very good but still, if I were you I will research more about that surgeon. A skillful and good surgeon who is interested in your welfare will tell you whether you really need surgery or if you can wait. OTOH a surgeon with a hammer in hand looking to drive nails, will say you must have surgery immediately or else! Else what? I know what. Else, he will miss your payment. LOL. That is all. You will be fine.

The other day (means 2/3 years ago) my dentist told me – you have a spot on tongue that needs to be checked for cancer or else! And here is the guy you need to meet. Ha. So I go back home worried and look in mirror pulling my tongue out. I cannot see a thing. I ignore THE SPOT and I am still alive. Nobody ever has said anything about cancer – either my PCP or anyone else. Now that the same dentist sold her practice to somebody else, we have a new dentist. So I ask what is wrong with my tongue. The new denty (recall Michael Richards’ saying hey Dentee!, to Seinfeld?) says – there is no spot on tongue. So here is the way they work together. The denty scratches that other doctors back and the other doctor scratches the denti’s back again. You know how this works – you scratch mine I do yours. So as long as your insurance pays, they are fine and will be merry happy to bill them. May even do a biopsy and take your deductible, and all. Yes of course if you cannot pay they will even put you on a payment plan! It is all great set up and plan.

These days it is hard to find a caring guy. It is all business. Otherwise how do they pay off their college loans pal? Sad truth but many in medical field do this every single day. Yeah, the regulations are there but if surgeon screwed up inside how do you prove actually that he screwed up? You have time to go with another surgeon, lawyer and all that pain for three years around the courts and finally be awarded with $2 million? And when you get that $2 million what part of it is yours? The attorney will eat may be 70% of it and will you finally still have the pain with $30K check in bank? Is that what you want?

So do your research, go slow and decide well. In the end remember this age old saying I think I read in Reader’s Digest, “God cures you, doctors take your money!” Just kidding. All the best.

[WasInTN]

ajm222
If you do go to surgery (or not) read the post on top of this forum (what to expect post surgery. It is a sticky and second one from top). I have posted notes of what to do when one goes to surgery. Those were my own experiences. Dr Towfigh was kind enough to keep it visible on top. Thanks to her.

[WasInTN]

Quick note.. If you are considering and waiting for surgery, in the mean time do not do anything like heavy lifting. Make sure you have a easy bowel movement. Indigestion, lots of greasy foods, cheese and forcing the bowels makes the hernia worse. I think you may already know that part. 🙂 And if you do go for surgery, relax, it is very simple and you will be back on feet same day but will have some surgical cut pain for a few days. This is because doctor can fix hernia but surgical cut is what it is. He will give pain medication and use it nicely. Do not think you are superman and can tolerate pain. No it is not tolerable that easily. It is like pinching hard at your sensitive area and the pinch pain remains 7/24 for 2 weeks. Best thing to do is to use that medication and sleep well and may even catch up with all the DVDs you want to watch. Ha ha. In 4 weeks you will be back to normal. In the first week or two you will feel down and depressed – may even think you may never be normal etc. It will all pass. I had gone through it. It is all normal. So relax and enjoy life. Best of luck in everything.

[WasInTN]

ajm222
What I said when I said 8x stronger was the mesh, not the surgery area or your tissue after repair. The mesh is 8x stronger than the tissue. So it is unlikely you may get hernia on the same side after surgery but like everything in the world, anything is possible if you hurl a mountain to mars. After reading your surgeon experience I want to share this. I was first told of the hernia back in 2008 by my PCP in the annual physical. I did not feel a thing and never even had an idea what it was. I ignored it and continued to live as before and nothing was wrong. During 2013 I had an overseas trip and carried heavy bags. No problems at all. But by Summer 2013 I had a bump just below the belly button towards right side. It was painful. I could drive, play basketball and do all but pain was there. Research on google and other sites showed me I indeed had the IH and it needed surgery. Then I you tubed for some videos that claimed to cure your IH without surgery. I learned these exercizes actually make it worse since it progressed to a bad stage.

Going forward, I learned that my dad had IH (never had surgery but died with it and then my brother had both sides of belly button – two hernias and was living with it daily). So I understood that it is genetical. It runs in the family and the pelvic floor is weak. My first appointment was with FL surgeon who does without mesh and claimed good results. I had everything ready until someone pointed to me that since it is genetical, without mesh my chances are very high for recurrence. I had to agree. So I canceled the FL appointment and spoke to Dr. G on phone before going. I read and researched about his technique and felt comfortable going to him. I had a local surgeon look at me and give promise of easy surgery with mesh. But the way he spoke, his dress (his pants were about to fall off etc) and all that made me uneasy. May be he is good surgeron but I did not want to put my sensitive parts in someone’s hands who cannot even dress well. When I asked him what was the name of mesh he could not recall. I backed out and flew all the way to PA with family. Ins paid most but hotel, and all that I had to pay. I flew back in 3 days and in 2 weeks back to work.

About people who discourage mesh and had pains. Yes for some people mesh is indeed a problem. Some reaction, some bad surgeon skill and everything else goes wrong. Can it happen to you? It depends on how you react to the mesh material. I do not have any allergies and never had any problems. How many mesh problems do you find with a skilled surgeon like Dr. G? I found almost none. So I trusted him. Every case is different and each person reacts differently. So you have to trust your own instincts. For me there were hundreds of stories on google that said people cannot pass urine due to nerve blocks and catheter had to be inserted (via penis hole) to make him well and all those gory stories made me sleepless. I did ask Dr. G if I would have that problem after surgery. His answer was “unless you have some kidney or such problems and have difficulty passing fluids, there is no reason to believe that.” So after surgery by 11 or 12 noon they gave me a soda and some cookies to eat and within 30 seconds I had to ask to go to bathroom. It hit me when I was passing urine that I asked that question to Dr. G and I felt relieved. No such problems happened to me.

So if you have genetic defect in family mesh is the way to go. Ultimately all said and done do *NOT* go to a general surgeon who claims to do “several” hernia surgeries. A general surgeon mostly does other surgeries and might have done one or two hernia surgeries. Go to a hernia surgeon who is a specialist and who knows what he does. If you go to a man with hammer in hand, he is looking for nails to drive. That’s the reason I took time to research and go to Dr. G.

Like I said above I waited 6 years for surgery and if you want to go on the wait and watch list, yes you can. How to find when to go for surgery? Your own body will tell you. So in the mean time do all the research, find a good and well versed skilled surgeon. Mesh is not the Satan ready to pounce on your. There are dozen other reasons that will cause trouble. All said and done, does a mesh cause trouble for you in particular? Unlikely, if you choose a good surgeon and if that surgeon follows a great technique. Dr. Goodyear has a website and you can read about his technique. But he is in PA.

For a mesh to fail there are a dozen reasons – not just the mesh material itself. Even with the greatest safety mesh an unskilled surgeon can screw up everything and can cause problems that will last forever in a person’s life. Choose well. And how to do that? See the Indiana Jones movie where Harrison ford picks up a dirty cup to drink from the pool and the knight next to him says “You have chosen well.” Just kidding 🙂 All the best

[WasInTN]

ajm222
I had right IH repaired by Dr. Goodyear of PA and it was 3+ years since and I have had no worries. An occasional dull twitch happens once in a while for a few minutes when I sit in wrong posture or twist my legs, and then it goes away. I think it is kind of nerve irritation. I am happy with what I had. If I remember correctly (yes I do), Dr. G said the mesh will stay for a life time. And it is 8x stronger than the original body tissue. I think the mesh is Ultrapro or something like that. Not sure of that exact name but you can find it from Dr. G’s office or website. He even said that when a person with mesh dies, it can be retrieved intact. Anyways…

As I have been saying on this forum and elsewhere, this much I know about IH repair. It happens due to a weakness in your tissue that holds the internal organs. Once that tissue is weak and a bulge forms you have IH and it can get worse over a time depending on your activities. Does a surgery fix it? It is immaterial to know what type of surgery but does it fix it? Sure it does but does it fix it FOREVER? The answer is “Nobody knows.” Why? Because it depends on what you do after surgery. Since surgery fixes the tissue it does *NOT* mean it makes you a superman. It makes you fit for day to day life and usual activities. If you think you can lift the mountain and hurl it towards the moon after surgery, do not even try it because now that the fixed hernia is 8x stronger and since your tissue was weak in the first case you will have hernia in another location (usually the other side). What if you fixed both sides and try to hurl the mountain? The answer is, I do not know and my suggestion is not to try it 🙂 But if you still want to try, I can guarantee you will have hernia elsewhere.

So does the mesh last forever? The answer is “usually yes” but will it break? Yes it can, depending on what you do. Even the most difficult things in life can break down. Like everything else in life, all items have a life span. You can buy a wall clock that will work for 40 years or even 80 years but ultimately it will die and catch up with Murphy’s law. So is the case with mesh. It all depends on what you do after you get the mesh.

My point is this – surgery makes you feel good and makes you almost normal but yes there are limits. How to find the limits? Listen to your body. That’s my 10 cents. And of course I am not medical professional though I have a doctoral degree in biomedical Engg and I do understand from my research how the mesh and the body works. The bottom line is, it helps you but will NEVER make you a superman. There is no such thing as superman BTW. Even the guys who act as supermen in movies are vulnerable to disease and may be even hernias. Even the strongest athletes in Basketball and NFL have the hernias.

[WasInTN]

I had Inguinal hernia and got surgery done with mesh by Dr. Goodyear of PA. From my experience here are some points. I am sorry if some of these points hurt you but reality always bites. Take it or leave it and BTW I am not a medical professional and you are free to do as you please.

1. Hernia, wherever it happens is due to a weakness in the tissue. And the weakness can happen due to variety of reasons, the main one being genetic and the other reasons are dozens to quote. But if you stretch any tissue – including the amazingly elastic heart beyond a reasonable/alloawble level, it will break. So if you think you are VERY active and want to be VERY active you need to think again after hernia surgery.

2. Hernia surgery, as I said on this forum time and again, will fix your tissue in a good way (assuming the surgeon is a good one) and will put you back on your feet. The ultrapro mesh Dr. Goodyear uses is 8x stronger than the original tissue according to him. So if he puts this mesh in my body and I assume I become a superman to lift the Himalayas from Asia and carry them back to Australia (AKA, VERY ACTIVE) then I will have another hernia in another part of the tissue or close the mesh itself. Yes hernia surgery fixes you but does not make you superman/woman.

3. My PCP warned me about my hernia in 2007 and I waited till 2013 till the bulge showed up below my belly belly button on right side. And then learned that my late father had it and never did surgery and my brother had it and had surgery. So it is genetic and can happen to families. I waited 6 years and ignored my PCP advice not to lift weights etc. (again aka VERY active).

4. By 2013 the pain from my hernia was unbearable. I decided that either I die on surgery table or come out better but cannot sit with hernia and shooting pains. So I researched and found Dr. Goodyear as my choice. Before that for six months I even stopped carrying 1 gal milk cans and anything more heavier than 1/4 Lb. Why because, the lifting was causing more trouble.

5. People have told me and I read on internet that hernia can be cured by yoga and some exercises. I believed those for a few days/weeks and practiced them but found them useless. Once it came to show up on the skin like a bulge, it is almost irreversible. A hole in tissue cannot be fixed by yoga. It needs a patch. And the patch can be another tissue (desarda type) or with a mesh. Each one has an advantage and disadvantage. The internet is awash with these. Will mesh suit you? Nobody can tell. It is like driving car on highway. 999% you are safe. But do people die on highway? You bet. Some people had problems with mesh and some are happy. Some are happy for a few years and then they develop problems. Human body is a closely guarded environment and any stuff you insert inside will have a reaction. If your body tolerates that reaction you are good. Else you know what it means.

6. If you plan to be VERY active after surgery or before surgery when the hernia is confirmed, it will only grow further. After mesh surgery you still have to be careful for points above.

IMAO (A is for arrogant), hernia is like diabetes. You have a friend for life whether you like it or not. It will come with you and is a warning that you have a problem. The problem can be fixed (like a diabetic can live till 100 actively with medication and other controls) but you always need to be careful.

That’s my opinion – strictly personal one.

[WasInTN]

This is for Desarda all over the globe

https://sites.google.com/site/desarda/home-1/location-admission/what-is-hernia-/hernia-pictures/articles/operation-recovery-videos/indian-hernia-institute/operation-technique/list-of-doctors

[WasInTN]

DeeJay
To feel everything normal for me it took 6 to 8 weeks. In the initial days I also had jerk like feeling while sleeping and the feeling suddenly woke me up – yes with a jerk. That jerk made the incision area painful for 15 minutes and was gone as it came. For every other function (including the one you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask!) it took nearly 10 weeks. In the days after the incision cut remained hard but over months – yes months – it softened and now I still have some hardness. The cut area heals VERY slowly over months and years.

My surgery was by Dr. Goodyear of PA with ultrathin mesh. He said the mesh is 8x stronger than the human tissue. I also used Milk of Magnesia – the well known laxative for over 60 or 70 years – in the initial days to help me empty bowels and not put strain on digestive system. I also avoided eating hard to digest food like cheese, pizza etc. Lots of walking, short and long walks slow or whatever pace that suited me helped a lot. In fact Dr. G said I should keep walking daily for the mesh to merge well. Initial days the surgical cut felt like Dr. G sued up a snickers bar inside me. LOL.

So give it time and take it easy. Life will return to complete normal as time goes by. Do not try to “TEST” any of your body functions by lifting heavy weights and such. Surgical cut is what it is and takes time to heal. Listen to your body. If it says no, no it should be.

Please post updates and good luck. If you are happy with your surgeon, please post his details – like what his daily profession is (not all surgeons do surgeries ONlLY daily), state and location; so other people can benefit.

[WasInTN]

You did not tell all the story – male or female? approximate age etc. Dr. Goodyear was my surgeon for IH 3 years ago. I waited 6 weeks for doing any serious bending etc and 8 weeks for other things. Since your hernia was big, yes 3-4 months is best. Dr. Goodyears office is VERY GOOD in returning the emails and phone calls. I also suggest you get their surgical report (if you ask they will mail it) and keep it for records. So the best option is to keep contact with the surgeon and wait 3-4 months. Take it easy. Body needs rest after surgical cut.

[WasInTN]

I agree with Dr. Towfigh’s statement about genetic predisposition. I had right side IH and then found that my brother had both sides of IH. I also remembered that my father had IH but father never went for surgery and died with it (due to other causes not due to IH strangulation). I had surgery with Dr. Goodyear in PA almost three years ago and results are excellent. My brother had surgery both sides at the same time and he is happy with the results too. Both of us have the mesh (I think it is ultrapro for me).

As I keep saying on this forum time and again, IH surgery does not make you a superman. It fixes the existing IH area and makes you mobile and better at moving. But if you think that the surgery made you a superhero, since the pelvic floor is weak, it will eventually develop hernia the other side. What I observed in the forums on internet is this common mistake. Once surgery is done, the guys think they can lift the earth, hurl the Saturn towards Sun or lift the 18 wheeler off the highway. WRONG! Recognize that you had IH surgery and be careful REST OF YOUR LIFE. Also since hernia is fixed most guys start doing everything and anything from after 3 weeks. For god’s sake, the surgery is what it is and it needs rest. I gave full 6 weeks rest. Only after 8th week or so I resumed the activities (including the one you wanted to know but were afraid to ask!) in full but even now I do not lift anything heavy and get myself seen by PCP yearly to check the other side for possible hernia. So far good.

In a nutshell, yes multiple hernias are verily possible and nobody can exactly tell you where the next hernia could be. If you really want to know where it could be, go the nearest university, find a biomedical engg professor and fund his department with $3.8 million grant o buy software (the professor will be able to pay off his mortgage BTW) to simulate a hypothetical situation. BTW since I have a doctoral biomedical degree I can do this simulation for $290K for you because my mortgage is small and I work alone (did I say it like Ahnold?) 🙂 Take it easy.

[WasInTN]

inguinal hernia and pregnancy

Which month of gestational period are you in? I don’t think I saw that information in your post. But if I missed it, then if you are too close to going into delivery, probably it is worth the wait.

One idea is to keep the IH surgery on the same date as delivery date. Immediately after surgery the IH surgeon can get into action and fix his work while Obgyn takes care of you. But sitting would be problem when you two surgeries and other things may cause delay in recovery. But if you are very healthy you can recover from both quickly. At least that’s my personal opinion. (I am not a medical practitioner or any kind BTW and all I say is with my IH surgery experience and please note, that I am a male. So everything I say can be plain wrong!)

IH surgery does not touch your internal organs or the blood stream in veins/arteries (to my knowledge) and just pushes the bulge up and supports it with a mesh (if you opt for mesh based surgery) or with nearby tissues if you opt for no mesh surgery. If you opt to go for surgery now, I know for a fact that it takes up to 6-8 weeks to start to feel normal after surgery. Related question – if you go for surgery before delivery, would you be able to withstand the pain that may be caused by the moving baby (called kicks, I guess) with IH sutures in place? A female can answer that question better. So obgyn is your choice to ask this question.

Having said that if you are just told that you are pregnant and are in 4/5th month, you may want to go now. Nobody can tell you exactly what you should do. You know your body better than anyone here and you should take the risks you can and are worth or see them fit. Even your doctor cannot tell you what you should do since it is your pain and not his/hers. If you ask a doctor he will only follow the historical facts. It is like asking if driving on highway is safe or not. People have problems and accidents on highways but 90% they are safe. So what should you do?

It is and should be your own decision. Sorry to be blunt but that’s how things stand. Think well and take time to decide. Do not jump quickly. As said and done in IH surgery, skill of the surgeon is the most important. Do not go for any one with a scalpel who claims to be a surgeon. If you go to a man with a hammer in hand, he is always looking for nails to drive. You know that adage. So choose a good IH surgeon and decide.

Good luck and come back to us to post your progress. All the best

[WasInTN]

Recommendation for Doctors: Total Package Pricing

Dr. Tomas of FL does this fixed price stuff for no insurance patients. You can see more here

http://www.ufirsthealth.com/surgical-center-group-rates.php

Once you have insurance in place all kinds of variables kick in and no doctor in USA can guarantee a fixed price because the ins company plays its own games. The proof is no father than your regular claims that come in mail. The doctor submits a price of $26 for blood work and ins pays $2.80. How does that work? It is pittance to doctor since doctor’s office has to pay the technicians, electricity for machine, rent blah blah. When you get a cleared claim you will be happy to see that since doctor is in network you owe nothing more but when doctor sees this payment (s)he frowns but cannot do anything because if doctor does anything ins will (threaten to) throw the doctor out of network.

So this loop makes doctor to submit various codes for one visit you go. At least this is my personal opinion, after seeing how ins companies operate for over 20 years. The reasonable amount ins pays is for office visit. If Dr. submits $180, they pay like $140. Rest of the codes get the cut, sometimes at 95% cut. Even for MRI they do not pay full. For that reason the MRI is billed at 3x initially since they know they only get paid “x” 🙂 Usually MRI costs over $3000 in USA but if you go to another country it can be done at $100 to $150. Even with return airfare included ($1200), this will go cheaper than what USA centers bill. But then the insurance may not cover that for you!

See another example. Eye insurance for which you pay about $15 premium every pay period covers eye exam, frames and glasses. They have a limit like $150 for frame and glasses are given whatever the cost. For one pair this total will be like $220 all inclusive. So you call the insurance and tell them that you will get two pairs of glasses for $99 at some local shop since some shops (lens crafters?) give free eye exam for that deal. And then you will submit $99 to insurance to claim the money. Your argument is, if you spend $99 you can save money for Insurance as well and you will get two pairs. Win-Win situation, huh? Call the insurance and see what they will say. “NO, that is NOT allowed,” they say because they are happy to pay $150 to network providers since they are “allowed to bill” that way. WTF, you think. Yes pal, that’s how things work here. Either take it or leave it. It is a slap in the face (not wrist). To make matters complicated, some joints like Sam’s club even bill this $220 to insurance and THEN ask you to pay the tax on it from your own pocket. Insurance will not pay taxes!! Some joints like 20/20 eye centers include taxes and insurance will pay them. So why is the difference from one joint to another? The answer you get is “That’s how things work in and out of network and national retailers and local joints.” So what we do? We have to “unlearn” things we thought we already know.

Comparatively hospitals who bill exorbitant prices are well paid. Example – Two Tylenol tablets given to you in the hospital when you went there for regular colonoscopy or such are billed at $26 (you will get at least three bottles of 100 pills each at Sams or Walmart for that price) are paid without uttering a word by the insurance at least at $20. Hospitals also bill utter nonsense in their claims to insurance such as needles, gloves, trash collection and you name it. All you need to do is to ask them to give you an itemized bill to see what they did.

That’s the main reason any Dr office will not give you exact price once you mention insurance. Otherwise any dr will be happy to accommodate you for a fixed price and even agree for a payment plan. It is all business now. Beats the logic and common sense.

[WasInTN]

My hernia recovery

gnarfle
Great that you are doing good. Initial cut for the surgery, the related surgical pain are normal. I went through the same mental process since I never had surgery before. Mine was with Dr. Goodyear of PA. I was driving OK by week 2 (I even drove 2nd day after surgery in Philly but the pain from surgical cut was bad and had to stop) when I came back home from PA. I also felt I would never be able to jog run or even walk in the park. All this changed by week 4 and by week 6 or 8 I was jogging normal. 🙂 Only first 2-3 weeks were bad but things improve greatly.

Just hang in. Surgery is surgery. Give respect to the wound and it will heal as your body dictates. If your body says do not lift, do not move in one particular direction, just respect that. your body knows what to do during healing. Do follow surgeon instructions. If he said take the pain medication, do not try to be a superman. Just take that medicine till the wound heals.

During week 3 or 4 in my sleep I woke up with a jerk once. Like someone hit me in the box to wake me up. May be a mental thing. Not sure why but that jerk made my pain worse for an hour. Other than that everything is normal.

Final advice – Do *NOT* assume you will become a superman after surgery to lift the Himalayan Mountains. No way. You will have good quality life but need to be careful so you do not aggravate or cause another hernia.

Good luck and keep us informed.