To compound my on going back and sciatica issues, I've now developed a hernia. Dr diagnosed yesterday and she's sending me for an ultra scan. Anyone else live with a Inguinal Hernia? Can it be managed without surgery?
To compound my on going back and sciatica issues, I've now developed a hernia. Dr diagnosed yesterday and she's sending me for an ultra scan. Anyone else live with a Inguinal Hernia? Can it be managed without surgery?
30 odd years ago I underwent an inguinal hernia repair.
Didn't listen properly to the advice about not overdoing it.
Repair failed then I had a double inguinal hernia repair.
Bar the odd twinge I have been fine since.
I couldn't have just lived with mine.
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I just had open surgery to repair mine, 2 months ago...I'd lived with it for a couple of decades, it'd only gotten bothersome in the last couple of years or so however was at the point of needing surgery as was starting to be a bit limiting on how much exercise etc I could do, certain activities like biking up hill for an hour or so, it was getting niggley or a days physical labour, I'd know about it by the end of the day...The surgery has been a success so far and should be better than new in another month or so, I'm still avoiding lifting anything really heavy but have restarted running and some bodyweight exercises and it's all good.
Thanks chaps, I've just ordered a belt today. As an above knee amputee I have to be careful lifting, but my mucho male head, makes me refuse compromise, hence my body is broken. Starting to pay for all of the exuberance during my younger years now!
I’ve been suffering with one both sides since November and waiting for surgery. Thankfully no real pain just the odd discomfort now and then.
I know you play golf so you’ll be pleased to hear no impact on golfing at all. I’ve been playing 3 times a week since my club reopened without any issues. GP just told me to avoid heavy lifting.
Apparently ultrasound isn’t 100% accurate for detecting hernia, best way is too see consultant.
Do your own research, but imho ( and own experience ) avoid keyhole like the plauge and go the open surgery route !
Funnily enough I had my consultation yesterday and the surgeon recommended open surgery over keyhole…… he said keyhole is not as reliableOriginally Posted by markrichardsonno9
Before I was given the all clear the doctor told me the exact opposite. With open surgery there’s more of a chance of damage to the tendons/nerves to the old sack.
Lifting is what has destroyed my back, since losing my right leg I have over compensated with my back and hence the hernia I suppose? We live and learn, my golf is struggling to return to where I was in 2019, the hard fairways in Essex were not an easy return to golf. I'm hoping that I can get some sort of consistency back by June? Annoyingly some of my mates don't seem to have been affected by the lack of golf at all? Early days with the Hernia I will get proper advice if I decide to go under the knife that's for sure!
I popped an inguinal hernia, whilst working at 275m off china, put up with it for 3 days, did a 7 day decompression, flew home and because of a niggle on the other side had a double mesh repair, was up and about after 10 days.
Oh no sorry to hear this mate. Nightmare, will have to catch up very soon. Take it easy mate.
Had a weird sensation low left hand side of groin for a few weeks which if I held my hand in the position it felt a lot better. Had a phone call from the quack who said it sounded like classic inguinal hernia. Had the scan and follow up but the specialist signed me off as there was nowt there...he suspected a strain. Gives me a little grief time to time but nothing too bad. I bought a hernia support which helped massively. Look for OPPO supports, although I didn’t have one it eased my strain no end
I am currently ‘managing’ a hernia. No real pain but if it stops me doing everything I want to do I will get it fixed.
I've got 2 and don't even know they're there; Had a scan for groin pain, hernias were found, but it wasn't the source of the pain, surgeon said don't bother. I believe that most men in their late 50's plus will have them.
How much pain/discomfort are you in?
Well to be honest not an awful lot? Its my back that's really giving me gyp. I've ordered a belt and will have the ultra sound (god knows when that will be?).
My problem is carrying, which I'm not going to do. A fella on U Tube recommends holding both your hernias sites when you poop?? I've been giving that a go!
I hope you get it sorted either way, I have a bad back too so I'm very careful about carrying anything, perhaps that's why they are so "dormant".Well to be honest not an awful lot? Its my back that's really giving me gyp. I've ordered a belt and will have the ultra sound (god knows when that will be?).
My problem is carrying, which I'm not going to do. A fella on U Tube recommends holding both your hernias sites when you poop?? I've been giving that a go!
I have a small inguinal hernia on my right hand side but I didn't bother getting surgery. I decided to live with it until (or unless) it gives trouble.
It was diagnosed about 8 years ago but I reckon it's been there 20 odd years
I’ve had them on both sides, had open surgery on one about 7 years ago and the other 1 year ago. No issues with the surgery either time and they seem to be holding up well. The latest one was “quite sizeable” according to the surgeon but I recovered very quickly. I should have got that one fixed a few years ago to be honest but I never had pain, just discomfort.
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Just found this thread.Its gonna be My turn for surgery soon.Nice bulge in pelvis on right hand side that goes when I lie down. Most noticeable if I bend to sit or pick something up say off the floor.Thought it was a groin strain at first.Weird ,hot , dull sort of fuzzy feeling.Most odd!!! I’m wondering what op they will give Me?
I had surgery in June as I had one on my left side. They did key hole surgery and put in a mesh.
I was out of action for about a week , I then had to transition very slowly back to exercise. But right as rain now.
I had mine done at a private hospital but funded by the NHS. It took quite a while but a lot of that was down to Covid. I wouldn’t have wanted to go into hospital in the heat of lockdown anyway.
Cheers, Shaun
Thanks for the post Shaun and glad Your recovery went well. I’m hoping Il have the keyhole surgery and mesh rather than the full scalpel treatment. I suppose it depends on the hernia size.Where You very sore after? It seems to vary person to person quite a bit.
It hurt for about 2-3 days, the strong painkillers helped though
I was laid up in bed for about 5 days but I could walk around a bit. I got signed off work for 2 weeks and made full use of that time. I was able to take the dogs out for short walk after about 7 days.
Cheers, Shaun
I had one low down on the left quite a few years ago. It felt like my testicles were being constantly squeezed.
I had keyhole/mesh surgery. Uncomfortable for a few days afterwards, and some truly impressive bruising.
Just a bit of an update. Finally got to see my consultant. He has put me forward for open surgery asap. He said it will be this year? Fingers crossed!
I am about to have mine done with open surgery.
This may give you an idea of likely timescales. Mine was classified as 'non urgent':
My GP consultation was in Sept 2021.
My hospital consultation was Dec 2021.
My surgery is planned for March 2022. I had to turn down a 'last-minute' slot in late January/early Feb as I was not able to attend.
Given what we hear about waiting lists, I am quite surprised how quickly it has been processed.
My 7 year old has just been diagnosed with a Inguinal Hernia, the docs have recommended surgery - they did not specify open or key hole surgery at this stage, I will have this chat with them when they give us more information. She is not in any pain at all, and not sure what caused it. They said it could be 6 months + before having an appointment but have said it is urgent.
I went to the docs July 21 saw surgeon Aug 21 said 3 weeks to 6 months but to phone in 3 months. Phoned surgeon and was told maybe 2022 likely 2023 as they are behind so have transferred my funding to the local private hospital and just waiting for a date now but not holding my breath.
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Fingers crossed I am as quick but probably looking towards the end of the year. Pleased you are in the pipe line. Let us know how you get on.
I’m due to go in for inguinal hernia surgery next month . I’ve been told by the surgeon it will be laparoscopic not open. Things have moved quite quickly but here You have to be flexible about which hospital You are prepared to go to or be ready for I think a very long wait. My hernia goes into My scrotum which is very uncomfortable. If I lie down it disappears rapidly which is a blessing. When I get out of bed it reappears after about half an hour.
Glad Your on the mend. I’ve just had mine done. Unfortunately it had to change from keyhole to open at the last minute.Feels pretty sore but the painkillers help. Watch out You don’t get constipation or start sneezing or coughing . I expect it will hurt.
God it’s difficult trying to sleep after hernia surgery! It’s best to lie on Your back but if your usually a side sleeper it’s a pain. Not only that but You can’t do enough to tire yourself out in the daytime to make yourself tired at night .Sheeeeeesh!
had one done about 12 years ago (42) due to sports injuries. small hernia in abdomen but what triggered the surgery was the resultant weakness in the groin which I tore (still playing footy)
had the mesh fitted and other than the painkillers giving me constipation and hayfever meaning I was overdosing on antihistamines as every sneeze felt like i was being stabbed, everything else was fine post op.
A few months ago i felt a bit tender on the other side; this was after a few months of weakness when doing stuff like lifting leg to put on socks. The doctor was reluctant to act until it was giving me proper difficulty and whilst I've carried on playing football it was getting worse.
Saw the consultant 3 weeks ago and i'm now on the list for surgery, should be mid June. I've carried on as normal since then until Sunday when a friend asked me to play 11 aside as they were short of players, after 70 minutes i went into auto pilot and flew into a sliding tackle and strained the groin below the hernia; not as bad as the other side but i'm hanging the boots up for a few months now
Maysie great to hear your surgery has been completed and you feel well within yourself.
When I originally read this thread I decided against commenting as it brought back too many bad memories for me. I had been through exactly the same dilemmas and deliberations as you were going through and was as confused as one could get.
I was having opposing opinions thrown at me me from right across the spectrum, depending on who I was speaking with and I really could not decide on which route to take. I wanted to take the option of leaving it be and doing nothing despite knowing that this was not ever a realistic option.
My three options were laparoscopic mesh repair (keyhole), mesh repair using open surgery or non mesh open surgery (allegedly the best), though nowhere in the UK offered this option.
I was petrified about choosing the mesh option, as I had come across far too many horror stories around complications associated with the mesh. This resulted in my deciding the non mesh open surgery option was the best and safest option for me.
I looked at the Shouldice Hospital in Canada and a Dr. Koch in Germany, both of which came very highly recommended as world leaders in this type of surgery. The logistics and costs of my travelling to either place for surgery were prohibitive and I ended up opting for a mesh repair using open surgery at a private hospital (via the NHS) here in the UK.
However like a complete and utter coward I decided against the surgery on my way into the hospital on the day of the surgery. I was overwhelmed with of all sorts of doubts around whether or not I had made the correct decision and I instructed my brother to turn the car around and take me back home as I was not going to have the surgery. This meant I went back into the NHS waiting system and there was an inevitable delay, but I was more than happy with this as it gave me more time to ponder.
To cut a very long story short I eventually opted for the laparoscopic mesh repair as the recovery time on this method was the shortest. My surgery went well, I was in hospital in the morning and back home late afternoon on the same day. The pain was far less than I anticipated and constipation aside (couple of days), the recovery was quick and comfortable. I was back in the gym jogging lightly within two weeks and I was lifting light weights within six weeks.
I have had no issues since, my surgery was in 2018. When I look back can not believe how complicated I had made the entire affair. My advice, for what it's worth, to anyone needing this type of surgery is not to overthink the decision. All methods have successes and failures and it's inevitable from a human perspective that we would home in on the negatives and thats what will stand out for us.
Whilst there are plenty of horror stories around mesh repairs I think we need to keep a fair perspective on things and remind ourselves of the countless numbers of successful mesh repairs that are carried out with no problems, never to be heard about.
I am one such case and if it helps reassure somebody deliberating then I hope this long post serves it's intended purpose.
Apologies if this post has ended up being longer that I would have liked it to have been.
Last edited by tango; 30th March 2022 at 07:50.
For me the surgery was not my concern, I was genuinely not bothered about it. It was the long period of rest and recuperation afterwards as I am not 'wired' for sitting around as was/am still worried I will overdo it and head right back to square one again. This is my biggest struggle, particularly as we will be lambing soon, and have so many jobs to do around the farm that just cannot wait - but will now have to.
The thing which made the surgery easier to accept was a candid pre-op assessment discussion with the surgeon who explained in no uncertain terms that the hernia would never repair itself, or get any better, but was only likely to get worse with time - so the surgery may as well be done sooner rather than later to avoid becoming an emergency case.
The chap who had his surgery before me had a double hernia, the first one was over 7 years old and he was walking with a walking stick while wearing a 'truss' to prevent more of his innards from popping out. Mine by compariosn was a small lump, so rather trivial in my opinion, but the surgeon did not agree and insisted the surgery was the best course of action.
Good surgeon in my opinion; he did the right thing.
My first case was treated by the NHS almost as if i was imagining it until my physiotherapist phoned the doctor and had a go at him (small village where everyone knows everyone), even the NHS chap doing my scan said it probably wasn't a hernia (until he found it within 2 seconds).
I think they wanted everyone to be 5st overweight with a massive lump sticking out before doing anything.
good luck with the recovery and try to heed their advice regarding rehabilitation times. i'm lucky that the heaviest thing i need to lift normally is a mouse or coffee cup; just need to have a good empty out before surgery and then just drink vegetable soup and smoothies for a few days!
Both mine were minor and the NHS weren’t really bothered. My consultant said they would only get worse over time. Done 5 &7 years ago, keyhole/mesh and been fine since. My recovery was pretty rapid and I was back cycling in gym about a week later.
Maysie You did the right thing getting it done early. Mine started last June when I thought I had a groin strain to going into My scrotum since Christmas leaving My right ball about 2 1/2 times the size of the left one.There are some orrible tales about strangulated and incarcerated hernias which You now need not worry about.Just remembering no heavy lifting for a while may be tricky.Might write it on back of hands .Got a cupboard full of tinned prunes to fight off the constipation as a safeguard lol
Last edited by lew07; 30th March 2022 at 12:04.
Well I finally had my hernia operation last Thursday afternoon about an 18 month wait on NHS. I had open surgery, which my consultant recommended for me, as I’m in my sixties.
I was in and out in 7 hours. Yes it’s uncomfortable, I probably dropped the pain killers too early. I’m a terrible patient as I hate sitting about. But have been read the riot act by the hospital, low activity no lifting. What helped me was that the guy in the next bed to me had Pollocks removed from his anus! Can you imagine!! Can’t laugh as it’s so painful. As long as I’m ok for Christmas? Thank you NHS.
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There's definitely something fishy about him!
GET WELL SOON , but do take it easy. I had the open sort, are you stitched or the metal staples, just being nosey...I ended up having to get a different pain killer, once the nerves, deeper tissues start healing it can sting a bit, but can be different for everyone so my doc said.
Heal well and take your time.
I had the same surgery as you on September 6 (in at 8:30 and home by 16:00) but was concerned after a few days as I could barely move.
This was a post I made on my Facebook page on September 12:
'Up until yesterday the farthest I could walk was to the top of the drive with Sue riding shotgun. Just managed a solo 1.25 mile walk.'
At 69 I have other issues (polymyalgia rheumatica) but I can say that from the inguinal hernia perspective I felt myself again after about 4 weeks.
Best of luck with your recovery.
scooter
Stitched....back on the Co codamal for the time being. Fingers crossed it will ease up over the next few days.
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I'd suggest give yourself a very gentle 2 weeks... I played mini golf a week after my surgery, the next day I couldn't move...Mrs P just reminded how she even said don/t be a dick and play mini golf!.
Last edited by Passenger; 12th December 2022 at 22:27.
Be careful with Co codamal. It constipates You and You don’t want to be straining at the moment.
I had hernia surgery 5 years ago in my forties. Lucky I was in Bupa with work so was admitted 5 days after diagnosis. The surgeon recommended open surgery so that’s what I went with. Take it easy for the 1st couple of weeks as it will only anger it in the long run. I’m the pain does ease after a week. Painkillers were a god send but clogged me up terribly lol. Best of luck with the recovery.
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I had keyhole surgery to repair mine. Very uncomfortable for a couple of weeks, and epic bruising. I have always suspected that the surgeon did the repair in about 10 minutes, and spent the next half hour kicking me in the nuts.
@wildheart
Pleased to hear you finally made it to the top f the list and are now on the path to recovery.
Do please take notice of the advice they gave and take things easy. I had to add my full (8 week from memory?) recovery period into my diary in order to remind myself that I still had a way to go, as I felt better before I had fully 'repaired' inside, so wanted to get back outside lugging water buckets etc, as I found it torture watching my wife struggle with everything. If you go too early, then you will just set yourself back again and the chances of a successful surgery become less each time they repair you.
One side effect that I didn't mention in my previous post was that the whole left side of my groin was numb for a couple of months afterwards. The feeling finally came back, but it is still not 100% back to where it was pre-surgery.
The other more positive result was from the bruising, as the resulting swelling of my man-conkers provided an impressive and welcome benefit - even if only short lived....
That made me laugh so much, I’m sure my surgeon used my willy for purchase...as I think I can see his thumb print in amongst the black and blue!
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Day 9 post op, man this is painful. Off the heavy drugs just use Paracetamol now, but still extremely sore. I think the 3-6 week recovery is very optimistic for me anyhow.
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