embarrassed about hernia

Nothing to be embarrassed about, or scared about - honestly! The GP is not going to force you to have surgery or even try to talk you into it - far from it. In most cases, if the symptoms aren't bothering you, they will recommend "watchful waiting" i.e. doing nothing. You might *choose* to go for surgery at some later date but it is completely your choice. Inguinal hernias (sounds like that's what you have - but I'm not an expert, don't take my word for it!) are not life-threatening and many people live with them for years and years without seeking treatment. I think you might actually be reassured by getting yourself examined and hearing from a doctor how unproblematic hernias are medically, in most cases,

On the pains and cramps: I have found a support garment helpful. The modern version is not quite as bad as the old trusses were. I'd certainly recommend trying one. It's made my life a lot easier. Where before I was getting pain and discomfort maybe 2 in every 3 days, now it's only if I do something stupid.

I can't really comment on how your wife might feel, sorry. But perhaps the first step is to get yourself more comfortable and informed about it, then you'll be able to reassure her as well if you do decide to talk about it??

good luck!

thank you so much Ulfgar for your reply,the pains are a problem to be honest,it seems to be happenning 3 or 4 days i a row and i have less days off from it,i guess when the doctor sees how big it is i think he would most certainly to send me to the hospital,but as you say i suppose i dont have to go,my dad had a hernia for all of his life but with a truss so ill take your advice and look at getting support,i hope someone here could tell me their wifes reaction to them having a hernia it worries me,she knows i get stomach pains but ive not told her why,thank you again.

Do not be embarressed at all.  It sounds like you have an inguinal hernia which can be fixed. I am female and got one which is rare in comparison to the amount of males who get them. My first repair was done with mesh which I had to have removed due to nerve entrapment and pain associated with the mesh. I only had my second operation last week. It has been repaired without mesh by another tension free technique. Do your rsearch before any repair. Your bowel can get encacerated with this type of hernia. I had a twisted bowel last September and had to go through emergency surgery, right hemicolectomy/laparotomy to save my life. Any form of encacerated bowel can be life threatening. Go to your GP and get it checked out. I'm sure your wife loves you very much and would not be worried about it's appearance and more concerned about your health and well being. Best of luck.

Hello,

Have your Doctor give you an MRI or CT SCAN, to find out where this is and how large. Find a good doctor who is A specialist in this type of hernia and then find a good SURGEN.

Don't be afraid to have this surgery, if you need it. Life is short, you need to be able to enjoy it. I had the hiatal hernia and valve repaired surgery (I'm 70 old). I live one day at a time and believe in God and prayers.

Ask God to direct you to the right doctors.

I did and I got the best GI SPECIALIST and GI SURGEN. I am doing good. And you will to. Ask God to take away of your fear of death. I believe you will be fine, once you get this freedom of being scared. God Bless you. Not trying to push religion on you. I will pray for you too.

My understanding is that larger iguinal hernias are *less* dangerous i.e. less likely to become trapped, than smaller ones. So size is not in itself an indication for surgery. It depends much more on the extent to which the hernia is interfering with your daily life. If you are keen to avoid surgery, but the pains are a problem, my advice would be to try the support garment - the one I have found helpful is from The Support Company. But if you can face it, get a GP to examine you first.

Hi,

I have had two inguinal hernia repairs done; open incision with mesh, and have had excellent results with both ops.

I know surgery is not pleasant, and a daunting thought, but to my mind, is the only way to go. I mean, do you really want to be plagued with a hernia for the rest of your days? They will, most likely,  restrict your lifestyle if you are an active person at all. And who wants to wear a truss for years and years? Mine were painful, i was losing days off at work....so only one option for me.

So, my advice, is not to hang back, but to bite the bullett and get the procedure done, and in three months time after the op, you will look back and say....thank goodness i got that done and over with, and now i'lll get on with life. But, be aware, you will always have  a certain weakness in that area, and be more careful, about lkifting especially, in the future.

Best of luck.

Callum.

They don't fix themselves. Even though they don't really hurt, they just get bigger and you don't feel that happening.  With mine, there was no real pain,except after I'd been on my feet most all day. But I had mine for 11 years, and it was no big deal. It diddn't really bother me. Then one morning, I woke up and it felt like I had 3 nuts, and it wouldn't stay back in. It was hard to pee untill I'd press down on the area where the bulge was to relieve myself. My bladder had slid through the hernia tear. Another complication now, and I knew it was time to get rid of that hernia. I'd suggest getting it fixed if you get a chance. It's so routine for them, and recovery's not too bad. good luck.

thanks for the replies,things havent improved,ive had the hernia about 8 months,and most of the time it would drop low into the scrotum area and i was fine no pain whatsoever in fact i hardly noticed it,but when it didnt drop that low i would suffer stomach cramps,this would only happen about 2 days out 10,however in the last week the lump dosent seem to drop that low and im getting stomach cramps and back pain especially when walking,although the pain goes when im laying down and the lump goes back in,im pretty much at the point where i have to go to the doctors,my last hops is going to be some kind of support and hope it holds it in,there are a couple with good reviews on amazon and there seems good things about the flat pad supports,can anyone reccomend a good support bearing in mind i think my henia lump is fairly large,thank you again for any help.

I just read this and I saw it was over a year ago. but some people live with it for years and years. I have had one for about 8 months and I decided to go ahead and get surgery. The surgeon said it is a out patient procedure, and takes about 6 weeks to heal. but I go in for surgery in 4 days I can let you know more about it after surgery. And this ain't my first surgery I've had two other ones that's been more major before this one.