Inguinal hernia - starting my research
Posted , 5 users are following.
Hi, I'm hoping to get some comments and advice.
I'm pretty sure I've got an inguinal hernia on the right side. I've seen my GP twice and have been referred for an ultrasound (in December) and a consultation (in January).
In July I decided I needed to lose weight. My diet was awful but I had always been active (tennis player). I weighed about 225lbs and in a few months I've got that down to around 190-195lbs. In September when I was playing tennis I felt a sharp pain just above my junk and slightly to the right. Had no idea what it was. Kept playing for about 20 minutes in increasing pain before stopping. Went home to lie down and after about an hour it felt ok.
I had no symptoms for about 3 weeks before having the pain again. I went to the GP who said it might be a hernia. Started getting the pain more regularly and after reading up realised I could hold it and push it in which made it better.
I've been getting the pain more often, a couple of weeks ago it was every day but slightly less often since. I had started lifting weights as part of the desire to improve my health but have stopped that. Continued playing tennis but now wear a base layer which I think helps but regularly get the pain whilst or shortly after playing.
So that's the situation. Currently reading around on the different treatment options. Any advice? Worried about the lack of choice I may have on the NHS regarding type of surgery and how long I might have to wait. Thinking about going private - does anyone have any experiences to share? The one I'm looking at is the National Hernia Centre in London (I'm from the north so would have to travel).
Any thoughts or comments would be very much appreciated. I'm starting to freak out having read a few bad stories (I am aware that someone with a bad experience is more likely to post about it than someone who was fine).
Thanks so much.
0 likes, 12 replies
dai12345 gray821
Posted
Hi. I had my inguinal hernia repaired this Summer in a private hospital. The surgeon did an open repair. To some extent I regret not having used someone with a lot of experience in hernia repairs. My hernia was a simple one and I had no pain before. My general surgeon did a mesh repair and used metal sutures to close the wound. I asked him afterwards and he said they were quicker than stitches (so what else was rushed). He signed me off after a week when the clips were removed. The result is that he never learns the after effects. I had some pain for a good few months and even now 6 months later I still have twinges. So, make sure you find a surgeon with experience in hernias, ask him whether it will be open or key-hole. I gather it's 50/50 with regard to healing but I have quite a bit of dead nerve areas (and some with sensitive nerves) so keyhole would lessen that. Ask how he will fix the mesh and the type. Ask to look at a piece of it. Ask whether he does a follow-up 6 months or so later so he is associated with the outcome. I would not do NHS unless you are guaranteed to have a known good surgeon. I get the feeling general surgeons treat hernia repairs as simple and straight forward - they aren't.
tom74456 gray821
Posted
Good day Gray, I am male early 50's with my second lower right Inguinal in 3 years almost to the month. I have a strong/fit build @ 225lbs and 6'1 I also built up cardio for 3 months prior to operation to ensure fitness was best it could be prior to hitting the table. I was told I would be back at my cardio in about a week which could not have been further away from the truth for me, actually 3 months before I was able to handle the equipment once more. To be honest probably due to me not taking any of the prescribed pain meds however they did not sit well with my stomach and any movement downstream so I took my self-off day 2. The stool movements were terrible as "no pushing" so lost a good amount of weight just slumping around waiting to heal. I found the only thing that helped the pain was using gel packs to shrink my swelling, this went on for over two months’ day and night but did the trick for me. I asked my surgeon about this and he explained all men are different and he would take extra care this time as my new tear is 1cm outside of original mesh. My incision was zero pain all the trouble was with my testacies and this was my first ever surgery of my life.
I don’t think there is anything we can do but get the surgery done as soon as possible by the surgeon that specializes in this common surgery which is what i did. Do yourself a favor and get 4 or more gel packs to keep swapping them out as they cool your testacies to shrink them down to a comfortable size. I would wrap the gel pack in a small tea towel and surround my oversized achy equipment back to back for essentially two months.
Good luck my friend, I go back on the table in three days’ time ...
tom74456
Posted
gray821
Posted
Guys, thanks so much for the detailed responses.
Dai, hope you feel better soon and don't need any further treatement.
Tom, best of luck with the surgery hope you get the correct outocome this time. What sort of cardio were you able to keep doing up to the op? I'm struggling with tennis and have stopped going to the gym. Was your first op NHS or private?
I have no idea about how to research private hospitals. The only ones I've considered so far are a local Nuffield and as mentioned National Hernia Centre. Is patient outcome data available or is it just a case of having consultations, asking questions and getting a feel for the surgeon?
colin95803 gray821
Posted
In my opinion you should stick with the NHS as this is a very common operation which usually goes well without complications. Whilst waiting you can manage your hernia with a truss which you can buy online for about £20. Your GP can advise you best and can also integrate any other local services you may need pre and post op. My own experience with a left inguinal open mesh repair (day case) was managed like this and the results have been excellent 18 months down the line. We are very lucky to have the NHS!
gray821 colin95803
Posted
Hi Colin, thanks for the reply. Good to hear a positive outcome. Can I ask, did you have any choice on the type of procedure with it being through the NHS? How long did you have to wait for the surgery? (if you don't mind the part of the country would be useful - I'm in North East).
Thanks
colin95803 gray821
Posted
The surgeon discussed with me the pro's and cons of different procedures and because mine was a small hernia he recommended what I had (as above). The incision was bigger than I expected and recovery was slower than he had forecasted but I didn't need many painkillers and it was all a fairly easy ride. I did have to wait about 10 months for the op, during which time I used the the truss effectively (it really helped). I was happy to take the advice of the surgeon rather than burden myself with research through the internet with all the confusing opinions and horror stories; I trust the experts, that's what they know about. Your GP should be able to recommend the best local NHS surgeon for the job. I'm in the North West. Good luck....don't overthink the problem!
tom74456 gray821
Posted
first operation was good just recovery was difficult for me, the new problem is outside of the original repair unfortunately.
NHS is basically what channel I went through where I live in Canada, mesh was the only solution presented for my first and now second operations. In Canada we can choose to wait for the operation in our local city if its a large city it can take up to a year or more. I choose to drive to neighboring city where they could take me within the week if I wanted. I choose the neighboring city as it was known for this specific type of mesh repair and complete thousands yearly.
Cheers,
gray821
Posted
Thanks again for all the very helpful replies.
I'm having an ultrasound in a few weeks. Will I learn much from this?
Based on the symptoms I've presented, I think this is quite a minor and small hernia. Do you agree?
Any further thoughts or experiences would be really helpful.
gray821
Posted
gray821
Posted
Any thoughts guys? I really appreciated the earlier comments. Today I started feeling a bulge on the left side. It hasn't popped out like the right but not good!!!
Has anyone gone to the National Hernia Centre? I think they would be my choice of private if I chose to go that way.
gray821
Posted