Groin Hernia Frustrated and Need Advise

I am 48 years old, 225 lbs. I have been working out consistently for several years.

I recently got a hernia on right side of my groin(seen on ultrasound). My GP was useless and said “stretch it out”. I’m now waiting for a real doctor (specialist).

My question is this, I’ve been working for months. Anyway to keep my fitness up while I wait for my crappy medical system to catch up?

I waited 15 months for inguinal hernia surgery.
I am 8 weeks into recovery and everything is back to normal ish.
I could still train. What I could not do was walk. My body would lock up if I walked over a km. I could however ride 300 km in a day though. The only thing I could not do was stand up while riding. Way to much pressure in the area. I rode and trained up to the day before surgery and started lightly riding with very little resistance about 10 days after.
My ftp before surgery was 272, after was 244 and 8 weeks later I think is around 282.

As for advice on the surgery depending on what country you are in get the traditional repair done. DO NOT LET THEM PUT THE MESH IN YOU! That stuff has ruined peoples lives!

Any questions feel free to ask.

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DO NOT LET THEM PUT THE MESH IN YOU!

I got the mesh :frowning:

I couldn’t ride for like 2 years, I’d just got this pain any time I tensed up my core. The sugeon mentioned it only in passing as he wrapped up the appointment. He spent a lot more time asking if I wanted laparoscopic or traditional (whatever, but don’t waste your $ on the “robotic” surgery). In followup when I told him of the pain he said “that’s odd… I can prescribe some painkillers /shrug”. I lost some weight and it feels better, if not right, but I’m still furious over it.

I’ve learned the hard way to be very skeptical when a surgeon says “I can fix that”…

What country are you in?

There is a Canadian and a BBC documentary on the horrors of the mesh. I hope your in the states gcarver. Then you can sue someone’s but off. We know someone who the mesh and it was absorbed into her organs. She is on pain meds for the rest of her life. Also it is coming out above her waist line and she gets to pick little pieces of blue mesh out of her skin every once in a while.

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You can workout while you have the hernia. You won’t make it worse. Might be uncomfortable at times. After the repair, recovery will be 4-8 weeks depending on how it’s fixed.

I don’t know what your GP is talking about? What stretch it out? Only way to fix it is with surgery. And don’t listen to Fatboyslim. Fixing these without mesh is 1970’s surgery. No mesh means you’ll be fixing it twice. Mesh is safe.

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I had mine repaired with mesh in 2003 in the US. No problems since. What’s all this no-mesh about?

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You can make it worse. If you are not careful it can get larger. Mine did, but not by much.

Obviously I am glad your mesh worked out for you. But you really should get informed. Your statement is complete and utter ignorance! The reason mesh is used is because its easier, it takes much less time therefore hospitals and doctors make more money as they can do more surgeries in a day. As well the traditional way is much harder and takes time to learn. Ive met people who have had some of these complications, have you?

I was lucky that I have an uncle who is a surgeon in the states. Hes been fixing hernias since the 60’s. He used to use the mesh more and barely uses it now. He told me the risks were to high. He still uses it for the odd surgery, but he was the one who told me not to get the mesh. I had to wait an extra 3 months to get a surgeon who would fix it without mesh. Totally worth it.

Watch the documentaries I mentioned. The mesh is far from safe!

Here are some of the documentaries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmn1qZ7Yb_g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMGJvHGJcQY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSS1jzPECBA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0YF3VM58KM&t=156s

“Up to 170,000 people who have had hernia mesh implants in England in the past six years could face complications, this programme has found. In that time, there have been about 570,000 such operations and the complication rate is said to be 12-30%. Some patients have been left unable to walk or work, others left suicidal. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency continues to back the use of hernia mesh.”

Ya thats real safe isnt it!

" How do the Manufacturers Convince Surgeons to Use Hernia Mesh?

The manufacturers of hernia mesh products funded studies to demonstrate that there was a lower rate of hernia recurrence when hernia mesh was utilized. These studies were lacking in many ways, such as the length of time that patients were monitored after mesh implantation and what were considered “normal complications.” Our hernia mesh attorneys frequently talk to victims that were implanted with mesh 10 or 15 years ago and have just recently suffered from the mesh eroding into their bowels. Hernia recurrences and complications that happen 10 years later aren’t captured by the studies."

" Hernia Mesh Injuries and Complications

Hernia mesh is used to repair both ventral hernias and inguinal hernias. Various injuries and complications can occur depending on what part of the body the mesh is placed. A coated hernia mesh is also more likely to cause injuries such as infection than a non-coated hernia mesh. The following is a list of the array of complications our hernia mesh lawyers have observed:

  • Infection , including sepsis. An infected hernia mesh almost always requires removal.
  • Adhesions form to connect the bowel to the hernia mesh. Adhesions frequently form when ventral hernias are repaired with a coated mesh.
  • Bowel Obstruction caused by adhesion formation. Evidenced by a change in bowel habits or the inability to defecate.
  • Abdominal Pain is a sign of possible adhesion formation, a bowel obstruction, infection, or nerve damage.
  • Rashes are commonly observed in association with hernia meshes such as the C-Qur V-Patch and Ventralex ST.
  • Leg, Groin, and Testicular Pain are all common to inguinal hernias repaired with mesh. This pain can be debilitating.
  • Pain with Sex (Dyspareunia) caused from the mesh used to repair an inguinal hernia attaching to the spermatic cord.
  • Testicle Removal may be necessary if the mesh erodes far enough into the spermatic cord.
  • Diarrhea can be an early symptom of the mesh attaching to the bowel.
  • Constipation can be a sign of a bowel obstruction. You should consult a doctor if your constipation persist for several days.
  • Nausea can be an additional sign of adhesions to the bowel and stomach.
  • Seroma is a fluid capsule surrounding the mesh. Seromas can be present with and without infection.
  • Fistula . An abnormal tunnel between two structures. Our attorneys observe many fistulas connecting to the bowel, which are associated with infections.
  • Dental Problems . Our lawyers have observed a large number of clients who have lost their teeth after a hernia mesh infection.
  • Autoimmune Disorders . An alarming number of our clients have developed autoimmune disorders after being implanted with a pelvic or hernia mesh.
  • Neurological Changes . Several of our clients that have been implanted with the same type of mesh have been diagnosed with unexplained neurological changes on a CT scan.
  • Severe Headache . Typically a sign of a larger problem, such as an infection.
  • Fever . Associated with both an autoimmune response to the mesh and infection.
  • Renal Failure has been observed in those implanted with large coated meshes. The coatings are absorbable and put a great deal of strain on the kidneys.
  • Liver Abnormalities have also been documented in those implanted with coated hernia meshes. The liver is also responsible for cleansing the body.
  • Joint Aches and Pain can be caused by increased systemic inflammation due to infection and an autoimmune reaction to the mesh.
  • Abnormal Sweating can be related to an autoimmune response or to an infection.
  • Meshoma is the migration, contracture, or bunching-up of an artificial mesh. Meshomas become hard, tumor-like bodies."
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I didn’t have a hernia.
I’m a surgeon and I fix these for a living.

99.9% of the time, there are no issues.

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No mesh does not mean that you will be fixing it twice. Hernia surgery in 2019 is based on principles of a tension free repair. These days this is most often accomplished with placement of mesh to reinforce the weakened tissues. It is certainly possible to have a tension free repair without mesh. I had both sides done when I was 24. No mesh, no recurrence. If you want a mesh free repair, look for a surgeon who has experience. Doing repairs this way. My bet is that he will be over 55 or 60 years of age

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Yes I know how to do them.
I have nothing to gain from giving a professional opinion on here.
Tissue repair for inguinal hernia is only right for a very select few which none of us on this forum qualify for.
Anyways, not getting into an internet fight with people learning off internet.
Op can do his own research and talk to whoever he wants.

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No disrespect for your uncle. He prob was/is a good surgeon. But if he has been doing it since 1960’s, that would make him 75-80 years old. A lot has changed since when he was at his peak.

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I’m sorry. I just don’t have time for it. Suffice it to say that 99% of hernia surgeries involve mesh and in 10 years I don’t know a single surgeon sued for this.

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Mesh debate notwithstanding, in the states I’d look for an experienced surgeon who can do a laparoscopic repair (mesh is a given for this repair). You can generally expect faster return to activity with laparoscopic vs open.

FWIW: I’d like to offer my “marathon vs sprint” perspective on these type of injuries:

It was early July (about 20 years ago) and I was training for my first marathon on Oct 4th (Portland OR). I was highly motivated and had spent several months training according to a very structured program. I had built my Sunday long run up to 17miles at the time (target was 22 prior to the marathon) when I was hit with a right side inguinal hernia. I had the surgery (very successful) and did the math that I would have about 4 weeks of modest training prior to marathon. I made the decision to cancel plans to do so and recover at a conservative pace. [btw: Subsequent to that I picked up cycling].

In more recent years, I have broken both hips. In both of these cases, despite target near term cycling goals, I did the gradual recovery approach canceling/readjusting all near term goals.

Today, I am 61 and I have no remnants of any early injuries dating back to a major shoulder injury during college through the more recent injuries mentioned. I have crushed every cycling PR I set over the prior almost 20 years, am “4-5 bars to the right” of my age group in TR charts, and even placed 5th in a recent USAC RR in the 45+ category.

So why am I telling you this? Because I am suggesting that you ask yourself the question: Are you a sprinter in life (i.e. do you have a world tour pro contract on the line like Phil Gaimon describes in his book or is your ego tied to keeping your fitness at the highest level possible for some short term event). OR, are you a marathoner in life taking the long view of health and fitness. I have no doubt that you can plenty of TR/internet views telling you to push your limits (stretch; no pain/no gain, etc.) But ultimately, after all the advice you’ll need to decide whether the risk of pushing yourself too hard too soon is worth it. My sprint/marathon analogy is just one person’s perspective who has been there.

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I had the shouldice traditional repair done where I was cut open. Surgery on March 21 2019. I was on the bike March 31st doing very easy rides. From March 31 to April 30 I missed 4 days riding and I completed 32 rides.
It worked out to 42 hours and 961 km with a 10 day rest from surgery and a calendar month of riding. I don’t feel the method I chose hurt my riding.

It was not easy with the amount of swelling and I also stopped taking pain meds 2 days after surgery. As my wife says and my previous comments in this thread show… I’m a stubborn ass and I live to ride.

Whatever method on repair you take all I can say is do your research, be careful and best of luck to you!

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