[shattuck]

I am a very active person and have had a right inguinal hernia repaired 1 month ago using mesh and normal incision (not laparscopic). I was stepping up my activity level about 10 days post surgery, per approval of my doctor. I was running 3 miles, then 4 miles etc. up to 7 miles. I also started biking. Each time I was active, there was no pain during the activity. However there was general pain in the area of my groin for the rest of the day.
Since about 2 weeks ago, I have had the inability to straighten out my right leg, while in bed without a searing pain in the area of the incision down into my leg. Similar in pain to a cramp in the arch of the foot. If I am standing and lean my upper body backwards, thus stretching the area of my groin, I get the same pain. If I lightly push on the area just below the incision while my leg is out straight, the pain intensifies.
I had a visit to the doc to see what this was about where he told me to lay down on the exam table, which I did. The pain from that was about a 7 or 8 over 10, especially as he was poking around.
Doc said that between the mesh, scarring and swelling, there was probably pressure on the nerves running down into my leg when I was in the positions mentioned above. In an effort to cut down on swelling, I have been told to take an NSAID every day for the next 30 days and curtail all activity except walking. I have done that for about 4 days now and so far nothing has changed. Doc says that if nothing changes in a month, he will probably send me to a specialist for me to perhaps get some nerve block shots. If that is just going to cover up the problem, that's not what I want to do. Has anyone else experienced anything like this. I remain optimistic but concerned.

Steve Shattuck

[tommyd]

I just had bilateral inguinal hernia done 6 weeks ago. I have one side that is doing well and another that has been prodcuing pain a lot. I started to see an acupucturist and I really started to feel some results. I was significantly numb on the painful side, but now I have started to get feeling back. The acupucture treatment may take several visits, but it sure does get the areas blood flowing again and really gets me feeling better all over. While there treating the hernia they can also treat some other problem areas bothering you.

At one point in the 5th treatment, my lower half of the leg was completely numb during the session and after the needles were removed the numbness went away and I had more feeling in the groin area than ever before. The Dr. mentioned that the nerve is coming back and it is a slow process.

These treatments can add up, but going under the knife to fix something a second time does not excite me. I also found some Chinese herbal formulas listed to help hernia but I am going to discuss with my acupucturist first.

Be careful with took much exercising, after 6 weeks I tired t drive my truck with a stiff clutch for a weekend boating trip and had to cancel since the pushing the clutch was causing too much pain the following day.

I also recommend Qi Dong to get the flow going- Check out Pacific Healing Arts home page.

[BamaMan35805]

I had a right inguinal hernia repair performed in 2005. I too experienced great pain almost identical to that pain suffered by Mr. Shattuck. I too went to my doctor who told me that there was nothing he could do for me, he could not reverse the procedure due to the mesh that he used that has become one with me during the healing process. In addition to the searing pain, I also experience problems urinating. I am unable to urinate standing up anymore, because I cannot generate the force necessary to totally evacuate the bladder due to the extreme pain. I was sent to a pain management specialist and since then I have made morphine a part of my daily life. I have to take morphine three times a day, and get nerve block shots every three months. I have been told that this is the way it is and I'll be doing this for the rest of my life. This is unfortunate as I had my repair done when I was 48. I am almost 51 now and have been in constant, un-ending, excruciating pain since the repair. I wish I had good news, but from my point of view, getting the hernia repaired was one of the worst decisions of my life. I am interested in the acupuncture therapy, maybe that will start a natural healing process, instead of just masking the issue with large doses of morphine. I do not want to say my case is the typical situation, but it is nice to see that I am not the only one suffering from this problem. Like I said before, I wish I had good news, but it seems, that if this happens to you, it will be with you for a long time, possibly forever. Something to think about if you are considering an inguinal hernia repair.