Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with hernia

Am I still ruptured or what?

atchafalaya — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:59:03 -0800

My hernia operation didn't remove my discomfort. In fact, it's worse. What else could be wrong? I had a bilateral inguinal hernia repair. Four months later, I'm back at work. When I strain or lift heavy things, my scrotum starts to swell over my left testicle and I start to feel bad.

Since lifting and straining are everyday things for me at work, I've been hurting for the past few days.

What else could this be? I've been checked several times by a few doctors since my operation, and they say I don't have a hernia anymore. Is there something else down there I could have torn or broken? Getting an erection, by the way, also makes this feeling worse.

I understand you are not my doctor; I'm more looking for things to explore with my doctor when I get back onshore.

I'm ruptured! What now?

atchafalaya — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:24:04 -0800

What should I ask my doctor about my hernia operation? I know you are not my doctor.

I had a laparoscopic hernia operation to repair bilateral inguinal hernias June 11.

I have not been a good patient since then. I lifted my baby girl (20 lb or 10 kg) two weeks after the operation. I got checked, and was told I was okay, but might have strained my spermatic cord. My doctor told me this might have been what made me come in in the first place.

Here's my problem: Two weeks ago, I was feeling pretty good, and did some PT with my guard unit. A lot of abs and so forth. After that, my junk did not feel good. I worry that I might have blown all the progress I made healing up from the operation, or worse.

My question: What can I ask the doctor to do to see if I'm okay or not? Last visit, they said I could get an ultrasound. Will this tell them if I've blown it or not? If I've blown it, then what?

Intentionally severing a nerve during inguinal hernia repair

phoeniciansailor — Sat, 02 May 2009 13:48:16 -0800

The surgeon who is going to do my hernia repair says he wants to intentionally sever a nerve that will leave the inside of my thighs numb. The heck?? The doc says that the mesh used to patch up the inguinal hernia can sometimes pull on this certain nerve, leading to chronic pain until the mesh is removed and the surgery re-done. To avoid this (rare) scenario, he says he severs the nerve in question. He says it would leave my inner thighs feeling numb but that I'd get used to it in a few days.

If you've had an inguinal hernia repair, is this something your surgeon discussed with you? How did it work out?

Give me the lowdown on hernias

Autarky — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:18:32 -0800

So I have an inguinal hernia. What do I need to know? Male. College-age. Obviously I've been searching on the internet, but it mostly seems to be self-diagnosis (done) and post-op stuff (not what I need now). Obviously I have to see a doctor about this soon, but I'm coming up on the end of the school year and to do it now would be difficult.

I think it's a pretty small hernia (not that I have a ton of experience), it's easily reducible, and it has to be reduced every so often throughout the day.

Questions (YANMD, I know):

-I know this has to have surgery eventually, but how urgent is it? Am I probably ok waiting until early May? (again, I know YANMD)

-What should I absolutely not be doing? What are some precautions I should take?

-Any other useful info?

How do I exercise after a hernia without injury?

wastelands — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:54:35 -0800

I am fairly certain I have an inguinal hernia. How do I get back into intense exercise while avoiding injury? Back in 2006, a sudden start to a new exercise regimen -- from barely exercising computer geek to joining a gym and doing multiple intense sessions a week -- set off an inguinal hernia. Several doctors misdiagnosed it as epididymitis at the time (pain just above my left testicle area). I haven't since had the intense pain that I had in 2006, but it does flare up now and again from certain exercises: pushups, long walks (esp. on hot days), etc.

I'd really like to get back into martial arts (BJJ/MMA), because I remember having a lot of fun doing it when I was a teenager. But I'm scared of suffering the major pain of 2006 again. Some questions:

1. Is surgery necessary in my case? If so, what should I watch out for? Any special questions to ask of the doc? How much recovery time?

2. Are there any exercises I should go easy on, and conversely, are there any I should do more of? Does abdominal strengthening help or hurt?

3. Are there ways to prevent recurrence of the hernia? Obviously I fucked up when I started intense exercise too quickly last time. I think the weightlifting in particular set it off. So this time I'll get back into things more gradually. But is there any other advice?

My current exercise consists of lifting 20 lb dumbbells every morning, forearm strengthener squeezer thing, and 1-5 miles of walking per day.

Thanks!

Argh, my nucleus pulposus

boo_radley — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:42:10 -0800

How does a ruptured disk benefit from an epidural? I suffered a ruptured disc at the L5-S1 last week, and I've been talking to my doctors and a neurosurgeon about treatment options. I understand how surgery works, but how do non-surgical options repair the damage?

I know that steroids help by reducing swelling, but it seems like a short term treatment of the symptom, rather than addressing the real problem. If the disc is ruptured, though, how will steroids provide long-term benefit? It seems like the pulposus would essentially just be drawn back into the disc, but not addressing the rupture.

Will you hold back my hair?

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:52:53 -0800

Make me throw up. There's gross stuff inside (of me and the explanation). I get food poisoning two or three times a year, today being one of those times. I seem to be particularly susceptible to it. Anyway, I have a feeling if I could just learn to vomit more easily, I'd be suffering a lot less. It's always such a production. It takes forever and I never get it all out. When I start to get nauseated, I become very disoriented and panicky, and of course this doesn't help. From the moment I know I need to vomit to the moment when I finally do can be ten minutes of misery.

I'm not sure if this makes a difference, but I have a hiatal hernia.

Any recommendations appreciated, though I'd rather not be sticking things down my throat.

I lost my ball... no wait, there it is

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:18:44 -0800

Sometimes my left testicle "falls in" to my abdomen. Is this bad/dangerous? Rarely (maybe twice a month?), my left testicle will fall out of my scrotum and sort of travel back up my body, creating an obvious bulge on its merry way (presumably along the inguinal canal). The highest it's gotten is approximately aligned with the top of my pubic hair. It's a bit uncomfortable, but I can just push the bulge back in to place and all is well again for a while. Putting very mild pressure to the left of the penis keeps it from falling back in, which is what I usually do when it does happen.

Common factors when this happens are being somewhat cold, being on my back, and having some sort of sexual activity going on down there. I'm not sure that it's ever happened without an erection. It's definitely never happened to the right testicle. This has probably been going on for two years; I haven't experienced any other problems, discomfort, or pain as a result or independently in that region.

Is this normal? Is this a hernia (I haven't had a physical in about 9 years) or a hernia waiting to happen? Is some terrible fate awaiting lefty if I don't get this looked at right away?

I left my abdominal contents in San Francisco

hototogisu — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:42:36 -0800

So, I think I've given myself some kind of abdominal hernia. I'm in San Francisco, and I have no health insurance. So, I have a few questions. Where do I go to get this diagnosed? I'm not in excruciating pain, my side just hurts a little when I squirm around, so I'm fine waiting at a clinic for hours as opposed to the ER at SFGH or something. I don't think it's urgent.

As I didn't realize Healthy San Francisco was a program you actually applied for, I'm not yet a member, though I think I qualify. Would Medi-Cal possibly have some role in this? If this is a hernia, and/or it requires some sort of operation, how do I obtain help without getting saddled by an enormous bill? I can handle paying a little bit for a clinic visit, but a hospital stay is probably far beyond my means.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated--I'm sort of new to California and don't have any sense of the medical system out here.

Hernia in C5-6

bernsno — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 08:58:14 -0800

My doc thinks I have a herniated disc at c5-6, and wants to operate does anyone have experience with this injury and if so, could you tell me a bit about it. I am 23 and sometime during the past 6-8 mo. I started having pain down the side of my right arm. In addition I have what feels like an awful knot behind my right shoulder blade and a general feeling of tightness or pulling down my right arm. For several months it has not gotten especially worse, though it has not improved in the slightest either. The pain has more recently spread down to my forearm and towards the end of last week (following several days of skiing) my thumb started going numb once in a while. So on Friday I went to see a spine specialist and he told me I essentially have a textbook herniated disc at c5-6 which is pinching the nerve and causing the symptoms described above. I am scheduled for an MRI tomorrow and plan on scheduling an appointment with another doctor for a second opinion, but I would like to know if anyone else has had this particular injury and what your experience has been. I have read that therapy and meds are an option, but that seems to be geared toward those (smart) people who take care of their injuries soon after they occur. Given that this herniation seems to have occurred quite a while ago, surgery is the option that my doctor recommended. I don't have a whole lot more info yet (whether they want to go in through the front or the back for example), but I would love to hear from some mefites as to how their experience went. Thanks, any advice is greatly appreciated. I live in Chicago and while I have a doctor I trust and a referral for a second doctor, if anyone is especially enthusiastic about their doc I'd love to hear it.

Is this an adductor pull or something else?

craniac — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:58:06 -0800

I have a recurring muscle strain, but it's not a hernia. I went to a urologist, and he said he could feel some "pressure" and it might be a pre-hernia (?) but it was not a hernia. There is nothing scary protruding, and the soreness (which isn't terrible) is about five inches below my right hip bone, just above the crease of my leg, if that makes any sense.

It seems to be aggravated when I lift heavier items with my right arm or overload my should bag to about 20 lbs.

I have insurance and will see either a urologist or other specialist soon.

In the meantime, however, are there exercises and stretches I can do to keep from re-injuring this area, assuming it is a pulled muscle and not something hernial or bacterial?

Another movement that seems to aggravate it is when I am wearing clipless pedals on my recumbent, riding uphill, and pulling on the pedals and/or the handlebars.

Have you experienced this? Does this sound like a standard adductor pull?

HerniaFilter II

skechada — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:21:07 -0800

I was just diagnosed with an inguinal hernia, which I've apparently had for almost 2 years now. I know next to nothing about hernias, let alone inguinal hernias, and it looks like it'll be 6-12 weeks before I can get into surgery, and at least 3 weeks before I get a proper consult with the surgeon. I exercise frequently with weight training, cardio, and flexibility training in the gym, and am wondering what if any exercises are safe to continue in the interim, or what exercises definitely need to be avoided. Can I still stay in shape without making this thing worse? I'm also curious about others' experiences with inguinal hernias - what treatment you got (standard incision vs. laproscopic), the amount of recovery time you had ("normal functionality" vs. heavy lifting or exertion), etc. I've read the other hernia threads so far, and while there were a couple insightful replies, anything and everything I can learn about this and what I can expect with surgery and recovery would be appeciated! Thanks!

I'm worried about getting a hernia from deadlifting

gttommy — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 12:42:46 -0800

I'm worried about getting a hernia from deadlifting. Are there any exercises to prevent or minimise a hernia? Are there any exercises to prevent or minimise a hernia? From my understanding lifting heavy strains weak, under-utilised muscles thus leading to a rupture, somehow.

So maybe there are some type of ab exercises that will strengthen these specific muscles to allow us to deadlift more?

HerniaFilter

rudster — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 01:36:14 -0800

Please tell about your degree of recovery from an abdominal hernia. Yesterday, I was diagnosed with a small tear in the abdominal lining (peritoneum). The doctors recommended the standard surgical intervention, i.e. placing a form of mesh or webbing in my abdomen.

What I want to know is whether I will be able to continue to engage in demanding physical activities like tiling, bricklaying (so i finish renovating our house) and hobbies like ju-jitsu. Of course, i will take it easy for three weeks after the surgery. But afterwards ...?

In your case, did you make a full recovery, or do you always have to remain wary of any such 'heavy' activities? Is the hernia a distant memory, or do you still have to approach life gingerly?