Inguinal hernia

[amancalledrob]

I have one, at the age of 39. I'm in good shape, I go to the gym around four times a week where I lift weights, I'm 6'2"ish and I weigh 84kg. My fat percentage is less than 18. So I'm a bit pissed off about this to say the least.

I'm not eligible for treatment under the NHS because I don't have a manual job. It's causing discomfort and limiting gym activity though and I work for a private medical insurer, so I'm off to see the consultant this afternoon.

Does anyone have any advice/experience to share? Do I want open or keyhole surgery? Should I ask about the new TEP repair method and should I be worried about it recurring? Also is there any exercise I can do to aid recovery/prevent recurrence?

Many questions, sorry

thanks

[SL22]

How have you been diagnosed? By whom? The leading expert in this 'area' that all the elite athletes go to is Prof Lloyd at Leicester http://www.lloydrelease.com

I had a problem in that area due to running (still 100m sprinting at age 35), saw him privately (about £200 for consultation) but then he was able to get me on his (very limited) NHS treatment list and had surgery about 4 weeks later. It saved the circa £3.5k for the private cost. 10days post surgery and i was able to start jogging again.

[rich888]

amancalledrob said:

I have one, at the age of 39. I'm in good shape, I go to the gym around four times a week where I lift weights, I'm 6'2"ish and I weigh 84kg. My fat percentage is less than 18. So I'm a bit pissed off about this to say the least.

I'm not eligible for treatment under the NHS because I don't have a manual job. It's causing discomfort and limiting gym activity though and I work for a private medical insurer, so I'm off to see the consultant this afternoon.

Does anyone have any advice/experience to share? Do I want open or keyhole surgery? Should I ask about the new TEP repair method and should I be worried about it recurring? Also is there any exercise I can do to aid recovery/prevent recurrence?

Many questions, sorry

thanks

I'm quite surprised that you're not eligible for NHS treatment of a inguinal hernia because it can be quite dangerous if left untreated.

I must say that due to plain ignorance I had a hernia for several years before deciding to see my GP who referred me to the hospital for an ultrasound scan. Once that had been done I was seen by a consultant pretty sharpish and underwent surgery within two weeks whereupon the surgeon performed a mesh repair under general anaesthetic late morning (which was less painful than having a filling out) and awoke from surgery at midday feeling like I had had an afternoon kip and was allowed home at 3pm. All done under the NHS.

After the op I felt pretty darn good, too good in fact due to the painkillers used, and was back on the cross-trainer within a few days, though it was sore for a good few weeks afterwards when the painkillers wore off. The surgeon recommended that I keep moving around rather than sitting on my backside to aid recovery just so long as I didn't lift anything. I took six weeks off work and was very careful for several months afterwards. It is now pretty much back to normal. I asked him what would happen if I started lifting things and was reminded that if I damaged the repair mesh I would be back in hospital as an emergency case and be off work for several months, so thought it best to heed his advice.

The one thing about having a hernia is that it doesn't normally hurt very much, more of an ache with a small bulge, so being a typical male I ignored it and carried on with lifting / weight-training / gym / picking the kids up, etc, and whilst I continued doing all of this the bulge in the right of the groin area grew slightly bigger, then disappeared when I laid down on the bed so I ignored it and carried on as normal blissfully unaware of the potential risks. It was the wife who suggested that perhaps I ought to have a chat with the GP and I'm so pleased that I did having learned what could have happened if my intestines had become snagged on the stomach wall and become twisted. Blocked pipes in that department is not good for your health and well-being: https://www.hernia.org/types/strangulated-hernia/

One other point to make is that the consultant advised that there is nothing that can be done once you have a hernia, which is in effect a tear in the stomach lining, it's not going to go away or get any better, and it's not going to fix itself, think of it like trying to repair a tear in a balloon. The only thing to do is have it repaired, current thinking is that the mesh repair is one of the best options, is relatively painless with a very high success rate. My consultant advised against having keyhole surgery due to the higher risk of failure and potential complications, and when you look at the mesh repair it does seem pretty straightforward.

With you being based down south it might be an idea to speak to someone at 'The British Hernia Centre' based in London and check out their info on an inguinal hernia which is very interesting indeed. I didn't have my op there but they do seem to specialise in hernias.

More info can be found at https://www.hernia.org/types/inguinal/

Hope this helps

EDITED TO ADD: Link to tension free mesh repair: https://www.hernia.org/tension-free-mesh/

Edited by rich888 on Friday 30th June 23:02

[MitchT]

I think I have one of these. I have what, for lack of a better description, is like a spongy lump the shape and size of a golf ball under the surface at the top of my groin. I'm pretty sure I did it pulling sheets out of the washing machine about eight years ago. Since then it hasn't really bothered me. I go to the gym five times a week focusing on all the muscle groups across the week's sessions and none of what I do bothers it in the slightest. What does irritate it is being stood around for ages. Queueing at the airport for an hour recently, for example, made it feel sore. When it's aggravated it feels more prominent. The rest of the time its barely noticeable. I guess, as others have suggested, I really ought to get it looked at.

[pharmvrs]

You may want to look into getting an Elastic band truss to keep the little bulge at bay until surgery! Quick Google should give you an idea, available in left, right or double. If you have any bother obtaining one drop me a PM.

[popeyewhite]

rich888 said:

I'm quite surprised that you're not eligible for NHS treatment of a inguinal hernia

I'm very surprised. I know several gym goers who've had the op on the NHS and they did office work. Is this across the board or regional do you know?

[craig1912]

re rich888 post- you can have a mesh done by keyhole - need to find a consultant that does a lot of them.

I've had both a right and left inguinal hernia repairs done in last 5 years - both mesh by keyhole.
In at 8am, home by 3pm and back in the gym within a week or so. Almost zero pain.

Edited by craig1912 on Saturday 1st July 20:35

[Digger]

https://www.imperial.nhs.uk/consultant-directory/s...

I had this chap a couple of years ago, for a bilateral Inguinal hernia repair with mesh. Couldn't praise him highly enough. I started a thread about it at the time. I'll expand my thoughts later or tomorrow.

Also had zero problems being referred to someone half decent, and no problems, albeit Central London of being advised I could get the repair done on the NHS. Being a fitness addict for a few decades probably helped my case!

ETA surgery carried out by him at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington.

Edited by Digger on Saturday 1st July 22:37

[amancalledrob]

Ok so quick update: thanks all for your input. I feel a little guilty about the time some of you have taken in light of the fact that the specialist disagrees with the GP - he doesn't think it's a hernia.

I do have discomfort but there's no lump and the pain is a couple of inches higher than where it would be expected if it were a hernia. I have an ultrasound scan this afternoon so hopefully it'll just turn out to be something harmless

[Digger]

Yeah I had an ultrasound to confirm diagnosis. It was the ultrasound that confirmed that I had Inguinal hernias on both sides, not just one the one, as originally suspected.

Ironically the second one was apparently worse that the original one, and wasn't even visually apparent to me when I coughed, poked and prodded.

[amancalledrob]

Digger said:

Yeah I had an ultrasound to confirm diagnosis. It was the ultrasound that confirmed that I had Inguinal hernias on both sides, not just one the one, as originally suspected.

Ironically the second one was apparently worse that the original one, and wasn't even visually apparent to me when I coughed, poked and prodded.

That sounds like it was done just in time then

Just had my U/S scan. All normal, no hernia. Glad to know I'm fine, maybe I just need a break from the gym. Weird

[LordGrover]

Very surprised not NHS.

See this thread from a few years ago: [url=https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=211&t=1131174&i=20[/url].