Inguinal Hernia

[sg37409]

thanks bludger. It sounds like good advice even though its not exactly what I wanted to hear. I have private health care and might initiate a consultation there.

[SteveC]

My GP’s attitude changed completely when I mentioned private cover. Getting a hernia done on the NHS is really hard at the moment. As soon as I said I had insurance through work he told me he’d had the same op, how good it had been and so on. Still took six months during which time things deteriorated but all has been fine since then

[mark]

I was wrong. Ive got 2 
Still in denial a bit despite confirmation from doc. Now begins the glacial process of treatment.  Will look into my private healthcare options. If I'm to be off the bike* id rather it was in jan/feb time.

Doc reckons day surgery, but possibly a general rather than local.  Seems they put some mesh or chicken wire or something in to stop things falling through in future.   
*The 8 week layoff as advised to Skungo is very alarming.

Around 2.5 yrs since diagnosis, and its bothering me a little more recently. I have a bit of a cough which doesnt help, I try to press on it when coughing to stop it bulging out. I'd say from being only slightly noticable, its become a faint ache at times. I cant really see any pattern to it, although I use a walking stick if I'm walking a lot (held on my right) to protect my "bad" l.leg. The tension across my body seems to trigger it a bit.

What bludger said, get it done, the sooner the better. 5 months after my surgery life is far more pleasant, and my symptoms were nowhere near as bad as yours. I gained a bit of weight after the operation, but I've lost that and right now I am physically back to where I was before the symptoms began to present themselves. The day surgery/general anesthetic option worked well for me, better than sitting in a hospital for a few days. If your health insurance requires you to pay part of the cost out of your pocket, do it. It will be money well spent.

[sg37409]

I was wrong. Ive got 2 
Still in denial a bit despite confirmation from doc. Now begins the glacial process of treatment.  Will look into my private healthcare options. If I'm to be off the bike* id rather it was in jan/feb time.

Doc reckons day surgery, but possibly a general rather than local.  Seems they put some mesh or chicken wire or something in to stop things falling through in future.   
*The 8 week layoff as advised to Skungo is very alarming.

Around 2.5 yrs since diagnosis, and its bothering me a little more recently. I have a bit of a cough which doesnt help, I try to press on it when coughing to stop it bulging out. I'd say from being only slightly noticable, its become a faint ache at times. I cant really see any pattern to it, although I use a walking stick if I'm walking a lot (held on my right) to protect my "bad" l.leg. The tension across my body seems to trigger it a bit.

What bludger said, get it done, the sooner the better. 5 months after my surgery life is far more pleasant, and my symptoms were nowhere near as bad as yours. I gained a bit of weight after the operation, but I've lost that and right now I am physically back to where I was before the symptoms began to present themselves. The day surgery/general anesthetic option worked well for me, better than sitting in a hospital for a few days. If your health insurance requires you to pay part of the cost out of your pocket, do it. It will be money well spent.

Appointment to see the guy next month.

[sg37409]

Got mine done yesterday.   Seemed to go ok. Recovery starts today

[bludger]

Great news. It is a pain in the arse for a few weeks but having it gone is a life changing improvement. Best wishes for your recovery

[hellymedic]

Great news. It is a pain in the arse for a few weeks but having it gone is a life changing improvement. Best wishes for your recovery

Anatomy was never my strong point... Seems I'm not alone!

Wishing you a smooth recovery!

[sg37409]

  .  Thanks bludger and helly

[hbunnet]

I've had both sides done, last one at the end of this summer. In each case I was back to normal in 6 weeks simply by gradually increasing gentle exercise.
Good luck with recovery.

[sg37409]

I had mine (bi-lateral) done via keyhole, and my recovery is going well.  Back at work and out of my stretch "lounge-wear trousers" (thank god) after 1 week. 10 km on the bike after 12 days along the flat.  All seems to be well.  Wont be pushing the cycling but am keen to ensure I can do it to same level as previously.

[bludger]

That's great news, you'll be back to form before you know it.

[DuncanM]

I went to the GP yesterday suspecting I had one of these. He couldn't find an inguinal one but thinks I have a femoral one and has referred me. I'm now waiting for a letter. I hope it arrives soon - I had a bowel obstruction 10 years ago and I don't want to go through that again.
The doctor said I could do my normal stuff including riding my bike, but I don't fancy doing CX and jumping back onto the bike landing on that leg, so I think my CX season is over. I'll keep riding the turbo though.

[DuncanM]

Ultrasound scan says no hernia. Back to the GP whenever I can get an appointment - wonder what the next step is.

[tatanab]

Ultrasound scan says no hernia.

That happened to me a couple of years ago.  Swelling, constant low level pain and a slight feeling of nausea like a aftermath of taking a knock in the nuts.  Ultrasound showed a collection of what they thought was fluid.  I was told "it is not going to kill you, so the choice is yours" (this was going private).  I went for surgery where they found a benign deposit of fat.  After removal, recovery was quick and all my symptoms went away.

[DuncanM]

Ultrasound scan says no hernia.

That happened to me a couple of years ago.  Swelling, constant low level pain and a slight feeling of nausea like a aftermath of taking a knock in the nuts.  Ultrasound showed a collection of what they thought was fluid.  I was told "it is not going to kill you, so the choice is yours" (this was going private).  I went for surgery where they found a benign deposit of fat.  After removal, recovery was quick and all my symptoms went away.

They didn't find anything strange at all. Saw another doc today - he's somewhat confused and is taking the "don't know what's wrong - lets get some more data points" approach and signed me up for a bunch of blood tests. I find it unlikely that will provide any more information though.

I figured I might as well go see a physio too. He took the "there's no hernia" for granted given the ultrasound and gave me a set of exercises. He thinks I've been compensating for weak abs and an old foot injury by over using my hip flexors and groin muscles and has given me some stretches and exercises (and told me to put arch support in my bike shoes). He also suggested I raise my bars as being crunched over will make the hip flexors more crucial. I guess we'll see how that goes as well. Maybe I should finish my recumbent (or redesign it so that I can get a 26" wheel on the back so it can go on the turbo). Presumably that would unload the hip flexors...

[DuncanM]

Blood tests show nothing interesting.

I've persuaded the doctor to refer me to the Sports Medicine team at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. I'll probably give them a call on Monday and see how long it would be before I can see someone through this referral. I can't imagine it would be quick, so might have to see if I can speed it up by going through the parallel private clinic.