How Serious Are Inguinal Hernias??? Had One For 2 Months Now....

Question

Hello everyone. I am 21 years old, male, 5'6" and about 127 pounds. I haven't had a physical or been to the doctor in about 7 years or so. But I'm pretty sure I have an inguinal hernia. I do a lot of heavy lifting at work for my size.

I have a small lump, that sticks out maybe 1/2" max, on the right side of my pubic line, right above my genitalia. When it is at maximum portrusion, it causes my penis to look bent to the left. The lump itself doesn't hurt. But I can plainly see it and feel it with my hands. I sometimes feel discomfort, but most of the time it seems like it's only because I am thinking about it. I never feel any real pain. The lump is gone when I wake up every day, and on my days off it usually doesn't portrude at all and I can't even tell it's there. But later on in the day as I walk around more and lift things it will start to portrude. 

....Continued on next post....

jason528 · Answer

i have hernia and diganosed bymy doctor . iot hurts theres a lump i was vomiteing nusaea. i have been to the hospital 4 times in the last month and they will not do the surgr\ey for me bc its not bad enough..
they say come back wen ur vomiteing so i do the give me meeds(drugs noros and promethizen)wich i do not function on.  it effects my work mmy sex life everything but still not bad enough fir surgrey y is this i have to be alm,ost dead just to do something abt it i dontwant all the meeds bc wen i take them i do not feel ne pain but the next day is always worse.        the last time i went to the er they did ct scans and say it there getting bigger but not stuck so we cant do nethihng.they say wait untill your hernia turns color or you testies hardden and swell wich i dont want to wait for bc im already in so much pain and dont want to have to wait untill its to late what do i do

Craven_Morehead · Answer

I'm battling the same issues, man, with an umbilical hernia. It quit hurting pretty much, but now I'm just shopping for surgeons. Get it fixed.  Its like a lot of things in that it won't get better, it will only get worse.  The sooner you get it fixed the better off you'll be.

sxtdriver · Answer

Yep, April 9. I also bought a thermometer so I can take my temperature whenever I start feeling discomfort in my stomach so I can be sure it's not strangulation.

Jaybay · Answer

You don't sound at all like a hypochondriac.  Just someone who is scared and worried.  Have you made that appointment yet?  :-)

sxtdriver · Answer

Hahaha I just read through all my posts again and realized what a blabbermouth hypochondriac I sound like....hehe sorry....

sxtdriver · Answer

Thanks guys. This really does help with motivation getting some support even though you are all strangers hehehe. :D Thanks all.

ggreg · Answer

Listen to what Jaybay said here.  The least of your worries is surgery.  Believe me, the docs will sedate you plenty and you won't feel a thing.  In the last ten years, the medical profession has gone MILES in pain control.  And certainly a family doc is not going to hurt you in any way.  If they determine you need treatment, then they refer you to a specialist.  So, you retain your right to resist until then.  When you see the specialist, normally he wears a white coat.  The reason is, he is putting on the role of caregiver, and he needs your cooperation.  He takes authority over you.  They are very good at it.  Think of the years of training specialists go through.  Think of the hundreds of procedures they do yearly.  Think of how great the anesthetic is gonna feel.  You think pot is good.  Let me tell you, from my own experience of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, that the day they did a procedure on me was the best I felt for the past YEAR.  So, end this stream of obssesive worry and take the plunge.  Simply go to the doctor and see what they say.  Then go from there.

sxtdriver · Answer

Has anyone had this surgery? I would like to know how they control the pain. Do they put you to sleep or just use local or general anasthesia? I've only had surgery once in my life, and it was just on my big toe for an ingrown toenail. Am I going to be awake while they are cutting me open and stuff? I don't know if I could handle that.

sxtdriver · Answer

I have heard that sometimes the surgery is actually worse than just leaving it alone. I know a guy who has to walk around with his cuz he's too big to have it operated on. But I am pretty small which I think is why I can see it so well. But I'll prolly make an appointment here soon to see how serious it is. I know the surgery is easy and usually an outpatient thing but it still makes me nervous.

Jaybay · Answer

You're going to have to suck it up and see a doctor.  Possible strangulation is NOT something you ever want to experience.  I suspect the day you were in so much pain, a loop of bowel got stuck in the herniated area, and when you coughed so hard, it popped back in place.  Very lucky.  Do you really want to take the chance of that happening again and having to have a major resection surgery?   Hernia repair is pretty easy if done before strangulation occurs, so just see a doctor!

Joalbert · Answer

I work in a enviroment that we need to lift heavy too, and I've seen it happen that some men are lifting too heavy and they get an hernia. This guy had one and he wason light duty for a long time, didn't have a surgery because it wasn't visibly there, but if yours is, you better call the doctors office. He'll let you know if you need a surgery. No matter how you don't want one you will have to. It will affect your intestines if you don't do anything about it. So If I were you I would go see the doctor, pain or no pain.
Get well soon

sxtdriver · Answer

I remember when I first got my hernia. I was at work and it was about an hour and a half before it was time to go and I was cleaning up and all the sudden I felt this horrible pain in my lower abdomen. It felt like I was getting stabbed repeatedly for the entire 2 hours until I got home. I just sucked it up and stayed at work and finished out the day, but I literally had to take one step at a time, I couldn't bend forward or backward, I couldn't take a full breath, it scared the **** out of me. But something in the back of my head told me it wasn't an emergency, so I didn't go to the doctor. I went home after work, and packed up a bowl of pot and started smoking. The first hit I took was a doozy, and it made me cough like no other, but what's wierd is as soon as I got done with my last cough, the horrible immense pain in my lower abdomen completely vanished without a trace. It just went completely away. Then a few days, maybe weeks, later I was bowling and started feeling a wierd discomfort in my groin and I went to the bathroom to check it out and noticed the lump for the first time.

Sorry I'm posting so much but I am bored and when I read other posts I like when people give personal experiences and give as much detail as possible because it could come in handy one day for someone else.

sxtdriver · Answer

My bad, it's about an inch above my waist line, on the lower right side of my abdomen, and it faces diagonally/vertically, from the right down to the left, and it's about 1 inch from what I can visibly see. I hardly ever notice it, and it goes away eventually.

sxtdriver · Answer

Also, I hate to ask so many questions. But I am not an expert on human anatomy, and I am very skinny and small and I can sometimes see my stomach digesting or my bowels moving my poo around. I am wondering if there is like a vein, or artery on the lower right side of a person's abdomen. Right about at the belt line I can see and feel something the size and shape of a small earthworm. Does any part of the appendix look like this when it is inflamed or not inflamed? Could that be what I am feeling and seeing? It is only sometimes. I guess it could be poo in part of my bowels, but I don't know if that is at that particular location. Anyone know what it could be?

sxtdriver · Answer

...OR is there a chance that I actually don't have an inguinal hernia and it could be something else that I haven't researched yet?

When I first got it I instantly thought it was appenidicitis, but it's been like 3 months now, and it hasn't gotten worse...so that's one of the main reasons I ruled that out.

sxtdriver · Answer

....continued from last post....

I am not fond of going to doctors at all. I don't like the thought of going to the doctors, and I really hate the thought of surgery. So I have had this inguinal hernia (which is what I personally think it is, not any doctors) for about 2 or 3 months now, because I can't bring myself to pick up the phone and make an appointment. My mom warned me it might cause some appendix problems, but websites like Wikipedia, and WebMD, don't really make it seem like inguinal hernias are much to worry about, and they don't even mention appendix problems. But I am absolutely paranoid about appendicitis. My dad had it, my best friend had it, my mom, my uncle, and grandma's brother actually died from it...I just don't wanna worry about that because the thought of surgery just makes me crazy. 

I am wondering how long I could/should let my hernia go without getting the surgery to fix it. I am aware that my intestines can get entangled in the portrusion hole and cut off blood flow and cause strangulation and serious health issues, but I am also aware of the obvious symptoms of such a misfortune and will definately go to the ER when I experience nausea, pain, and vomiting.  I have cut back on my lifting at work to try and keep it from getting worse and so far in the 3 months I've noticed I've had it, it hasn't gotten any bigger at all. I also smoke a lot of marijuana and tend to cough a lot, which probably doesn't help the hernia, but I've tried not to cough so much anymore :). I figure once I start feeling symptoms of strangulation or appendicitis, or once the hernia stops being able to go back in when I lie down or push on it, THEN I will go to the doctors.

Does anyone know how seriously my inguinal hernia should be taken?

Thanks in advance.

How Serious Are Inguinal Hernias??? Had One For 2 Months Now....

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