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407716 tn?1201996498

hurting and scared

i had a herni opperation 10monthes ago and im still in alo of pain, i think i might have an irretated nerve, but not sure, can someone help me?
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Avatar universal
i am suffering right now with burning stabbing pain in my left inguinal area. i have had 4 surgeries, one mesh repair, one neurectomy of ilioinguinal which i am sure was done wrong, one scar tissue removal while awake under local anesthesia, and in april of 09 i had the mesh removed, now i am coming off 3 years of opiate use, highest dose was 60 mg of oxycodone a day and now 40mg of lortab, i plan to stop opiates and try other medicines like lyrica or the like, i am in pain all the time, any suggestions????
Helpful - 0
367247 tn?1310675653
HEY JAYBAY!!--I was right on board with your opinion 4 years ago after my first herniorraphy (operation)...I thought..."there is no possible way that I have this amount of pain 10 months after the surgery!!" NO WAY right? Problem was a lot bigger than I could have EVER IMAGINED!!!
10% of inguinal herniorraphies in the US (mostly amongst men) end up in a chronic pain situation for 1 years time. Now...the next year will be the determining factor of where your pain is headed and medical testing is the ONLY way to determine WHY your pain is heading that direction.

Alright Robert...buddy...I feel what you are dealing with on a level you cannot even imagine!! Just so you know where I am coming from...so you don't think I am some crazy guy who is spouting out random medical advice!!

I suffered TWO inguinal hernias (left and right) in late 2004, operated on in Jan 05 (R) and April 05 (L). I as well suffered MASSIVE amounts of increasing pain in my groin for the next year and two months. The pain was shooting, stabbing, radiating, dull, and burning; extending throughout my groin/genitals and thigh/hip. I went through a couple of medicine trials (Vicodin and Neurontin), some real basic physical therapy, and inguinal nerve block injections. Nothing relieved my pain more than 30%.

My doctor offered to operated and remove my right side inguinal nerves which were thought to be ENTRAPED. She said it was my LAST option for pain relief. I went through with that NEURECTOMY surgery in Feb 06...biggest mistake of my life.

FAST FORWARD to now...since my original injury back in late 04, I have undergone 8 MAJOR OPERATIONS as a result of two hernia surgeries that left me with chronic pain.

My doctors have said the odds of my situation are around 1 in 500,000 to 1,000,000...no joke.

The neurectomy was performed improperly, out of sequence in pain management, and done by the WRONG surgeon. A general surgeon should never operate on nerves; a neurologist/neurosurgeon, pain management surgeon, or plastic surgeon are the ONLY people qualified to proceed with that operation.

I now have a peripheral nerve stimulator implanted in my stomach with electrode wires delivering pulse to my groin. This works to moderate my constant pain, however, NOTHING can be done about the CRIPPLING pain FLARES. I will have them for the rest of my life.

What happens after a hernia operation can be complicated. You need to ask your doctor a number of questions and you NEED to do some research, ok? PLEASE CONTACT ME and I will provide links to the proper sources for information and we can talk in DETAIL about what could be going on. PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE!! I am a real nice guy with a real crappy life situation...the least I can do is share my story, share my advice, and hopefully keep others from hitting those pitfalls in treatment that can only make the situation WORSE!!!

Have your TREATING surgeon check you out again and ask them to do a couple tests...

1)See if you can get an EMG, Ct-Scan, and an MRI. Yea, I know that is a lot, but, this is your groin we are talking about. TRUST me, if you don't get these tests now, your situation might just get much worse without proper diagnosis. Doctors can be real hesitant about running all those tests, however, you need them. Make sure you EXAGGERATE your symptoms. It is not meant to be sneaky, rather, it is a way of pressuring your doctors into running proper tests.

           -An MRI will help figure out if you have possible nerve damage, entrapment, or something of the like. IF you had a mesh hernia repair, the likelihood that excessive scar tissue formed around it is very high. Beyond that, the likelihood that scar tissue entraped your inguinal nerves can be high.

2)Ask your doctor to run DIAGNOSTIC INGUINAL NERVE BLOCKS. They are direct injections with real big needles into your groin...so  I recommend that you become comfortable with needles, alright? I hope you are already!! The blocks inject either steroids, long-acting anesthetics, or alcohol into certain nerves to provide (hopefully) extended pain suppression.

           -There are 3 inguinal nerves on both left and right sides of the groin that are extensions from the lower spine/central nervous system. The ilio-inguinal, ilio-hypogastric, and genital femoral nerves are all very small (little bigger than a piece of your hair), however, if these nerves are entraped; they become the cause of nightmare-ish pain symptoms.
          -A diagnostic nerve block can determine if and what specific nerve is endangered. This should be done WAY in advance of ANY surgical pain treatment option. I was not provided this treatment...just one of many mistakes made in my case that landed me with the crippling pain I deal with to this day.

3) The doc needs to test for various peripheral nerve damage signs...allodynia, temperature change, and stretching. Now, you probably have no clue what I mean...please contact me so I can explain in detail all the problematic situations.

       -Allodynia can be tested by having your doctor lay you down and tap or do percussion over the painful areas. Nerve damage will normally show its ugly face by shooting and stabbing pain reactions
       -Temperature changes will affect nerve damage and cause different types of pain reactions...definetely something the doc needs to examine.
       -REAL IMPORTANT...you can test this at home as well, however, make sure your doc does this exam. Lay down; using both hands over the affected area of pain in your groin, stretch your skin in opposite directions. In a NORMAL person, unneffected by chronic pain/nerve damage, there would be absolutely NO pain or any uncomfortable reaction. In a person with NERVE DAMAGE/chronic pain, there will be some very unusual reactions!! If you feel pain, that is probably expected, however, if your skin feels like its burning, that is very symptomatic of some type of nerve problem.

Was your surgery open or orthoscopic?

4) Ask the doc what type of mesh they used and where it was placed in relationship to your inguinal canal and/or those 3 aforementioned nerves. You are looking for an answer that is very honest; they NEED to tell you what happened in that surgery and if any nerve was COMPROMISED. If they came anywhere near a nerve, there is a huge chance for damage, ok? ASK FOR A COPY of THE SURGICAL REPORT!!! Majorly important to have, alright?

Well Robert, I can keep going on and on...although I would love to keep writing; my girlfriend is hungry, I need to ice myself, Superbowl is on (I am a life-long Steelers fan...but grew up in NY...go GIANTS!!), need to do laundry and the machine just broke, and I have loads of homework due tomorrow!!

Like I said before, PLEASE contact me...if you just want to email back and forth, that is cool, however, I would be more than glad to talk over the phone...it will make the whole thing much more comfortable to deal with, ok?

It hurts me to see other people going through the start of something that I dealt with...I really hope you are near the end. I hope you are one of the 10%ers that has pain for a year and then its gone...you don't deserve that ****.

The most important (but hardest) thing to remember is to stay positive, keep good friends around, try to find things that really keep your mind off of the pain (other than alcohol/drugs or the likeness), and look for ANY AND ALL types of assistance from your local state/gov offices!!

Keep your mind off the pain...I know it is hard as hell when the pain gets to you, but thinking about it just makes it worse!!

You know, I am only 26...injured at 23...I had my whole life ahead; planned out perfectly. Things change on a dime when you least expect it!!

There are many options open to you considering that you are in the beginning of the problem...PLEASE let me help you the best I can, alright?

Best of wishes...hope to hear from you soon.

-Dave
Helpful - 0
82861 tn?1333453911
Have you followed up with your surgeon or another doctor?  You shouldn't still be having pain this far post-op, so it's reasonable to go back and find out what is going on.
Helpful - 0
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