Why is there pain even after hernia surgery ?
Many cases have reported seeing pain in their hernia even post surgery. With modern science saying this is common till a few days post surgery, there are a huge percentage of people who feel pain in the hernia operated region years after the surgery with a medical term “Post herniorraphy pain syndrome” attached to it.
Lets see what the online community has to say about this:
Question – I still have pain 5 months after surgery to repair an inguinal hernia. Is this normal?
Answer – Healing can take time but five months after to still be feeling pain is unusual. Characteristics that are important include, constant versus sporadic, burning or dull and how large an area of pain. Post herniorraphy pain can sometimes be due to nerve entrapment.
In answer to the question about “worst pain last week,” 31% patients reported some form of pain, whereas 6 had had severe pain that could not be ignored and interfered with their daily activities.
Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1602172/
Various other examples of people suffering post hernia surgery are written here –
I had bi-lateral inguinal hernia surgery in August of 2010. I still suffer from constant pain and discomfort which limits my ability to work full time and participate in my life as I once did. I am looking for any information that could help me regain some control of the chronic pain I am in without haveing to rely on pain medication or other temporary fixes. Thanks for your time.
hernia surgery 13 mo ago still have pain and swelling
After a long walk on the beach, and a bike ride it gets inteince, sharp pulling burning pain, with some swelling. Lower abdomanl pain and blouting, sex and social life shot down. had a Inguinal Hernia repaird sept.2009, had my ups and downs with it but was able to work and exercis, i had reinjurd August 2010 was told i had a ingunal sprain or tear. and had nothing but pain since. Had three CT scans done and nothing shows. have seen many doctors and many pain pills, 1 scrip Tramadol 50mg, 1 scrip Naproxen 375mg, 2 scrip Naproxen 550mg, 1 scrip of Dycyclomine 20mg,1 scrip Tramadol/apap 37.5/325mg, Cirofloxacin 500mg. only one Doctor has said i need collanoscopy to see what is going on, trying to follow up with that. The mesh was a light waght mesh. Both incadeince were work related. Long storie, now its all on me. can you help?
constant pain in my left testicul lower back lumbar back of neas, ansiety and depretion attacks sleeping desorder.
I had a mesh put in 3 to 4 yrs ago but im having alot of pain more and more each day.
ihave constant pain in the groin which radiates to lower back entire left leg. part of mesh was removed in june. rest of mesh is attached to spermatic cord. what can be done to end pain
I have a serious mesh and scar tissue on ligament problem.
Constant pain
Experencing allergic reactions to the mesh: shortness of breath, back pain, rash on chest, pain on both sides of the belly button down to the thigh,heart racing,chest burning, very nervious, pain in stomach when I eat, sinus congestion, some watering eyes, anxiety, testicles hurt occassionally.
I have pain closer to my testicles as well. As well as heavy bulging sensations. I’ve had a mesh repair for a double inguinal hernia before and it was a nightmare took me almost a month to be able to walk upright. And have had mild pain ever since then, but has recently gotten more severe. The last surgery was in 2008…
Double hernia on right side with mesh and lower hernia on left. Pain is on left side. Operation was done in 1987. Constant pain, Pain aggravated by activity, Daily pain, Pain is unmanageable
Initial surgery was incisional hernia repair. Long term mesh staph infection. Have had 10-12 debridements with some mesh removal. When my infection started in April 2010 my attending surgeon dumped me I guess because I became a complication. MY Primary has done his best to help me but, he has trouble getting a surgeon to operate on me. Could you tell me what I should do? I was just D/C’d from the hospital on 1/19, and I am already re-infected.
Had hernia surgery feburary 2009 with mesh. Has not stopped hurting since then seems to be getting worse everyday. Hard to do anything
I am wondering if you do mesh removal.
I am from Ontario and cannot find a surgeon here that will remove this mesh
history- on march 31st 2011 i underwent inguinal hernia surgery with mesh. Followed recovery procedures and started having SHARP pains in the area of surgical site approximately 1 month after surgery. Pain frequency and intensity grew tramendously. At this point walking became impossible.I haven’t been able to walk or sit up since. Pain intensity has decreased somewhat but now pain in both hips and knees. Any movement of the hips increases pain dramatically. Seen many doctors unwilling to look at hernia or mesh as the problem. DESPARATELY looking for help.
I have been told to live with the pain that nothing can be done about it.
Have had inginual surgery two separate times. First on on left side 45 years ago and the second on on the right side using mesh (about 10 years ago). Several years ago I notice that toward the end of the bowling season I starting haveing soreness on the right side the day after bowling. This has happened in the last three or four seasons. I have had it checked by three different physicians who found nothing obviously wrong. As I have mentioned, I have also had a cat scan in that area which didn’t show anything. Any suggestions as to what I should do? Is this just something I’ll have to live with? Should I give up bowling?
this mesh has made my life a total hell
the mesh was applied for a hernia repair and I have chronic pain since then. CT Scan test shows hernia is gone however, I feel pieces of the mesh when I bend over or try lifting my leg. Also, I feel as if have few needles inside and that is where most of the pain come from.
the pain has progressively got worse in the last few months. it feels like there is something ripping or tearing inside of me. my right side is going numb mostly from buttock down thigh to leg. also at times I get a sharp stabbing pain from area of hernia repair to my buttock. having hard time sleeping can’t lay on side as pain gets bad.
I have had this nerve pain at the top of my right leg for 6 months. It started off as a burning sensation and I thought it was my shorts rubbing. However it has progressively worsened. I had a hernia operation several years ago and a mesh was used. A week after the op i was taken back in to hospital with severs pains in both legs and several of the clips that were used to keep the mesh in place were removed. After that op I was fine. This pain is similar but i don’t know if it is related to the mesh or not. I have also been told that it is meralgia panesthetica. I would like to know one way or the other what it is. The pain is awful and i really don’t want to start taking drugs such as galopentin.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
I had a bilateral inguinal hernia mesh repair done some 15 years ago. It was the third one on my right side (first with mesh) and I was told only after the laparoscopic surgery that I also had one on my left side, though I had experienced no symptoms. I believe the surgeon did this to pad his bill. Regardless I had a sheet of mesh inserted across my entire lower abdomen.
While I have had no recurrences, over the years I have had an increasing feeling of tightness in my lower abdomen and front of my hips so that if I try do do anything that arches the back, I have this strong unnatural sensation of pulling. And the whole area becomes increasing tight after any attempt to stretch the area. I used to be very active/athletic and now I can basically do nothing. Even walking causes some minor discomfort and my lumbar flexibility has dramatically diminished.
My inguinal hernia was repaired with mesh back in 1994. I was pain free for about 2 years and have been in this awful pain since then. I have no insurance, am unemployed right now and in school. This pain is so bad..like someone is stabbing me in my old hernia site. If I do anything at all like move a chair, I’m in bed with pain such that I can’t even walk for days. How can you help me with this?
i had a mesh patch put in in 2004 it never really seemed right but didnt bother me to much till last year or so
please help.I have been to so many doctors and no one will help me, even the doctor that put in the mesh brushed me off. so now I keep my pain to myself,It hurts so bad.I am a strong, hard working single mom but I am losing my battle and getting so tired.
had mesh hernia repair 5 years ago no im in contant pain
been to many, many doctors… i’ve spent 20k + over the past 2 years. i am a very healthy 43 year-old but my hernia surgery changed (i.e., ruined) my life. i hurt everyday.
Source: http://www.noinsurancesurgery.com/hernia/patients-with-mesh-pain.htm
Some of the other problems people may face due to this are:
- unable to work
- have limited physical & social activities
- sleep disturbances
- psychological distress
What causes the pain post hernia operations?
After getting operated for hernia, one assumes this is the end and this problem will no longer irritate, so then why does this pain occur?
The online medical community states this pain can occur due to incorrect and the only way to correct is to get operated again. So essentially, to heal a hernia you had to get operated the first time, and then to reduce the pain, you have to get operated again – after which there is still a 20% chance of hernia pain recurring, not to mention that the 40% chances of hernia recurrence are omnipresent.
What really is the end to this pain?
The online medical community says that to end the pain permanently, you need to maintain a healthy lifestyle and take certain medications. Basically, they ask the patient to do what we were asking him to do – after two surgeries and excessive cash burning. We want to say – “we told you so” but this doesn’t seem the right time.
What does Grocare have to say about the post hernia surgery pain?
Hernia – as we mentioned earlier is simply an inflammation of the intestine which pushes the abdominal wall and protrudes from different locations based on the weakest spot of the person. Now if you were to operate and put a mesh over the hernia and push it back inside – this would not remove the swelling at all. In fact, the pressure on the intestines would increase. So over the course of time, the intestines would push against the mesh wall and cause an extreme amount of pain. This is very common with another surgery being the only solution to this problem. You can read about it here – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2075594/
That is exactly why post hernia pain occurs. So now the question remains how to heal this pain?
Well the first thing you need to do is switch to a healthy lifestyle. Remember that hernia is a lifestyle disease and it occurs if you do not maintain a healthy lifestyle. This means eating dinner very late, getting up late, not eating a healthy and heavy breakfast, not getting enough sleep, staying up late at night, drinking or smoking too much and essentially pushing your body beyond the stress it can handle. These activities cause immense pressure on the intestine and overall body. That’s why bowel movements become tough, followed by irregular sleep followed by various other problems. The root cause of all these problems is obviously maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
So how to do you maintain a healthy lifestyle.
First, you need to make sure you eat and sleep right. We can understand how important work is but remember you can only work if you area healthy. Ignoring your health can have dire consequences on your career more than anything else. So its in your interest that we are saying this.
Secondly, to heal the hernia pain post surgery, you need to take hernica and acidim to reduce the inflammation of the intestine. Hernica needs to be taken in the morning and evening and Acidim needs to be taken in morning, noon and evening immediately after meals.
How will Hernica and Acidim reduce the pain?
As long as the intestine is inflamed, you will experience hernia pain. Hernica and acidim will regulate your bowel movements and correct the pH levels in your body, making sure that your food is digested well in the body. This proper digestion of food will help reduce the stress on the intestine and help in easy absorption of nutrients. Thus, bowel movements will also become strong. Slowly, the intestine will gain strength. With strength restored to intestines and reduced stress, the inflammation will reduce and thus, the pressure on the hernia will reduce. Eventually, the pain will subside.
Note that the medicines only do 70% of the work. The remainder of the work has to be done by you in the form of your diet and lifestyle. Grocare provides a diet chart which gives you pointers on how to lead a healthy lifestyle and what items you should eat and what you should not. Over the course of time, this will help you gain strength internally and that is how you will recover completely.
Such cases usually take around 3-4 months to completely recover. Once you are completely healed, you can stop the medication.
