Four Months

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Hernia Recovery
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Today marks the FOUR MONTH anniversary of my surgery.

I've been going to the gym four times per week, increasing the intensity of the workouts according to what my body will allow. The right surgery side, the one that had given me the most trouble, has not hurt one bit during, or after, the workouts. However, the left side has bothered me the past couple days. I feel a pulling from the hernia site, down toward my left leg. It's not a debilitating pain, but strong enough to have me alter some of the things that I do. I will keep a close eye on it and visit my family doctor if it persists.

Over all, I feel a LOT better than I did a couple months ago.

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Pulmonary Embolism Recovery
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Continuing with the Coumadin every day, at 4PM. No chest pain and no shortness of breath.

Three Months

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Hernia Recovery
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Today marks the THREE MONTH anniversary of my surgery. I am feeling *MUCH* better! I've made considerable progress over the past week. I can't point to anything that I'm doing different, but I can say with certainty that my pain has subsided to the point where I am finally doing things without thinking about the pain.

I ran two miles twice this past week and didn't feel ANY pain in my surgery area during, or after, the run. I call that progress! I am going to get back on my mountain bike next week. I've targeted the end of July, or the beginning of August, as the time I would see myself back on the bike and I'm right on schedule!

 

Have I finally turned the corner and now heading toward full recovery, without chronic pain? I can't say for sure at this point, since the pain can very well come back. But, I'm holding hope that I am over the last, or one of the last, hurdles in this ordeal.

Stay tuned for more updates!

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Pulmonary Embolism Recovery
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Continuing with the Coumadin every day, at 4PM. No chest pain, although a few times I've been out of breath for no apparent reason(one time while sitting still on a chair, doing nothing) and felt as though I was having an anxiety attack. That worries me, but like everything else about this journey, I will wait it out and see if it's temporary, or something more serious.

Day Eighty

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Hernia Recovery
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Today is the 2 1/2 month anniversary of my surgery and I'm still having problems with my right side. The stinging, burning pain simply won't go away. It hasn't gotten worse, but it hasn't improved. Driving is very painful and difficult to do for more than 10-15 minutes. Getting in and out of bed is painful and getting up from a deep sitting position(ie. a low couch) is difficult.

Why the stinging, burning pain? The following site may explain why: http://www.nphernia.com/pop.html

 While many patients have some prolonged post-operative discomfort after any surgery, which may last for several months before resolving, approximately 3-5% of such patients may develop chronic or persistent pain in the region of a surgical incision. This can also occur and be especially bothersome after inguinal hernia repair. Post-operative pain, after inguinal hernia surgery particularly, can develop from a variety of causes.

There are many causes for this persistent, post-operative inguinal hernia area pain, also called 'Inguinodynia' including, but certainly not limited to:

• Nerve damage (directly at the time of surgery)
• Nerve entrapment in scar tissue, mesh or sutures
• Post-operative benign nerve tumors (Neuromas)
• Scar Tissue itself or tissue damage
• Misplaced Mesh (if used)
• Contracted, scarified and hardened mesh plugs ("Meshomas")
• Infection (usually noted early post-op.)
• Recurrent (or Persistent) Hernia.
• Constriction or Narrowing of the Internal Inguinal Ring around the spermatic cord
• Periostitis-Inflammation of the outer membrane of the bone (pubic) due to the presence of permanent suture material inadvertently placed into this layer resulting in chronic inflammation and pain
• Pain from Unrelated Causes, associated with neither the prior inguinal hernia nor its operative repair (i.e., Non-hernia musculoskeletal, Intra-abdominal, Intra-pelvic, Neurologic, Genitourinary, Infectious or Vascular origin etc.)

The exact cause of any individual patient's groin pain cannot be determined of course, nor can specific treatment be recommended without an examination. The diagnosis is a clinical one, and imaging studies such as X-rays, MRI or CT scans are often normal in these circumstances. Imaging studies in cases of persistent post-operative pain are however of value in excluding intra-abdominal or other unrelated causes for pain that is not associated with the prior hernia surgery.
<end of quote from http://www.nphernia.com/pop.html>

That said, it's possible that the stinging pain that I'm enduring is due to nerve damage. Interestingly, I had this same pain(albeit at a *MUCH* higher level) on my right side the day after surgery. Yet, I've NEVER had such pain on my left side. This tells me that the nerve damage may have been done at the time of the surgery!

Will the burning, stinging pain eventually go away? I hope so. My surgeon seems to think it will and told me that there was no nerve damage to the right side during surgery and that the pain is due to muscles, nerves and the mesh converging in a particular part of my groin; a place where this type of pain is common.

Is my surgeon right? Will the pain ever go away? Or, will I have to visit another surgeon to have my scar tissue and/or nerve damage repaired?

Only time will tell and I will post more meaningful updates as I learn more about this condition.

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Pulmonary Embolism Recovery
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Continuing with the Coumadin every day, at 4PM. No pain when I breath deep. Progress is good.

Two Months

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Hernia Recovery
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Today is the two month anniversary of my surgery and all is not well. My left side is almost completely healed. I feel no stinging, burning or pain when I move in most any direction. The only time it bothers me is whenever I take a long walk or do any exercise. It feels sore.

By contrast, my right side still hurts and hurts a LOT! The stinging, burning pain hasn't subsided and it magnifies whenever I sit in a car(behind the wheel or in the passenger's seat). The pain got so bad the other day that I jumped out of the passenger's side door while my wife was driving in heavy traffic. I had been sitting down for an hour and a half, on a drive between our home and a neighboring city, and I couldn't stand the pain any longer. I had to get up and walk around. That's how bad the pain was!

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Pulmonary Embolism Recovery
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Continuing with the Coumadin every day, at 4PM. No pain when I breath deep, which I've been doing while exercising and no pain when I sleep on my side. Progress is good.

Day Fifty-Four

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Hernia Recovery
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I've been going to the gym a couple times per week, working mostly my own body weight and some light upper body workouts on machines. I've also worked out with a number of cardio machines and my heart and lungs feel very strong. I can work out consistently at 170 bpm, which is my max heart rate; yet, I don't get tired. A good sign!

The negative is that my right incision area hurts a LOT! Not always and, interestingly, not when I work out or walk or stand. It hurts mostly when I lay down or sit in a low chair(or car seat). When I get up off the chair, or turn over in bed, I get a STINGING pain in my right side, directly in the incision area.

By contrast, my left hernia area doesn't bother me at all.

I am calling my surgeon for an appointment and have him check out my right side. My concern is that the mesh hasn't healed properly and could possibly be unattached. That would be terrible!

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Pulmonary Embolism Recovery
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Continuing with the Coumadin every day, at 4PM. No pain when I breath deep, which I've been doing while exercising and no pain when I sleep on my side. This is VERY good news!

Day Thirty-Two

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Hernia Recovery
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GOOD NEWS!

 

My surgeon gave me the green light to begin swimming and riding my stationary bike. In two weeks, at the six week mark, I should be able to begin lifting weights again. Of course, not heavy, but light workouts.

 

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Pulmonary Embolism Recovery
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Continuing with the Coumadin every day, at 4PM. When I breath deep, I feel a little pain in the left side, under my rib cage. It will take a while before I don't feel any pain in my leflt lung. Part of the recovery.

Day Twenty-Seven

I haven´t been posting for the past few days. Moving forward I will only post every so often, whenever an update is warranted.

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Hernia Recovery
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For the first time in many days I'm posting about my hernias, first. My pulmonary embolism issue seems to have stabilized(at least for the time being).

I am able to walk approximately one mile without much pain. I only feel tightness afterward and some soreness. My right incision still burns whenever I bend or twist in certain positions. I find it's most painful whenever I sit in a car. It's not the seat belt, but the position I'm sitting in.

Something that has not been getting better are my legs. They are VERY WEAK when I wake up in the morning. When I stretch my legs in bed, first thing in the morning, my legs tremble uncontrollably, sending a pain shooting up to my abdominal muscles. I am able to get this under control once I roll out of bed and start to walk. I require a lot of stretching of my calf muscles in order to walk properly.

The other night, out of nowhere, both my legs kicked up from an extended position into a bent position, with knees nearly hitting me in the chest!!! Interestingly, I had no pain! But, it was certainly strange, to say the least. I'm wondering if there's some nerve damage, or nerve sensitivity at work.

Who knows what's really going on! Hernia surgery is a Pandora's box!

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Pulmonary Embolism Recovery
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No pain in my lungs and no blood in my sputum for the past week. Taking Coumadin, once per day, as prescribed.

I worked out my upper body with rubber bands(which simulate weight between 20-40 lbs) and raised my heart rate to 150(170 is my max, per my age). I was not out of breath, nor tired. A little sore the next day, in my shoulders and triceps; specially since I haven't worked out in a month.