Dealing with an inguinal hernia: Advice/experiences?

I have a question for the group. Over six months ago, I had surgery to repair a hernia. On the left side, the mesh is holding up perfectly and everything feels fine. However, I’ve been feeling this constant discomfort on my right side, stretching from the groin area down toward my penis. It honestly feels like I’m just waiting for a hernia to pop out on the right side too. I still work out quite a bit, though I've switched to shorter sets and I'm being much more careful than I used to be—lifting lighter weights and staying cautious. The other day, I felt a small lump, maybe about 5-6mm, located almost dead center—about 3cm from the midline and roughly 2.5cm from the base of my penis. I’ve spent some time looking at medical photos online, but I can't find anything showing a lump positioned right in the middle like that. What do you guys think? Is this a hernia developing, or is it something more serious? It isn't painful, though to be fair, the original hernia didn't hurt either. I have noticed the skin in that specific area looks a bit redder than usual.

Does anyone know if this looks normal, man? I’ve been hitting the gym solo for a few days and my gains are popping, but there's zero soreness. Is that actually a good sign, bruh?

Usually, you’d expect to feel some kind of lump near your groin. But if there's actual pain involved, it could just be a muscle strain or something similar. You haven't had any issues with your digestion lately, right?

Back to my question....

Hey guys, can anyone help me out here? Has anyone actually gone through hernia surgery before? I've got one popping up in my groin area, on the left side... just wondering about what causes them, what the aftermath is like, treatment options... please, I'd love to hear any experiences you all have had🙂

Honestly, you should get to a doctor ASAP to deal with this before it gets any worse. Surgery is pretty much your only real option here. It’s a routine procedure—you’ll probably be stuck in the hospital for about a week if they go the traditional route, or maybe just two or three days if they do it laparoscopically. Just get it sorted. Head straight to the clinic.

About a month ago, my hernia popped out on me—absolutely massive, despite the actual defect being tiny. I headed straight to the surgical department, and now I'm scheduled for surgery this coming Monday.
It’s a standard procedure: mesh placement under general anesthesia. They had me run through a whole gauntlet of tests and sit down for a consultation with the anesthesiologist, though the hospital usually just hands you their own internal referrals so you can get everything done right there on-site.

Once I'm back home and recovered, I'll post a full update on how it all went.

Nancy Watson86 and Jesse Peterson16... thank you guys so much
I'm gonna go ahead and schedule an appointment with a general surgeon for a checkup (haven't actually been to one yet, so I'm not sure if there's a huge wait?) and let them take a look. Honestly, I have no clue how long the waitlist for surgery is... like, do things move fast or what? 😕 Because I've had this since I was 12 (if I remember right, maybe even earlier...), but I spent my whole life thinking it was just a swollen ovary. I used to get so incredibly frustrated with my gynecologist that I finally stormed into my primary care doctor's office and told her that my idiot OBGYN didn't mention anything about this "swollen ovary" thing. She just laughed her head off at me 😂 and told me it wasn't an ovary at all... it was a hernia.
I wouldn't even show her now (since we've been seeing each other so long, she feels more like family than a stranger 🤣), but lately, it feels like it's getting bigger. Like, it stays "protruded" for way longer periods now, if that makes sense. It used to only pop out around ovulation (and even then, not always), but now it's pretty much constant. And man, sometimes it gets big enough to show through my underwear, and the pain is just brutal (like, if I lean against a table wrong or bend my leg a certain way, it just kills
). Do you guys know if this could mess with pregnancy or getting pregnant? I'm 25, so this is a massive deal for me right now and it's honestly what scares me the most... 😢
And for real, I don't get why it actually *has* to be operated on. What would happen if I just left it alone?... 🤷
Sorry for the massive wall of text, but I really don't have anyone else to ask about this... I truly value your thoughts and everything you've gone through 😍

Nancy Watson86 said:mine popped out about a month ago... totally unexpected. it's pretty small, but I headed straight to the surgeon and I'm scheduled for the operation this coming Monday.
classic OP situation here—getting a mesh implant under general anesthesia. had to jump through so many hoops with all the testing, plus a sit-down with the anesthesiologist (usually the hospital just gives you internal referrals so you can get everything done right there on-site)

I'll post an update once I'm back home from the hospital and feeling up to it...

Nancy Watson86, good luck! really hoping everything goes smoothly for you😍

swiftridge90 said:I honestly don't get why surgery is even necessary. What happens if you just leave it alone?...🤷

I mean, I think you basically answered your own question. You need the surgery because it hurts, it's a pain in your daily life, it shows through your bikini, and things aren't going to magically get better on their own. Look, I'm no doctor, so I can't tell you if there are worse complications coming down the line. As for pregnancy? No clue, but I know some women end up with a hernia during childbirth because of all that straining.
Every single surgery carries a risk, even the tiny ones, but this is pretty much routine stuff performed every day in hospitals across the country. Getting checked out beforehand is standard procedure. Honestly, I don't see why you're stressing. Just go see your primary care physician; have them take a look and get you a referral to a specialist. They’ll be the ones to decide if and when you need to go under the knife.

Anyway, good luck from me and Nancy Watson86, and hang in there, swiftridge90. Don't let fear get to you. :-)

Jesse Peterson16 said:Honestly, I think you’ve already figured out the answer yourself. You need the surgery because it hurts, it’s getting in the way of your daily life, it shows through your swimwear, and let's face it—it's only going to get bigger, not better. Look, I'm no doctor, so I can't speak to any major complications... And regarding pregnancy? I'm not sure either, but I know some women end up with hernias during childbirth just from all that straining on the abdominal wall.
Every single surgery carries some risk, even the tiny ones, but this really falls under those routine procedures they do every day in hospitals all over the country. Getting checked out beforehand is totally standard. Honestly, I don't see why you should be worried. Just head over to your primary care physician to get an exam and a referral to a specialist... they'll be the ones to give you the real lowdown on whether you need the operation and when.

Anyway, good luck from me, Nancy Watson86, and to you too, swiftridge90... just try not to let fear get the best of you! :-)

Thanks, Jesse Peterson16, I'll definitely keep you guys posted on how everything goes.😉

Hernias can rupture or get strangulated—and then you’re looking at emergency surgery or even life-threatening complications. Seriously, just Google it. I actually have a mobile hernia myself, which I developed right after a previous surgery. I'm scheduled for an operation this fall. After the procedure, you have to wear a binder and take it easy for maybe two to four weeks... just slow and steady. And honestly? You really have to watch yourself moving forward and avoid any unnecessary strain in your daily life.

Alex Taylor4 said:Hernias can actually rupture or get pinched, and then you're looking at emergency surgery or even life-threatening stuff... seriously, just Google it. I've got this one lump that moves around, and it showed up right after my last procedure. I'm scheduled for surgery this fall. After that, you're stuck in a binder and playing it easy for maybe two to four weeks... just taking it slow, you know? And honestly, gotta stop pushing it so hard in life moving forward...

How long did you have to wait to see a surgeon? Like, do you need an appointment or can you just walk in?
Do you have a website or something about this? My own searching didn't really get me anywhere...🤷

Can anyone give me an idea of how big the incision actually is for a hernia repair?
Even better if someone has some photos or a helpful link to check out—I’d really appreciate it.

Nancy Watson86 said:Mine popped out about a month ago—totally unexpected. The hernia is pretty small, but I didn't waste any time heading straight to surgery. I'm scheduled for the procedure this coming Monday.
Classic OP situation here: mesh installation, general anesthesia, the whole nine yards. I had to jump through a ton of hoops with pre-op testing and sitting down with the anesthesiologist (usually the hospital just hands you internal referrals so you can get everything done on-site).

I'll post an update on how it went once I'm back home from the hospital.

So, how did the surgery go? How big was the incision?

coastalhawk63 said:So, I’ve got a question for you guys... Over six months ago, I had surgery for a hernia. I have the mesh on my left side and everything seems totally fine there. But man, I've been feeling this weird discomfort on my right side, running from the groin area all the way down toward my penis. It honestly feels like I'm just waiting for it to pop out on the right side too... I've been hitting the gym pretty hard lately, though I'm doing shorter sets and being way more careful than I used to be. Using lighter weights and stuff. Anyway, the other day I felt this tiny little lump, maybe 5 or 6mm, right near the center of my body—about 3cm from the midline and only about 2.5cm from my penis. I've been scouring the internet looking at pictures, but I can't find anything where it's located right in the middle like that. What do you guys think? Is it a hernia or something else entirely? It doesn't actually hurt, but then again, the old hernia didn't hurt either... The skin in that area looks a little redder than usual.

Well, if you've already dealt with one, you should probably be able to tell the difference, right? 🤷 And as for it being in the middle, I mean, it's possible... kind of like how things show up in the abdominal cavity or even the back unexpectedly. My own hernia can sort of "sink back in," so maybe check that? If it feels like it's retracting, then that's probably it...🤷
And I'm with the last guy here—how big was the incision from your first surgery? How long did you have to wait to get the operation done, and what kind of tests did they make you go through beforehand? thanks🙂

Check out this photo—it shows exactly where all the possible hernia types can pop up.

http://images.google.de/imgres?imgur...%3Dde%26um%3D1

http://images.google.de/imgres?imgur...%3D36%26um%3D1

I'm back home now, having undergone surgery three days ago. Sitting down is proving to be a bit of a struggle at the moment, so I'll just post once the pain subsides enough to make it comfortable.

Nancy Watson86 said:I'm just hanging out at home right now... had surgery three days ago. Sitting up is kind of a struggle, so I figured I'd just post once the pain settles down a bit

Wishing you a smooth recovery, hope you're back with us soon!👍

Nancy Watson86, how've you been?? You haven't popped up in here for ages...🙂 😍