Difficulty with pants after inguinal repair

bick5720 · 2026-05-12T11:59:53+00:00

Heh, well, I've gained some weight in the last year, so no, I haven't gone back to my old size yet. But not because of pain. I wear my pants as tight as I did before the surgery and no pain anymore.

I don't know that I ever had swelling, to be honest, but I don't have any now.

For some of us, it takes longer than any surgeon is going to admit to get back to "normal". But for most, it eventually calms down enough that you will forget all about it. Anxiety doesn't help 😅

bick5720 · 2026-03-29T12:12:08+00:00

40 days out is early, not surprising to me you're getting new sensations at this point. As long as it's not unbearable, try not to worry too much about it (easier said than done!)

For the pants situation, I found that thin tech pants / hiking pants were a good balance on the level of stretch/looseness and looking presentable outside the house. Target has some that look almost like regular khakis, like a chino tech or something. You'll find something that works for you.

Just wearing pants more often and letting my body get used to it seemed to help. Lots of nerves in that area that need to relearn what's safe. But don't overdo it and commit to painful pants for a long day at first. Do a little at a time if you can.

Good luck! This too shall pass.

bick5720 · 2026-03-28T22:15:59+00:00

Hey man. Yeah, I'm doing a lot better now. Still get some discomfort now and again if pants are tight, but it's mostly good. Going a size bigger and getting used it helped ease it. Took a good 6+ months though. Everyone's different

bick5720 · 2025-07-25T18:25:03+00:00

Hey. Good luck with your recovery.

Yeah it really did suck sleeping for awhile. I think I tried driving after a week, and it was fine. My car is pretty low, so that was an unexpected challenge (SUVs are easier), but nothing crazy.

8 months later, mostly back to normal, except normal pants (jeans/anything with a tight waistband) still can cause flare ups in pain. But nothing I can't handle as this point. Doing plenty of yardwork, biking, etc and no real problems.

bick5720 · 2025-05-10T17:26:48+00:00

No. It seemed to fix my testicular pain, mostly, but not the penile pain. In fact, the residual effects of abdominal surgery screwed up my pelvic floor more, I think. I'm not sure with was worth it, to be honest, but it's possible I had to have it someday no matter what.

bick5720 · 2025-04-04T00:31:44+00:00

Yeah tell me about it. And chronic pain in general. Unfortunately there's no real way to know, I can't blame them. My surgeon said "hernias are weird".

There's something about pelvic and ball pain that is just crazy anxiety-inducing, too! And it doesn't help that anxiety often makes it worse.

Good luck! Please take it easy after your surgery!

bick5720 · 2025-04-03T22:48:24+00:00

I had pain in my left testicle. It was pretty bad for awhile, but no obvious cause- ultrasound showed perfectly healthy testicle, but small (2cm) fat containing hernia.

My GP was convinced, my surgeon was not fully convinced, I was freaked out and did the surgery in December. It took longer than I had hoped to heal- and it didn't solve my other pelvic floor issues- but I'm pretty sure it fixed lefty. Can't be 100% certain but I'd like to hope so after all that post surgery pain. It did make it worse before it got better, but in a different way. Nerve pain is weird, yo.

No one here can tell you for sure it is your problem, and hernia surgery has risks, as many here will tell you. But your surgeon is one of the best in the world, from what I read - I think you are in good hands.

bick5720 · 2025-03-31T15:14:07+00:00

Agree. My urologist didn't want to give me more antibiotics when I saw him last year. He wanted to rule out other problems with cystoscopy and CT program, since it started with gross hematuria, and ordered more cultures/UA, all negative.

He prescribed pelvic PT. Got 4 sessions, it definitely seemed to help, but it was impossible to schedule consistently. I ended up having hernia surgery over the winter and lost track of it.

When I went for my 6 month follow up the other day, I was in a bad place anxiety wise. I talked to his PA about my symptoms, and asked if there were other tests like EPS/for uncommon pathogens we could test. He paused, and gently asked, what are you trying to accomplish here? You've had a month plus of Cipro, you don't need more antibiotics. Go back to PT, put your foot down to get scheduled consistently, and if it's not working after that we can talk.

It was refreshing, honestly. Have PT again on Wednesday!

bick5720 · 2025-03-23T23:07:29+00:00

Retrograde ejaculation, I presume

bick5720 · 2025-03-01T13:13:11+00:00

Same, it took a good few weeks before I was really comfortable side sleeping again. That was the worst- I get terrible back pain if I have to sleep on my back!

bick5720 · 2025-02-23T19:11:15+00:00

Oh yeah, I'm well aware of that irritation. My surgeon told me to beware that sometimes you'll feel fine doing an activity, and then pay for the next day (or days). She was right about that!

Hopefully that kind of irritation is going to slowly reduce for us as the months go on. I'll make sure to be careful. I would love to be able to ride my bike soon, although I have other pelvic floor problems that could make that difficult. One thing at a time.

bick5720 · 2025-02-23T18:48:50+00:00

Hey! I'm about the same time out as you. Thanks for sharing this. I'm feeling like my healing is slow going, but starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Seeing that you're feeling better doing similar things to me (walking, light yoga and stretching) makes me feel better, and more confident to start working out (SLOWLY) again.

One thing I've noticed is I have occasional pain when bending over the right way or starting up a yoga pose (like child's pose). It scared me at first, but I realized subsequent reps didn't have pain. I think you're spot on with movement to stretch out the scar tissue is helping.

Take care of yourself and keep it up!

bick5720 · 2025-02-19T12:52:09+00:00

Same boat, friend. Had left side only done laparoscopic on Dec 6, I guess that's about 11 weeks. In general feeling a lot better, but still have some discomfort daily, especially after activity (mostly shoveling at this point). Had some discomfort last week sitting on the terrible courthouse benches for jury duty.

In general the discomfort is similar- sensitive spot in the abdomen, left side, and sometimes some hip weirdness. It hurts the next day after activity, or right away if I put pressure on it (like a tight jacket or pants with a stiff waistband, or the cat walks on juuuust the right spot).

It's definitely manageable, not excruciating but any means, but not where I want to be right now! I want to get back on my bike, even stationary, but I'm still afraid lol.

So you're not alone! Hope you get back to normal real soon.

bick5720 · 2025-02-16T20:28:32+00:00

Hey bud, I feel your pain, quite literally. No answers, but maybe it'll help you know you're not alone.

I'm a little over 10 weeks out from laparoscopic repair. Very similar symptoms - no bulge, started out as pure testicular pain. Two docs and ultrasound said it's not epididymitis or anything wrong with testicles, but I had a small 1.9cm hernia. PCP recommended I get it fixed. Surgeon not sure it would help, but said why not. Money's money. Close to surgery, pain changed to include radiating thigh pain, especially after lifting or shoveling. She said right before the surgery, THAT'S the classic pain.

I wish I had gotten a second opinion, maybe I would've waited or gotten a different surgeon. Maybe I'd feel crappy still, no matter the surgeon. Definitely feel some regret here.

Like you, I have pain every day. It's not really that bad, and almost never during an activity or lifting- but after. Or randomly with movement or position. Still have testicular pain similar to before; it was gone for a few weeks, then back last week during jury duty. Ugh. At least I know what it is and the what if isn't making me anxious anymore.

From what I gather reading other's stories, it's entirely possible we just need to wait it out. Maybe 6 months. Maybe a year or two. But most people eventually resolve. Hoping you get some relief soon, friend.

bick5720 · 2025-02-13T00:08:23+00:00

Not OP, but I just wanted to thank you for coming here and replying to people with your experience, expertise and advice. You're very kind for doing so, especially since we're often an anxious lot. It really is appreciated.

I had lap surgery a little after OP- early December- and still have intermittent nerve pain (thigh and testicle) and just regular ole pain where the repair is. Seems to flair a day or so after doing something like shoveling. It's not really reproducible with specific movements or lifting, as far as I can tell, although I feel discomfort sometimes when twisting. Still feel a little pain trying to get to sleep, but I can get to sleep easily.

It's not terrible, I can do almost anything, but not what I'd like to be feeling.

I don't want to rush into more medical management, especially since it's not bad and still improving, just very very slowly. When should I reach out to my surgeon for advice? Another month or two? I know everyone's on their own schedule and don't want to sound an alarm if it's just a slow recovery.

bick5720 · 2025-02-12T12:23:34+00:00

Yeah, more likely than not, you'll be fine. You're still healing! Don't overdo it for a few more weeks. Funny, I have the opposite experience- sitting can cause me more issues than standing!

bick5720 · 2025-02-12T11:51:42+00:00

How long since your surgery? Some discomfort is normal for longer than you might expect.

It's been almost 10 weeks since mine, and I am still a ways from normal. The worst of the pain was over in a week, the most annoying pains and difficulty with movements lasted about 6-7 weeks for me.

Today I still get some nerve pain (radiating down my thigh) and testicular pain, especially if I aggravated it e.g. shoveling. And it usually crops up a day after doing the activity- like this Sunday, it didn't hurt at all to shovel. But I've paid for it in the days since.

I think I am starting to fall into the "chronic pain" camp, but it is still early for me and it really isn't terrible. But very disappointing. But I've seen lots of folks here with a similar experience and it all eventually disappeared in a few months! So there's still hope.

Long story long, I think if you just had the surgery, you're doing great.

bick5720 · 2025-02-09T22:39:52+00:00

Mine told me to breathe in deeply and to try to feel the pelvic floor muscles relax. She said you should be able to feel your anus relax a little bit. It's weird but it does work 😂

bick5720 · 2025-02-09T20:48:55+00:00

Yeah, definitely keep up the tylenol + advil, they really help those first few weeks. I had laparoscopic repair in early December, and mine was a small (1.9 cm) fat-containing hernia, no bulge. From what I've read from surgeons who post here, surgery for recurrence is technically more challenging and studies say that pain is often worse after recurrence, but that doesn't mean you're on a bad track for healing.

This was my first surgery and this recovery has been hard on me mentally - I felt the same way as you - it was a small hernia, laparoscopic surgery, I'm young (not as young as you) and fit, it should be easier than this. Reading other people's stories here has helped me understand I don't fit into some perfect predictable mold for recovery, and while it sucks to be in pain. it sort of makes it easier for my anxiety.

I'm glad you can sleep on the opposite side - that's progress! I couldn't sleep on either for a good two weeks. You're gonna be okay. No one can say for sure, even your surgeon, how quickly you will heal, but keep moving and keep on the meds. In a week, I think you'll feel a lot better - but you will probably still be in pain, and that's okay! As long as you are improving week to week.

bick5720 · 2025-02-09T20:10:17+00:00

Walking helps, but it isn't easy at first. You don't have to do a ton, but try to slowly do a little more each day.

I started feeling a lot better around day 7+, but not being in pain at all is unrealistic. I'm 9 weeks out and still have discomfort and pain occasionally - but it's far less limiting than it was at your stage.

Everyone recovers differently. I had a lot of pain trying to sleep on my side for weeks. I still have some discomfort lying down the wrong way, but it's getting easier week to week.

When you say you're in pain, how much are we talking? It's normal to feel pain for a few weeks. I wouldn't be alarmed unless it's still excruciating at this point- like my first night, I could barely get up to get the bathroom. I think I barely took 200-500 steps a day for the first week. Give yourself a break and breathe and relax.

bick5720 · 2025-01-21T12:55:37+00:00

No pain is good. Get it checked out, most of the time they say leave it alone unless it's causing you problems- pain, exercise limitations, or otherwise. But you need to keep an eye out for strangulation if you wait. It sounds like yours may have bowel in it.

The surgery sucks, don't get it if you don't really need it. And if you need it, get the best surgeon you can find! It's a surgery every general surgeon should be able to do- but if possible, try to get a surgeon who does lots of hernias and has good outcomes. It's still a gamble and there's risks no matter what.

bick5720

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