TMS or Hidden Hernia? My findings are normal

Hi guys, early this year I've experience pain in the left side of my groin. Symptoms seems pretty similar to pain from what hernia is. Like pain from sneezing, sometimes pain from getting out of bed, physical activities.
The pain is also in the portion where the inguinal canal will be.

I went to the doctor, expecting a hernia diagnosis. My doctor thinks it is too... problem is my ultrasound report is normal!! Because of that he refused to have surgery on me. I went to a different doctor, this time he did a physical exam where he push up my scrotum and checked for something. He was sure I have no hernia and told me its just a strain. I then went to a different doctor who told me to do PT. PT did nothing for me.

Went to orthopedic who told me to have xray of my pelvis. Again its normal. Had MRI of my lower spine as well... again it seems to be normal.

I went from doctor to doctor hopefully to get a clear diagnosis since its been going on for 7 months now that it seems to be chronic.

Could all the doctor I went to are all incompetent and just missed my hernia or TMS can actually mimic what a hernia pain will be???

Its also not clear what's the cause of my pain. Since the first time I felt it was when I wake up in the morning and it just went chronic after that.

The night before however I was lifting weights, I don't remember however being in pain or got into some sort of accident when I was lifting. Unless it could be due to poor form... but still... I am at a loss on what it is.

 

Sounds like TMS. What was going in your life 7 months ago? Did anything out of the usual happen?

 

2 months prior before the pain happened. I lost a good friend due to my own action as we ended up liking the same girl. I knew my action, and I do know it can cost our friendship during that time. I do at times still feel pretty bad about it.

I can't believe however that this is all related. Is it??

Pain really really do seems to mimic a hernia. I've been searching online and another possibility is Gilmore's Groin/Athletic Pubalgia, problem is no doctor here knows how to diagnose it. And there's a debate whether that condition even exist.

And for those who even got it, it seems not all have been able to resolve the pain after surgery.

 

Can Gilmore's Groin/Athletic Pubalgia be seen on MRI, ultrasound or xray?

As for your first question, I don't know, you have to answer that yourself Maybe it's something else, maybe not. Is there something else maybe?

 

Apparently not all. As it seems like an umbrella term for groin pain. Sometimes it seems doctor just diagnose that when they can't find anything wrong with the patient and try to open them up with surgery to find out what's wrong. It could be nerve entrapment, torn ligament.... etc...

Some was able to resolve their pain after surgery, sometimes not.

I really honestly don't know If it is..... how can I remove it when I can't go back to the past and undo my actions. I need to learn how to live with it.

Ever since I know about TMS, I did try to think in my mind that its just psychological... the pain didnt go away though.

 

Groin pain can feel like there is something really wrong. It has been one of my most prominent symptoms that sometimes revisit me in times of psychological turmoil, although when it does it is mild and short lived.

1) accept that it is TMS
2) be patient and don't get scared by this symptom, but rather use it as a barometer for what is going on inside your head
3) contact your friend and apologize. If he accepts, that's great, if he doesn't, at least you tried. We humans tend to wear blinders once it comes to potential partners, that's how we are wired. So stop kicking yourself in the groin about it...

take care

 

Would you be able to describe what a groin pain from TMS sounds like? Is it concentrated to one area? Can it move from left to right? Cause if it moves, then maybe mine isnt TMS... since the pain seems to be constantly on the left side.

My friend gave an ultimatum, it was either him or the girl. I ended up choosing the girl, and she is now my gf. Contacting him doesn't seem right as of the moment since he seems to be at peace. If I contact, it could bring back bad memories again for him. I am most likely helping him by just keeping a distance from him.

Only thing I can do as of the moment is think and believe everything is psychological, if indeed it is TMS. I do need however a description of what a groin pain from TMS will be like.

 

It feels kinda like a ball inside that creates a weird pressure and it gives an annoying kind of background pain. If you move you can feel sudden stabs of pain, like someone is pushing a knife into it quickly, so you start to move around in a cautious and cramped manner. Can't make it any clearer, you have to feel it to know how it feels .... (?) Yes it can shift sides, but it doesn't always do that. It can be on one side for months on end, it starts to subside and suddenly it starts at the other side.
Do you have other locations where you feel pain or cramped up? Do you experience other symptoms?

That's kinda harsh for a friend to demand that you make a choice between him and a girl. Maybe the friendship wasn't strong enough anyway. During a life time, not many friends stick around the whole way anyway; transitions in our lives often are accompanied by a change of friends. It really is up to you to interpret things and find a way to deal with this, just know that it very possible that the resulting emotions can create your symptoms.

 

Hmm other locations, no. Just really mostly a spot on the left side then if I get really tired the pain is going to radiate a bit larger to the mid (pubic bone) and to the upper left leg. The area tends to feel hot sometimes when I am in pain. Sneezing can aggrevate it.

You are right... this is a new chapter. I just need to live my life and push through it. I just hope this is really just TMS though....

Thanks!

 

One thing I did at the time was study 'trigger point treatment'. Soon I realized that continuing trigger points are almost always TMS and that treatment falls in the same category as many other physical treatments. So, I stopped treating them in the end. Once a new symptom popped up, I took the trigger point chart, looked for the trigger points in my body and concluded: 'Ah, it's TMS' and left it untreated.
Take a look here to see if you recognize a pattern of pain: http://www.triggerpoints.net/lower-torso (Lower Torso | The Trigger Point & Referred Pain Guide)
There is a connection too between the activities you do and where trigger points tend to appear. This makes it difficult to accept that certain symptoms are TMS, but you have to take that leap of faith to get better. Having a new girl friend often means lots of physical activity so to speak, so maybe there is your connection. No need to respond, just hope it clicks.

sadly I am just an amateur in this field, but the trigger points insight helped me a lot to come to terms with a lot of the symptoms I had; I lost my fear for them, I simply accepted them.

 

According to my GP and surgeon you need a CT to determine if you have an actual hernia if its not so bad to be obvious on physical exam and your symptoms don't improve over long periods. Strains are very common in that area and I was told, and can agree based on experience, that it can take a good month to see improvement. Ultrasound is not specific enough and largely useless in this case but so commonly done for some reason. I had a actual hernia on one side long ago, not clearly there based on physical exam, and got it repaired...I also more recently had groin pain on the other side that was NOT a hernia and I'd have never believed that based on symptoms. Once I knew there was no actual problem there it was easier to let go as a strain that was exacerbated by TMS, and symptoms largely disappeared and only occasionally pop up and only when highly stressed. You need to be properly examined to be sure and every TMS doc will say this. If the proper tests with sufficient detail show no issue...treat is as TMS. People here have a tendency to call everything TMS and gloss over the very important step of properly searching for a medical cause first...a clear medical cause not some "maybe abnormality". If you have a hernia a CT will see it. If the CT is clear then move on.

 

I had the hernia pain. I had a clear CT. It seemed it was TMS. I treated like TMS. While carrying bags of grocery the pain became unbearable and then the bulge came out. Ouch!

My initial symptoms were waking up to a deep right lower abdominal pain, groin pain, and when I sneezed it felt like an earthquake in my belly.

Doing shoulder stands can help the gravity to pull down a hernia. If that reduces your pain and discomfort, it could mean you have a hernia. Also, lower ab exercises to make the inguinal complex stronger and keep a hernia in place.

I hope you don't have a hernia. If you do avoid mesh repair. You can read my book Mesh-Free Hernia Repair online.

https://www.fredamir.com/hernia

Take care,