Ilioinguinal nerve entrapment

I am 6 months out from my TAH/BSO and appendectomy and have had a horrid pain in the left side of my lower abdomen. I finally was diagnosed with ilioinguinal nerve entrapment. My insurance is going to cancel so I have to act quickly. The pain is horrible!!! I cannot sit down without holding onto the my tummy. I can sit up, but not down. I cannot bend over and pick anything up without the sharp pain. I have had one cortisone injection with analgesia and it worked for a week. I am now headed to the pain clinic. I just want this F-I-X-E-D!!! Has anyone else had this? What have you all done??? Is there hope?

I wish I could offer you some answers but I have some kind of nerve pain too.
Would you mind telling me how they diagnosed which nerve it was?
Have your doctors suggested any particular way of treating this?

mhicks,

I was diagnosed with nerve damage a few years after my tah/bso. I had several cortisone injections, which brought me varying amounts of relief. As I was going in for an incision revision my doc said he would take a look at the nerve. He found that the nerve was damaged and snipped the end. That brought me a little relief, but soon the pain returned. And with the pain returning I also had a stinging, zapping type of pain. Doc said that the nerves can and do regenerate. What has helped me alot is accupuncture. Since I started accupuncture the nerve pain has improved alot. Might be worth a try.

When I spoke to the pain specialist, he told me that he could go in and take a look at the nerve, but that the nerves do grow back and there is also "phantom" pain. Then there is more scar tissue from re-entering the abdomen. On April 8th I plan to undergo a nerve block. I will comment on how this went. . . hopefully it will be successful If that fails, I will really consider acupunture. Any other success stories....just in case?

I've been suffering through this since last May. I have deep "bruising" pain and daily sharp, stabbing pain when I move in specific ways. I've spent a lot of time being told it is healing pain, and to "just give it more time" been handed percs and other narcotics to hold me over, had exploritories, CAT scans, colonoscopies, etc. The concensus is now either adhesions or nerve damage. I am now seeing a palliative care doc who suggested Lyrica. I wrestled with the insurance company for a week and they flat out refused to pay for it (I purchased 10 days worth out of pocket). What they would approve was Neurontin (generic, not even brand-name) and I took my first one last night (remember, this has been 10.5 months of pain now). I'm tracking pain, and I do feel less pain today. I don't know if it is the accumulative effect of the Lyrica, positive thinking or the one dose of neurontin. It's been a long road, and the palliative care doc said it will take more time yet before we know what is what. I may never be pain free, but she expects I will be pain managed. I was also told to do gentle, beginner's yoga, and I have been doing that for about 6 weeks now. I very much enjoy the class, I have an excellent, knowlegable, mature teacher, and a class full of middle-aged people working through pain issues, so I found the right place. It has helped a great deal with the stress of all of this.

I'm sorry you are going through this, and I'm equally sorry that there isn't a lot of info or support out there for us. Keep your chin up and don't give up. I've been close to quitting and living on narcotics a couple times (and may feel that way again) but when things feel better I'm glad I'm still being followed by a doctor.

I had ilioinguinal nerve pain following hernia surgery almost 5 years ago. Went through a lot of tests and doctors trying to diagnose it. I tried Neurontin and Lyrica, but didn't like the effects of being on drugs. I had nerve blocks done, which gave temporary relief (2-3 weeks). My general surgeon offered surgery to sever the nerve. The pain specialist said he could do cryoablation (to freeze the nerve). I opted for the cryo, which did the trick. Since the nerve can regenerate, it's not always a permanent solution. I had it redone about 9 months later. That was just over 2 years ago, and am very happy with the results--just some residual numbness that I really don't notice.

I suffered from sharp stabbing vaginal pain for the first year after my hysterectomy, at times the pain would last up to 30 minutes. 6 years later I can say it has improved but it is not gone completely. Sometimes it can wake me in the night and last for only a few seconds or it can happen out of the blue while waiting in line at a grocery store. It is random but can be very intense stabbing pain. Doctors have been less than helpful....one doctor would say it could be a bladder spasm another bowel...there is other pain as well with no explanation...answers would be nice.

I saw a physical therapist specializing in women's health for pelvic pain after my hysterectomy, that my regular gyn told me it was normal. I got a second opinion and was referred to the physical therapist. I could tell a difference after 1 visit.

Good luck, i had a ingunal (sp) nerve trapped after my hyster also. they cut my back open a few wks after my hyster and found the trapped nerve, followed it down to the root, cut it and pulled out the trapped part. Recovery was so, so. I still have some weird sensation in that area, along w/ some loss of feeling there, but it is way better than the SEVERE pain that just the brush of my clothes would do to it. Let me know how it goes.