I have a dilemma involving a hernia...?

Question:

I am a senior in high school, and while I have no proof to the matter, I believe that I have a hernia. (My father had surgery on one a few years ago, so it may be congenital.) Anyway, in addition to living below the poverty line, my family has no health insurance. We simply are unable for me to get an operation right now. However, I don't live a very active lifestyle, with the one exception of marching band. As long as I am careful about my physical health, would it be wise or more detrimental for me to wait until my second year of college or so to get the surgery? I figure that by then, if I have an ok job and have put enough away (and have basic health insurance), I will be able to afford the surgery.

Answers:
People live with hernias all the time. My father had three at the same time. He was an auto mechanic at the time too. When you can afford to get a hernia fixed, if you really do have one, I recommend the Shouldice Clinic in Toronto. All they do is hernias, so they have become quite good at repairing them. One of my dad's room mates, when he was there, was from Arizona and had the same hernia fixed six times before. Shouldice fixes them properly the first time.

A hernia is a problem when a section of intestine pokes through the weakened area of muscle and pinches off. This is very bad and needs to be corrected ASAP. Other than some discomfort, you should be fine otherwise. So far as I know, lots of people are walking around with hernias and they're reasonably alright.

If you're overweight, try losing some of the extra. My dad almost didn't go to get his fixed after he lost about 60 pounds. They didn't bother him anymore at that point.

A hernia operation would be several thousand dollars. It requires general anesthesia, intubation, and mechanical ventilation for the period of the operation. The operation itself only takes an hour or so. There is a recovery period where you might have to stay in the hospital for a day or two to make sure that your stitches will hold and that you can move around normally. You would need to keep changing dressings and things like that once you get home, for a week or two.

Get it diagnosed before you give it another thought. Probably cost you $150, or so. Then you can plan accordingly.

You are right. A hernia can be fatal. There must be a community hospital where you can at least be evaluated. It might not be a hernia and it is a simple exam to find out if it is.

some people can go a year or so with very small hernias before they realize they have them. For a fair sized hernia treatment is needed right away. But you should be in pain and see a large lump and so forth if it was serious at the moment but I may be wrong. For cost I have no idea I live in canada so I have no idea what things cost but it would probably be at least 200+ if not a lot more I have no idea.

You may not have a hernia other things can give similar symptoms first off you need to find out what you have it could be harmless or even more deadly then a hernia not to scare you. If you have symptoms of extreme pain or bleeding or a large growing lump you will need to see a doctor right away.

Have your parents tried to get you on Medicaid or some sort of government assistance?
I also have a hernia, and from what I understand, the longer you wait the more damage is done and the harder it is to repair. Also depending on the type of hernia, you could have your intestines become caught. It will lose blood supply and the tissue will eventually die because of the lack of oxygen. That can be life threatening.
Your best bet is to see if you can get some type of assistance to have it taken care of! That's why those agencies are there! Good luck to you!

The surgery will be in the thousands of dollars. I dont know the way things are in your state, but if you are in real pain, you can go to an ER and they cant refuse to turn you away. After the surgery you can work out a payment plan with the hospital. Dont let them bully you on this. They have to accept whatever you can pay. If the hernia is really bad-or in a tender place, it probably wont last long enough for you to get into college. You didnt say where you think the hernia is but if it's where most males first get them, you can buy something to support the area. You're being very brave. I know how much hernias hurt. I hope things work out well for you.

I am not sure where you live but here in Cali you can get what is called Medi-Cal it is no-cost insurance for low income people. Perhaps you can look into something like that.. once you do that get to a doctor and get an opinion on what they think. If that is not an option but honestly every state has a low income insurance but I couldnt tell you the specific names they go by. Also check out the local clinics, they are pretty low cost and you can get a better diagnosis. Last resort I would say is go to the emergency room, be prepared to wait for quite a few hours and get checked out by a doctor there and they can better give you an idea... I would say go there in extreme cases because there are people that have immediate emergencies and need to get in. Goodluck with everything I hope things work out for you

I have a dilemma involving a hernia...?

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