Persistent Racking Pain

I've had this racking pain on my left side off and on since my reversal. Then a couple months ago, it became much more of a player in my daily life. Not a day goes by when I don't have this racking pain/sensation on my left side.

This is the same pain that is present when I had that popping feeling in my left scrotum. I really thought I was having a hernia down there on that side. I still have my suspicions despite getting it checked out. The guy said he couldn't feel the hernia, but my symptoms were all classic hernia-like symptoms.

So the other day, I decided to get back on the treadmill after my latest pain flare-up. Usually I warm up for about 8 minutes before getting to my top speed of 4 mph. It doesn't sound very fast, I know, but when you're in the terrible shape I'm in, that's plenty fast. So I wanted to warm up even slower than normal because of this racking pain I've had. After about 5 minutes, I 'jumped' up to 2.6 mph. That's when it hit me. Very extreme and immediate racking pain on the left side. It felt like my left scrotum was filling with rocks. I had to get off the treadmill and head to the bathroom.

Interestingly, this happened while I was wearing athletic support. After I made sure I was having a strangled hernia down there, I returned to the treadmill and made another slow go of it. I eventually got all the way up to 3 mph, but couldn't go any faster for fear of pain.

So, I think it's time to get this checked out. Because I don't think it's nerve pain. Rather, it seems more like a mechanical problem. Like something is moving that shouldn't be. Maybe I'll get an MRI or sonogram to make sure it's not a hernia.

I'm going for a flat hike today with the family. I hope nothing bad happens while we're out there. But I will be taking it easy for sure. Luckily, the kids don't hike very fast.

Also, my right side has been pretty decent. If the left side would just calm down and give me a break, life would be pretty decent. I've been taking ibuprofen to and it seems to help with the pain, but I can't keep taking ibuprofen as my cardiologist says that's a bad thing for my heart.