So I found a small lump while showering over Christmas. Googled it and decided it was likely a femoral hernia and to wait till after Xmas to get checked. Went to the GP about a month ago and typically it seemed to hide from the GP and was a tiny lump that was hard to find at the time. It was actually quite embarrassing as I was stood in my underwear and couldn’t even find the lump for a while, despite it usually being very easy to find even though clothes.
Anyway, it’s about the size of a grape, but disappears when I lie down. Not painful to touch and is moveable.
GP wasn’t concerned, she said either a type of hernia or maybe just a lymph node. she said that usually she would expect it to react to a cough if it was a hernia, which it doesn’t. She said the only way to tell is to do an ultrasound.
so a month on, it’s still the same, but possibly causing some aches in that area but not 100% sure as the lump doesn’t actually hurt and it’s only a very dull ache.
google seems to suggest that just because it doesn’t respond to me coughing, doesn’t mean it’s any less likely to be a femoral hernia.
has anybody had any experience with this? I did try chasing the ultrasound but nobody seems to be able to give me any information, only that the referral has been done.
my biggest concern is that with a femoral hernia, it would require surgery to avoid strangulation. And if strangulation does occur, it’s a medical emergency. I’m the main carer for my disabled son and my partner works away for weeks at a time. I have 4 children in total, although the other 3 are fairly self sufficient. But we live far away from all family and don’t have any friends or relatives who could look after my son. He gets a few hours a month of respite care but that’s it.
basically, if I’m out of action for medical reasons it’s a big issue for us, it’s not just as simple as nipping to hospital then resting for a few weeks after surgery. I can’t do that.
Any advise or suggestions would be great. I’ve looked at private ultrasounds to get an answer quicker but they start at £300 ish which i can’t justify or afford.
thank you!