I think I have an inguinal hernia. Strangely enough, my dad has the same symptoms as me, and just got back from a specialist who was able to detect it, it as very small and his regular physician wasn't able to find it. Ironically I may be in the same boat.

About 5 weeks ago I was sweeping snow with a push broom and a few hours later out of knowhere my right testicle was in pain. Not excruciating, but I have a high pain tolerance it seems. After 3 days of constant pain, I saw my doctor. I hadn't been for a visit because I am in-between jobs right now and uninsured, the one thing we hadn't done yet was a groin exam as part of a physical. I was worried it might be cancer becasue of the localization of the pain - solely in the testicle. I was examined and no hernia was found, so I guess it could have been a slight tear. We did a uninalysis for infection which came back negative. As prescribed, I took Ibruprofen for a week, and the pain seemed to go away.

But, it've felt the pain recurring in different areas near my lower groin. I've been taking things light physically, but it's been 5 weeks and I still have a pain right near my scrotum on the right-hand side. Some days I feel nothing, other days I feel a pain up higher. Not constant like before, more intermittent. Listening to my dad describe the exact same sympoms and location makes me think I have the same thing.

My dillema is I am unisured for the moment and that may change in a month or two. If the injury is so light that my doctor didn't find it in an exam and I don't even feel pain some days, could I get by for a while taking it easy and avoid complications as it seems to be mild?

A sortof complication/theory is I am a big man, 6'3", I was almost 400 pounds last july, I have been mainly dieting and occasionally exercising (battling one injury after another) and am down to 320 pounds. I am determined to get to 220 pounds and am staying on track. But I've notice while losing weight my (stomach/abdomen - I'll call it "gut") has shrunken and now rests differently than it did when I was heavier. I think I got this injury because my gut is moving differently when I do things like shoveling snow. I wonder what will happen as I continue to lose weight and my gut shrinks. If I am careful, will this minor hernia go away? If I keep exercising on light walks/hikes, will it worsen? I am extremely good at listening to my body and am familiar with good diet and exercise from stretching - I teach martial arts.

I can't find any information relating obesity/weight-loss to hernia. So the question bugs me. I have all this mass, mainly fat, some skin and muscle, that has stretched the tissue of my body. As all of that compacts and shrinks and goes away, how would a minor hernia injury progress?

Also, is there a chance that it is not hernia and just a bad tear that should mend? Like I said, it hasnt gone away in 5 weeks but at times I haven't noticed it and the pain has moved a bit. Sould I take a regimen of iburpofen for another week? My doctor told me not t go more than 8 days straight.

Thanks for any insight.