Well, I have a hernia. Going for surgery in a couple of weeks.
I noticed a bulge on my lower abdomen a couple of weeks ago, and had the doctor look at it. It’s not painful, but it does need to be fixed.
I think it was caused by a bad coughing fit I had the night before. It may have existed before then and only enlarged, but it was very noticeable.
It’ll be done laparoscopically: they’ll go in, push things back into place (it goes down when I lay down, a good sign), and put a patch on my stomach. Sounds like I can go back to work in two or three days.
Right now, it’s just waiting. I can do things normally, though I have to be careful about heavy lifting or coughing. I expect things to go smoothly – it’s a very common operation and my surgeon has done a lot of them.
I also had an inguinal hernia repaired a couple years ago. Unlike you, I had it for a couple decades but it was fine until it wasn’t. Mine was also repaired laparoscopically. The pain was pretty bad for a day or two but then got better fairly quickly. The worst pain was due to to the catheter. They make you urinate before you can leave the hospital and it took me a couple hours to get the smallest amount out. I spent the rest of that day and the next day praying to be able to pee. It was so painful.
I can still feel the hernia repair after strenuous work or a workout, or sometimes after sex. But, it’s not too bad - I can live with it. My friend, on the other hand, has had to have his hernia fix repaired twice. Poor guy.
I’ve had an umbilical hernia for a couple of decades. No problem with it, but I could get it repaired if I have to. It’s probably caused by my former obesity, but now that my weight has been coming down, I’m hoping the hernia will go down as well.
I really needed those pain killers for the first two days. I was (am) so worried about getting addicted, plus they made me loopy when I was taking a higher dose the first day, I kept a written log which was helpful.
I hope your recovery goes well! I’m now two full years past mine and I’m back in the gym doing regular weight lifting. For the most part, it’s all good. It’s definitely better than right before the surgery when lifting 20 lbs was painful.
The pain killers didn’t cause any issues with me losing my mental sharpness, and the pain wasn’t really that bad even without them as long as I remained still.
The only real problem was the constipation, which was killer. I stopped using them Monday morning and switched to regular pain relievers. Still slightly sore, but feeling less so each day. I went in to work today and did OK.
Still not lifting anything. There was a snowfall this weekend (only 2-3 inches), and there’s be another tonight. My driveway is not going to be clear until it melts.
You aren’t mentioning the catheter pain which was the worst thing my first day after surgery. Lucky you! It’s an odd thing to not be able to pee after having no issues doing it without thought for 40+ years.
Abdominal surgery, even laparoscopic, means poking through the muscles of the abdominal wall. You have to be given a relaxant, so the poking can be done efficiently.
The relaxant relaxes everything, and nobody wants to clean up piddle if it’s not necessary.
My personal observation is that men are much more squeamish about catheters than women. I will admit, catheters are miserable things.
The pain I went through to get out the smallest bit of urine so they would release me was unbelievable. And then I got to experience that for the next one and a half days. Glad I don’t have to give birth! :eek: