Inguinal Hernia

[Z3Dreamer]

Minor case. Surgeon and what I can read online say that the vast majority of people that have this eventually need surgical repair. So, I opted to get it done before it got worse. While in they will check the other side and repair it, if necessary. Surgery is already scheduled, so I am not looking for you to talk me out of it.

I want recovery stories from those of you who have had this. I actually want success stories about how easy and quick the recovery was.

 

[REWahoo]

I actually want success stories about how easy and quick the recovery was.

I had the surgery (plus additional surgical repairs) and was back wearing a g-suit and flying within two weeks. Of course I was 24 at the time...

 

[Oz investor]

sorry i can't help there ,
the best i can tell about a highly credentialed surgeon supposed to repair a hernia over the left femoral artery , big enough to poke two fingers in almost fully ( with his trousers on )

so in he goes for surgery and when he wakes up the surgeon is there smiling to tell him he has removed the left testicle but the GREAT NEWS is , it wasn't cancerous ( and hadn't touched the hernia at all )

now if you are American such an error should leave Financially Independent without any real struggle , at all

meanwhile the patient will tell/show anyone who will listen the story complete with the surgeon's name and enough details to prematurely file any lawsuit you seem fit

but good luck on your surgery ( or happy litigation )

 

[Peter]

I've had both sides done, on two separate occasions. Both times, open surgery, rather than laparoscopic. Recovery was very quick; a day on Tylenol 3 and then Ibuprofen as needed.



Not sure if it's appropriate to say this, but I would delay having the surgery done until you start getting pain. Reason is that every time they go inside your abdomen, you'll end up with scar tissue, which can lead to adhesions and intestinal obstructions. Apparently this is fairly common, and yes, it happened to me.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I had what the surgeon described as a "manly" double hernia -- he recommended (and performed) an "open" hernia repair rather than laparoscopic because he said the open approach was more successful for men with my physical build (I wear a size 48 jacket). So far, so good, 12 years after the surgery.

There was about three days of significant post-op pain, but then it dropped off dramatically. On day 4 I went grocery shopping.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

sorry i can't help there ,
the best i can tell about a highly credentialed surgeon supposed to repair a hernia over the left femoral artery , big enough to poke two fingers in almost fully ( with his trousers on )

so in he goes for surgery and when he wakes up the surgeon is there smiling to tell him he has removed the left testicle but the GREAT NEWS is , it wasn't cancerous ( and hadn't touched the hernia at all )

now if you are American such an error should leave Financially Independent without any real struggle , at all

Not really. In my state the malpractice cap is $750,000 for "pain-and-suffering" damages. The state supreme court recently upheld the cap in the case of a woman who lost both her arms and her legs to an infection that went undiagnosed.

 

[Oz investor]

Mr._Graybeard ,

maybe that surgeon is ( mal) practicing over there , that is a terrible ( court ) decision

maybe the judge should crawl a mile in her shoes did the family sue as well ( lost earnings to care for her )

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Mr._Graybeard ,

maybe that surgeon is ( mal) practicing over there , that is a terrible ( court ) decision

maybe the judge should crawl a mile in her shoes did the family sue as well ( lost earnings to care for her )

Here's a link to the newspaper story: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/investigations/2018/06/27/wisconsin-supreme-court-upholds-states-750-000-malpractice-cap/736673002/

We're a little off topic, so I'll add that I had no post-operative infection from my hernia patches.

One of the post-op aids for pain was kind of interesting -- the doc implanted a couple small tubes into the incision and hooked them up to a couple bottles of novacaine or some similar numbing painkiller. I wore the bottles on a belt like a couple of six-guns. Whenever I felt the need I could shoot a little numbing juice into the surgical site with a squeeze bulb. After the juice ran out I simply pulled the tubes out of the incision and it sealed right up.

I got a lot more out of that stuff than the Vicodin the doc prescribed.

 

[gamboolman]

Had hernia repaired about 15 years ago
The first week after the surgery was FN Hell painful
But I needed fixing. Thank God for modern medicine.

 

[John Galt III]

Z3Dreamer, I know you didn't ask for advice, but...hee hee... I was diagnosed with an inguinal hernia when I was around 22 years old. Probably caused by heavy lifting at blue collar job. I didn't have pain in the area, just a weird feeling and minor soreness sometimes. The doc recommended surgery and said he had a surgeon friend who would be happy to do it for me! I got a second opinion (which you can do also) and the second opinion doctor said yes, I do have an inguinal hernia but I don't need to baby it too much. Can even keep lifting heavy things, but not as heavy and awkward as the incident that originally caused it. Got THIRD opinion at around age 30 from family doc who said it would probably just get worse and worse. Skip to chase : Now age 63 and have not had hernia repaired and it is just not a problem or a worry. I lift moderately heavy things all the time (less than 40 pounds). Whenever I get a hernia check ( I had to get them every year when I was a trucker from age 51 to 57) I don't say anything, and they never find a hernia !! Go figure! If it isn't bothering you, my suggestion is to just let nature heal it, which I think is what happened to mine. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[Red Badger]

Also, make sure they check for umbilical as well as L/R. I had all 3 done at once.

And, don't let nature take it's course. A cow*rker went to ER when his small hernia became strangulated. He then got to go in and get the other side done on elective basis.

 

[Montecfo]

I had 2 separate surgeries. Yes ruptured one side then next year the other. He used mesh second time. I recovered quickly but seem to remember some limits on lifting for a while. Stands to reason.

Oh yes, this was 43 and 44 years ago (I was 13 and 14). I suspect procedures have improved markedly. It was routine then.

 

[LOL!]

This reminds me: I need to go get the other side done.

First side was uneventful. It started to show up after I was rehab-ing an ACL reconstruction and just working too hard on the weights. After a consult, I had outpatient surgery the next afternoon. I'm pretty good with feeling no pain for just about anything, so my experience cannot translate to anybody else I would think. I am fully active with no complications from that surgery that I am aware of.

 

[mystang52]

Some 20 years ago I had hernia surgery - the old fashioned kind because of the nature of my hernia. I took the next day off, then was back to work. I was in a fair amount of pain for a few days, but it was manageable. I can't remember exact amount of time anymore, but I know I was back to my running in a relatively short time. No residuals after the recovery.

 

[Life_is_Good]

I was diagnosed with this inguinal hernia by my family dr. about 10 years ago. He didn't bring it up. I had asked what is causing the slight bulge below my abdomen. He said no surgery was necessary at that time... until there was pain or discomfort. The recommendation was to just be careful lifting heavy objects.

Several years later he left the medical clinic. I see a new dr. and ask about the inguinal hernia. New dr. says he does see any evidence that I have one. Huh??

Today I didn't really know if I have one or not. Still no pain or discomfort.

 

[John Galt III]

I was diagnosed with this inguinal hernia by my family dr. about 10 years ago. He didn't bring it up. I had asked what is causing the slight bulge below my abdomen. He said no surgery was necessary at that time... until there was pain or discomfort. The recommendation was to just be careful lifting heavy objects.

Several years later he left the medical clinic. I see a new dr. and ask about the inguinal hernia. New dr. says he does see any evidence that I have one. Huh??

Today I didn't really know if I have one or not. Still no pain or discomfort.

Three different doctors who examined me, at my request, have told me I have a small inguinal hernia. Two docs said to get it repaired, one said I didn't have to. The interesting thing is, I had to get checked for hernia once per year for my j*b, and I never mentioned the hernia, and they did check, but never found one (or they ignored it because it was small?). They never said they found a hernia, anyway. I limit my heavy lifting. No pain or soreness. Knock on wood.

 

[DEC-1982]

Fairly quick recovery (laparascopic). Tylenol for 1 or 2 days was enough for slight pain. But I didn't do heavy lifting for a while (1+ month) as a precautionary measure.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

OP here. Had the laparoscopic bilateral inguinal surgery today. 4 hours after surgery, I took 600 mg ibuprofen as a precaution. Did it again, 4 hours later. I think it has now worn off and I have no pain or discomfort.

Will take it easy for the doctor recommended period.

Between this and a few other things, I have now met my deductible. Thank you. Thank you.

 

[Bamaman]

I agree. If you have a problem that needs fixed, get'er done. You are not getting younger. The problem is not going away in its own.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

You did the smart thing. Small hernias can get bigger. Ask me how I know.

 

[stargazer08]

Both my husband and I had hernia repairs in 2017. I had a inguinal and hubby had inguinal and a ventral hernia above his belly button. Both inguinals were repaired with mesh. The ventral was repaired with 2 stitches.

We both had laparoscopic repairs. We agreed that 85% of the recovery pain was from the laparoscopic procedure and not the actual repairs. We both also felt that Advil provided the best pain relief.

I had my procedure first. The pain from my abdomen was pretty bad the next day when trying to get out of bed. I had to roll off the bed vs using my abdominal muscles to get up. I was down for about 4 days but would have bounced back sooner had I not tried using the pain meds. Once I pitched them for Advil I was good to go.

Hubby experienced the same pain but knowing the use of Advil worked so well for me he went straight for that and was up and around within 2 days.

I'm surprised at the quantity of pills I got for my procedure. 40 pills! I can't tolerate codeine so I got some special highfalutin drugs that cost $5/pill. I used 11 of them. What a waste of $$.

I ride horses. My first long trail ride 4 or 5 weeks post op was interesting. I had to stop about 45 mins into the ride because the pain from the repair site was so bad. After 20 minutes I could tolerate riding. I think the scar tissue needed to stretch or adjust. Haven't had any trouble since then.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

OP here. Recovery is going well. Starting back to doing things, but nothing doctor recommended against.

I have my two week checkup this Thursday. With this surgery, I have met my deductible for the year. In-network stuff is now covered at 100%. I have read online about physical therapy after hernia repair. Of course, I could just print out a list of recommended exercises and go at it. But does anyone have experience with PT after this type of surgery?

I would NOT be doing it because it is now no-cost to me. That is just one factor. So again, did anyone do post hernia repair surgery PT?

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I didn't have any PT after my "open" hernia repairs. Never felt a need for it. Recovery was quick and uneventful after the first few days.

 

[Gongos]

have umbilical hernia and am interested in others stories

Counting down to appointment day with surgeon (now under 50 days!).

Fearing that things will get strangulated while i wait.

anybody go through strangulated hernia?

thanks

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Did not go through strangulated hernia. I wish you luck.

I have more info on recovery. Had my 2 week after surgery visit with surgeon/PA. "Everything is fine, continue to slowly increase activity. No ab workouts for 2 more weeks."

He said failures where patient overdoes things come in the first 4 weeks. Body is still healing for a full 8 weeks but very few damage themselves after 4 weeks. Stomach is still distended and I find it difficult to wear pants with a belt.

I asked about Physical Therapy after hernia surgery. He said that no patient of his has ever done PT after hernia repair but if I really wanted we could go there. I decided not to.