New poster here... wanted to take a quick second to say 'howdy'.
I also wanted to post a quick re-cap of my experience with a hernia, and how the repair has gone thus far as I wasn't able to find a whole lot of information on this sort of thing leading up to the operation.
I'd been weight training for ten years when I noticed a super small bulge right above my belly button (only noticeable if I stood shirtless in front of a mirror and rocked backwards) exactly one year ago. At the time, I was the only one that could see/feel it... so trying to ask friends or family members for assistance only got me "I don't see anything dude... you're crazy" type responses.
After first noticing it... I took a month off from the gym while trying to figure out if it was serious enough that I should get it looked at immediately, or if I could ignore it for a bit and plow through. I chose to continue weight training.
Fast forward a year, and nothing serious had happened with the hernia... but it was definitely larger, definitely visible... so, clearly it was worsening, though still not causing me any pain. It was also still "reduce-able".. meaning if I laid on my back, or lightly pressed on the hernia... it would painlessly sink back into my abdomen. However, after each of my work outs, I was starting to feel a lot of tightness and 'pins and needles' around the area of the hernia. So that, coupled with the fact that it was visibly growing, prompted me to finally sit the gym out and go and see a doctor.
Got a referral... had a surgeon look it over... and after a 4 month hiatus from the gym (yeah... scheduling this shit took forever, even with good insurance), I should be back to lifting by the beginning of february.
Post-op
So far... so good. They gave me some pain killers that made me sick and dizzy... so I've only been living on acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Overall, post op is not that bad... provided you're getting rest, and not putting any sort of strain on your abdominal region:
Spoiler alert: your abs are utilized in just about every movement you make... so with that in mind... here are the things that have really affected me thus far.
Simple things like clearing your throat... laughing, and most especially coughing, are all excruciating experiences that should not be taken lightly haha. The only thing more painful than coughing is throwing up... so if you've thrown up even once... call your doctor back and make sure nothing else is going on.
The big one is getting in and out of bed, which is different for everyone depending on your body type. I'm a smaller dude at around 6'1, 170lbs... so for me, getting into bed involved sitting off the side of the bed... then laying down on my side, and then rolling over onto my back. All of this was extremely painful. On the first day, just thinking about laying down in bed would make my body start trembling from the anticipated pain.... and this is coming from someone with a high pain tolerance (provided I know whats causing the pain).
Also, for the day following the surgery... urinating will be very difficult, that obviously goes double if your hernia was anywhere in your groin region. Again, mine was above my belly button, and I still had to stand over the toilet for a good 5 mins before I started getting a little drizzle, which eventually gave way. Then theres defecation.... which is also difficult because of the grunting and straining involved. Some people recommend stool softener... all I did was eat a shit load of oats, eggs and yogurt so that by the time I was ready to go, there was very little effort involved on my part.
Other than those things... it's not that bad provided you're someone who can sit still for long periods of time, because you'll have plenty of time for that. I was fortunate enough to have my gf drive me there and back and stick around and cook and do simple things (first day... she had to come into the bathroom just to lift the toilet lid for me, hurt too much to bend that far over haha)
All in all, if you're in generally good health before the surgery... recovery should be slow and steady. I'm on day 6, and each morning I've noticed a significant reduction in the pain. There is still some swelling below the belly button (I guess where fluid is gathering and what not), but I expect things should look good here in a week or so.
I'll update again after my post-op, if anyone is curious. I'll also be glad to help or answer any other questions people might have.
I also wanted to post a quick re-cap of my experience with a hernia, and how the repair has gone thus far as I wasn't able to find a whole lot of information on this sort of thing leading up to the operation.
I'd been weight training for ten years when I noticed a super small bulge right above my belly button (only noticeable if I stood shirtless in front of a mirror and rocked backwards) exactly one year ago. At the time, I was the only one that could see/feel it... so trying to ask friends or family members for assistance only got me "I don't see anything dude... you're crazy" type responses.
After first noticing it... I took a month off from the gym while trying to figure out if it was serious enough that I should get it looked at immediately, or if I could ignore it for a bit and plow through. I chose to continue weight training.
Fast forward a year, and nothing serious had happened with the hernia... but it was definitely larger, definitely visible... so, clearly it was worsening, though still not causing me any pain. It was also still "reduce-able".. meaning if I laid on my back, or lightly pressed on the hernia... it would painlessly sink back into my abdomen. However, after each of my work outs, I was starting to feel a lot of tightness and 'pins and needles' around the area of the hernia. So that, coupled with the fact that it was visibly growing, prompted me to finally sit the gym out and go and see a doctor.
Got a referral... had a surgeon look it over... and after a 4 month hiatus from the gym (yeah... scheduling this shit took forever, even with good insurance), I should be back to lifting by the beginning of february.
Post-op
So far... so good. They gave me some pain killers that made me sick and dizzy... so I've only been living on acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Overall, post op is not that bad... provided you're getting rest, and not putting any sort of strain on your abdominal region:
Spoiler alert: your abs are utilized in just about every movement you make... so with that in mind... here are the things that have really affected me thus far.
Simple things like clearing your throat... laughing, and most especially coughing, are all excruciating experiences that should not be taken lightly haha. The only thing more painful than coughing is throwing up... so if you've thrown up even once... call your doctor back and make sure nothing else is going on.
The big one is getting in and out of bed, which is different for everyone depending on your body type. I'm a smaller dude at around 6'1, 170lbs... so for me, getting into bed involved sitting off the side of the bed... then laying down on my side, and then rolling over onto my back. All of this was extremely painful. On the first day, just thinking about laying down in bed would make my body start trembling from the anticipated pain.... and this is coming from someone with a high pain tolerance (provided I know whats causing the pain).
Also, for the day following the surgery... urinating will be very difficult, that obviously goes double if your hernia was anywhere in your groin region. Again, mine was above my belly button, and I still had to stand over the toilet for a good 5 mins before I started getting a little drizzle, which eventually gave way. Then theres defecation.... which is also difficult because of the grunting and straining involved. Some people recommend stool softener... all I did was eat a shit load of oats, eggs and yogurt so that by the time I was ready to go, there was very little effort involved on my part.
Other than those things... it's not that bad provided you're someone who can sit still for long periods of time, because you'll have plenty of time for that. I was fortunate enough to have my gf drive me there and back and stick around and cook and do simple things (first day... she had to come into the bathroom just to lift the toilet lid for me, hurt too much to bend that far over haha)
All in all, if you're in generally good health before the surgery... recovery should be slow and steady. I'm on day 6, and each morning I've noticed a significant reduction in the pain. There is still some swelling below the belly button (I guess where fluid is gathering and what not), but I expect things should look good here in a week or so.
I'll update again after my post-op, if anyone is curious. I'll also be glad to help or answer any other questions people might have.
