hernia operation

[david]

my gp says i have a hernia.
been experiencing soreness every once in a while.
not debilitating, just sore.
tomorrow i see a specialist.
i'm figuring he will push for surgery.
since i don't think i NEED the operation, i will base my decision on recovery time and how much it will interfere with my riding.
as a cyclist, i don't like the idea of messing with that area, to say the least.
any experiences out there? recovery times? lingering negative effects on riding?
thanks

[Kevan]

he said surgery so that's what I did. Easy procedure, done out-patient. The days immediately after the stitch up, hurt like bloody hell, to be honest. By the next weekend I was fine.

If your innerds try to stick out, repair it.

[Fixed]

i had one ask about the twins so blue
cheers

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . .and had the surgery where they implanted the netting to strengthen the area after repairing the tear. It was outpatient surgery and I took a week off for recovery, though with a desk job I probably could have gone back to work sooner. But I played it safe and took the full week.

My initial symptoms were much like yours--just sore and uncomfortable, but not really debilitating pain. In fact, my lower back hurt more than the actual hernia site as my back muscles tried to compensate for the lack of support in front, even though I didn't realize that's what was going on. The doctor told me it wouldn't get better on it's own if I didn't have the surgery, but it would get worse.

So I took his word for it and had the surgery and didn't regret it. If you live somewhere that you don't ride as much in the winter anyway, then I would strongly suggest going ahead and having the surgery now, getting the netting, and recovering over the winter and it will lead to minimal disruption to your riding.

Just keep in mind that as you heal, the tissue that fills in through the netting is scar tissue, not muscle. As you recover and exercise, stretching and moving in new ways, the scar tissue will tear slightly as it adjusts itself to your full range of movements and grows into the gaps. This may go on for up to a year and you may feel some pretty sharp twinges and think, "Oh, cr@p, I'm getting another hernia!" . . . Not so. The surgeon told me that with the netting reinforcement, the recurrence is less than 1%.

Also watch your pain meds when you get home from the surgery . . . they gave me some Darvosets and I was at home flat on the floor watching TV and took the first one. My girlfriend at the time had left for work, so I was there by myself. A while later I needed to pee and hobbled into the bathroom. One moment I was standing there doing my business and the next I woke up on the floor. I was really lucky not to hit my head on any of the bathroom fixtures as I went down. I hobbled back to the living room, lay down again, and no more Darvoset!

BBD

[jhcakilmer]

What type of hernia....Inguinal (direct, indirect), femoral, etc? Indirect Inguinal is the most common.

I'd definitely recommend getting it taken care of. If you let it go, and it gets worse the hernial contents could become strangulated......that would increase the invasiveness of the surgery, and possibly extensive complications.

My wife had a femoral hernia repaired, and she was back to normal in about 2-3 days, with still some discomfort, but nothing intolerable. She doesn't complain of any localized pain, or core weakness.

[vaxn8r]

...My wife had a femoral hernia repaired, and she was back to normal in about 2-3 days, with still some discomfort, but nothing intolerable. She doesn't complain of any localized pain, or core weakness.
Yeah but women are much tougher than men when it comes to medical stuff atmo.

[2LeftCleats]

Had both sides repaired on a Friday 1 yr ago and back to work Mon without much prob. Was riding on a trainer in less than a week and running in about 2-3 weeks. Not a big deal for most folks unless your work involves heavy lifting.

[rwsaunders]

Yeah but women are much tougher than men when it comes to medical stuff atmo.

+1. That's why men elected them to have the babies.

[Fixed]

bro i was out for a month i had the mesh repair
cheers :beer:

[d_douglas]

My father-in-law (an Olympic gold medallist) had a hernia that he ignored for years until he was in agony when he walked.

He finally decided to have the surgery and within two weeks, he was a HAPPY HAPPY man. He regrets opting against it for three years, saying it was time wasted when he could've been happily exercising.

DO IT!!

[Tom]

Take care of it before it gets any worse. The treatment will only get worse as it does.

[ecl2k]

I had a loop of bowel in my nut sack and they fixed it good as new.

[d_douglas]

I am gonna barf.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . that does kinda stray into "TMI" territory . . . :crap:

BBD

[Bud_E]

I had both sides done at the same time "open" with the mesh repair. As I recall it was about a month until the doctor recommended full activity. The pain pills were pleasant but what helped the most was keeping ice on it. It's been about a year and similar to BBD, I'm still aware of the scar tissue. If you do a search on the forum you'll find a few threads on the subject.

[david]

thanks guys.
just got back from the consult.
i'm all in.
doc says it doesn't get better and with age and other related issues, the surgery and recovery can become significantly more complicated.
now's the time.
by the way, i was telling doc about my cycling and he said he has a bunch of patients who are cyclists.
he practices in nyc and lives in pound ridge.
we should start team hernia.
or maybe team intestine caught in nut sack.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Team ICINS . . . I like it!

Seriously, though, you're doing the right thing. If the hernia gets worse and a loop of intestine gets twisted, it can be VERY serious and even fatal.

I think you'll find that the pain from the incision is not bad. The major pain I had was going #2, if I can say that without getting too gross. If you have an incision, it's right in the muscles that you use to, uh, push when you're doing that. Same for another, er, activity that uses those muscles! :rolleyes:

BBD

[ecl2k]

Team ICINS . . . I like it!

Seriously, though, you're doing the right thing. If the hernia gets worse and a loop of intestine gets twisted, it can be VERY serious and even fatal.

I think you'll find that the pain from the incision is not bad. The major pain I had was going #2, if I can say that without getting too gross. If you have an incision, it's right in the muscles that you use to, uh, push when you're doing that. Same for another, er, activity that uses those muscles! :rolleyes:

BBD

The worst is trying to sit up in bed, you can almost hear the stitches pulling apart, like turning the knobs on your guitar tighter and tighter until the strings snap.

[Viper]

Dunno if Jamie Swann of Centerport Cylces is on this forum. I know he had hernia surgery this past summer and was riding a few weeks later. Try to channel Jamie, he can offer advice.

I heard Richie Sachs can insert lugs, welds to make that hernia better than new.

Atmo, imo, imho, fwiw, afaik.

[erikbrooks]

thanks guys.
doc says it doesn't get better and with age and other related issues, the surgery and recovery can become significantly more complicated.
now's the time.


Go for it, man!

Mine was detected in 2005. I asked if it was OK to put it off for 4 months, as I was training for some national champs (XC ski), and GP and specialist said OK. After the race series I waited til end of ski season, then had it done. IIRC, I had it done on a Wednesday, and returned to work on Monday. The first several days I walked the 2.5 miles to work, then resumed biking.

One concern I had after a month or two was that the area where the repair occured did (and still does) stick out a bit. At first the specialist assured me that it would sink into the same level as the rest of my ab area, but it never did. Later he conceded that for low-fat guy, there's less to sink into.

I'm glad I did it, tho. It was fairly minor, compared to lots of other stuff that we can go thru. My only problem now is that when I lean forward into a countertop (like every night when I wash the dishes), the countertop is at exactly the right height to press into that repair area and cause some discomfort. Ah well, a cyclist needs to suffer a little, eh?

[rpm]

Try to find a surgeon who does a lot of hernia repairs. Since it's considered an "easy" surgery, hernia repair is often passed down to the rookies. That was about to happen to me, but I went back to my GP and told him I wanted somebody with some experience. He sent me to a "Hernias 'R Us" guy who told me, "I like to do hernias, I study how to do them, and I'm good at them." He was as good as his word. I spent a couple of hours in the hospital and left with a very small incision, quick healing and no problems afterward. I'm sure the guy makes a lot of money and he deserves it.

[Fixed]

don't be shocked when you look down
it will get better
cheers

[Kevan]

thanks guys.
just got back from the consult.
i'm all in.
doc says it doesn't get better and with age and other related issues, the surgery and recovery can become significantly more complicated.
now's the time.
by the way, i was telling doc about my cycling and he said he has a bunch of patients who are cyclists.
he practices in nyc and lives in pound ridge.
we should start team hernia.
or maybe team intestine caught in nut sack.

Northern Westchester Hospital? That's where I got carved.

[Kurt]

http://www.shouldice.com/

[BumbleBeeDave]

Try to find a surgeon who does a lot of hernia repairs. Since it's considered an "easy" surgery, hernia repair is often passed down to the rookies. That was about to happen to me, but I went back to my GP and told him I wanted somebody with some experience. He sent me to a "Hernias 'R Us" guy who told me, "I like to do hernias, I study how to do them, and I'm good at them." He was as good as his word. I spent a couple of hours in the hospital and left with a very small incision, quick healing and no problems afterward. I'm sure the guy makes a lot of money and he deserves it.

" . . . I'm good at them, and by gosh, people LIKE me for doing them!" ;)

BBD

[david]

don't be shocked when you look down
it will get better
cheers

shocked?
okay, now you're freakin me out.

[david]

Northern Westchester Hospital? That's where I got carved.

lenox hill.
doc's name is seton.
been a surgeon for 30 years.
specialist in hernias for about a dozen.
and his waiting list is only a week! :banana: