I'm going in for a consultation for a surgery next week.

Any questions I should ask?

See if they can schedule you as #1 for the day. I had mine done a few years ago and was #3 or 4 in line. Complications arose for those in front of me and it was well into the late afternoon before I was done. It's not that important, but you're not supposed to eat for 12 hours before. 12 hours for me turned into about 19 or 20 with the delays.

Ask for the pain ball- slow release pressurized ball full of pain medication with a tiny catheter into the area where they cut. I felt nothing for 3-4 days after.

Get ready to be shaved by an unfamiliar nurses assistant. Mine was cute, which made it more awkward

Buy some loose sweatpants, a few gel packs, and a few new movies. Get some laxatives too. You don't want to be pushing with those muscles for a while.

Day of wasn't too bad. The next day the anesthesia wore off and I started feeling it. The pain-med ball does help.

Laxatives will help. Also, there will be some swelling so I second the b**** sweatpants.

I was also told to try not to sneeze or cough too much or puke for about a month to avoid straining the muscles. My 21st birthday was 6 days after the surgery so that was a slight challenge.

Get it done early, get home, put on some movies and take it easy.

I guess day of i won't have much pain?

I woke up from my previous surgery nauseated and puked for several hours. .

Had mine done first thing in the morning. Took a few hours. After the groggyness and numbness from anesthesia wore off the pain was blinding that night. Just trying to stand up and walk to the bathroom was virtually impossible and I actually fell once. Days 2-4 were significant improvements. They didnt have the pain ball when I did mine. If you cant/dont get that, stay on top of pain meds and be proactive with them, not reactive. It's alot easier to prevent pain than to alleviate it. First night I was barely able to even walk, day 3 we went house hunting, so the recovery is pretty quick.

Not sure why b a g g y got censored on my previous post.

So it sounds like the surgery recovery is more painful than the actual hernia??

Unthought Known said:

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So it sounds like the surgery recovery is more painful than the actual hernia??

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No, no, no. For me, my hernia started in the summer of last year and slowly got worse, to the point in October and November that I would have significant pain on weekends. My job is not physically demanding, but on weekends I'm quite active. It would usually be a dull ache or a sharp pain in the groin region. Sometimes I would have to push on my groin to reduce the hernia or else sit down for a few minutes. It sucked because I never knew exactly what would cause the pain. I could be on my feet all day and not have pain, then have pain after being on my feet for an hour. Running would sometimes bother it, and sometimes not.

Surgery (robot assisted) for me was a Friday late morning. I wore a t-shirt and scrub pants. Returned to PACU at 1330, left hospital at 1700. It was never a sharp pain more like a dull ache that I often said it felt like I went a few rounds with a prize fighter and only got punched in the gut. Watched TV and slept the remainder of the night.

Saturday and Sunday remained sore in the gut. Nothing that Ibuprofen couldn't handle. Was able to get up and move around a little, and play with my kids a little bit

Monday ran errands and was fine.

I was told to be off work for a week, but couldn't afford to miss work due to multiple reasons. Tuesday returned to work and was fine in the morning and toughed it out in the afternoon. Wednesday I felt back to normal, although I couldn't lay on my stomach for another couple of weeks.

Two weeks later returned to running without pain.

So I feel mine when doing ab work, planking, or sitting up after a run. Sometimes I can feel it during the run. It's painful and sharp in one place, but not anything unbearable. I know the difference between injury pain and muscle fatigue pain.

Oh well.

I guess the brightside is that all of our medical bills will be 80% this year.

I had two separate surgeries for this about 10-12 years ago. Had one on each side. They found the second a couple of months after doing the first.

The pain ball must be new. They just sent me home with pain meds and stool softeners. I made sure to take my pain meds exactly as prescribed and was able to keep away most pain.

I remember spending most of the first few days in bed as sitting up was painful. I specifically remember the trouble it was getting in and out of bed. It's tough to find a position to get in and out that doesn't kill you.

Oh, and don't laugh for a week. It freaking hurts.

I lived on the third floor when I had my surgery. Stairs could be done but it was about 5-7 days before I could walk then normally. The first week I had to put both feet on each step and maybe go down at an angle. I also walked quite a bit slower. I wasn't as active back then but think I was back to light jogging in two weeks.

Boats and Hose said:

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Not sure why b a g g y got censored on my previous post.

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The last four letters of that word are an Aggie slur.

Counterpoint said:

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Boats and Hose said:

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Not sure why b a g g y got censored on my previous post.

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The last four letters of that word are an Aggie slur.

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Of which no one cares.

Unthought Known said:

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Counterpoint said:

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Boats and Hose said:

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Not sure why b a g g y got censored on my previous post.

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The last four letters of that word are an Aggie slur.

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Of which no one cares.

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Exactly. Plus, it's not that hard to make it so someone could type b a g g y, and still restrict someone from typing the dreaded A word if you wanted to do that.

Well of course for me, the acute pain of recovery was worse than then hernia pain tenfold. But now the hernia is gone and I sometimes forget I even had one. The pain began to effect my work before I got the surgery. I would have to duck away to the bathroom periodically just to sit since simply standing became very Uncomfortable

I'm about two years out from my surgery. I went the laparoscopic route which is what most push these days. Recovery is supposed to be quicker.

I was laid up for about 4 days before I even felt like walking around. Sitting up sucks. Lying flat sucks. Walking sucks. The first week of my recovery was pretty miserable. The day of wasn't bad but definitely set an alarm ever 6 hours for the pain meds as prescribed. The first night I thought I'd be fine and just sleep until I woke up then take my meds... that was a mistake. Stay ahead of the pain for the first few days at least.

I didn't start hitting the gym for about 5-6 weeks. I've had to go back twice because I've pushed too hard on leg day.

Others I know haven't had issues.

If this post ran on or didn't make sense I'm tired.

You'll be fine. It's pretty common.

Going under the knife on Thursday.

Been feeling it for a while, but no pain until a few weeks ago when I sneezed. Then it was 3 or 4 days of intense pain with a steady soreness. A low level soreness has continued with occasional pain when I move in a bad way. Docs confirmed hernia on both sides, so getting 2 for 1 laparoscopically.

Had a 5k + half marathon scheduled for MLK weekend. Scrubbing that.

Looks like recovery isn't bad. Doc gave me 2 weeks off work, but looks like that full time might not be needed. Glad pain is manageable. Don't want anything stronger than ibuprofen.