Dec 08 2008 5:15 pm
Surgery – Inguinal Hernia Repair
Well, on October 8th I went under the knife again. This time it was for a Direct Inguinal Hernia. I think I can pretty safely say that the recovery involved with this surgery was pretty painful when compared with the Pilonidal removal. I’d say it was a full 4 or 5 days before I could get out of bed or stand up from the couch or a chair without a significant amount of pain. After that, the healing process went quite rapidly and smoothly. Walking without a limp came about 2 weeks after the procedure.
My story begins with me working out like a mad man over the past several months. I’ve been lifting lots of weight, albeit less weight than I had lifted in the past, and feeling some discomfort in my groin. I figured hell, I’m just doing it wrong. So I’d adjust whenever I felt discomfort, and it seemed to be working. Obviously it wasn’t, but for now we’ll go along thinking it was.
One fine afternoon, post workout – I think it was a Sunday, I noticed a little pain in the bathroom while I was getting undressed to get in the shower. Out of instinct, I put my hand down on the area where it hurt. To my surprise (more like shock) I felt a lump about the size of a golf ball. So, still acting on instinct, I pushed on it. At once the ball made a popping sensation and went back inside of me. At this point I damn near passed out due to the shock of what was happening. I lost vision completely, went white as a sheet (according to Jamie who was standing by watching all of this take place), and luckily was standing near the toilet and sat down on it.
Once I had a chance to calm down, I started doing some research. I came up with an inguinal hernia and made an appointment with the surgical center that performed the removal of my pilonidal abscess. They got me in that same day, for which I am very grateful, and confirmed for me that I indeed had an inguinal hernia and should get it repaired immediately. The appointment was made for the coming Wednesday (two days later) and I was ordered to stay home from work for at least a week following the procedure.
The surgery was a breeze. Although waking up sucked balls. When I woke up in recovery, I couldn’t open my eyes without extreme pain/discomfort. It felt like I had been stabbed in the eyes. We called the nurse and she said that I had opened my eyes during surgery, and they had to tape my eyes shut. I didn’t understand why this would cause me pain, but she called the anesthesiologist down to explain. The doctor said that I didn’t open my eyes as that was not possible due to the type of anesthesia that I received (twilight), and that I must have scratched my eyes while rubbing them. The nurse and he began arguing about whether I opened my eyes or not, but that’s beside the point as they never came to an agreement. I don’t understand the rubbing my eyes thing as that’s something I typically don’t do when I’m sleeping. I’ve never scratched my eyes before anyway. So, to make a long story short, they taped my one eye shut as it hurt worse than the other and sent me on my way home.
Recovery… How shall I put this? Recovery SUCKED! That has to be the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced. I’m sure there’s far worse out there, and I sincerely hope I never experience any of it. I’ve had broken bones, dislocated joints, large chunks cut out of me… And this takes the cake as the most terrible pain I’ve felt. If you’re reading this and going under the knife yourself, know a couple of things here:
First, don’t let it discourage you. Get the surgery. Hernias do not heal themselves, so you need this. Just do it.
Second, you have options. I chose open repair. You can get larthroscopic repair, or open. Larthroscoping is similar to “scoping a knee”. Something that is done to someone who tears their ACL or MCL in their knee. They cut three tiny holes, fill the area with air, and repair with a camera. Scoping is less painful and a faster recovery, but typically has a higher rate of reoccurance when it comes to hernias. So, I chose open as I don’t want this to happen again and don’t mind the 4 inch scar above my junk.
Another aside… They will prescribe pain meds for you during your recovery. I took mine for a total of two days before I had to stop. You’re probably saying, “Why would he stop taking pain pills if he hurt so bad?” Well, the answer is simple: Because they constipate you! What kind of a dumb ass prescribes a pill that causes constipation when they just repaired your damn intestinal tract?! Do yourself a favor and ask for something that doesn’t list constipation as a side effect. They gave me a stool softener to take with it, and I should have known something was up then. But the stool softener didn’t work. I was drinking prune juice by the glass-full, popping the stool softener, and it wasn’t helping. I was pushing and getting backed up. Ugh, so uncomfortable.
It’s now almost 9 weeks since my procedure and I’m doing pretty well. Lifting still gives me discomfort, but I’m constantly checking the area and it feels okay. I’m sure I’ll worry about it for quite some time. But, for now… I’m better.
hey there
i jus read ya blog entry ..and giggled because i had the same thing done… has been 14 days…actually had infection in the belly button from the other surgery umbilical hernia…did your stinging pain stay around awhile?…they cut me up and down.. i felt pain like i have never felt…pain killers just made me happy about the situation…anyways.. just tell me it is a long process…and you feel normal now…
thanks
ben
Hey Ben,
Yeah, I still had some pain at 2 weeks. It has been about 4 months now and it’s by no means a distant memory. It was definitely a long process and I feel pretty close to the way I did before the hernia. There are times when I still feel twinges and my hand darts down to the area checking for a lump. I spend a lot of time in the gym lifting weights, so I’m always thinking about it. But so far, so good.
-Steve
Hi Steve,
WWW is great and makes the world smaller. I’m sited in Denmark and found your link, which is the first information I have found in 5 weeks post after my operation (direct inquinal hernia let side) describing exactly what I have gone through! Open repair with tension free mesh.
Operation done on 1st April 2009 (it’s not a joke) and so limited information from my doc/surgeon about when to do excersise with weight lifting and soccer play. On top, he mentioned that I could risk getting on on my right side also (*sigh*)!
Also I’m so discouraged of the thought of getting a recurrence, but miss my intense soccor play and exersise. Until when will the mesh last hold?
I think that maybe I should do no excersie/soccer play until my mesh is completedly absorped in the body. Got some scarce information that it will take 8-12 weeks but not sure but plan to wait, although unbearable in writin moment!
After nearly 6 months after your operation and training are you doing all right?
Cheers mate,
Anjum
Hi Anjum,
Don’t be afraid to call your doctor and ask him about when you can resume your activities. He’s getting paid a lot of money to operate on you, so definitely make sure he takes care of you.
I can only share my experience based on what my surgeon told me, but it might be different for you since we’re two different individuals. I was given the green light to resume cardio activity at 3 weeks, light lifting at 4 weeks (meaning nothing that makes you grunt), and regular lifting keeping mindful of my comfort level at 6 weeks.
As far as being at risk for getting one on the other side, he’s right unfortunately. But it’s not due to your surgery. Inguinal hernias are something we’re at risk of since birth due to the site not developing fully or properly. If you have a weak inguinal canal, or tissue surrounding the area, then it’s just weak. And there’s nothing we can do to make it stronger since it’s not muscle.
I try to make sure I’m never straining too hard or grunting too much when lifting. Although I am lifting heavier now and feeling some discomfort on my non-repaired side, so I need to go easy and be more aware.
I am good now though, no occurrence that I know of. Repair site is good and I’m more active than I was before it happened.
I hope that helps.
-Steve
Hi Steve:
I had a left-sided inguinal hernia and umbilical hernia surgery a week ago and spent 4 days in the hospital. The pain from the inguinal hernia is unbelievable…like a knife twisting when standing up from the bed or from a chair. I had had two other abdominal surgeries last year due a medical error that went awry after a routine colonoscopy and a reversal of an ileostomy.
I am a senior citizen and am wondering how long these hernias take to improve before one can get on with living a normal life again. I have an excellent trauma surgeon who has taken excellent care of me since the onset of the fisrt surgery until now…my family and I have no complaints in that area of medicine.
I hope you’re improving and not doing anything silly with your increased activities. Myself I like to walk a lot and hopefully, I can resume this as good as what I was doing it before.
Best of luck,
George
Hi George,
I know all too well this pain you speak of. Unluckily for me, I was sent home right after it was done. Needless to say, getting in and out of bed was quite an adventure for a good few days.
As for how long it took for my pain to improve… I’d say after a week I was able to at least move around without getting that knife feeling. Two weeks I was walking pretty well. After 4 weeks I was working out again moderately, and at 6 weeks I was back at it full force. I would definitely say that your recovery time might be a bit longer than mine due to age difference. I’m in my early 30s for reference. But you will be back at it sooner than you think.
I hope that helps. Thanks for the note!
-Steve
Hi Steve,
I have to go in Monday for the Inguinal surgery. I am not looking forward to the pain from surgery. I am wondering if it would have been better to do nothing and wait and see attitude.
Anyway thanks for the information.
Gary
Hi Gary,
Everything I have read or been told has been that hernias do not repair themselves. So based on that unfortunately, it seems that your hernia will not improve from the state it is in now. Any change will only be for the worse. And sadly, that can be pretty bad. My surgeon told me that I could wait if I wanted, but if I did that meant no exertion and if the intestine popped out and didn’t go back in, that I had to rush to the emergency room. Apparently, if that happens it can get pinched off and become life threatening. So I said let’s do the surgery and get it done.
I’ll be honest. The pain was pretty intense compared to other pain I’ve had in my life. That includes some nasty broken bones and the Pilonidal Abscess Repair I blogged about. You’ll need some time off of work to recover and hopefully someone around to help you out, as getting up and down is literally a huge pain for the first few days. Pun intended.
Fortunately, the pain subsides relatively quickly and you’ll have it behind you sooner than you think. Do yourself a favor and ask for pain meds that DO NOT CONSTIPATE. lol
I hope that helps a little bit. I know I don’t have a lot of good news about the pain, but believe me you’ll be better off once you’re done. And I’m 100% pain free now, and stronger and more fit than I was when I had the surgery done.
Good luck and let me know how it goes!
-Steve
I just had my galbladder out and at the same time they discovered an umbilical hernia and fixed it with a mesh. They did all this laproscopically, but it still hurts a week later. I want to go back to work this Monday (today is Friday) but I don”t think I will be able to. The galbladder area is fine, but that hernia is killing me. I never want to feel this kind of pain again.\r\n\r\nIt is nice to know in about 6 weeks I should at least be able to return to work, hopefully more like in two. \r\n\r\nThose pain meds cause constipation and make it so I can”t pass gass. If I take aleve(naproxen) and the pain meds it makes it even worse. Stool softner I use is ducolax which is a 100 mg of something. No help.\r\n\r\nMy problem is without the pain meds, I can”t eat.\r\n\r\nAh well, it looks like 2 weeks is typical for the pain to go away and 4-6 to go back to work.
Hi
I am having the inguinal hernia procedure done Dec 9th, and i never had surgery. What should i do to prepare for the pain, and if i have the surgery at 9am when will i be home. Is there any special food i should buy this weekend to prepare to satisfy my food cravings?
thank you,
Ben
Hello,
I have been dealing with groin pain and pain around my testical area for about a year now.
The pain has been all over the map. From tingling, throbbing to burning.
For the first few months the pain was so bad I did not work at all. Than the pain got less, but still their. (And it is their all of time). It gets worse when I try to run, kick, and work hard or just about anything other than just sitting around. (And on a side note for what ever reason it seems that the pain is more noticeable when I smoke weed.)
I saw many doctors from urologist, neurologist to spine and joint. With ultrasounds and MRIs done none of them could find the cause of my pain. They all said for someone who has been riding a skateboard for a good 15-20 years I look to be in pretty good shape. I finally went to a hernia repair surgeon and he said I have two inguinal hernias. That he could repair them but it is no guarantee to help with my pain.
So I had laparoscopic hernia surgery about a week ago and it seems that the area of the incisions are healing and the pain in this area is starting to go away, but I still have the same pain in the same area as before.
So I have 3 thoughts.
1. Am I not waiting long enough for my body to heal before saying that the surgery did not help my cause?
2. How long should I let my body to heal before I jump to conclusion that it did or did not help with my pain?
3. If it did not what type of doctor can help?
If any one can help with guidance or info that would be super, I am at my wits end and do not know what to do.
Jason
I had a left side Inguinal hernia repaired with mesh 2 years ago November 28th. Just as this article stated it was very painful. I had a terrible time just being able to lay down on a sofa so I slept in a recliner for the first week. Week two I slept on the sofa and still had some discomfort. My worst mistake was going back to work the third week.
Its been two years and believe it or not I still have discomfort at certain times. I pay particular attention when lifting or moving furniture or anything heavy. The best advice I could give would be after the surgery don’t go back to work too soon. The longer you give yourself for recovery the better.
My friend is 78 years old and had surgery on an inguinal hernia back in January. Imagine the pain you guys are having, and then imagine being 78 and going through it. To make matters worse, I encouraged him to get it done. (It was so bad he had to stop whatever we were doing and lay down to “drop it back in.”) Plus I was worried about strangulation. Well, after about four long months, he recovered almost fully. He’s in excellent physical shape (except for the hernia), but after just a month of “back to normal,” the hernia “came out on the other side.” And this is even worse. Sometimes he can’t even get it to “drop back in.” Then eventually it does, but he is in agony. He is overseas right now, but I am hoping he will make it back safely, and we can take care of this…whatever the best solution is. My challenge is going to be convincing him to get surgery after that grueling recovery period. Frankly, I think the doctors who did it were hacks, and they messed something up. It was REALLY painful and REALLY bad. And this guy is not a whiner at all. Has anyone had a second surgery? Any older gentlemen out there? Does anyone recommend a hernia specialist in the Bay Area? What are the dangers if he doesn’t have the surgery?