[Closed] Hernia advice wanted

bupa?

i think it cost's around two grand private.

Depends how bad it is, mine was quite bad, lickiny I had bupa cover through work & got it sorted in 3 weeks!

What the doc didn't tell you is that seeing the specialist is just another appointment & there's another 6+ months wait until you get an poopointment for an operation!

Recovery depends on the type of surgery, keyhole is about a week before you even want to do anything. Not sure about invasive. I had keyhole & was told 5 days before I could drive & TBH, you can't even sit in a car seat before the 5 days is up.

6month wait? Wrong. I take it you are in England (not Scotland). There is an 18 week target from referral to having your treatment.

As already mentioned, hernias can differ in their severity, but one would typically be off any work for 3-6 weeks and than only able to do gentle exercise after that

I did say 6+ 😆 When I had mine done the official waiting list was 9 months but more like 18.

Two grand is a bit much. Make the trip a bit redundant without any spending money. How were you all before you had the operation? I don't feel that limited now. I can ride gently, walk and lift. Did it get worse for you or stay about the same?

Mine hurt unless I pushed it back in. Wasn't cycling when I had mine so don't know. Since I had mine sorted privately I didn't wait, even put the operation back a week so I had it done 2 weeks before xmas & had a longer time off work!

Didn't notice it getting worse but if you leave it, you risk it getting strangulated & that's very bad.

I have two at the moment inguinal & umbilical. Saw the specialist/surgeon this morning actually, was referred by my GP 3 weeks ago & the surgeon said "autumn" so lets say October that's only 3 months. England BTW

No keyhole for me and he said "no heavy lifting for 6 weeks"

i think i have a hernia
lump at the side 2'' to the side of my belly button
is very sore some days, i can push it in.
it sticks out more some days than others.

is it a hernia?

ton, sounds like a hernia. best see the GP

What you need to do is ask your GP, they have knowledge of these things. Or take a calculated risk. Or just accept that you have to postpone your holiday.

The variables are exactly that, variable. I imagine that hernias are graded in seriousness, risk of strangulation etc.

I had an inguinal hernia for years, a raised lump above the LHS of my groin; it never really bothered me. I cycled to work, cycled at weekends, lifted weights in the gym, rode a snowboard in the winter blah blah. I went to my GP to seek advice about something else and she noticed it and said I should get it checked out so I did. I had a mesh repair carried out some months later, was OK to drive 2 days later but didn't feel OK to do properly physical stuff for about 2 months.

So maybe you can postpone the op', but it depends whether you've already lived with it for a while or whether it's an acute condition. If you feel uncomfortable carrying your child in a backpack, and you'll be carrying the child in Thailand, you need to think seriously about that. Would you want to risk [b]having[/b] to go to a Thai hospital with a potentially serious condition, and for your family to have to deal with all of that in a land far-far-away from home?

Sorry mate, but sometimes things just don't line up and you have to accept it. Your health's more important than a holiday. Thailand will still be there next year.

Get well soon!

I had mine sorted 3 months ago, private in Oz. It was iguinal (right side) and was a keyhole op. 1
1 night in hospital
Lots of pain killers and a pain killing shot in the night that was as good as anything from the raving days of glory!
5-6 days off work, no driving
then back to work and at least a month of taking things steady, no lifting kids of bikes etc
Back on bike after 2 months but it was cruising local streets and then some mild road work (20km commute to work)
After 3 months was surfing and full on mtb and decent road rides.

I may have been ultra cautious but after ACL ligament repairs a few years back, i know that things take a while to heal.....give it time and dont rush back to the bike. Holiday will be ok but only if you are planning to relax

Thanks for all the good advice. I was surprised I have to wait so long to see the specialist, as I was also told 3 weeks to see one. I'm hoping it's some kind of mistake and will call them tomorrow.

Its not a dreadfully long wait, its only a hernia, not a brain tumour. The guarentees are between seeing the specialist and getting the op, until you see the specialist and he reccomends it, you don't [i]need[/i] an op. I had my hernia for the best part of a decade with no ill effects.

Speak to your GP again, if you can live with it and he reckons its safe enough (some types of hernia have a risk of 'strangulating' which would be a more serious event, you wouldn't be waiting about in those circumstances) then just hold off until after your hols.

The key thing to keep in mind with the surgery is theres no guarentee what procedure you'll get until you are on the table, you'll probably get key hole, when I got my paraumbilical done I was walking (well shuffling really) out the hospital, painkiller free, by lunchtime. But until they look inside they can't be sure whether keyhole is going to be the answer, so you'll also sign consent for old-school open surgery, and the recovery for that is a lot longer.

So if its safe to do so delay the op til after your hols