Finally got a date through for my inguinal hernia op. It’ll be a mesh job.

How long am I going to be laid up for?

I had a hernia op in my 20’s took a week or 2 needle I could drive etc.

Not sure of type of hernia I had though.

Edit: I could shag after a week though. That was a more pressing need in my 20’s than driving though. Ymmv.

I had an inguinal hernia op last Feb, laproscopic so through my stomach. By mesh do you mean cut near your groin?

I felt fine after 2 weeks, but don’t let that fool you. Recovery wasn’t bad and I was back leading a normal life excluding riding/training after 3/4 weeks. I wasn’t back to 100% on the bike or gym for maybe 6 months? and even then I could feel the surgery site until around a year post op. Back to normal now though.

I had a laparoscopic bilateral inguinal herna mesh repair last year.

At three weeks I could manage a gentle MTB ride. By six weeks I could do pretty much whatever I wanted.

Had a open hernia op last December.
Was told to try and walk as much as possible afterwards.
Was back on the bike doing gentle spins after 3 weeks – just take it easy
Back to full activity after 6 weeks.
But nothing strenuous.

I had an Iguana* hernia operation just over a year ago with a three inch incision and mesh insert. Apart from the anaesthetic wearing off before they’d finished (spine injection) and the complete lack of any after operation advice, I have been fine. It was a private hospital but paid for by the NHS, hygiene and Covid precautions weren’t the best but I’ve survived. I took my time and can lift heavy stuff again, commensurate with my age! Getting in and out of bed was the most painful and I had to fall back on my spine injury methods.
*it was in my groin so may not have been named after a large lizard.

Had a 2 for 1 back in 2010 then aged 45

Inguinal(groin) & Umbilical both full slash and mesh.

Afterwards had a persistent bleed in the groin and an infection in the umbilical but after 6 weeks I was back at work and on the bike. Think I managed a bit of the horizontal jogging at that point as well, probably the last time as well 😮

Had a bilateral (both sides) inguinal hernia op with mesh repair early May this year. Back on bike at 2 weeks for gentle spins. Took around 6 weeks before feeling like I could return to normal efforts (still had some tenderness around lower abdomen until that point). Now pretty much fully back to normal at under 8 weeks. Was really tired for the first week, but tried to walk a bit every day (starting with about 100 yards the day after op!). Worst things in that first week were getting in and out of bed, putting socks and shoes on, and passengering in a car (you feel every little bump!).

Mesh jobby both sides around 12 years ago now.
6 weeks off work and no biking or Windsurfing.
Hurt like hell raising yourself up from lying down, shoes, socks were a nightmare
Pooing was impossible for a week, had to stick a suppository up my arse to release the backlog.
Took 4 months to get back to normal
Got referred to pain clinic after 8 weeks as little to no improvement.
Had the odd twinge for around a year.

I think the surgeon rushed mine as i was supposed to be the first op of the day but the nurses missed me so i wad late in tp theatre despite sitting in the waiting room for a few hours before hand

The Big Day is drawing closer!

More questions…

How long before you could drive?
How long were you signed off work for (office job)?

Currently waiting for an op date.

Some of the stories ^^^^ are not encouraging me. I’m “planning” (fingers crossed) a couple of days of SFA, then back to work (office type stuff WFH – could do it from bed at a pinch). A fortnight or so of light duties, then starting to get gently back to strength.

A mate (younger than me) did similar and was doing plenty of walking a fortnight in and was starting to ride gently after 3 weeks, so hoping for similar results.

Why on Earth would you work from bed?*

I’m not touching the computer for as long as my sick note dictates.

*Unless you are self employed.

Keyhole bilateral for me about 18 months ago. I was signed off for a fortnight (light office duties). I expected to take a few days and be back working (WFH, desk based etc). Don’t kid yourself – take the time off. First couple of nights were a bit unpleasant so you’ll feel tired during the day and sitting at a desk just isn’t comfortable for a week or so.

Pretty sure I was allowed to drive after 2 weeks and was back to gentle runs at 3. Wasn’t allowed to lift anything for 6 weeks then pretty much back to normal. Although I have a follow up in about an hour as I still have some scar tissue there and some discomfort at times. Hopefully they’ll say just live with it and they don’t need to do another repair.

Bilateral here, back in the gym after a week working around it, then back to heavy squats/deadlift after 6.

I had a bi-lateral inguinal mesh repair in 2016, took about 4-6 weeks before back to normal. Unfortunately I’m now waiting for another repair as I have a recurrence, not seen the surgeon yet but I’m told it could be open surgery this time, rather than keyhole. Getting old is great isn’t it!

Just had a call from the hospital with a date…. Poo just got real!

Why on Earth would you work from bed

a)low boredom threshold
b)I’m the only one who does my specific job and I’m surrounded by idiots. I’d rather not return back to the busiest part of the year and an absolute omnishambles.

Fair point. I’m going to build Airfix Kits.

To be frank you’re going to find quite varying stories of recovery – partly because different surgeons do their procedures in different ways and its the surgery, not the hernia that you are recovering from. But also what you can or can’t do is pretty subjective. Unless things go wrong – theres adhesions to deal with or whatever –  and they have to bail from the key hole and have to do open procedure instead . (the plan will be for laposcropy but you’ll need to give consent for something more low tech too in case there are complications) then strictly speaking with a mesh surgery you’re as good as new from the moment you wake up. Its referred to  ‘perambulatory surgery’ in the sense that you can just walk out of the recovery room and go home where as with older style open surgery you’d be kept in to prevent you doing yourself a mischief.

However its uncomfortable while you recover and how you FEEL about that discomfort is what really dictates what you are or aren’t capable of. Be aware that general anethetsics can take a surprisingly long time to wear off and can be pretty debilitating for a while. For me Codeine makes me feel absolutely miserable, while I’m taking it and for days afterwards, so that curtailed me more than anything else for a while

Id say the biggest thing to be cautious about during recovery is your back -your doctors will advise on the surgery itself and what you should or shouldn’t do in relation to the repair and its healing but there wider aspects they maybe don’t  – because your abdomen is tender and your aware of the repair theres a tendency not to use your core muscles as you get back to ‘doing things’ and this can make you pretty prone to back problems. So for me a side effect of hernia surgery was sciatica.

Poo just got real!

Oh it gets really real

You can’t beat the heady mix of abdominal surgery and opiate induced constipation 🙂

Was just finding this thread to say go easy on the codeine they give you afterwards – you definitely don’t want to be straining. Keep your fibre intake up!!

Oh and you’ll probably have really sore shoulders for a few days afterwards – they pump you full of gas to give them space to work and it comes out through your shoulders – weird shit!

Wise words from maccruiskeen,we are all different and surgery can vary. Just test things out (slowly) and find what works.It can sometimes be a long time before you trust some movements at full power.

Fair point. I’m going to build Airfix Kits.

The model bench is at 90° on my desk to the work PC. If I can do one, I can do the other. (possibly simultaneously!)

Oh – and thanks Maccruiskeen – useful info.

As above recovery can vary hugely depending on a number of factors, hernia size etc.

My hernia was enormous according to my surgeon and couldn’t be keyholed as it was on the same side where I’d had my appendix out, my recovery was a month to walk a decent distance ( ten minutes or more) without fatigue triggers kicking in, six weeks til I felt I could drive and two months till I could go ( gently) back to work and another month after that till I could cycle, not mountain bike, just cycle. Full recovery so it felt right, about a year.

Still gives me twangs of discomfort occasionally almost three years on.

Oh and remember tight pants and laxatives!

That’s me done earlier today ✅ (and now can’t sleep) .

Inguinal open mesh repair.

Doesn’t hurt much, bit of an ache, but can feel that moving might strain it so being super careful, I really don’t want to have any issues with it.

Signed off for 6 weeks and due a follow up appointment. I’m not very good at sitting still so think I might be in for a boring few weeks.

6 weeks!? 😯

Yep, I guess I can get it reduced if I’m feeling fine. How long are you off for?

I have to hold a medical for work so can’t do my job until I can get that back, which means I need to be off painkillers (I really hope I am before then), can climb stairs pain free and can sit for 2 hours at a time without pain/distracting discomfort.

I also won’t be working from bed!

Not got mine until Friday. Will find out then. Are you Phil with the Orange 5 from Ramsbottom that I did Twentyfour12 with back in 2006?

Hopefully I’ll be back in 2 weeks as I don’t have to do anything more strenuous than tap a keyboard or pick up a coffee mug.

Driving is the issue.

A couple of questions for those that have just had or about to get done.

My letter says to fast “from midnight prior to the date of your admission”. Which couldn’t be much more unclear. Are they talking from 00:01 on the day of the event(ie 7hrs, as they want me there at 07:00), or 00:01 the day BEFORE, so 31 hours…? One is obviously pretty easy. The other rather more of an effort!

There’s no mention made about shaving the relevant area. Is that because they just keyhole in higher up?

I’m taking it from the day of the event. My last food intake is 2:00am on the day of the procedure and last water intake at 6:30am.

I’ve been told not to shave for a week in advance (I’ve been using KT Tape to hold it in, so I’ve got a couple of runways mowed into the airfield if you get my drift).

Cool, thanks.

I’ve got a couple of runways mowed into the airfield if you get my drift

Mind bleach please!!

Strategic shaving only, not the full on smooth like a dolphin look. One horizontal strip along the top, one vertical to the top of the leg. X marks the (weak) spot!

The KT has largely allowed me to get on with life and the hernia only really aches when the tape goes “baggy”, so I have to change it every 4 or 5 days. Did a full contact session at karate last night. Impossible without being taped up.

Kept me sane over the last year or so.

Ah. That sounds rather worse than mine. Just a bit of a bulge where there shouldn’t be, but want to get it fixed before it gets worse!

Wasn’t too bad for the first year, just the occasional twinge and a comedy bulge that I could push back in. Then last September I tried to lift a canoe out of a lake and it was A REALLY STUPID THING TO DO.

Anyway, in 48 hours I’ll be fixed.

2 weeks of Airfix, reading and Game of Thrones. Bring it on!

Not sure why I didn’t see this before. I had an inguinal hernia repair just under 2 years ago, in November.

It sounds like yours was worse than mine – I had a lump that wasn’t causing me any discomfort. I have private with my work so opted to get it sorted out when it suited me.

Mesh repair under local anaesthetic. Admitted at 7AM on a Saturday morning. Operation done, food eaten, and home by 3 in the afternoon. 2 weeks signed off.

I have an allergy to Ibuprofen and my surgeon was a little concerned that Paracetamol on it’s own wouldn’t be enough. But I was fine. By the following Weds I wasn’t taking any medication for pain, and walking a few 100 yards to meet Jr at the school bus stop.

My advice – listen to the surgeon. I used to joke with him that I’d be back on the bike before the 6 weeks he said. He wasn’t impressed and I observed that. Eased myself back into cycling gently some short rides at 6 weeks and was cycling for 2 hours by the New Year. The only time it ever really gave me any jip was when I got Covid a year later.

Good luck. Take it easy rest up and listen to your body. You’ll be fine!

A couple of questions for those that have just had or about to get done.

Yeah midnight the during the night before, so last for for me 10hours before and last water 2hrs before.

I got told not to shave running up to it and woke up nicely trimmed, just on the left side.

Mine wasn’t too bad, it has gradually got worse over the last 2 years or so. It started that I was only occasionally aware of it & it wouldn’t always show, but this year I’ve been much more aware all the time and the only time it didn’t show was lying down.
It wasn’t really painful apart from hillwalking, long days on the bike and standing around in a kitesurf harness.

I’m not that Phil 🙂

Good luck and speedy recoveries.

My advice – listen to the surgeon. I used to joke with him that I’d be back on the bike before the 6 weeks he said. He wasn’t impressed and I observed that.

The discharge nurse that walked me out winced & sucked her teeth when I said I wanted to get back on the bike, she in no uncertain terms told me to take it easy and do what I’m told 😆

All done!

Looking forward to 6 weeks of doing nothing.

👍 take it easy fella,milk every molecule of family sympathy 🙂

Can’t have been that bad if you’re already on here…?
Or are you still high on painkillers?

All done!

Looking forward to 6 weeks of doing nothing.

Excellent, heal well and take it easy 🙂

Can’t have been that bad if you’re already on here…?
Or are you still high on painkillers?

I woke up, got put back in my room and was happily messaging / playing on the internet for a couple of hours until they sent me home.

I’ve not been in much pain at all but very aware about movements that feel like they’re putting strain on it, so I’m moving very carefully. Getting up in the morning is taking a while but then I’m OK for the rest of the day.