Anyone Ever Have a Double Abdonminal Hernia?

Hi P.,

My husband (84 yrs old) had that surgery on May 9 and he felt back to normal by the 14th but with just some bruising on his stomach. Yesterday, May 21st, he had his followup appoint with the doctor who said he can go back to all the activities he did before, including weight training exercise. He recovered so much faster than I did with gall bladder surgery. In fact, he went with us for Mother's Day lunch on the 11th, though he did take some vicoden. They do it arthroscopically so you only have a few holes in your abdomen and no stitches. I recommend allowing yourself about a week of being coddled; you deserve it.

V.

How awesome that you will have your husband around all summer to help you. As long as he allows you to properly recover, by taking over some of your responsibilities, then you will heal and recover rather quickly.

I personally haven't had this type of surgery, but I have a really close friend who has. She says that the recovery time and the restrictions are pretty much the same as having a C-Section delivery.

She states that she was not allowed ANY lifting over 15 pounds (that included her son) for 6 - 8 weeks. Also, you didn't mention if you are nursing, but if you are on pain medications or certain anti-biotics, you may not want to be nursing while on the medications.

Basically, you will be able to just sit around for 6 weeks - no cleaning, no standing for long periods of time, no lifting, no laundry, no housework, no cooking, no dishes, no scrubbing your bathrooms, etc. I'm sure by now you're thinking, "Oh, darn!" - NOT - but you get the idea. Just make sure that your husband is willing to step in as the "surrogate mommy" for you.

Once you have your follow-up appointment, and the surgeon gives you the go ahead, then you can EASE back into your regular routines (do NOT just jump right back into them, or you could seriously hurt yourself). My friend says that you could be "out of commission" for about 2 - 3 months total, but that the last month of that time is your "getting back into the swing of things" time.

Other than that, good luck with it all, and I will include you in my prayers.

Hi there,
Well actually I didn't have a hernia, I had a different abdominal surgery, (colectomy, much worse believe me) but the other 2 ladies in my room had hernias. Basically it will depend on the way they operate as to how well or fast you'll recover. With cameras and small incisions you'll be out in no time, if they implant a net it will take a little longer. My surgery they cut horizontally all the way across the pubic line, which cut all the muscles, which is similar, but much worse than you'll ever have, so that's why I thought I could help you. It only took me a few weeks to get back on my feet and moving around normally, and you should be much better off because I was also pretty underweight at the time and very weak. They won't let you go home unless they think you can handle it, and then you're already halfway recovered. It shouldn't take much longer than a few weeks, and you do recover much faster than you would think. The first few days at home stand out in my mind, where I really had trouble walking around the house and had to be waited on hand and foot. But like I said it's only a couple days, it just feels like forever. The worst part of abdominal surgery with a little kid is that you can't pick em up. No heavy lifting, and be careful sneezing. You are very lucky your husband can take the time off. You'll need him. I think this will be harder for him than it will be for you. The pain doesn't last, and you'll get plenty of pain killers. Watch out for long term use of morphine! It is a great pain killer but you will have horrible withdrawal if you use it for more than a week. Trust the doctors, they know what they're doing. Make sure your kids understand that you are sick and will get better. And I don't really recommend having them come to visit you unless you feel ok. It will frighten them to see you half conscious with tubes and all that. The first day after the op is the worst, but after a while you'll forget all about it. Stay lying down for the first few days to give your scar a chance to heal, before you try to get up and walk around. At first, just standing up will strain the abs and you have plenty of time to exercise those. Don't rush yourself. And for us mommies, regular everyday life is sports enough, you should really wait a long time, like months, before you try any kind of exercises. It has to be completely healed before you can try to build up the muscle more than what your daily routine does. That takes at least 8 weeks. After the scar is closed up, about 10 days after, and all the stitches out, you should rub scar cream on it (any old one from the pharmacy, I used "Rescue Remedy") and massage it lightly every day to keep it from getting lumpy and uncomfortable. But take it easy. Then when you feel normal again, start slow with sports. A little light yoga or pilates is good, you should also exercise your back muscles to support your abs. Make sure you tell your instructor you had surgery. It's easy to pull those muscles, be careful. Also, I don't know how you feel about homeopathy, but Arnica is great for healing wounds of all kinds. Buy the kind that is number 30 and take 7 little pills the first time and 3 every day until you feel better. It's great for kids too, you should keep it in the house and give them 7 every time they scrape their knees or get a bruise. They love it too because it tastes like candy. Anyway, my surgery was 2 years ago and today I am perfectly fine and my surgery was a hundred times worse than yours will be. I had a physical therapist tell me back then to stop trying to exercise so much and wait 6 months! So you'll be fine. I go to the gym now and ride a bike and all kinds of stuff. I guess all in all it took about 2 months for me to really not notice it at all anymore, but the worst part will be over faster than you think. It's just hard to try and live your life when you feel like you've recovered but your muscles aren't flexible yet. And don't worry if the muscles heal crooked at first. Just wait until you're all better. You can fix it eventually, but do not exercise freshly healed muscles. My belly was lopsided for a while, but it's fine now. Even the gigantic scar I was so afraid of is faded now. My favorite secret weapon was the Frederick's of Hollywood feathery high heel slippers I wore in bed at the hospital. My best friend sent them to me. It makes being stuck in bed feel so much more fun! The staff loved it and when I got sent home I bought a pair for all the nurses and the woman who operated on me. (But don't try to walk around on those 3 inch heels on the slippery hospital tile floors, honestly, they're hard enough when you're well, they're just for your state of mind.) It might help you to enjoy being waited on too, I know I had trouble with being stuck on the couch. A few feathers go a long way. Pretend you're Rita Hayworth and get some rhinestone tiaras for your hair. I don't know if that's your style, but you know what I'm saying. A nice new bathrobe would do it too or a silver bell. Also, maybe planning a trip or something with the kids for August would help them to understand that you will be fine again but you need time to recover first. So good luck! I'll be thinking of you! Best regards, S.

P., I had a hernia a couple of years ago and as I recall it was like having a c-section (without the big scar). Since your husband will be home you will be fine. The doctor will let you know your how much and how soon you can lift things. It was not a bad experience. Have a speedy recovery.
C.

hey i had hernia repair in dec of 2005. i was only out for about a week. i could go back to doing most things. i couldnt go back to exercising until after a month.

I have not had a double hurnia but i had one and it took about two weeks for me to get back to almost normal. Well i could walk pretty good and then probably another week before i really felt good.
Just make sure that you take full advantage of hubby for at least the first week or so. Let nim baby you and take care of the kids. You need the rest to heal. So ptay prone and get better.
Take care
B. B

My husband had triple hernia surgery. It took him two weeks before he could do much of anything. Spent the first few days in bed with pain killers (but he has a low tolerance for pain). He wasn't back to "normal" for 2 months. His was an outpatient surgery...if yours will be, please wear something that is easy for you (or whoever picks you up)to put on and take off...as my husband was still kind of out of it, and it was comedy just trying to put on his sweatpants!

Dear P.,
I once had a hernia in my right grion that had to be operated on...from riding on a bicycle seat that was too high for me.I remember specifically that it really hurt to laugh! Of course then, everything seemed extra funny!
good luck and have a speedy recovery, even if your family and friends try to make you laugh.
It might help to tighten up as many muscles in that area as possible before surgery.

I have not had a double, just a single. I had trouble lifting myself out of bed for a few weeks. Felt pretty good, basically back to normal within 8 weeks. If it hurts to get out of bed, rent a trapeze from a surgical equipment store to help you use your arms instead of your abdomen to lift yourself out of bed.

Good luck,
Lynne E

My brother just three weeks ago went into surgery for just a hernia not a double one, they put like a patch and he only had a small incision to insert it and he recovered really fast. He is going back to work next week. He was sore though and could not lift anything. So you will not beable to lift anything for awhile. I hope this helps. Good luck on your surgery you will be in my prayers.

Love always,
R. Lawson