Going in for an exam today to get checked out. I suspect I might have a hernia. I see TONS of info online about repair. Some with stories against the use of mesh and also see that a lot of people that are years into their repair that was performed with mesh and have no problems at all. Leaves me feeling rather nervous and that this is decision that could have life long consequences.
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Confirmed. One, possibly two inguinal hernias—one is prominent, he said there might be a second, hard to tell. General practice doc gave me a referral to a surgeon, but insisted that I’m in good shape and don’t need to rush to have this fixed. Also said as long as there’s no pain or obstruction I can continue doing all the normal day to day things, including riding.
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Oh man, sorry to hear that. I’d say don’t rush but get it fixed fairly soon when you have some downtime… it can get worse over time.
As someone who’s had 3 hernia surgeries, I suggest going for the mesh. Really frustrating having a repair fail.
Thanks, Chris. What’s your experience been with the mesh? Any chronic pain afterwards? How are you feeling these days?
Hope all goes well. Please update us post-op. I plan on doing the same. I have a consult with a surgeon next week. We’ll be in the same boat.
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I had a inguinal hernia repaired with mesh a couple of years ago. I was under local aesthetic so could chat to the surgeon as he worked, I have had no problems since. You can’t beat the NHS.
I had a laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair late summer 2018; when the surgeon was in there he found, I think, 5 holes (one femoral I seem to remember) which he fixed with 3 separate meshes, so quite a bit of work.
I was like a space hopper after the op, which hung around for a long time (couple of weeks?), and that inflated aspect was possibly the worst part!
My surgeon was keen to get me back on the bike ASAP, and I was on the turbo by day 12, doing very little but slowly building it up. On day 23 I foolishly “overdid it a bit” (a lot), which set my recovery back a few weeks, forcing me back into a “recuperation” program involving miles of walking every day. After that I was much more sensible, building the turbo work up in a very measured manner, and eventually commenced SSB1 just over 3 months after the op. WIthout the “overdoing” error early on, I think I could’ve been back on proper training at least a month earlier.
Other than a very occasional slight sense of a twinge in that area (can’t remember the last time I felt this), not had any issues since (so far), and have done more cycling in the past 12 months than at any time previously, totally unaffected by the repair, reaching an FTP at last test >10% higher than before the op.
I think my good recovery is most people’s experience. It seems a (very?) small proportion are less lucky, but since it’s a very common procedure, this small proportion nonetheless adds up to a fair few people, which an internet search easily uncovers. Chances are, though, you’ll be just fine.
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Had my surgery yesterday morning (right iguinal hernia, laparoscopic + robotic repair, with mesh). The whole thing went really smoothly and only minor pain from the incisions this morning. Only Tylenol needed for pain relief. I’m going to follow the Dr’s advice and stay off the bike for a couple weeks, but I’m definitely going for a walk today. Hopefully everyone else discussing this issue on the thread has the same experience!
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My last surgery, with mesh, was 6 years ago now. I haven’t had any problems that I can attribute to the mesh with any certainty. I was warned ahead of time that I was likely to have some chronic pain for the rest of my life as a result of scar tissue from having two surgeries in the same place. Thankfully this has not been the case, though I’ll admit that the side where I did have two repairs just feels slightly weird; like I can feel a bit of pressure there when I stand, although I’m used to it and it doesn’t really bother me.
About a year after my last surgery I was experiencing pain and was convinced I had another hernia. My surgeon’s PA said I was fine after examining me (except for an ultrasound which showed that I “had the pelvic floor of a 70 year old”-- and I was 35 at the time) but had me do a herniogram just to be sure, and it indeed was negative (no hernia).
I should mention that I was pretty much a couch potato at that time. Not overweight, weighed less then than I do now actually, but just didn’t really exercise at all. That whole ordeal was kind of a wake-up call for me to improve my physical condition and I have felt really good since.
As others have mentioned, recovery from laproscopic surgery, in the short term at least, is way easier than getting cut open. I think I was shopping at Target the evening of my last surgery (though was on pain killers and not driving), while after conventional surgery I was shuffling around for the first week+.
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I guess it varies a bit, and mine was maybe an outlier, as my initial recovery from laparoscopic was definitely more uncomfortable than that - I had to overnight at the hospital and might have stayed another night if they’d have let me, and was shuffling around for the first week+.
Definitely preferable to being sliced open since there was zero wound care and much less chance of infection etc.
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Great to hear, thanks for sharing your experience. How was the week post-op? I’ve heard that there can be some serious pain. Any tips on recovery? I’ve also hear that laxatives and stool softeners are your friend.
Hoping for a speedy recovery. If you could keep us posted (in this thread) on your progress that would be awesome. I plan to do the same.
Did you choose that type of surgery or was that recommended by your surgeon?
Diagnosed with a inguinal hernia, my GP (also an endurance athlete) basically told me “Unless it is unbearably uncomfortable or posing a health risk, don’t mess with it. It’s best to let sleeping dogs lie”. He also voted against the mesh option.
Just my 2 cents.
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Will do. I know that when I was considering the surgery I scoured the internet looking for threads like this one. Looking at my post, I can probably better describe the pain at 1 day post surgery as like having eaten way too much spicy food and then done 1000 sit-ups. Annoying but tolerable. To the question on what kind of surgery: my GP (who I originally picked because he focuses on runners / triathletes) suggested a particular surgeon who specializes in laparoscopic + robotic surgery. After reading up on options and talking with the surgeon (who did offer open surgery as an option, but recommended against it), that’s the way I went.
The surgeon was indeed excellent and fast. I also had an anesthesia team who talked through options with me and given my desire to avoid narcotics as much as possible was pretty light with the anesthesia.
Regarding questions people have had about mesh: you really need that to limit reoccurrence of the hernia. As others have said, the mesh used now is very different from what they used to use, and has less likelihood of complications.
I’ll let you all know when I’m back on the bike! No ramp test the first day though.
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Had 2-sides, laparoscopy, meshes, 15 years ago. No issue, if I don’t look for the (minuscule) scars I wouldn’t even remember it. This was same-day in-out surgery, with complete anesthesia. I was off pain-killers 24 hrs after the operation (I somehow think people who train a lot are a lot more used to deal with pain than those who don’t). 5 days of walking sloooowly, then faster then ok; I was working from home on the 2nd day. Back on the trainer after a week, running and outdoor riding took a week or 2 more. Zero residual issues.
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Well I was “sliced open” but glued back together I pulled the dressing of the next day, and there was no extra wound care just normal showering, the surgeon went in through a scar from a previous surgery, which is hidden by pubic hair anyway. I walked out of the clinic and could have driven home.
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First week all I could do was sit around and shuffle around - based on the anecdotes of others I seem to have had it worse than most for some reason. Wasn’t painful, just couldn’t do much until the “space hopper” had deflated and tightness abated.
I’d suggest getting on a very high fibre diet prior to and following the op - with laxatives in reserve - because you may well have zero pushing power and be relying solely on gravity. This wasn’t a lot of fun.
After that first week I made quick progress: ~3 weeks after the op I did a virtual climb of Ventoux (this was the foolish “over doing it” I mentioned earlier) 
My hernia had impacted walking more than anything else ( bike wasn’t too bad), and I couldn’t even walk the dog properly. No procedure is a barrel of laughs, but my overriding feeling about my repair job was how lucky I was to be living at a time when stuff like that gets routinely fixed, so I could get on and do all the stuff I like doing. Cheered the dog up no end!
Bilateral inguinals fixed 2 years apart, lapro w mesh. The first surgeon said he could see the weakness on the left when he fixed the right, for whatever reason he made the determination to leave it alone. 2 years later as I’m having the other side done, I kind of wish he’d taken care of it when he saw the problem starting the first time. Even with great insurance it was 4 weeks and thousands OOP each time.
Thankfully, both times I was back on the trainer after 4 weeks on the dot, no problems since - knock on wood I guess?
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I wish you the best. However, I had a repair with mesh via laprascopic procedure. It failed within a year. The second repair was done via an open incision. In my experience the recovery from the open procedure was far easier and quicker than the laparoscopic procedure. Good luck whatever you decide.
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He did not remove the mesh, and I have not had any problems since the 2nd repair. Even now, I’m neither for or against the mesh, as I know it works well for many people. My point was more to the fact that, for me, the laparoscopic approach resulted in much more post op pain and a much longer recovery period than the open procedure. For the laparoscopy, the incision is smaller, but they pump your abdomen full of air. That resulted in a fair amount of discomfort for me that lasted several weeks. The open procedure was a simple incision no more than 3 inches long that healed quickly with very little discomfort. Mesh or no mesh, I’d opt for the open approach over the laparoscopy.