So glad I did the shouldice method. Although I probably have a larger area with no feeling than the lap way. Also glad I’m Canadian. The whole thing cost me $9.00 for the pain meds and i only used 1/4 of those.
No idea, and interesting to find out there are two different kinds. By the way, an update: Surgery was Thursday morning, and I haven’t taken any Tylenol (or anything else) since Friday. Back at work yesterday. I haven’t gotten back on the bike yet, but probably will do some light spinning soon and have been doing a ton of walking. My experience with the laparoscopic / robotic method has been completely positive. Good luck!
1 Like
Fwiw I also had both sides done, separately, lap/mesh. Same surgeon for both, and he didn’t express any concern about doing lap twice.
Glad you got it done and are out the other side! You’ll feel tight in your core for a couple/few days. Get up and walk when you feel like it. That helps.
1 Like
Glad to hear. I’m just about to head to my consult. Did you get a read on your surgeons experience level doing laparoscopic repair? I’ve read that experience greatly impacts post-op pain and potential long term side-effects. This is something I want to find out about today. I’m hoping that he will be forthright and tell me the exact number of cases he’s done for each type of surgery (lap vs open).
Let us know how recovery goes. Sending good vibes your way and hoping that you don’t get backed up from the pain meds (if you’re taking them).
1 Like
How you healing up, cerb? Any pooping problems? Curious what your post-op recovery tips are?
Getting better every day. Had a post-op check up yesterday and got the staples out. Pain meds are down to 4-6 basic paracetamol per day, which are more to make it easier dealing with the kids than specifically out of requirement.
I still get a sharp burning pain internally at the op site from time to time when I bend, reach or acidentally activate my lower abs. Apparently this should be largely gone in a week, but may happen infrequently for up to another a month. Apart from that, there is a general discomfort in the area still, but I wouldn’t call it pain.
I also got the go-ahead to do very gentle trainer and outdoors rides - nothing with much exertion though. Allowed to race again in 4 weeks time. 
Pooping was all good - I was on some stool looser for the first 3 days while I was on the strong meds and for one day after I stopped taking them. I’ve also just been eating extra prunes for good measure. Taking a p*ss also uses surprising large number of muscles in the general area… But the hardest part, especially to start with, was more often just managing to sit down onto the toilet!
Probably the biggest tip is to get used to squatting instead of bending over. The earlier you get used to doing this, the less ‘oh sh*t that hurts’ moments you’ll have!
Also, I got some help from my Mum to come and help with cooking and getting the kids in/out of bed for the first week (as I’m separated from my wife and don’t really have much support otherwise). I really appreciated the help with these things, particularly for the first 2-3 days where I would have struggled to do it alone.
Finally, if you’ve got young kids then think about how they can get in/out of things like cots and the bath - particularly if you don’t have much home support. My 2y.o. is about 14kg and the most you’re meant to lift is 5kg! I set up a 60cm high stool on the otside of her cot and drop a 20cm plastic step into her cot when it’s time to get up which she can use together to climb out by herself!
3 Likes
This thread inspired me to go to the GP rather than view my symptoms as just a muscle strain. Just as well I did as he thinks I have a femoral hernial (but no inguinal one). I’m waiting on a letter for a consultant appointment now - I hope it’s not too long. I had a bowel obstruction 10 years ago and I really don’t want to have to go anywhere near that again.
Does anyone have any experience of femoral hernias?
Only indirectly. I presented with an inguinal hernia, but (as mentioned up-thread) while the quack was in there fixing that he found four other lesser hernias, one of which was a femoral, and fixed them all. I was only really aware of symptoms from the main (inguinal) one.
Had my consult with a general surgeon—Dr. Ose for anyone in Minnesota. He’s been doing general surgery for 24 years and seemed very knowledgable. He was very open about taking me through the process and responded thoughtfully to the questions I asked him. He was awesome. If anyone is interested in what specifically I asked feel free to send me a message.
After laying out all the pros and cons to both laparoscopic and open we decided that open w/mesh would be the best route. Less risk while under surgery (he also does laparoscopic and said the risks are very rare), avoiding general anesthesia, and in general a more straightforward operation. The trade off seems to be a little rougher recovery. He confided that he too has an inguinal hernia and is getting it fixed. His choice was also open w/mesh.
Thanks all, I’m so glad this thread exists and we can share similar experiences.
1 Like
We talked through some of the potential risks of lapro. Namely, opening of peritoneum by accident as well as some unintended vascular injuries. He stressed that these are very uncommon, but can happen even in the best of circumstances. He also mentioned that prostate surgeons really hate working on men who’ve had laparoscopic hernia repair as it makes things a bit more complicated (he went into detail, but I can’t remember exactly what he said). This wasn’t a deciding factor. One of the other factors was potential side effects of general anesthesia, again, not too worried about that.
For what it’s worth, I’m of the opinion that a well trained and experienced lap-surgeon can perform great surgeries and if I had more than one hernia I wouldn’t hesitate to go with this approach. Just felt like an open repair made the most sense.
Glad to hear things are recovering well for you, that’s great!
Had a right Inquinal repair done this past Tuesday. Open with mesh The Doc said Open was the better approach for me and I went with it. Recovery so far has been pretty good. Last pain meds taken Wed night.
Walking and moving much easier now. Walked the dog 3 times today. The hardest part are the temps, not the walking.
My biggest issue is the doc is adamant no trainer riding for 4 weeks. No snowshoeing either. I got him to give me the treadmill but only if I walk only with zero elevation ramp or any pace faster than walk. I knew this going in, but now that I’m starting to get stir crazy, reality of another month off the bike this year is hard to accept. I separated my shoulder and tore my rotator late last year and had surgery in mid January. So it’s been a trying year in terms of training. However, I rode the most miles and spent the most hours on the bike since I picked up the sport in 2017.
I will behave as I already know I heal slower than ever (am 52) and don’t want to find myself in a relapse situation due to my own stupidity and impatience. I will live vicariously through the members here and get my cycling fix from the forum, the podcast and YouTube.
Hoping those that have are now post op and well into their recoveries are progressing well and have no issues going forward.
One good thing is, as I see the posts of people completing their Disaster workouts, I don’t feel as wimpy for not trying it. I have a note from Doctor excusing me from the workout 
.
The typical hernia mesh is polypropylene, and is permanent. I have never seen hernia mesh that has hormone coating.
I had my ultrasound, and they could not find any sort of hernia. They even did it twice - the first time with a trainee and the second time with the expert.
Sounds like no surgery - 
Also no idea what the issue is. 
I’ve got stretches and exercises from physio, but doubt that will solve anything. Going to have blood tests and stuff to see if that points to anything (I doubt that too). It’s enormously frustrating, because I’ve missed the entire 'cross season now, and I still don’t know what the deal is or when I can push power. Sigh.
Glad to hear you’re doing well. If you don’t mind me asking, what were you prescribed and how much of your prescription did you take? Did you feel like you had to rely on the narcotic/opioids?
As far as chomping at the bit to get back, I hear you. Take it slow. I was limited to endurance rides from for the entire month of May and almost all of June due to a tear in my Achilles tendon. It sucked, but I put out my best power numbers ever this season and found that 6 weeks of no intensity had almost zero effect on my overall season. You’ll be worse for the wear if you go to hard too soon and hurt yourself.
How you hanging, cerb?
Best of luck getting to the bottom of it.
Thanks! I was given Hydrocodone with Tylenol. I think I took 6 out of the Prescribed 10. Doc also used a nerve block before surgery that lasted most of the day and evening of surgery.
The block was great (had one for my rotator repair too). That really seemed to help post pain levels for sure. I believe the concept is if you prevent the nerves from going through the trauma in the first place, they react much less to the trauma of surgery after it’s done. Sure seems to be true - for both surgeries.
I do not believe I was dependent on the narcotics to get through the first day and a half. I tend to get a reaction to Ibuprofen though so I thought taking the Prescription would help avoid that. Unfortunately it didn’t… I think Ibuprofen or Tylenol alone would have been fine. YMMV. if ever offered a nerve block, I would strongly consider having it…
1 Like
My “hernia pain” turned out to be (diffuse large B-cell) lymphoma in my upper right leg. The proper diagnosis wasn’t made until after my hernia surgery didn’t make the pain disappear. An MRI followed by a biopsy was needed for that diagnosis. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy with the delay in getting this handled. The doctors didn’t exhibit any urgency until the MRI came back. I’m still alive and cancer-free 9 years later, though. Hope you don’t have the same.
By the way, a second symptom was limited range of motion of my upper leg; I was unable to lift it as high as my left leg, due to the size of the tumor.
That sounds brutal.
According to the physio I have approximately the same range of motion and strength on both sides, so fingers crossed it’s not that. I don’t know if that would show up in blood tests, but I have some of them on Thursday…