And coughing & laughing will hurt like hell... Taking a shit for the 1st week sucks big time. Laxatives are your friend...
I had a double hernia about 10 years ago, 3" cuts, mesh implants. I was off work for 6 weeks, but I have a physical job. I was up and walking around okay within a week. The pain wasn't so bad, was bad for the first 3 days. The weird part was my ball sack filled up with fluid, and turned a dark brown/black color, and the skin turned scaly, fishlike! My doctor warned me about this, so I wouldn't freak out, but I did! I still feel it twitch every now and then, but my Dr assured me I wouldn't tear the mess patches.
One other thing I did it under a local anesthetic. I've built two houses for the guy who did mine so I know him more like a friend than just my doctor, and as we were talking about it I found out he didn't have to put me under to do it. I had a knee surgery a few years ago where I got to watch which I thought was cool, and wanted to be awake for the hernia. There was a difference though, whatever he gave me prior put me in lala land. I could hear them talking and stuff but I wasn't in the same place they were, that's for sure. I guess the upside was that I was back home in like three or four hours. Then it started to hurt.
53 yrs old and had one side done about 16-17 years ago, full incision, mesh, hurt like hell. Had the procedure done on a Friday and tried to take it easy on the pain pills so I wouldn't run out on the weekend and I was miserable. Don't talk to one of your buddies during that time so you won't laugh. Had the other side done 2-3 years ago and it was a totally different experience. Full incision, mesh and I never used pain meds. The doc used an anesthetic protocol that loaded up the area before closing. They wrote me a script and told me to fill it but take as necessary cautioning to not let it start hurting, because you can not catch up to the pain wave if it starts rolling. I never needed it. All surgery experiences are different but medical technologies keep advancing.
I had mesh installed Jan. '10, & my experience was like sdgers 2nd go round. Early AM surgery & had to call the Dr. to ask permission to eat solid food. They told me only soft stuff & the wife wouldn't let me have anything good. They said go for it. Very little pain, just some discomfort. I was very cautious lifting stuff for 6 weeks, but was on a ladder cleaning gutters in a week or so. It's my understanding that there are many different kinds of hernias & thus repair experiences are very different. As I currently have 2 major holes in my abdominal area from recent G.I. surgery, I understand I will need to go through this again, after Dr. reverses my ileostomy in a few months.
Been there, you have my sympathy, although I had a colostomy. Couldn't wait to have it reversed. During the reversal, they also repaired two hernias, one caused by the original emergency surgery. No scars from the hernia repair, since it was done from the inside, but the scar from the intestinal surgery runs from by pelvic bone to above my navel and looks like I lost a chainsaw fight, and the scar where the stoma was ain't pretty either. I was one happy guy the first time I got to grab my Roadracing World and go take a dump the traditional way again.
I just had a hepatectomy 2.5 weeks ago (full open abdominal cavity). I was walking well on my own in a few days, getting around "normally" in about a week. Biggest bitch is the scar/stitches/whatever makes you feel like you're walking around in a race suit; kinda hunched forward and a little difficult to stand up straight. Pain wasnt bad after first week, two weeks after surgery I felt pretty normal... tho Docs advise against lifting greater than 15lb Oh yeah: shitting after abdominal surgery effing sucks!
Just symptom-less diverticulitis. One of the diverticula caused my colon to perforate. Very unpleasant for everyone involved, as it causes the contents of your intestines to empty into your abdominal cavity, and someone has to clean up that mess. Also incredibly painful. Until that happened, I honestly didn't know you could hurt that much.
My diverticula ruptured into my bladder. Worst I've hurt too. Somehow sealed itself (didn't go to ER, but should have,) & pain & fever subsided. I was fortunate to be able to schedule surgery, but predicted basic laproscopic colon resectioning (removing 12" of my colon & diverticuli,) Became much more complex when other problems from more infection & resulting scar tissue on my rectum meant the same full-open incision you described & 4.5 hours. I'm 4.5 weeks into my recovery, and keeping my spirits up by envisioning my eventual 1st old fashioned dump! How long were your recoveries, In Your Corner & bella749? I guess this is a thread hi-jack, huh?
Oops, bella749, should have re-read your post again. You DO sound like you're doing well! Do you have a wound-vac or just traditional packed wet-to dry dressing? Best of luck to you!
Just under 4 months until they could reverse it. It might have been sooner except I had a lot of infection and my original incision wouldn't heal for 3 weeks. Seven hours of surgery for the reversal. Back to work in about 8 weeks (but I had a very physical job, someone with a desk job could probably return much sooner). At least 6 months before I felt healed up. I was walking just a few hours after the second surgery. They told me walking would help me get out sooner so I was walking the halls all hours of the day and night, hauling my stuff with me. The nurses nicknamed me The Walker.
I have had 4 hernia surgeries. 2 groin & 2 stomach. All were incision. What I have found is to keep moving speeds up the process of healing and getting back to functioning. All of my surgeries were on a Friday and the longest I went before going back to work was the following Wed. The last 2 I was off the pain meds by lunch the following day. Just walking around the house made a huge difference. If I sat around for too long, I would get a burning sensations around the mesh. But if I moved regularly, much less of an issue.
