Hernia Stories

Training Injuries
41

[quote]ronaldo7 wrote:

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:
I was diagnosed with an umbilical hernia in October 2009 and had surgery in February 2010. Not sure if it was caused from lifting or not. Probably not since I’ve had an outtie all my life. Now I have an innie. 4 weeks after surgery I was cleared to do any physical activity I wanted, at my own discretion. I just started deadlifting this past Friday. Surgery was quick and painless…I had the mesh put in. The first week of recovery was frustrating. I couldn’t stand up straight, could only walk very slow and laying down and standing up took forever. I could only sleep on my back. Also, I recommend manning up and NOT taking any pain meds. Percocet is known for causing constipation and that’s what happened to me for a few days. I had to chug prune juice and eat a lot of fiber to get my digestion working again. The I took the biggest(and most satisfy) shit of my life…something you don’t want to do after hernia repair. If you have more questions for me, just ask.[/quote]

Thanks man.

How did your recovery period look like? like at how many weeks did you do certain things etc etc.
[/quote]

Had the surgery on a Tuesday and left the house for the first time on Saturday. I went to the mall to walk around. I wanted to make sure I was moving around as much as possible as it would help aid my recovery.

Week 1(week of surgery): Painful to stand/sit/lay down. Walking was VERY slow and I couldn’t stand up straight. By Saturday, I felt A LOT better.

Week 2: Went to work on Monday. No problems. Continued improvement each day. I was moving around much better, but I was not allowed to lift anything greater than 15lbs until my follow up with my surgeon the next week.

Week 3: Follow up with my surgeon on Monday. Took the bandages/tape off and told me I can resume “normal” activity, including the gym. He told me to take it easy and listen to my body. I was felling pretty close to normal at this point and did some light stuff to test my body. My surgeon told me that in 2 more weeks I would be free to do anything I want, even lift heavy if I felt up to it. Once again, I listened to my body.

Week 5: Hitting the weights much harder. Started squatting again. I did everything except deadlift.

-Surgery and recovery were not bad at all. I only really missed 1 month in the gym. Things couldn’t have gone better for me. The important thing is to listen to your doctor and your body.

42

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:

[quote]ronaldo7 wrote:

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:
I was diagnosed with an umbilical hernia in October 2009 and had surgery in February 2010. Not sure if it was caused from lifting or not. Probably not since I’ve had an outtie all my life. Now I have an innie. 4 weeks after surgery I was cleared to do any physical activity I wanted, at my own discretion. I just started deadlifting this past Friday. Surgery was quick and painless…I had the mesh put in. The first week of recovery was frustrating. I couldn’t stand up straight, could only walk very slow and laying down and standing up took forever. I could only sleep on my back. Also, I recommend manning up and NOT taking any pain meds. Percocet is known for causing constipation and that’s what happened to me for a few days. I had to chug prune juice and eat a lot of fiber to get my digestion working again. The I took the biggest(and most satisfy) shit of my life…something you don’t want to do after hernia repair. If you have more questions for me, just ask.[/quote]

Thanks man.

How did your recovery period look like? like at how many weeks did you do certain things etc etc.
[/quote]

Had the surgery on a Tuesday and left the house for the first time on Saturday. I went to the mall to walk around. I wanted to make sure I was moving around as much as possible as it would help aid my recovery.

Week 1(week of surgery): Painful to stand/sit/lay down. Walking was VERY slow and I couldn’t stand up straight. By Saturday, I felt A LOT better.

Week 2: Went to work on Monday. No problems. Continued improvement each day. I was moving around much better, but I was not allowed to lift anything greater than 15lbs until my follow up with my surgeon the next week.

Week 3: Follow up with my surgeon on Monday. Took the bandages/tape off and told me I can resume “normal” activity, including the gym. He told me to take it easy and listen to my body. I was felling pretty close to normal at this point and did some light stuff to test my body. My surgeon told me that in 2 more weeks I would be free to do anything I want, even lift heavy if I felt up to it. Once again, I listened to my body.

Week 5: Hitting the weights much harder. Started squatting again. I did everything except deadlift.

-Surgery and recovery were not bad at all. I only really missed 1 month in the gym. Things couldn’t have gone better for me. The important thing is to listen to your doctor and your body.[/quote]

Hey man one last question.

I’m going to see my doc tomorrow but wanted to get some insight from someone else.
Did you have a lump prior to your hernia surgery? I ask because I had a very small lump(only noticeable by touching the area not visible at all)before the surgery and now that the swelling has gone down it still seems to be there…is that normal?

43

I’ve had 2. Both were from working on a farm from second through eigth grade. Got one repaired when I was in fith grade because my balls kept getting sucked up into my body and it hurt like shit. Didnt get the second one repaired until my sohpmore year of college because I started getting stronger and my intestines were starting to be pushed through my abdominal lining. Now, my balls are fine and I have a titanium wire mesh screen the size of fucking kansas right above my belly button. I said balls twice in this post… well three times now.

44

[quote]ronaldo7 wrote:

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:

[quote]ronaldo7 wrote:

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:
I was diagnosed with an umbilical hernia in October 2009 and had surgery in February 2010. Not sure if it was caused from lifting or not. Probably not since I’ve had an outtie all my life. Now I have an innie. 4 weeks after surgery I was cleared to do any physical activity I wanted, at my own discretion. I just started deadlifting this past Friday. Surgery was quick and painless…I had the mesh put in. The first week of recovery was frustrating. I couldn’t stand up straight, could only walk very slow and laying down and standing up took forever. I could only sleep on my back. Also, I recommend manning up and NOT taking any pain meds. Percocet is known for causing constipation and that’s what happened to me for a few days. I had to chug prune juice and eat a lot of fiber to get my digestion working again. The I took the biggest(and most satisfy) shit of my life…something you don’t want to do after hernia repair. If you have more questions for me, just ask.[/quote]

Thanks man.

How did your recovery period look like? like at how many weeks did you do certain things etc etc.
[/quote]

Had the surgery on a Tuesday and left the house for the first time on Saturday. I went to the mall to walk around. I wanted to make sure I was moving around as much as possible as it would help aid my recovery.

Week 1(week of surgery): Painful to stand/sit/lay down. Walking was VERY slow and I couldn’t stand up straight. By Saturday, I felt A LOT better.

Week 2: Went to work on Monday. No problems. Continued improvement each day. I was moving around much better, but I was not allowed to lift anything greater than 15lbs until my follow up with my surgeon the next week.

Week 3: Follow up with my surgeon on Monday. Took the bandages/tape off and told me I can resume “normal” activity, including the gym. He told me to take it easy and listen to my body. I was felling pretty close to normal at this point and did some light stuff to test my body. My surgeon told me that in 2 more weeks I would be free to do anything I want, even lift heavy if I felt up to it. Once again, I listened to my body.

Week 5: Hitting the weights much harder. Started squatting again. I did everything except deadlift.

-Surgery and recovery were not bad at all. I only really missed 1 month in the gym. Things couldn’t have gone better for me. The important thing is to listen to your doctor and your body.[/quote]

Hey man one last question.

I’m going to see my doc tomorrow but wanted to get some insight from someone else.
Did you have a lump prior to your hernia surgery? I ask because I had a very small lump(only noticeable by touching the area not visible at all)before the surgery and now that the swelling has gone down it still seems to be there…is that normal?[/quote]

I had an umbilical hernia. I always had an outtie belly button my whole life, so I may have had this hernia since birth. It never caused me discomfort, despite being active and playing a lot of sports my whole life. I decided to go to the doctor when my outtie grew bigger and almost irregular shaped. I now have an innie.

45

So I went in and talked to my surgeon today. He took off the bandages and said everything looked good. He’s a very confident/cocky doctor in his work , he was like “look at that you can’t see anything”(referring to the incisions) and I have to agree with him, everything looks good just a bit of swelling where the mesh is but nothing noticeable.

He told me I could go back to the gym next week and start doing upper body stuff. Anything that involves the core( dead lifts and squats) should wait until I feel like I can do them without discomfort. I’ll probably wait till week four or five to start squatting and dead lifting again. So far so good. When he told me I could go back to some sort of lifting in two weeks and maybe even some cardio I was happy to say the least :).

46

Yeah i had one when i was in junior high. I’m pretty sure it was from trying to kick a ball that was out of my reach to the side and tore something down there. My back hurt like a motherfucker, but got stronger, but i had the hernia in my ball sack region. Kindof felt like i had three balls, except i could push one back up temporarily. I lived with that for 2 years from 7th grade until it was diagnosed my freshman year during physical time. Only once in awhile did it hurt, i would just push it back in and most of the pain would go away, and that was intermittent at best regarding the pain. That was awkward. Multiple people feeling my scotum area repeatedly to make sure i didn’t have anything else. That was during my excitable years where i pretty much got wood on a whim. Thank God i never did during the proddings. To the doctors who read this, i am just using a little humor along with the awkwardness of what it is. I mean no disrespect, the doctor i had was awesome.

I remember the week i got it repaired, maxed out the day before and i remember feeling so weak right after surgery while taking a piss. I also remember how much i used the abs in everything i did as well. I think i took a month off, don’t remember the exact length. Never had a problem since.

47

I’m going back to the gym today after two weeks post surgery. I’m just going to do some jump roping and some cardio machines and maybe som curlzzzzzz in da squatzz rak. The only thing right now is that my right nut is sore to the touch but I get to see the doc next Thursday and hopefully it will be gone by that time.

48

i had a hernia that popped right out of my asshole, just got some cream for it and had to push it back in every twenty minutes or so…i got it because i was eating a shitload of peanut butter …but the chunky kind, and it iritated the crap out of my ashenholen and caused the hernia…lots of blood and shit is how i found out something was wrong there… its gone now.

49

[quote]coolp3ople wrote:
i had a hernia that popped right out of my asshole, just got some cream for it and had to push it back in every twenty minutes or so…i got it because i was eating a shitload of peanut butter …but the chunky kind, and it iritated the crap out of my ashenholen and caused the hernia…lots of blood and shit is how i found out something was wrong there… its gone now.[/quote]
hahaha that’s fucking funny.

no not really.

50

While doing mid-shin rack pulls, I got a pain on my ME set in the pubic region very slightly on the right side… It went away shortly after the ME set, so I continued with the rest of the workout. However a couple hours after the workout, that area that got that pain is sore when I apply pressure to that area only when I stand. There aren’t any movements that aggravate it. It’s a real mild dull kind of pain. If the pain persists after a few days I’m seeing a doctor, but this sound more like a strain or tear, or a hernia…?

51

I had an umbilical hernia repaired with mesh back in Feb 2010(almost 5 months ago.) Recovery has gone very well except that for the past few weeks I’ve felt discomfort for the first time. Anyone else experience this? Doing underhand chins today also caused me discomfort.

My doc told me that it actually takes a full year after surgery to heal.

52

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:
I had an umbilical hernia repaired with mesh back in Feb 2010(almost 5 months ago.) Recovery has gone very well except that for the past few weeks I’ve felt discomfort for the first time. Anyone else experience this? Doing underhand chins today also caused me discomfort.

My doc told me that it actually takes a full year after surgery to heal.[/quote]

Hey AM, the weird sensation you’re feeling could be a lot of things: tight fascia, scar tissue, tight muscles, etc. Make sure you’re doing a good amount of mobility work. This will assist you.

Take care.

53

[quote]BackInAction wrote:

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:
I had an umbilical hernia repaired with mesh back in Feb 2010(almost 5 months ago.) Recovery has gone very well except that for the past few weeks I’ve felt discomfort for the first time. Anyone else experience this? Doing underhand chins today also caused me discomfort.

My doc told me that it actually takes a full year after surgery to heal.[/quote]

Hey AM, the weird sensation you’re feeling could be a lot of things: tight fascia, scar tissue, tight muscles, etc. Make sure you’re doing a good amount of mobility work. This will assist you.

Take care.[/quote]

Have you had a hernia repaired?

54

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:

[quote]BackInAction wrote:

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:
I had an umbilical hernia repaired with mesh back in Feb 2010(almost 5 months ago.) Recovery has gone very well except that for the past few weeks I’ve felt discomfort for the first time. Anyone else experience this? Doing underhand chins today also caused me discomfort.

My doc told me that it actually takes a full year after surgery to heal.[/quote]

Hey AM, the weird sensation you’re feeling could be a lot of things: tight fascia, scar tissue, tight muscles, etc. Make sure you’re doing a good amount of mobility work. This will assist you.

Take care.[/quote]

Have you had a hernia repaired?
[/quote]

I personally have not, but I have dealt with scar tissue in the pelvic area from a botched operation. My physical therapist has had 3 hernia operations and has to stretch each morning to loosen the area up.

55

[quote]BackInAction wrote:

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:

[quote]BackInAction wrote:

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:
I had an umbilical hernia repaired with mesh back in Feb 2010(almost 5 months ago.) Recovery has gone very well except that for the past few weeks I’ve felt discomfort for the first time. Anyone else experience this? Doing underhand chins today also caused me discomfort.

My doc told me that it actually takes a full year after surgery to heal.[/quote]

Hey AM, the weird sensation you’re feeling could be a lot of things: tight fascia, scar tissue, tight muscles, etc. Make sure you’re doing a good amount of mobility work. This will assist you.

Take care.[/quote]

Have you had a hernia repaired?
[/quote]

I personally have not, but I have dealt with scar tissue in the pelvic area from a botched operation. My physical therapist has had 3 hernia operations and has to stretch each morning to loosen the area up.[/quote]

I know you’re not a doc, but from your experience do you think there is ever a chance that the mesh can move out of place? I know that it’s sutured in there during surgery and that my body’s tissue is supposed to grow over and into it like lattice. I had the surgery exactly 5 months ago so I imagine that a good deal of heal has taken place already.

Hopefully I just strained it a little and need to rest.

56

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:

[quote]BackInAction wrote:

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:

[quote]BackInAction wrote:

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:
I had an umbilical hernia repaired with mesh back in Feb 2010(almost 5 months ago.) Recovery has gone very well except that for the past few weeks I’ve felt discomfort for the first time. Anyone else experience this? Doing underhand chins today also caused me discomfort.

My doc told me that it actually takes a full year after surgery to heal.[/quote]

Hey AM, the weird sensation you’re feeling could be a lot of things: tight fascia, scar tissue, tight muscles, etc. Make sure you’re doing a good amount of mobility work. This will assist you.

Take care.[/quote]

Have you had a hernia repaired?
[/quote]

I personally have not, but I have dealt with scar tissue in the pelvic area from a botched operation. My physical therapist has had 3 hernia operations and has to stretch each morning to loosen the area up.[/quote]

I know you’re not a doc, but from your experience do you think there is ever a chance that the mesh can move out of place? I know that it’s sutured in there during surgery and that my body’s tissue is supposed to grow over and into it like lattice. I had the surgery exactly 5 months ago so I imagine that a good deal of heal has taken place already.

Hopefully I just strained it a little and need to rest.[/quote]

Hmm, I haven’t heard of the actual mesh coming loose, but I’ve heard of additional hernias developing after the surgery. Sometimes people end up with multiples. I don’t think the mesh would have come loose because by this time, so much tissue would be surrounding it.

I would make an appointment with the doctor that did the surgery to see if he’s heard of this type of thing. I bet if he did the inguinal canal check on you, he might be able to feel if it’s loose.

57

[quote]BackInAction wrote:

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:

[quote]BackInAction wrote:

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:

[quote]BackInAction wrote:

[quote]ANIMAL M0THER wrote:
I had an umbilical hernia repaired with mesh back in Feb 2010(almost 5 months ago.) Recovery has gone very well except that for the past few weeks I’ve felt discomfort for the first time. Anyone else experience this? Doing underhand chins today also caused me discomfort.

My doc told me that it actually takes a full year after surgery to heal.[/quote]

Hey AM, the weird sensation you’re feeling could be a lot of things: tight fascia, scar tissue, tight muscles, etc. Make sure you’re doing a good amount of mobility work. This will assist you.

Take care.[/quote]

Have you had a hernia repaired?
[/quote]

I personally have not, but I have dealt with scar tissue in the pelvic area from a botched operation. My physical therapist has had 3 hernia operations and has to stretch each morning to loosen the area up.[/quote]

I know you’re not a doc, but from your experience do you think there is ever a chance that the mesh can move out of place? I know that it’s sutured in there during surgery and that my body’s tissue is supposed to grow over and into it like lattice. I had the surgery exactly 5 months ago so I imagine that a good deal of heal has taken place already.

Hopefully I just strained it a little and need to rest.[/quote]

Hmm, I haven’t heard of the actual mesh coming loose, but I’ve heard of additional hernias developing after the surgery. Sometimes people end up with multiples. I don’t think the mesh would have come loose because by this time, so much tissue would be surrounding it.

I would make an appointment with the doctor that did the surgery to see if he’s heard of this type of thing. I bet if he did the inguinal canal check on you, he might be able to feel if it’s loose.
[/quote]

I didn’t have an inguinal hernia. I had umbilical.

Actually, yesterday I felt A LOT better than I have been. We’ll see how this goes.

58

Can someone tell me if this is a hernia, or an indication of future problems…

When I do ‘heavy’ ab exercises (decline roman chair situps) my abs will form a long vertical “A” shape ridge roughly from my navel or below, up to my sternum. I rest my hands on my waist and it worries me when it happens. When I do easier exercises (crunches) my abs can remain in the typical ‘6 pack’ tight configuration (well hidden, sadly). The ridge may happen on other harder ab exercises, but I can’t tell. But on the decline situps, my hands are free and I can feel it.

I’ve seen pics of Chuck Sipes make an “ab rope” so I guess a ridge configuration might technically be normal, but my abs are weak, and are nowhere near what Chuck Sipes were. Hernia, or just the sign of horribly weak abs?

Somewhat related, I wonder if I should be wearing a belt when I squat. I don’t go heavy but I work hard (245 x 20, my goal is 315 x 20). I’m 49 years old, been training off and on my whole life. I used to wear a belt for squats, now I never do.

59

[quote]K2000 wrote:
Can someone tell me if this is a hernia, or an indication of future problems…

When I do ‘heavy’ ab exercises (decline roman chair situps) my abs will form a long vertical “A” shape ridge roughly from my navel or below, up to my sternum. I rest my hands on my waist and it worries me when it happens. When I do easier exercises (crunches) my abs can remain in the typical ‘6 pack’ tight configuration (well hidden, sadly). The ridge may happen on other harder ab exercises, but I can’t tell. But on the decline situps, my hands are free and I can feel it.

I’ve seen pics of Chuck Sipes make an “ab rope” so I guess a ridge configuration might technically be normal, but my abs are weak, and are nowhere near what Chuck Sipes were. Hernia, or just the sign of horribly weak abs?

Somewhat related, I wonder if I should be wearing a belt when I squat. I don’t go heavy but I work hard (245 x 20, my goal is 315 x 20). I’m 49 years old, been training off and on my whole life. I used to wear a belt for squats, now I never do.
[/quote]

Could be a lot of things (hernia, tightness, weakness, etc). Tightness is treatable through mobility and exercise. Weakness is treated by rest and doesn’t mean you have a hernia.

Best advice would be to go get it checked out by a doctor who actually does hernia surgeries, not GP.

60

Hey guys it’s been 3 months since my surgery. Everything is going great so far(thank god and the doc :D). Anyways how long did it take you guys to start squatting again? Seems like I can do dead lifts/dead lifts variations but when doing squats or leg exercises the area feels a bit uncomfortable.

Anyways just wanted to say after the surgery I’m stronger and bigger than ever except for my legs, they used to be my strongest point but I haven’t trained them in months and they are looking skinnier than ever.