r/Hernia

I have OCD and emetophobia so for me the worst case would have been to wake up with nausea. That was the only worry i had.

I was scheduled for 12 noon yesterday, no food or fluids 12 hrs prior to that. Im a man of morning routines especially with my coffe,breakfast and high water intake, by lunch i usually drank already my first gallon of water,well not yesterday.

I arrived at 11:50 filled out paperwork and paid the $350 for my surgery.

The nurse took me in 10min later, gave me a hairnet,socks and a robe,the one where your ass hangs out. She asked me questions about allergys ect.

Then she put me on a IV.

12:30 the surgeon comes in says hello and tells me what the plan was.

12:45 The anesthesia dr came in and told me everything. I told her about my phobia,she was super nice.

1:05 They rolled me into the OR while giving me already something to calm down. By that time i was already almost out. I remember i took one hit under the mask and i was gone.

2:20 I started waking up,hungry and thirsty but no pain.

They kept bringing me water and ginger ale,god that was so good.

No nausea at all,just starving,lol.

3pm they rolled me out the door and 10min later i was home.

Had a bowl of rice and avocado and tons of water.

1 big cup of prune juice also.

All the medicine was wearing off but there was no pain kicking in,that was weird.

Getting up and down was different but not bad at all.

My first night i didnt slept awesome,not because of the pain it was more my OCD brain spinning.

I woke up at 7am, hungry again. But still no pain, so far i havent taken anything after the surgery.

I dont know if im really that lucky but i take it.

I will keep posting updates here.

I was so worried about the nausea that i almost canceled the surgery,im happy i did it. Its over,now its only healing.

UPDATE 1: Just went poopy the first time, Prune juice for the win.

Update 2: Went poopy 2 more times

Update 3: 24 hours post op, still no pain, no painkillers. My colum is completely empty

To say my surgery didn't go as planned is an understatement. Thought it was gonna be a simple umbilical hernia repair but there ended up being a much larger hernia under the surface. This was from my clinical notes "she underwent a planned robotic-assisted umbilical hernia repair with mesh; however, due to visceral obesity and a thick abdominal wall, the procedure was converted to an open anterior mesh repair.‌ Intraoperative findings included an 8 x 6 cm ventral hernia with multiple tunnels and a large hernia sac depth exceeding 8 cm vertically.‌" I ended up having to stay in the hospital overnight because of the switch to an open repair. I'm home now and feeling okay, just hoping everything will be worth it.

Five months ago I had a inguinal hernia surgery. Three weeks afterwards I developed bladder urgency, tip of penis burning. It’s better lying down and in the morning. Pain climbs after bowel movement. Orgasm the worst trigger by far to the point I go many weeks abstaining and am afraid to masturbate or have sex because I know what I’m in for for weeks afterwards. My penis and testicles are also sensitive to the touch. Two months after I starting getting muscle pain in my butt after bowel movement, Has anyone experienced this? Could it get better with time? Any advice? Thank you.

Hello,
I am 31 M scheduled for bilateral inguinal hernia repair through mesh (laproscipically) on Friday 08/21. Just seeking advice on what are the pain levels right after the surgery, what are the precautions we can take. Are the OTC pain relievers enough for the pain management ? Thank you

Sorry for the possibly rude title 😂😂 but I feel like alot of people inactive people will not understand me here. I am 13 days post-op now, Im still tender and being careful, no lifting, obviously. I am doing housework now, nothing heavy like hoovering yet though.

Can someone give me a realistic timeline for exercise. 6 weeks seems unfathomably long for someone like me, everyday (usually) I do something intense like Crossfit (mostly Crossfit) sometimes hyrox, running, weightlifting, al-hot of walking!!! I am already walking my dogs, they are light dogs and easy to handle. Looking for abdominal hernia experiences and timelines.

Its finally happening, i finally getting it fixed. 4 years this hernia gave me the worst pain i ever had in my life, not every day of course. Only here and there.

As a person with emetophobia my only worry is to wake up with nausea, that would be the absolute worst for me.

I post a update tomorrow.

spent more than a month, hardly found 2/3 surgeons who may perform desarda for inguinal hernia

i am from UP near by Delhi 200km

looking for suergeon

within a month from 18 august 2026 I will try to go for desarda repair

if u know doc then pls suggest

I recently had surgery for a left-sided inguinal hernia, which was about 1.1 cm. At my last appointment with the doctor, I mentioned that I had already been feeling a mild “twinge” on the right side.

He said it was unlikely to be a hernia and based that assessment on an ultrasound I had done a while ago. The ultrasound was done in early March, and my last appointment was a week before the surgery (June 11).

I’m now cleared to resume my normal activities, but the discomfort on the right side seems to be getting a little worse. It feels more like a burning sensation. It’s not bad enough to interfere with my day, but I can definitely feel it.

For now, all the blood tests I had done in August have come back normal.

So, I’m not sure what could be causing this pain or discomfort.

Has anyone experienced anything similar?

(translate by ChatGPT) - I am Brazilian

I've had my colostomy for over 2 years now after my colon ruptured from diverticulitis. I was told by two surgeons that they wouldn't perform a reversal until I lost weight. So I've been working on it and have lost a lot of weight. I'm sure not enough yet though. But, I also have a huge parastomal hernia which makes me look 10 to 15 pounds heavier than I really am. I hate it. I'd look so much better if both the hernia and colostomy were gone. I'm debating whether or not to start pushing my surgeon to proceed with the reversal and hernia repair even though I know it's risky when overweight. My BMI is about 41. How bad of a decision is this? I just want to get it over with and not wait another year until I lose more weight. I hate walking around with this huge bulge in my belly. I do wear a hernia belt sometimes and it kinda reduces the size of the bulge but it's still there and still annoying (although it's generally not too painful and not causing any blockages). Can anyone relate to this? What do you think?

Do I need to have spigelian hernia surgery? I thought I was just getting old and my lower stomach was getting kind of bumpy. And then I could see that I could make this lump grow near the top of my inner thigh on my lower stomach. From what I can see it’s a spigelian hernia. If we can assume that what I have is in fact a spigelian hernia, do you have experience with this? How old were you when you got it? What precipitated it? What kind of doctor did you ultimately go see to deal with it? Did you have surgery? If you had surgery, how long was the recovery? Did you not have surgery and are you living with it? How has living with it affected you? Not looking forward to surgery, but I want to do the right thing and I also want to do the least invasive thing if possible. For those who have or have not had surgery and have this kind of hernia, how has it affected your workouts? Any and all information and advice is greatly appreciated and welcome.

Im 5 weeks post-op, had a hiatal and umbilical hernia fixed in the one surgery. I've been suffering post op. The gas- bloat syndrome is tiring me out. It feels like my intestines are distended. The gas sits just under my ribs, possibly on my diaphragm. Im on gas-busters, which has helped noticeably, for the 7 days I've been taking them, mostly im farting to release, haven't been able to burp. It happens when I eat any food, I'm lactose intolerant, so avoid dairy. Plus i avoid onion and cabbage, beans, pulses, carbonated drinks, broccoli and cauliflower, spicy foods. I still get gas building up, despite all of these restrictions. Another issue I haven't heard anyone experiencing is loose stools. I've had loose stools since surgery, not one solid. Is this the same for anyone else? And what did you do to fix it?

So I’m not sure if I’m crazy or this is normal recovery this far in. I’m an incredibly active individual, and am a body builder.

I’m 11 weeks post op on a left inguinal hernia that was done laparoscopically and repair with mesh.

My recovery started great. On day 13 post op, surgeon cleared me to go back to the gym. I went for two weeks, 6 times total very lightly, doing only 180 crunches in those six visits. Felt it was too early, so decided to wait. I was genuinely feeling 100% though, and had to keep reminding myself I had surgery and to take it easy.

Around week six while on a vacation I started to feel irritation and a little puffiness where the former hernia was.

Week 7, I tried going back to gym, very lightly. Doing 90lb leg press compared to my 315 squats, 60lb deadlifts compared to my normal 315, and 115lb bench compared to my normal 180-225lb. I felt sharp stabbing pains where the hernia was, and decided to stop. I tried walking around the block and felt the sharp pains as well.

Added in ice, and cut back on activity. Persistent puffiness and sensitivity remained. Typically it’s positional/situational pain (sitting, rotational movement, sex). This lasted for two weeks, so I messaged my surgeon. No callback, so I followed up.

Finally getting in to see him, he noticed swelling, had me do a cough test. He told me it was most likely a “shear tear” and not a recurrence. That I’d be good to go back to gym slowly but to add in core stretches and start slowly.

It’s been about 2 days, but I’m still having puffiness where the hernia was, and some positional/situational pain (although it’s now more a dull ache/sometimes a jolt). I just did some stretches for the first time today and that irritated it as well.

I was feeling better on week for, than I am today on week 11 post op. I’m not sure if this is normal, or if I’m crazy? I really need to get back into the gym, but am terrified of a recurrence, or damage. The puffinesses also worries me because it’s so isolated to the spot of the former hernia.

I have some anxiety (clearly) regarding this, so any advice you can lend me, or insight on your experience at this point would be appreciated. I just keep thinking “what if the doctor is wrong, and this is recurred?” Even though he didn’t seem worried, and I’m inclined to trust him, based on the fact that he’s one of the leading general surgeons in the world.

Thank you.

I have a growing umbilical hernia which I've had for a few years. I've been to see a Surgeon who said he will only operate if I can lose weight. I'm in the process of losing it but it's taking time.

Anyone have any advice on how to deal with the uncomfortable feeling of it? It's protruding, sore and is noticeable under my t-shirts.

The weight loss is taking a while because exercise is painful because of the hernia.

Thanks

Has anyone ever heard or had experience with any type of sexual activity 4 days post op? I have been getting kinda sexually frustrated and tried masturbating (no pain or anything) but I read somewhere that it can cause blood vessels to burst and a hematoma?

Hi everyone,

I still have about two months to wait before having my inguinal hernia repaired with the Shouldice technique, close to where I live.

Lately, I’ve been experiencing quite a bit of bloating and some mild constipation. It’s starting to make me pretty anxious, especially because I’m worried about the hernia becoming incarcerated or strangulated before my surgery.

For those of you who have an inguinal hernia, have you ever experienced similar symptoms — bloating, constipation, or just a generally unsettled stomach? Is this something that can commonly happen with an inguinal hernia?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. It would honestly reassure me to know whether others have gone through something similar while waiting for surgery.

Thanks in advance for your replies!

I had an open, no-mesh Desarda repair in 2015, after it took a very long time to get my hernia diagnosed correctly. The surgeon told me at that time that my abdominal wall was so weak. Last year, in 2025, I was diagnosed with a recurrent right inguinal hernia and a suspected right femoral hernia, and I’m now in extreme pain.

I have hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, MCAS, and several other chronic health conditions. I’m really afraid of permanent mesh because of the complications and reactions I’ve heard about, but I also know another tissue repair could fail again. I’m looking for a surgeon experienced with hEDS, recurrent hernias, and alternatives to permanent mesh around California or a state near here if possible. I am willing to travel though.

I also have a cerebrospinal fluid leak and need an epidural blood patch, but that procedure has been delayed while I get this pain evaluated. I really need to address the hernias so I can move forward with my other medical care. Any recommendations or personal experiences would mean so much to me.