Abdominal hernia...what do I need to know?
Alright, so, I am not sure whether I am embassed about this or not, but, I am going to throw it out there for some help. I have discovered a small hernia just above my naval cavity. It can easily be pressed back in, and it has only been there a couple days. I am assuming I am going to want to get surgery to repair it in the near future, so, here are my questions if anyone can help with them...
-I can't afford to get the surgery for a couple months because we are on my wife's health insurance and she just started her 60 wait period with her new job...great timing! So, between now and then...what can I and can't I do (if there really are any limitations)? I am already not running because of a slight strain in my calf; and because my general prep for IM Cozumel doesn't start until July anyway. I have just been biking.
-I am also doing push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups twice a week...are those any worse for me than just biking until I get the situation repaired?
-I tend to want to press the...bulge (which is the size of the tip of my pinky finger)...back in regularly - does that help or hurt the situation any?
-I have read that these things can't repair themsevles and that they will get worse in time. So, 'in time'...does that mean over the course of this year I will have a baseball-size hole in me or does that mean very gradually over time...as in, I really don't necessarily have to do anything about right away?
My guess is that the answers to all of these questions is going to be "it depends" and you should consult a physician personally...but, I thought I would ask at least.
Thanks for the help...on the not so fun topic. I wish this was about my getting a new power meter or a Garmin 301xt!
Comments
Dont worry!!
Sounds like an umbillical hernia. As long as it goes back in you can wait. The danger is if something importsnat gets stuck in the opening like small intestine. However its rare that anything gets stuck (incarcerated in Surgeon speak) and the most likely thing to get stuck is fat.
You can continue to exercise till you decide to get it repaired. I have my pts refrain from doing any core or heavy lifting exercises for 4-6 weeks after surgery. Typically the surgery can be done through a small incsion right over the hernia. IF its a big defect (greater then 2 cm) your surgeon may want to put in mesh to lower your recurrence rate. I am not a fan of a laprascopic repair for small UHs but do do it for large hernias or hernias at sites of previous operations.
I am sure you will get a few more replies as I know we have several surgeons in the Haus and some others with previous repairs. If you have any other questions you can feel free to PM me too!
RB
Ralph...first off...thank you so much for your help. I have been battling a bout of depression today with the thought that I couldn't do anything for a while! As this is so new to me, I have a couple follow up questions for you, and I will ask in open forum so anyone else can read this if they need to do so and they want to hang on to their anonymity...
- Do I need to worry about constantly pushing it back in myself?
- I am guessing push ups and pull ups are no more damaging that biking or runnning...but, what about sit ups?
- How long is a long time to wait until I get it repaired? I have Ironman Cozumel in November...is waiting until after that completely un-ideal and not adviseable? I am guessing the answer is YES to this, but, I figure I will at least ask.
Thanks again...so much!
Steve,
No problem.
The question you have to kinda answer for yourself is how symptomatic are you. If the answer is very then I would get itr fixed when you can. If the answer is not much then you can wait. I have seen people who have waited years after discovery of a hernia. Most people feel better with the hernia reduced (pushed in) but it doesnt have to always be pushed in...but if it wont go in you need to get seen.....
The danger in waiting is if it gets stuck....This is not common but it does happen. I can not really give you a % or anything like that.
Which exercises are worse? Anything that increases your abd pressure is going to cause the hernia to go out. Not sure if a sit up is really any worse then bringing in packages from the store.
R
If it doesn't hurt or affect your training/living, you don't have to get it fixed immediately. That being said, it won't go away on its own. It will either stay the same size or get bigger. There's no danger or harm in pushing on it.
I also recommend to my patients that have a hernia repair to refrain from any heavy lifting (and that's anything more than 10 pounds---alot of my patients are dairy farmers and they think lifting a calf the day after surgery isn't heavy lifting) for 6-8 weeks (most patients will then be compliant for 4-6 weeks).
So if you're not having alot of symptoms from this hernia, you could put off getting it repaired but would be taking the risk of having an incarcerated hernia before IM Coz. That risk is really low, but if it happens to you then it's no good despite what the odds are. If you get it repaired, you will have to stand down for at least 1 month. I would say you could swim 2 weeks post-op, but no running or hard riding for at least a month.