*** OFFICIAL INGUINAL HERNIA RECOVERY Thread ***

[drgephys]

I am not sure if I have an inguinal hernia. I have been having pain in my right testicle for about a week, specifically on the bottom and side of the testicle I believe. It is minor pain, but when I touch it, even lightly, it gets so bad --it basically feels like someone hit me in the nuts. What is going on? Also soemtimes I noticed I feel a bit of pain in my groin/pelvic areas too, again on the right side though. BUT the doctor felt my groin and abs and saw no lumps at all..

I went to the doctors twice and got 2 ultrasounds (on my testicles), came back as nothing. But the pain is still there. Also, am I causing any damage to my testicles by not finding a solution to this? i'm trying to find a solution.

How are inguinal hernias diagnosed? Do I need an ultrasound on my groin or abs instead of my testicles? What kind of doctor do I need to see? Thank you guys for your help.

Probably not a hernia. Hernias are usually associated with a noticeable bulge and testicular pain happens at advanced stages. Also, don't have surgery for a hernia that doesn't exist.

It could be an infection or other condition.

[GODLE]

So I went to the dr today and he told me I have a hernia. He was using inguinal and sports hernia interchangeably which has me confused after reading this thread. I don't have a bulge yet so not sure what he meant.

[drgephys]

So I went to the dr today and he told me I have a hernia. He was using inguinal and sports hernia interchangeably which has me confused after reading this thread. I don't have a bulge yet so not sure what he meant.

Sports hernia, also known as athletic pubalgia, is not an hernia. It's a weakening in or injury to the abdominal wall or nearby soft tissue. I wouldn't have a surgery for it unless it was really bothering me.

[GODLE]

Sports hernia, also known as athletic pubalgia, is not an hernia. It's a weakening in or injury to the abdominal wall or nearby soft tissue. I wouldn't have a surgery for it unless it was really bothering me.

He kept saying it was inguinal as well? not sure he knew what he was talking about lol.

[drgephys]

He kept saying it was inguinal as well? not sure he knew what he was talking about lol.

Inguinal means (in the) groin; so, that's fine. However, a sports hernia (athletic pubalgia) where there is a soft-tissue injury in the inguinal region is different than a true hernia where an organ (such as a loop of intestine or preperitoneal fat) protrudes through a tear or opening. Unlike an hernia, there is no potential for complications but if the pain is debilitating, you'll need surgery. It can also turn into a true hernia if the weakness eventually becomes a tear in the abdominal wall.

[GODLE]

Inguinal means (in the) groin; so, that's fine. However, a sports hernia (athletic pubalgia) where there is a soft-tissue injury in the inguinal region is different than a true hernia where an organ (such as a loop of intestine or preperitoneal fat) protrudes through a tear or opening. Unlike an hernia, there is no potential for complications but if the pain is debilitating, you'll need surgery. It can also turn into a true hernia if the weakness eventually becomes a tear in the abdominal wall.

Can a sports hernia be felt as well? He did some weird test with his fingers where he pushed in my testicles and told me to turn head and cough. he said it was about 1 cm. Also, how can I rehab to make sure it doesn't turn to a true hernia?

Thanks a lot for your input.

[drgephys]

Can a sports hernia be felt as well? He did some weird test with his fingers where he pushed in my testicles and told me to turn head and cough. he said it was about 1 cm. Also, how can I rehab to make sure it doesn't turn to a true hernia?

Thanks a lot for your input.

He put his finger inside your inguinal canal through your external inguinal ring that opens into the scrotum. He was looking for a direct or indirect hernia. A cough test would push any hernia sac (a sac made of peritoneum containing a loop of intestine or preperitoneal fat) through the hernia defect. "1 cm" would refer to a 1-cm-diameter hole in the inguinal floor of your inner abdominal wall, which would be a direct hernia. However, while moving sacs are easy to feel, defects are very difficult to feel. Perhaps he felt a direct-hernia (or even an indirect-hernia) sac during the cough test. This wouldn't be considered a sports hernia (athletic pubalgia). Nevertheless, direct hernias are caused by activity such as sports, lifting, jumping, or coughing. Indirect hernias are congenital where the internal inguinal ring is too wide in birth and the sac comes through the spermatic cord that goes through the internal inguinal ring. If there is a true direct or indirect hernia, there is no rehabilitation to cure it. Maybe a sports hernia could heal without a surgery though but not a true hernia where there is a sac.

You might want a second opinion from a different doctor. You may or may not have a hernia. Ultrasound imaging can help pinpoint any hernia as well. You can also wait. If there is no bulge and pain is tolerable, you don't need surgery. If you get a bulge, have surgery within months so that it will be easier to repair before the defect and sac get larger and larger. You can decide on the alternative repair methods. Many discussed them here.

[TheIronAsylum]

im currently trying to figure out if i have a hernia or not but i cant tell if this is on oblique strain an athletic hernia or a hernia

theres no bulge or bump i can seem to find however my left side has some pain mostly when twisting and coughing. i wouldnt even call it pain really more just discomfort almost tight feeling. now however when try to sit up or flex abs it feels like the left side isnt connected in the bottom (the area right where the V line comes into the side)
iv still been lifting with it when i lift i dont really feel anything but the rest of the day i do ?

[drgephys]

now however when try to sit up or flex abs it feels like the left side isnt connected in the bottom (the area right where the V line comes into the side)

That's where your inguinal ligament and Cooper ligament are. You may have torn one of them. Have it checked out.

Info on sports hernia (athletic pubalgia), which is a strain or tear without an actual hernia:

https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseas...etic-pubalgia/

[cfeclipse]

Well I'm 11 months out from open right inguinal hernia surgery and at 1st it was pretty sore the 1st couple of weeks but got better after the 3rd week. Started light lifting at week 4 and from then just raised the weight I was lifting 10 lbs every week til week 8 or 9 and I was back to lifting heavy again. Then all was well til about the 6 month Mark and all of a sudden boom pain in the testicles was back and burning pain. Went and got checked out and the doc said all was fine that I just pulled some scar tissue and to rest it and it would be fine but also said don't be surprised if it happens again. Well it went away after about a week and now 11 months in it's happening again. Any idea why? I get a lot of burning pain in and around the incision and some throbbing pain that comes and goes around the incision. I don't think I reinjured it there is no lump just wondering what your guys thoughts are on this pain. I really notice the burning when I'm kneeling or bending over to pick something up. For now I'm just taking so time off from the gym and resting it.

[drgephys]

Well I'm 11 months out from open right inguinal hernia surgery and at 1st it was pretty sore the 1st couple of weeks but got better after the 3rd week. Started light lifting at week 4 and from then just raised the weight I was lifting 10 lbs every week til week 8 or 9 and I was back to lifting heavy again. Then all was well til about the 6 month Mark and all of a sudden boom pain in the testicles was back and burning pain. Went and got checked out and the doc said all was fine that I just pulled some scar tissue and to rest it and it would be fine but also said don't be surprised if it happens again. Well it went away after about a week and now 11 months in it's happening again. Any idea why? I get a lot of burning pain in and around the incision and some throbbing pain that comes and goes around the incision. I don't think I reinjured it there is no lump just wondering what your guys thoughts are on this pain. I really notice the burning when I'm kneeling or bending over to pick something up. For now I'm just taking so time off from the gym and resting it.

It's hard to say but I hope all is well. Chronic pain is one of the biggest scares of mesh surgery, which happens because the mesh is hitting or eating away some tissue around a nerve. Let's hope that's not the case.

I'm at about seven months now after open left side with mesh and lifting heavy. I'm about 90% pain-free but I wonder if that will become 100% or at one point will start getting worse. Also, my groin is still not flat -- there is some ongoing swelling. One thing that worked out perfectly is the two-inch incision -- there is virtually no scar, thanks to a plastic surgeon closing the skin.

And, yes, listen to your body and don't do something that causes a lot of pain.

[tomatosauce]

Hello all. I’ve found this thread extremely useful so I thought I’d write a little about my hernia surgery experience. I’m a healthy 18 year old male and I got a right inguinial indirect hernia surgery on 12/27/2018. This was my first invasive surgery ever. Surgery was scheduled for 9:30 in the morning and the first day the surgeon got back from break (holiday vacation). Surgeon said my hernia was medium sized and during the operation he actually found a hydrocele and had that fixed too. I had an indirect hernia surgery, my ab walls weren’t weakened, and no mesh was used (he treated me as a minor since I scheduled the surgery and met with the him before I turned 18. Mesh only for adults. I believe he also told me he wouldn’t need to use mesh either for my situation even if I was treated as an adult.)

Anyways after waking up I felt groggy from the anesthesia, but the pain was around 2-3 on a ten point scale (Although I think I was a little numb and they also gave me some oxy). They had me eat some goldfish and drink some water, took me for a brief walk (slowly because I was really dizzy), and had me piss, which wasn’t a problem. Just had to let it out slowly. Staff was really nice partially because my 18th birthday was actually the day before surgery (26th of December) and gifted me a basketball and a $25 iTunes gift card haha, so that was pretty cool. They had me take a pill of oxy and sent me on my way.

Day 1: came home and actually felt very minimal pain. Around 0-1 when laying down 2-3 when sitting and walking. Felt kinda like someone lightly pressing down on a bruise or just really sore muscles the day after a hard workout. I ate noodles, rice, bone broth, green veggies, and fruits and made sure to walk around the house for a bit every hour. When getting up make sure to step and carry your weight with your elbows and left leg (opposite side of my hernia). Also walking up stairs I went up slowly and positioned myself sideways one step at a time. Didn’t take any oxy, but took two pills of Tylenol 4 hours after surgery and right before bed. Woke up in the middle of the night once with pain around a 3-4. Made my breathing slightly shallow but really wasn’t a problem except I couldn’t sleep so I took two more tylenols. Used the restroom, walked around for a bit and went back to bed.

Day 2: Actually woke up with little pain (2 maybe). Had oatmeal and a banana. Took my first post op dump after breakfast too, not too difficult, it just took like 10 minutes. Pain was basically a 1-2. It spikes a bit whenever I get up or sit down though. Still getting up walk around. Didn’t go outside because of rain. Hurts a bit after getting up from the couch after lying down for a while but the pain resides after a couple of laps around the house. Really it just felt exactly like day one. Didn’t take any pain meds or Tylenol throughout the day.

Day 3: Less pain. Same as day two but better in every aspect. Took a stroll around the neighborhood, fresh air felt great. Took a shower as well.

Days 4-7: Each day was better than the previous. Day 6 was when basically I had no pain at all unless I pressed down near the surgical site or my right testicle.

Right now I’m on day 8. Dunno why but I feel like my surgery was accompanied by little pain and discomfort (at least compared to others who’ve posted) but I hope this may distills some of the fears or worries others some may have about surgery.

Below are some things I did which I think are helpful.
Sleep with a pillow under your thigh to elevate your abdomen a bit.
Lightly press a pillow to your abs whenever laughing, coughing, sneezing, or clearing your throat.
Avoid bending down and twisting your body as much as possible
Drink lots of liquids
Walk as much as you can. Moving around should help subside the pain a bit.

I may give an update to this again next week and once more once in two weeks after the post op checkup.

[drgephys]

Hi tomatosauce, yes, your hernia almost qualifies as a pediatric hernia. Indirect hernias are congenital -- an internal inguinal ring that is too wide. The right side usually comes out first. It sounds like your surgeon was knowledgeable. The right way to fix small or medium indirect hernias without weakened inguinal floor is to excise (cut and remove) and ligate (tie the hole) the hernia sack (bulged piece of peritoneum) and tighten the internal inguinal ring with a purse string. This is called a minimal repair. No invasive tissue repairs like Shouldice and Desarda and no mesh are required. People with large indirect hernias that weaken the inguinal floor typically need invasive tissue repair or a mesh (also invasive) in addition to the minimal repair.

Wait six to eight weeks before you return to intense activity or heavy lifting.

The only downside is that you have about a 30% or more chance of getting an indirect hernia on your left side when you grow older. I got one on my right side at age 10 and then one on my left side at age 45. If you do, stop lifting (which makes it larger) and have it fixed ASAP before it gets large and see if you can get away with a minimal repair (no mesh, no Shouldice, no Desarda, etc.) again. If I had the same knowledge I have now, I could have tried to get a minimal repair for my second hernia but I kept waiting and lifting and it kept getting larger. During the surgery (I was awake), the doctor said that I had a weakened inguinal floor, which is where a direct hernia happens when it ruptures. So, I have a mesh now.

[tomatosauce]

Hi tomatosauce, yes, your hernia almost qualifies as a pediatric hernia. Indirect hernias are congenital -- an internal inguinal ring that is too wide. The right side usually comes out first. It sounds like your surgeon was knowledgeable. The right way to fix small or medium indirect hernias without weakened inguinal floor is to excise (cut and remove) and ligate (tie the hole) the hernia sack (bulged piece of peritoneum) and tighten the internal inguinal ring with a purse string. This is called a minimal repair. No invasive tissue repairs like Shouldice and Desarda and no mesh are required. People with large indirect hernias that weaken the inguinal floor typically need invasive tissue repair or a mesh (also invasive) in addition to the minimal repair.

Wait six to eight weeks before you return to intense activity or heavy lifting.

The only downside is that you have about a 30% or more chance of getting an indirect hernia on your left side when you grow older. I got one on my right side at age 10 and then one on my left side at age 45. If you do, stop lifting (which makes it larger) and have it fixed ASAP before it gets large and see if you can get away with a minimal repair (no mesh, no Shouldice, no Desarda, etc.) again. If I had the same knowledge I have now, I could have tried to get a minimal repair for my second hernia but I kept waiting and lifting and it kept getting larger. During the surgery (I was awake), the doctor said that I had a weakened inguinal floor, which is where a direct hernia happens when it ruptures. So, I have a mesh now.

Thanks for this, and yes you're exactly right. Excising and ligating is exactly what my surgeon said he'd be doing. One thing I'm not sure I understand is if indirect hernias are exclusively congenital (so I can only get it from birth) how would I end up developing another one on my left side when I get older? The only possibility I can think of is that it's already there, just that I haven't shown any symptoms on the left side yet...

[drgephys]

Thanks for this, and yes you're exactly right. Excising and ligating is exactly what my surgeon said he'd be doing. One thing I'm not sure I understand is if indirect hernias are exclusively congenital (so I can only get it from birth) how would I end up developing another one on my left side when I get older? The only possibility I can think of is that it's already there, just that I haven't shown any symptoms on the left side yet...

Yes, indirect hernias are exclusively congenital and never acquired. There is a very nice journal article that studied this specific question and that was their conclusion. Here is the link. Note that herniotomy means excising and ligating the indirect hernia sac. Patent processus vaginalis means an enlarged internal (also called deep) inguinal ring:

The etiology of indirect inguinal hernias: congenital and/or acquired?

Basically, indirect hernias are caused by a congenitally too wide internal inguinal ring, where the inner end of the spermatic comes through. An indirect hernia is a sac or peritoneum containing a loop of intestine and/or piece of preperitoneal fat that descends through the spermatic cord, inflating the normally thin cord like a balloon.

Now, coming to the question when the actual indirect hernia occurs: it may never occur despite the too wide internal inguinal ring or if it ever occurs, it can randomly occur at any age, starting from the fetus development, to childhood, to young adulthood, or older ages. You may already have a small indirect hernia on the left side but you don't know it and it may get larger at one point and then you notice it. Or perhaps you don't have it at all, as sometimes, the other internal inguinal ring is not too wide or despite being too wide, it doesn't lead to a hernia. My doctor said that I probably had it for fifteen years or more, even though my groin was flat until two years before surgery; so, I didn't notice it until then. Perhaps, I occasionally felt something loose in my groin when I did squats but I'm not sure if that was it before I had the bulge. The big bulge occurred suddenly, just like the other side when I was 10, and I had jumped from a 5-foot-high window just before the bulge was noticed for that childhood hernia. In any case, it's not caused by activity, even though the activity can make it bigger, and there is nothing you can do to prevent it from occurring if you have an indirect-hernia precursor on the other side. I remember having a really bloated abdomen after a long flight a couple of weeks before I had the bulge on the left side and I had felt some digestive movement in my groin, which shouldn't be there, a few days before. Nevertheless, it was already there and waiting to bulge. Hopefully, your other side is OK.

It's also genetic. My mom's brother had indirect hernias on both sides and a direct hernia on one side (probably because of a weakened inguinal floor by the indirect hernia). His young son unfortunately died from a hernia that he was going to go through emergency surgery for it in the morning. (Strangulated inguinal hernias, where the loop of bulging intestine becomes a knot, are uncommon in adults but you need an emergency surgery immediately if it happens.) My sister's son has an umbilical hernia and his young son had an indirect hernia and then he got an umbilical hernia, too. So, all hernias are genetic and run in the family, and some of them are congenital and there is nothing you can do about them, and others, like direct hernias, are caused by activity, lifting, coughing, etc., and proper lifting techniques may prevent them from occurring.

[tomatosauce]

Yes, indirect hernias are exclusively congenital and never acquired. There is a very nice journal article that studied this specific question and that was their conclusion. Here is the link. Note that herniotomy means excising and ligating the indirect hernia sac. Patent processus vaginalis means an enlarged internal (also called deep) inguinal ring:

Basically, indirect hernias are caused by a congenitally too wide internal inguinal ring, where the inner end of the spermatic comes through. An indirect hernia is a sac or peritoneum containing a loop of intestine and/or piece of preperitoneal fat that descends through the spermatic cord, inflating the normally thin cord like a balloon.

Now, coming to the question when the actual indirect hernia occurs: it may never occur despite the too wide internal inguinal ring or if it ever occurs, it can randomly occur at any age, starting from the fetus development, to childhood, to young adulthood, or older ages. You may already have a small indirect hernia on the left side but you don't know it and it may get larger at one point and then you notice it. Or perhaps you don't have it at all, as sometimes, the other internal inguinal ring is not too wide or despite being too wide, it doesn't lead to a hernia. My doctor said that I probably had it for fifteen years or more, even though my groin was flat until two years before surgery; so, I didn't notice it until then. Perhaps, I occasionally felt something loose in my groin when I did squats but I'm not sure if that was it before I had the bulge. The big bulge occurred suddenly, just like the other side when I was 10, and I had jumped from a 5-foot-high window just before the bulge was noticed for that childhood hernia. In any case, it's not caused by activity, even though the activity can make it bigger, and there is nothing you can do to prevent it from occurring if you have an indirect-hernia precursor on the other side. I remember having a really bloated abdomen after a long flight a couple of weeks before I had the bulge on the left side and I had felt some digestive movement in my groin, which shouldn't be there, a few days before. Nevertheless, it was already there and waiting to bulge. Hopefully, your other side is OK.

It's also genetic. My mom's brother had indirect hernias on both sides and a direct hernia on one side (probably because of a weakened inguinal floor by the indirect hernia). His young son unfortunately died from a hernia that he was going to go through emergency surgery for it in the morning. (Strangulated inguinal hernias, where the loop of bulging intestine becomes a knot, are uncommon in adults but you need an emergency surgery immediately if it happens.) My sister's son has an umbilical hernia and his young son had an indirect hernia and then he got an umbilical hernia, too. So, all hernias are genetic and run in the family, and some of them are congenital and there is nothing you can do about them, and others, like direct hernias, are caused by activity, lifting, coughing, etc., and proper lifting techniques may prevent them from occurring.

Thanks for this! Makes much more sense now. I had asked my surgeon if he could check my left side too to see if I had another hernia but he told me he wouldn't be able to that, but hopefully that side okay. If I do get another hernia, I'll be sure to get it fixed quickly.

[Bell0c]

3.5 month update, bilateral direct inguinal hernia, Desarda repair

I changed the oil in both cars this morning, crawling under and getting back out a couple of dozen times, and didn't notice any sensations at all. About the only time I notice anything now is doing squats or the leg press machine - there's a slightly strained feeling later, but no pain or discomfort. Nothing with deadlifts, or anything upper body. I've changed my routine a bit from before, but I'm pretty much back to normal on everything except deadlifts, where I've been working back up slowly (now doing 10x245 vs 5x295 before the surgery), and squats, which I more or less replaced with leg presses after the surgery, and I'm just dabbling with 200-ish lbs till the strained feeling goes away (which it's slowly doing). I did notice the "squished" feeling in my groin area after I sat cross-legged on the floor for a couple of hours playing a game with my son the other day, but it was mild and went away when I stood up.

8 weeks of no lifting and extra eating added about 10 lbs, most of which seemed to settle on my gut, to the point where it was uncomfortable in my usual jeans. So about 10 days ago I went to 1200-1400 calories a day on an intermittent fasting schedule (noon-8pm), focused on protein and fats (vs carbs). I have a few nuts if I'm really hungry outside of that window. Haven't checked in a few days, but I dropped 3.5 lbs in the first 5 days and my gut felt noticeably better. I'll adjust my food again once I've lost a few more lbs.

Otherwise, no complaints.

[HPMBlack]

Bell0c thanks for the update, looks promising , can't wait to reach the same stage and do some real exercise.

I am at 4 1/2 weeks now. Few days in a row I did pushups, squats, lunges (just bodyweight), and I do not feel pain doing it, maybe just slight sensation around wound area later. I was thinking to start running/swimming, not sure is it the time, or to wait for full 6-8 weeks. I tried pull/chin ups, they felt ok too. Only if I am sitting longer, and then get up quickly, I can feel some short pain when I stretch fully.

I also gained few pounds, but nothing significant, holidays and drinking were some part of it - I just do not feel good eating without some exercise prior.

[Bell0c]

Bell0c thanks for the update, looks promising , can't wait to reach the same stage and do some real exercise.

I am at 4 1/2 weeks now. Few days in a row I did pushups, squats, lunges (just bodyweight), and I do not feel pain doing it, maybe just slight sensation around wound area later. I was thinking to start running/swimming, not sure is it the time, or to wait for full 6-8 weeks. I tried pull/chin ups, they felt ok too. Only if I am sitting longer, and then get up quickly, I can feel some short pain when I stretch fully.

I also gained few pounds, but nothing significant, holidays and drinking were some part of it - I just do not feel good eating without some exercise prior.

Thanks, HMPBlack. Sounds like you're well ahead of where I was at the same point. I'm sure it's different for everyone, but as I've said in several previous posts, walking seemed to be the magic bullet during the 8 week recovery period, for me and many others. I don't know what kind of surgery you had, but the last thing you want to do is tear something that's in the middle of healing, so do be careful, and best of luck in your recovery!

[HPMBlack]

Yes, better safe than sorry after all of this trouble, I will wait 2-3 weeks more before running, and take it lightly. I had Inguinal hernia (mesh put) and varicocele surgery at the same time on the left side (it is through one incision, 2.5-3 inches). Not sure is that open surgery, probably it is.

[drgephys]

3.5 month update, bilateral direct inguinal hernia, Desarda repair

I changed the oil in both cars this morning, crawling under and getting back out a couple of dozen times, and didn't notice any sensations at all. About the only time I notice anything now is doing squats or the leg press machine - there's a slightly strained feeling later, but no pain or discomfort. Nothing with deadlifts, or anything upper body. I've changed my routine a bit from before, but I'm pretty much back to normal on everything except deadlifts, where I've been working back up slowly (now doing 10x245 vs 5x295 before the surgery), and squats, which I more or less replaced with leg presses after the surgery, and I'm just dabbling with 200-ish lbs till the strained feeling goes away (which it's slowly doing). I did notice the "squished" feeling in my groin area after I sat cross-legged on the floor for a couple of hours playing a game with my son the other day, but it was mild and went away when I stood up.

8 weeks of no lifting and extra eating added about 10 lbs, most of which seemed to settle on my gut, to the point where it was uncomfortable in my usual jeans. So about 10 days ago I went to 1200-1400 calories a day on an intermittent fasting schedule (noon-8pm), focused on protein and fats (vs carbs). I have a few nuts if I'm really hungry outside of that window. Haven't checked in a few days, but I dropped 3.5 lbs in the first 5 days and my gut felt noticeably better. I'll adjust my food again once I've lost a few more lbs.

Otherwise, no complaints.

Wow, this sounds excellent!

I'm at about 90% healing after seven months (open left side with mesh). When I pushed the last rep at about 250 lb squats the other week, I felt some pressure in the surgery area -- indicating that it's not 100% healed. It doesn't affect my workouts though. However, the swelling is still there and I'm worried if it will be some kind of permanent mesh reaction. Do you have any swelling by the way?

I gained over ten pounds but I'm not concerned about losing weight until I get my full strength back. Building muscle and burning fat go against each other. My main focus is to avoid injuries and try to heal the existing injuries while building muscle. Once I have the strength and size, getting cut is relatively easy.

[Bell0c]

Wow, this sounds excellent!

I'm at about 90% healing after seven months (open left side with mesh). When I pushed the last rep at about 250 lb squats the other week, I felt some pressure in the surgery area -- indicating that it's not 100% healed. It doesn't affect my workouts though. However, the swelling is still there and I'm worried if it will be some kind of permanent mesh reaction. Do you have any swelling by the way?

I gained over ten pounds but I'm not concerned about losing weight until I get my full strength back. Building muscle and burning fat go against each other. My main focus is to avoid injuries and try to heal the existing injuries while building muscle. Once I have the strength and size, getting cut is relatively easy.

Thanks, drgephys. Yeah, squats and leg presses - the exercises that force the legs to the torso - are the tricky ones. I'm still not doing the Valsalva, so the area isn't straining, just stretching. I figure I should keep doing those movements gently to keep stretching rather than allowing it to heal rigidly.

It's not so much the 10 lbs. that I want to get rid of as it is the tight pants

There was a little swelling above the genitals for a few days after the surgery, but it went away pretty fast. Maybe a little in the incision area, but I don't remember anything significant, and nothing for a long time now. I think you mentioned that yours had gotten pretty big before your surgery, so hopefully it's just from that void being created and it will go away eventually. My biggest was maybe half a golf ball or so, I think. In any case, it sounds like you're doing well in general, so keep up the good work!

[samer122017]

hi,, i am a beginner bodybuilder and also have an inguinal hernia (right side) before i begun going to the gym,, after about 3 months playing split program felt pain in the groin area in the gym and also normal moves through the day.

i stopped going to the gym,, i was depressed from that,, but i have no choices until i do the surgery.

i want to walk everyday just to not lose everything i gained.
does walking affect hernia or increase the pain in it ??

and also what is the suitable supplements to take?? i was taking protein powder, glut-amine and BCAA post-workout.

thanks for yr help.

[Bell0c]

hi,, i am a beginner bodybuilder and also have an inguinal hernia (right side) before i begun going to the gym,, after about 3 months playing split program felt pain in the groin area in the gym and also normal moves through the day.

i stopped going to the gym,, i was depressed from that,, but i have no choices until i do the surgery.

i want to walk everyday just to not lose everything i gained.
does walking affect hernia or increase the pain in it ??

and also what is the suitable supplements to take?? i was taking protein powder, glut-amine and BCAA post-workout.

thanks for yr help.

Sorry to hear you've joined the club. You do need to get the hernia repaired, but if you've read through this thread you've seen that most folks are able to get back to their routine eventually, so don't lose hope. Get it repaired as soon as you can.

You may still be able to do a lot of your upper body exercises, as long as you can avoid holding your breath and pushing (which increases the pressure in your abdomen and pushes the hernia out). The big lower body power moves - squat, deadlift, leg press - may be best skipped for now, except maybe at lower weights and without holding your breath. If it hurts or makes your bulge pooch out more, skip it. Though, I should add, if you're having pain doing normal things through the day as you mention, you might want to be extra cautious. Walking should be fine, I would think. You'll be doing a lot of walking after the repair.

I don't think supplements will affect things much one way or the other.

Hang in there, and good luck!

[drgephys]

hi,, i am a beginner bodybuilder and also have an inguinal hernia (right side) before i begun going to the gym,, after about 3 months playing split program felt pain in the groin area in the gym and also normal moves through the day.

i stopped going to the gym,, i was depressed from that,, but i have no choices until i do the surgery.

i want to walk everyday just to not lose everything i gained.
does walking affect hernia or increase the pain in it ??

and also what is the suitable supplements to take?? i was taking protein powder, glut-amine and BCAA post-workout.

thanks for yr help.

No need to be depressed. It happens in one out of four men.

You can continue your normal activities as well as playing sports and gym. The only remedy is surgery. Have it fixed as soon as you find a good doctor.

I only take creatine. BCAA is known to contribute to diabetes, for which there is no cure; so, be warned.

[ezzy227]

hi,, i am a beginner bodybuilder and also have an inguinal hernia (right side) before i begun going to the gym,, after about 3 months playing split program felt pain in the groin area in the gym and also normal moves through the day.

i stopped going to the gym,, i was depressed from that,, but i have no choices until i do the surgery.

i want to walk everyday just to not lose everything i gained.
does walking affect hernia or increase the pain in it ??

and also what is the suitable supplements to take?? i was taking protein powder, glut-amine and BCAA post-workout.

thanks for yr help.

I bought a hernia truss and continued to workout and walk/jog until the day before my surgery. Let pain be your guide.

Get educated on your hernia repair options (lots of good back and forth on this thread) and don't blindly accept the repair technique offered by the surgeon. Repairing a hernia, unfortunately, is not like getting an appendix fixed. There a several different options, each with their positives and potential negatives.

I am almost 11 weeks out from my Desarda repair and am back in gym, working out hard again (with lower weights) and feeling great. I don't feel like I have lost too much muscle mass. I had planned on putting off my surgery until this Spring (mainly out of the fear of surgery) - man, I am glad I went ahead and got it done.

[Bell0c]

I bought a hernia truss and continued to workout and walk/jog until the day before my surgery. Let pain be your guide.

Get educated on your hernia repair options (lots of good back and forth on this thread) and don't blindly accept the repair technique offered by the surgeon. Repairing a hernia, unfortunately, is not like getting an appendix fixed. There a several different options, each with their positives and potential negatives.

I am almost 11 weeks out from my Desarda repair and am back in gym, working out hard again (with lower weights) and feeling great. I don't feel like I have lost too much muscle mass. I had planned on putting off my surgery until this Spring (mainly out of the fear of surgery) - man, I am glad I went ahead and got it done.

Hey, Ezzy, good to hear from you, and to hear that you're doing well!

[Bell0c]

Just realized I'm over the 4 month line (bilateral Desarda repair on 9/21/18). Today marks 4 weeks since I started the diet I mentioned in the last update, and I'm down about 9 lbs. I was shooting for 10, but I think I need to go a little lower so I may stick to this for a while longer. The loosening of the waistband has helped a lot, and I would have been smart to cut back on eating during the early recovery rather than correcting it later. Unless you're going to wear elastic waistbands for months, which is where I was headed, or buying new pants, which is even sillier.

Anyway, all is well. As before, an occasional "foreign body sensation" in certain positions for long periods of time, or a slight strained sensation from certain exercises, especially leg presses or squats, but these are slowly disappearing to the point that I often forget they're there. I noticed the other day that using the leaf blower for a while, with constant rotation of the upper body, kind of made my lower torso feel odd for a little while. So there's still healing and adjusting happening, but it's very minor at this point.

[HPMBlack]

Bell0c seems like you had great progress with diet, 9 lbs is very healthy tempo for 4 weeks, and you definitely lost mostly fat.

I will also start some similar diet, I thought to try time-restricted-eating, 9-10h eating window. that's similar to yours. I got 5lbs extra than what I had before surgery, but looks like stomach/waist fat mostly, since I ate a lot (and drinking a bit). Need to loose that.

Now I am at almost 8 weeks, and I miscounted weeks last week and started to run and swim. Originally plan was to wait for the full 8 weeks. I lost maybe 10-20percent of cardio but not much, got pretty good 5k time and 3k swim. And I feel good since muscles/joints got some good rest. Sometimes I feel slight short pain at incision site, but very mild, so I think I can continue with exercise. I also went to gym and did upper body exercise (flat, incline, decline bench, narrow grip bench etc.. but with 15-20 reps and lower weight than usual), and it feels good, I got very strong DOMS day after .

So recovery seems good, hopefully I can do some medium lower body exercises soon.

[Cortzpain]

Can I ask if you could share your surgeons name? Was this in Australia? Thank you