A lovely hernia is about to put me out of the action for a month or so. Hopefully, I’ll have a quick recovery following tomorrow’s surgery. Has anyone else had the open surgery, and if so, what was the recovery time?
A lovely hernia is about to put me out of the action for a month or so. Hopefully, I’ll have a quick recovery following tomorrow’s surgery. Has anyone else had the open surgery, and if so, what was the recovery time?
Good luck on your surgery.
Give back more to this world than we take.
Thank you, Patriot76. And how is your recovery from your should issue coming along?
Way ahead of schedule and ready to have the other one done in two weeks. I was only off work for a short time so I cannot complain. Yes, retirement requires work and I am standing by my story.
Two pieces of advice: Shave the area yourself tonight. The nurse that shaved me used a dry butter knife and left me razor burned to Hades and back.
Also, if you do partake of the opioid pain relievers they prescribe, take a stool softener with each one. I do like the way codeine makes the furniture real comfortable, but I was not prepared for not having a BM for three days & when I finally had one imminent, it was like trying to push out a dang watermelon, and YOU CAN'T PUSH!!! Probably best to avoid the hard stuff, but what can I say, I have an addictive personality. I have to be real careful with those things, but I'm not the type that'll lie & stuff to get more.
Other than that, as was said, take a couple of weeks & get right before you lift or push ANYTHING. Then after that, listen to your body.
I was at least a month post op when I threw a heavy trashbag into the can out back... I sure felt it the next few days!
Out of clutter, find simplicity. --Albert Einstein
My surgical experience was pretty nondescript. Honestly, I was more wiped when they pulled my wisdom teeth. It's outpatient surgery so you are home pretty quickly. The local anaesthasia they gave me, in addition to the general, didn't leave me feeling loopy but had me feeling about as good as ever, which is a problem when you are trying to remember to take it easy. I went home and was moving furniture, having dinner with friends, and generally just moving around a lot when it suddenly hit me that I had been cut into and shouldn't be trying so hard. I spent the next three or four (or six?) days in a near-stupor, finally accepting Vicodin into my life, and reading comic books, dreading every visitation to the bathroom. I would recommend trying to stay resting in a semi-sitting position, as that will reduce the strain of trying to sit bolt upright to get out of bed.
My dad had hernia surgery a year or two ago. He pretty much was a couch potato while recovering, and ended up having a speedy recovery. Since his job is sit at a desk and work, he was able to continue working from home. His advice was to just take it easy, take the pain meds they give you, and don't overwork yourself too quickly.
Weird how almost everyone says that the robotic is a worse recovery than the open.
My pops had the robotic, and the next day he was barely able to move... second day he could get to the table to eat... third day my brother and I half carried him around the block.
I had the open, and went for a walk around the block when I got home. Didn't lift even a jug of milk for 2 weeks, though. Truth be told, the pain after throwing that trash bag was the most post-op discomfort I felt.
The meds will make you loopy though. I very clearly remember coming to in recovery, and the nurse asking me what I wanted to drink, and I replied apple juice... she brought me a can, and had left the tab folded over the hole in the top and put the straw through the tab top. I thought that was the coolest dam thing ever and wondered why I'd never thought of it before.
I have no recollection of the ride home, though. A couple of days later, my wife and I got in the van to go somewhere, and I saw a drink cup from Griffs. Now... those of you not familiar with DFW won't know about Griffs, but they have THE BEST greasy drippy hamburgers on God's green earth. I asked my wife why the Hades she went to Griffs and didn't bring my anything... she said that I had insisted on going there on the ride home and had wolfed down my usual double cheeseburger like it weren't no thang! LOLOL
Thanks for all the advice. I am now on my second day post surgery. My best friend is an ice pack. I had the open procedure and took a one block walk with my wife today. Things seem to be going ok, but I’m still dreading the toilet, Auminer. Doctor says I can return to teaching in about 14 days.
Stool softeners are your best friend. I don't think you can take too many but don't venture far from the bathroom. Keep taking it easy. 73, Mike
"Profit begins when you buy NOT when you sell." {quote passed down to me from a wise man}
Now go beat the copper out of something, Miked
Yea a change of the type of work one has to do to earn a living will certainly bring on the hernias, we country boys that tossed bails and loaded 100 pound sacks of potatoes and carrots in our youth have abs of steel.
You cant go from a desk job into scrapping without some muscle tone.
Few years back against my best wishes had taken a few pain killers and the worse part was not being able to have a BM, being a country boy finally resorted to finding a private spot in the woods. Doing the bush squat which is the most natural way to have a BM or for a woman giving child birth.
When you get your health back do a few sit ups each day to build up those abs.
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