Umbilical Hernia!

Anyone else here have one or has had one that opted to get surgery? My Doc says mine is small enough to not get surgery. I'll tell you what, it's the most annoying thing i've ever had. It really doesn't bother me but knowing it's there lumping out my belly button drives me nuts, i'm always picking at the damn thing. I think I should get it taken care of while I am younger then have it be an issue down the road when I'm older.

My question is for those of you who have had surgery on this how long of a recovery was there before you got back into the gym? As far as I know it's an outpatient procedure but it does require you get put under.. I can't imagine it being that big of a deal, but really have no idea.

:nope:

Thanks, That doesn't sound bad.. I'm ready to get this thing over with after I get over this cold.. :crap:

Hey man, I agree completely with B2S. You really should get this taken care of earlier rather than later. Most umbilical hernias occur in very young children and are treated surgically if they don't disappear by 3-4 yrs old. You doc is right it saying that you could leave it alone b/c it's not causing you any pain and it's not strangulated yet. However, I think with the lifestyle of lifting heavy weights and the amounts of stress you put on your abdomen both internal and external, you should get it taken care of now.

Now from my experience, I currently have 2 inguinal hernias (1 on each side) that have been there for 2 years. I ignored the first one when I felt it pop during a squat and just started going lighter with everything for awhile. Don't know when the 2nd one happened, but I do know that the one of the left started to hurt like crazy 2 days ago. Went in to see my doc after the exam he told me to go see the surgeon Monday morning and see when I can get in. I'm afraid that the one of the left has become strangulated (happens when you lose the blood supply to part of your intestine and thus lose the peristalsis, muscle contraction, there which help move things through it). This couldn't happen at a more inopportune time for me and I really do wish I had gotten it taken care of earlier. Now many people have these things, never get them fixed, and never have any problems with them. However, if you have decent insurance and the time right now, I think getting it done is the right thing to do. Go ahead an make the appointment with the surgeon b/c by the time he gets you in your cold will be gone.

Hey man, i just had that exact surgery about a year or so ago. It took me 3 months to fully recover. Here was my recovery schedule

Week 1: rest, you wont want to do anything but watch movies.
Week 2: back to the gym, but just walking on treadmill, etc.
Weeks 3-4: Hammer strength and some light weight movements
Weeks 5-12: Back to normal, only going 50-75%

After that i was back where i was before the surgery. It really sucks, but you have to do it. Good luck man.

Cool thanks guys, this isn't as bad as I thought. Steve now that you are going normal again do you ever worry about blowing it out again? I fear that it will come back =/

So I had the surgery, first week was a bit rough.. Went back to the doc the week after, he said wait 3 more weeks since I lift heavy.. This is my first week back in the gym, feel great.. Total time out was about 1 month.. Doc did a fantastic job, scar is small and already starting to go away.. Using this stuff called Bio Oil, great stuff.

congrats pump - glad you got it done. I had my umbilical hernias repaired 3 weeks ago and I'm back in the gym as well. But my stomach is so damn sore still. At the beach this week with the family and when I took my kids in the ocean I apparently forgot that I had recently gotten surgery. First wave that hit me stretched the hell out of it...but after that it was fine. Hope your recovery goes well!

Spiderman said:

congrats pump - glad you got it done. I had my umbilical hernias repaired 3 weeks ago and I'm back in the gym as well. But my stomach is so damn sore still. At the beach this week with the family and when I took my kids in the ocean I apparently forgot that I had recently gotten surgery. First wave that hit me stretched the hell out of it...but after that it was fine. Hope your recovery goes well!

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Seems we are on about the same recovery timeframe.. My inside of my stomach was swollen for awhile.. That was the majority of my problems.. Now the stiches on the inside are starting to desolve and come through my skin, it's the most bizzare thing.. Almost like hairs growing through.. I attempted to pull one, never again!! I could still feel it attached on the inside, hurt big time.. :dizzy: Did you get the stich on the inside and the glue on the outside? Mine seemed to heal pretty well although on the left side the scar is a bit bigger. I'm finally over the ripping of the scab and bleeding part hahah.. Checkout that Bio Oil, has worked wonders for me so far on the scar.. It's also good for stretch marks.