[Milo]

Thanks for the reply, I’m pretty concerned over this. My repair has been seemingly getting worse since going back to work a month ago. I’ve been active working as a truck driver and exercising, but now I’m really struggling with a different job where I’m on my feet all day. I’m not sure if I’m just adjusting at this point. I’m working on getting insurance and getting back to a doctor for a check-up. My doctor suggested that I come in to check on it.

Anyway, I had lap inguinal with mesh. Currently 7 months out.

[Milo]

I’m in the same boat as you at this point, unfortunately. I had surgery in April, and since a few weeks after I started getting daily aching. To be fair I go to the gym frequently and it doesn’t cause any trouble, but now I’m getting back into industrial work, ie, standing on my feet all day lifting stuff and hooooly. Aches have gone from a 1 or 2 to a worryying 6.5 with much swelling. I’m not really sure what to do but wait and see, maybe find different work.
im definitely worried about recurrence now. Have you had any problems in that area? Also, who was your doctor and how long since you had surgery?

[Milo]

Thats correct. Laparoscopic type surgery with progrip mesh. And I can certainly stay connected with updates here and there. I still find a lot of value in these forums. Thank you all.

[Milo]

Here is my story 6 weeks post op

First I will say, everyone heals differently, so don’t expect to be up and doing your regular routine in the first week. After seeing some case reports where the authors say they are up and about within day would be a very optimistic outcome. I was still pretty sore until 10 days about, and still not really able to get around comfortably until maybe 3 weeks.

31 male. 170lbs. 6ft tall. Small inguinal hernia repair. Laparoscopic with progrip mesh.

Surgery day- I had surgery around 3 pm. No food or water the day of surgery. Doctor talked to me briefly beforehand to see if I had any questions. Everything went smoothly, no complications. Pain was sort of mild when I woke up and didn’t get much worse for the first few hours. I took another 2 pain tablets during the evening. I only drank Gatorade and spent the evening laying down mostly.

Day 2-more pain this day. Getting out of bed was very difficult. I was alone and had to really use my arms and hoist myself out of bed to avoid putting a lot of tension on my abdominal wall. From what I’ve heard online, it may be better to avoid a lot of time on a sofa where your stomach is curled and wont have to stretch. This just makes it more painful/difficult when you finally do stretch out, so I just stuck with bed and standing/walking. Also I tried to get out of bed and shuffle around a bit every couple hours to help my body get used to the mesh. This was fairly uncomfortable the first few days.
I took 1 pain pill mid day to help me get up and move around. Pain was tolerable.

Day 3-6 during this time I was still feeling pain and stiffness but it was noticeably better each day. Bowel movements back to normal.

Day 7-14 at this point I was getting back into proper walking. I started going to the grocery store and doing short walks less than 30 minutes and gradually got comfortable with it. Pain in the hernia area was still noticeable, but not limiting me from walking around. Occasional shots of pain, but pain level at only a 1 or 2 by the end.

Days 14-42 my hernia pain was very low during this time and I have none at day 42. I have had continuing pain at two of the incision sites, but it’s only flairs up at night and hasn’t ever been more than mild, and is slowly going away as well. I have walked a lot during my recovery and feel good enough to start with some light weights and jogging. Overall, very happy with the outcome.

[Milo]

Good intentions, you are probably right about waiting.I was told the same thing by a doctor’s assistant. It just looked so similiar the first night. I’m not that convinced yet, but I’m just focusing on healing for now. I will update when I can.

It was a lap indirect-inguinal mesh repair on the right side.

[Milo]

Good point. I’ve already quit a couple months ago though, so I will be fine. I don’t know if I will smoke again after recovering from surgery, but I’m leaning towards no. I think nicotine is probably safer than cigarettes, but it’s not a well researched topic imo.

[Milo]

Sorry, I wasn’t very clear with my first post. I was referring to some animal studies that use unrealistic dosage ranges that a human would never use. I don’t have access to the full research papers, so I can only guess what they’re doing.

Anyway, the conclusion I’m coming to is that there’s not enough research yet.

Both nicotine and tobacco seem to have downsides, but I’m still not sure how nicotine differs from tobacco.

I can’t really tell if I’m in the wrong place for discussing this…so I’ll let it go unless someone is interested.

[Milo]

Thank you for the encouragement. I am trying to set up an appointment with both surgeons. I have heard good things about Dr Martin, but without talking to him….I’m just not sure. I will write back with an update when the surgery is over.

[Milo]

I will take that advice, but I’m curious what has caused her to make those conclusions, whether clinical studies or just something she has learned from experience.