Hernia Recovery Expectations/complications (Page 4)

I had bilateral laparoscopic procedure done 5 months ago (at age 4. There was what the surgeon termed a "small to medium" hernia on the right and a weakness on the left, so he put in a piece of mesh big enough to cover both. I was concerned enough about having this done (and also from reading about bad experiences in posts like these) that I spent months researching this and choosing a surgeon, based on recommendation of a good friend who is a doctor and who knows the surgeon personally.

It helped that I'm in good shape; good weight; exercise regularly; so I was described as a very good candidate for the procedure.

While this wasn't the most pleasant experience I've been through; overall, the procedure and recovery, while painful the first few days, was tolerable and worked out better than I had expected.

I had the operation done in the afternoon; went home later that night; at first, there wasn't much swelling, and I was able to walk out of the hospital on my own. Carefully. But the swelling started that night, and by the next day it was very obvious and uncomfortable on top of the pain from the surgery, which I'd put at around a 5 on a 1..10 scale. I didn't take any painkillers other than 2 ibuprofen 3 to 4 times a day - I wanted to stay away from the stronger, narcotic painkillers. It was tolerable this way.

So with all of that: the first few days were the most uncomfortable, and I spent the time sitting, lying down, and trying to stay flat to help the swelling. After about 4 days the swelling and bruising started to diminish, the pain got better, and it was easier to get up and start doing some things, carefully. I was able to stop taking ibuprofen at that point.

Within a week, I was walking more, the swelling was mostly gone, and things were starting to feel more normal. There was still a hard knot where the scope had gone in (the surgeon had a hard time getting through old scar tissue from a childhood appendectomy). Most of the pain that remained had to do with the stomach area and abdomen around that. Too-quick movements or shifts, rolling to get up from bed, etc. could still cause stabs of pain.

Within 2 weeks, I felt around 90-95% better and was moving and feeling almost normal, for mild day-to-day activities. Still needed to work on stretching the abdomen. I had my follow-up appointment with the surgeon, he cleared me for all activities, and I tried starting to resume lap swimming, but it was still too early. I gave it another 1-2 weeks before working back up to the mile-at-a-time I'm used to.

Now, 5 months later, I feel completely back to normal, other than some still slight knottiness in that part of the stomach area muscle; it may be some adhesion and scar tissue, but it's not noticeable and hasn't gotten in the way of other things. No further pain or discomfort. I haven't had any of the other complications commonly mentioned and I'm very glad to have had this done; now I wish that I'd done it months, or years, sooner.

I hope this helps others; reading about a positive experience like this would have set my mind more at ease as I was deciding what to do.

Summary:

Was it easy? No. The operation was no fun, and the first week was fairly miserable, the first few days of that being the worst. But I used minimal pain meds and got through it. Things got better quickly after that.

Was it awful? No. And better than the alternative: continual worry about the hernia, and the ongoing pain and discomfort.

Based on my experience, I would recommend this kind of operation.

I just got out of surgery 48 hours ago, had 2 mild fevers already, super swollen right testical, barely can walk. The antithesia wi what really hurt me, had hard time recovering from that.

I'm a little worried about the mild fever, I am taking the antibiotics and dont understand why I would get a mild fever.

I live alone and don't have anyone to help me so it's been rough.

I was told not to take a shower yet, and not to clean the incision with water...

There may be a simple infection via the incision. Keep on with antibiotics for 3 to 5 days. You wiill be fine..

Hi
I am on day 6 of recovery after an inguinal hernia. I am a brit expat living in france and I came to this site for some indication of when I can have sex again.
Reading through I guess it will be a while yet!
I feel very sorry for the people who have had complications on this site, but I would not let any of this put you off having the procedure done, it's not always as bad as you read here. I had keyhole surgery (3 incisions) and although I am early on in my recovery I have had no swelling or bruising and only mild pain on the second day. the only discomfort has been the incision under my navel, which is just on the trouser line, and I haven't removed those paper stiches yet. The dressing and the other two lots of paper stitches have gone and there is no mark at all. Around the house I was completely back to normal and comfortable within 3 days. I haven't done any kind of excercise at all though. Please don't be put off, my hernia went from 'small' to 'medium' over the course of about 10 months of house renovation,. But I got my op just 2 weeks after asking for it. The Dr even apologised for that delay! My hernia had become very painful and I seemed to be pushing my fist into my pelvis to reset it about 20 times a day. The op is worth it.

I had my surgery 6 weeks ago. Open surgery for an inguinal hernia. I'm 25, in good shape, 6'2" 165 lbs, maybe a little underweight.

The first week was tough. I play music for a living and was able to sorely get through a weekend of playing music sitting down (surgery was on monday). AVOID COUGHING, SNEEZING or even LAUGHING HARD! That killed! I learned how to contain myself better, but it was tough.

Walking for an hour a day early on was smart. Lots of fluids. Not lifting anything over 10 lbs for two weeks, and then 40 lbs after 4 weeks.

I was able to have sex after 10 days, and I was pretty sore afterwards. I felt better a day or two later, but if you can put it off, I would. Last night it worked just fine, no pain.

Right now I feel almost %100. The only drawbacks are some discomfort to touch, but I wouldn't call it pain. I've done some lifting up to about 50 lbs, but there's no need to if you don't have to.

The surgery isn't fun, but it definitely beats laying on my back trying to get my intestines to evacuate my sack, and the occasional three day bender where it wouldn't go back was just as bad as the recovery. If you're on the fence about getting surgery, GET IT! You only get worse.

I had ingunal hernia surgury almost 4 weeks ago.Do you think I could lift heavier objects like 10 Lbs>The healing process went very well and I feel fine otherwise,I am 72 ...Anyone have suggestions?

I had ingunal hernia surgury almost 4 weeks ago.Do you think I could lift heavier objects like 10 Lbs>The healing process went very well and I feel fine otherwise,I am 72 ...Anyone have suggestions?

I had an ingunal hernia repair with mesh, on monday afternoon. I was up and walking in the hospital that night. I was then let out (and walked out unassisted) the next morning taking no more pain killers than what was given to me during surgery. Its now thursday and i have been slowly moving around the house with slight discomfort, (not enough to call pain), still no pain killlers and feeling better every day. I had been reading this forum before going for surgery and all the negative things people had to say, which seriously made me think if i was doing the right thing. At the end of the day the problems with not getting it repaired are quite bad and much worse in my opinion. It also seems the majority of people posting here, are people with complaints and not praise (i have no problem with this) so if you are considering surgery do not think that these operations are never successful. I know i am not even a week out yet but in my opinion if i had to make the decision again i would do it again tomorrow. Hope everyone gets well.

Did any of the men who had the (abdomen hernia surgery), experience getting an erection to be difficult? slower to getting a full erecton? has anything changed with your performance in bed at all?
I have been a little concerned with my boyfriend who had the abdomen surgery. i am so frustrated and wanted to see if maybe i am being unfair to his sensitivity and what he went through. THanks you guys.

I met one patient today having the same problem. After 3 months of a
Mesh repair of left inguinal hernia.. This may be common. I will find a reason and tell you..
-med student-

And hopefully it will recover with time dony worry..

Since going under the knife in September '09 I've had nothing but problems. I noticed slow improvement until late January '10 when real discomfort appeared again. Two weeks later the doctor (Workers' Comp) cleared me to return to work long enough to get fired for "inability to perform job assignments".

Approximately 1 year from my surgery date the wound that had been stitched opened up again after lifting a few cartons of bottled water. The original doctor opened me up again earlier this week (Nov. '10) to find that there were still undesolved suchers in my body. I'm now in my 5th day of recovery and am in worse shape than I was before going through the procedure.

I don't know if I should remove a piece of gauze that was sewn into my wound because the good doctor is on vacation and his receptionist hasn't returned my calls -- despite hospital release papers instructing me to contact him 2-3 days after the procedure. I'm guessing they didn't arrange for another physician to handle his cases in case of emergency.

In the meantime I'll just have to put up with the pain and concerns about infection.

Wow, what a great site for hernia info. I really wish I had seen this site before my surgery 20 days ago. I had open repair on direct hernias on the left and right side. As such, I have two incision 3.5 inches long on each side. I am a 45 year old male in good shape. I am 5’10 and 175 pounds. Had I done more research, I would have not done open surgery. The pain and recovery issues are just too great with the large incisions and scar tissue. Go with laparoscopic if you can. I let my surgeon talk me into open repair for a golf ball size hernia on the left side and marble size one on the right. He said it was better due to future operations for any prostate, colon or gallbladder (I have no issues at all now). He also said in open hernia repair the surgeon can be more targeted with the mesh and thus the mesh is a lot smaller. With Laparoscopic, the mesh must be larger due to limitations of access to the hernia site and the need to ensure a larger coverage area.

Tips!: Four things that helped me the most:

1. Eat nothing but soup 36 hours before surgery and for 72 hours after surgery. Then make sure they give you a prescription for glycerin suppositories. GET THEM. Trust me; both items make bowl movements easy and pain free.
2. Put pillows under both knees when you are lying down flat to sleep. It tilts your pelvis slightly up or flat and removes all the pressure on the hernia repair. Your feet still need to touch the bed, just use enough pillow to allow you to rest your legs slightly upward at the hip. It works wonders.
3. I know the surgeon will tell you to ice the scrotum and penis for 24 to 36 hours after surgery. Do that. It helps keep the blood from pooling in your scrotum and reduces swelling. Swelling is what causes the most pain in days 2-5. But I found that in days 2+ heat on my scrotum via a pad or water bottle kept it from shriveling up and forcing my testicle closer to my body. Doing so eased the nerve pain greatly on both sides of my scrotum. If I got cold, and my scrotum shrunk, the pain was a lot more intense in the nerves in that region. Do not be afraid to apply heat in days 2+.
4. When you can finally sleep on your side, put a pillow in-between your legs to keep the pressure off your scrotum (from being squeezed between your legs).

Clueless! I did not see that coming:
1. You will not be able to sleep on your side for at least a week. During the first week, rolling over is a problem pain wise, but after that subsides, the swelling and pain makes it hard to sleep on your side for the first two weeks.
2. Two weeks after the surgery, you will still have pain and cannot stand for longer than a few hours. The recovery time is double what they tell you.
3. Using a recliner or sitting prone is very painful. I figured I could sit in my recliner and watch TV the first week after surgery. Wrong. After a week, I could sit prone in a chair or in a recliner without a lot of pain for a few hours, but in the first week, unless I was lying flat or slightly inclined, the hernia repair hurt…a lot.

So…20 days later… I am getting better, but here is what you can expect after open repair for direct hernias.

6-12 hours after surgery: Pain and nausea are brutal. Pain killers help, but not much. You pray that you pee within 12 hours post surgery so you don’t need to go back to the hospital and get a catheter. Prescription pain drugs mandatory. You sleep.

Day 1- pain is intense 24/7. You move at a snail’s pace to and from your bed to the toilet. Sitting up or standing up for any length of time is brutal. Getting in and out of bed takes help. Sneezing and coughing bring cries of “just kill me, I can’t live with the pain”. Prescription pain drugs mandatory. You sleep.

Day 2- pain is intense 24/7. You can now sit up at a slight incline and watch TV or read. But moving or standing is still a huge problem pain wise. Getting in bed is painful. Prescription pain drugs needed. Coughing occurs due to irritation from tube in throat during surgery. You call doctor for more pain meds to end cough or end the brutal pain of coughing.

Day 3- Pain is less, but still a challenge 24/7. You can now move around slowly without much help. Stairs hurt but are manageable. You feel like you need to poop but are too afraid. Prescription pain drugs needed at night. Ibuprofen during day. Shower!

Day 4 –Pain is bearable with good prescription drugs 24/7. You poop. It doesn’t hurt if you use my tips. Penis and scrotum is swollen and black and blue. Nasty looking. Getting and out of bed is painful, but not so bad that you don’t want to. Prescription pain drugs really only needed at night. Ibuprofen during day.


Day 5 – Pain is bearable with some ibuprofen. You now move around faster. Swelling is painful still. Feels like something is burning inside the left and right side of your groin down to your scrotum. Sleeping on side not possible, but you attempt it. No prescription pain meds. Ibuprofen 24/7 to reduce swelling.

Day 6 - Pain is gone when laying flat or inclined. Otherwise bearable with some ibuprofen when standing or sitting. You can now sit around for an hour or two move around house faster. Swelling is painful still. Sharp pains on nerves to the left and right of penis more often when standing. Still feels like something is burning inside the left and right side of your groin down to your scrotum (nerves are starting to repair themselves) . Sleeping on side not possible, but you attempt it. No prescription pain meds. Ibuprofen 24/7 to reduce swelling.

Day 7 – you progress a little, but now more slowly. You realize this is not a one week and done deal. Swelling starting to go down near incisions and groin. You sleep on your side…finally. Still sore, but you are now up 3/4s of the day standing and sitting. Ibuprofen 24/7

Days 8-14 Progress every day, but incremental improvements slow down. You still have pain near the incisions and the swelling is an issue still. If you are upright for more than 3 hours it hurts a lot. Sitting in a chair is bearable for a few hours. Ibuprofen 24/7
Days 14-18 Again, progress every day with less pain, but incremental improvements slow way, way down. You still have pain near the incisions and the swelling is an issue near the incisions. Scar tissue is hard and you can feel the scar tissue. Sitting upright pinches the scars and causes pain now in places that wasn’t painful before. You go back to work, but you still hurt and need ibuprofen to 24/7 to help take the edge off. If you are upright for more than 5 hours it hurts and you want to lie down. Sitting in a chair is bearable for a few hours. Ibuprofen 24/7

Days 18-20 Pubic hair is starting to itch where you were shaved. Nerves in the skin near groin area really starting return and are sensitive to touch. Sex starts to creep back into your mind and you wonder how much it will hurt. Ibuprofen 24/7

Days 21+ Dunno, not there yet.

Wow, what a great site for hernia info. I really wish I had seen this site before my surgery 20 days ago. I had open repair on direct hernias on the left and right side. As such, I have two incision 3.5 inches long on each side. I am a 45 year old male in good shape. I am 5’10 and 175 pounds. Had I done more research, I would have not done open surgery. The pain and recovery issues are just too great with the large incisions and scar tissue. Go with laparoscopic if you can. I let my surgeon talk me into open repair for a golf ball size hernia on the left side and marble size one on the right. He said it was better due to future operations for any prostate, colon or gallbladder (I have no issues at all now). He also said in open hernia repair the surgeon can be more targeted with the mesh and thus the mesh is a lot smaller. With Laparoscopic, the mesh must be larger due to limitations of access to the hernia site and the need to ensure a larger coverage area.

Tips!: Four things that helped me the most:

1. Eat nothing but soup 36 hours before surgery and for 72 hours after surgery. Then make sure they give you a prescription for glycerin suppositories. GET THEM. Trust me; both items make bowl movements easy and pain free.
2. Put pillows under both knees when you are lying down flat to sleep. It tilts your pelvis slightly up or flat and removes all the pressure on the hernia repair. Your feet still need to touch the bed, just use enough pillow to allow you to rest your legs slightly upward at the hip. It works wonders.
3. I know the surgeon will tell you to ice the scrotum and penis for 24 to 36 hours after surgery. Do that. It helps keep the blood from pooling in your scrotum and reduces swelling. Swelling is what causes the most pain in days 2-5. But I found that in days 2+ heat on my scrotum via a pad or water bottle kept it from shriveling up and forcing my testicle closer to my body. Doing so eased the nerve pain greatly on both sides of my scrotum. If I got cold, and my scrotum shrunk, the pain was a lot more intense in the nerves in that region. Do not be afraid to apply heat in days 2+.
4. When you can finally sleep on your side, put a pillow in-between your legs to keep the pressure off your scrotum (from being squeezed between your legs).

Clueless! I did not see that coming:
1. You will not be able to sleep on your side for at least a week. During the first week, rolling over is a problem pain wise, but after that subsides, the swelling and pain makes it hard to sleep on your side for the first two weeks.
2. Two weeks after the surgery, you will still have pain and cannot stand for longer than a few hours. The recovery time is double what they tell you.
3. Using a recliner or sitting prone is very painful. I figured I could sit in my recliner and watch TV the first week after surgery. Wrong. After a week, I could sit prone in a chair or in a recliner without a lot of pain for a few hours, but in the first week, unless I was lying flat or slightly inclined, the hernia repair hurt…a lot.

So…20 days later… I am getting better, but here is what you can expect after open repair for direct hernias.

6-12 hours after surgery: Pain and nausea are brutal. Pain killers help, but not much. You pray that you pee within 12 hours post surgery so you don’t need to go back to the hospital and get a catheter. Prescription pain drugs mandatory. You sleep.

Day 1- pain is intense 24/7. You move at a snail’s pace to and from your bed to the toilet. Sitting up or standing up for any length of time is brutal. Getting in and out of bed takes help. Sneezing and coughing bring cries of “just kill me, I can’t live with the pain”. Prescription pain drugs mandatory. You sleep.

Day 2- pain is intense 24/7. You can now sit up at a slight incline and watch TV or read. But moving or standing is still a huge problem pain wise. Getting in bed is painful. Prescription pain drugs needed. Coughing occurs due to irritation from tube in throat during surgery. You call doctor for more pain meds to end cough or end the brutal pain of coughing.

Day 3- Pain is less, but still a challenge 24/7. You can now move around slowly without much help. Stairs hurt but are manageable. You feel like you need to poop but are too afraid. Prescription pain drugs needed at night. Ibuprofen during day. Shower!

Day 4 –Pain is bearable with good prescription drugs 24/7. You poop. It doesn’t hurt if you use my tips. Penis and scrotum is swollen and black and blue. Nasty looking. Getting and out of bed is painful, but not so bad that you don’t want to. Prescription pain drugs really only needed at night. Ibuprofen during day.


Day 5 – Pain is bearable with some ibuprofen. You now move around faster. Swelling is painful still. Feels like something is burning inside the left and right side of your groin down to your scrotum. Sleeping on side not possible, but you attempt it. No prescription pain meds. Ibuprofen 24/7 to reduce swelling.

Day 6 - Pain is gone when laying flat or inclined. Otherwise bearable with some ibuprofen when standing or sitting. You can now sit around for an hour or two move around house faster. Swelling is painful still. Sharp pains on nerves to the left and right of penis more often when standing. Still feels like something is burning inside the left and right side of your groin down to your scrotum (nerves are starting to repair themselves) . Sleeping on side not possible, but you attempt it. No prescription pain meds. Ibuprofen 24/7 to reduce swelling.

Day 7 – you progress a little, but now more slowly. You realize this is not a one week and done deal. Swelling starting to go down near incisions and groin. You sleep on your side…finally. Still sore, but you are now up 3/4s of the day standing and sitting. Ibuprofen 24/7

Days 8-14 Progress every day, but incremental improvements slow down. You still have pain near the incisions and the swelling is an issue still. If you are upright for more than 3 hours it hurts a lot. Sitting in a chair is bearable for a few hours. Ibuprofen 24/7
Days 14-18 Again, progress every day with less pain, but incremental improvements slow way, way down. You still have pain near the incisions and the swelling is an issue near the incisions. Scar tissue is hard and you can feel the scar tissue. Sitting upright pinches the scars and causes pain now in places that wasn’t painful before. You go back to work, but you still hurt and need ibuprofen to 24/7 to help take the edge off. If you are upright for more than 5 hours it hurts and you want to lie down. Sitting in a chair is bearable for a few hours. Ibuprofen 24/7

Days 18-20 Pubic hair is starting to itch where you were shaved. Nerves in the skin near groin area really starting return and are sensitive to touch. Sex starts to creep back into your mind and you wonder how much it will hurt. Ibuprofen 24/7

Days 21+ Dunno, not there yet.

I had a hysterectomy in Nov. and a hernia developed at one the the surgery sites. I had it fixed six weeks after the hysterectomy and it's been two weeks since the hernia repair. I'm having a lot of pain in my groin area and I wonder if the hysterectomy area was greatly disturbed or is this kind of pain, dispersed is normal. How long is the pain normal? Thank you for your insights.

Hi all,
Had right side open inguinal hernia repair 14 days ago. I had the left side done 14 years ago. Big difference in recovery although both were done with same procedure. Left side had given extreme pain in first week of recovery and not much after that. Right side was opposite in recovery to this point. Day 1 & 2 was pretty ok, but then all he'll broke loose. Swelling black and blue, tightness and burning all the way up to present. Surgeon of course says this is normal, but we shall see in the next days to come. Yesterday and today, 2 weeks post surgery, aside from a large numb swollen area at the incision(no pain there) it feels as if a nerve going to my right testis is being pulled. He wants to see me in a week to determine my progress, so as I stated early on, it appears that most results vary greatly.
All good luck.

Interesting forum. I have started a journal of my recovery on my blog. Sounds like I got lucky compared to many of you posting here.

I am 3 weeks post-op for a inguinal hernia. I have a gash about 5 in long. Dr said it was a lot worse than he anticipated....I hurt like hell and can hardly walk. The only way I can get around is with a cane. Is this normal ?....EG

I had another "emergency" repair 2 days ago on a strangulated hernia on the right side.The last repair on that side was 15years ago.The surgeon was concerned about the level of scarring that migh be there and warned me that nerve damage was possible, but he could deal with that and of even greater concern was the loss of blood supply the the testicle.After the op he reported that eveything had gone well, but to keep a eye on the testicle and to see my Dr if it became inflamed or painful. Recovery so far has been better than on previous ops (3over 25 years} So hope it continues to get better. He advised me to wear tight pants to support testicle and I am going toconsult a physiotherapist on exercises tp strengthen the area to avoid a repeat. I am 72 so I think my muscles are not as tense as someone younger and therefore less pain

I had an umbilical hernia repair 4 weeks and 2 days ago.
My stomach is now twice the size it was before the operation, will it go down to normal at some point?
I am also having a lingering pain on my right side just under my rib cage, is this normal during recovery? my head feels clouded and I get tired quite alot and am wondering what time length will it take to feel like me again? thnx and I await a response please

I had an umbilical hernia repair 4 weeks and 2 days ago.
My stomach is now twice the size it was before the operation, will it go down to normal at some point?
I am also having a lingering pain on my right side just under my rib cage, is this normal during recovery? my head feels clouded and I get tired quite alot and am wondering what time length will it take to feel like me again? thnx and I await a response please

I also had an umbilical hernia repair 4 weeks ago and have experienced a burning,piercing pain under the rib cage area which my Dr. said were "muscle spasms". Mine proved to be quite painful and sometimes debilitating and seemed to re occur after grocery shopping due to pushing the grocery cart!Who knew grocery shopping could really do so much damage??
The swelling has gone down considerably in my stomach but I also had a baby 4 months ago so it is hard to tell if the minimal swelling I have is due to the baby or the operation.
What i have noticed now in my recovery are the burning sensations in the incision area,my upper legs and sides of the stomach. It makes it difficult to lay down,relax or sleep, has anyone else experienced this or know what it is?
It seems to me every day there is another uncomfortable sensation that arises to replace the old one.I know my Dr. was very qualified and did a fantastic job because my belly button looks fantastic but I do feel as tho hernia surgery is much more complicated than they tell you and your recovery is much longer than expected. I am 35 years old and in great shape and i still have to limit the amount of weight I lift (as to not end up back in the surgery room again) and to generally take it easy. Recovery is deffinetly NOT a few months!!!

Its good to know I am not alone, this site is really informative. Its been 8 weeks after my umbilical hernia surgery and my stomach seems to be clearly divided in two with the area from my navel jutting out. I experience burning sensations in the area around the incision and it is really uncomfortable. Would like to know what causes it also I feel tired all the time. Have been going for walks though.

Hi, Just reading through messages on this site, and what you wrote back in March 2011, is exactly the same as what I am experiencing now. Had umbilical repair 12th December 2012. 4 weeks and 5 days ago. Stomach is twice the size and I have a persistant pain on right side just under rib cage. This pain seems to start when I sit upright. Skin surface is sore to touch but then deeper pain kicks off when sitting. How long did it take you to recover? I am a 59 year old female.

As I'm having a left inguinal hernia op the day after tomorrow (Fri April 15), I've got mixed feelings about having read this lot --so many bad outcomes and complications! I don't doubt the honest of the writers but it was good to read of a few positive experiences. I wonder whether there's a lot less motivation to write on this site if all went well, compared with that of people who had trouble. I had no problems after an umbilical hernia was fixed with gauze about 4 years ago but that apparently precludes keyhole surgery now on the groin, because of scar tissue.
I'm going to take the advice of "thegov3" (posting on 23 Dec 2010) -- soup only for the next few days, mild laxative, good painkillers, ice(frozen veggies) on swelling, exercise asap, and no good comedy shows on TV (not much danger of that). If thegov3 has read this, how were you after 21 days?
I'll continue this when I feel well enough, and I hope that will be in the week beginning 18 April. Good luck to fellow sufferers.

I agree forums tend to get posts from people with complications, thought I'd add my penny worth from someone who is hopefully going to make a speedy recovery.
I had an indirect inguinal hernia op 7 days ago (keyhole, mesh, dissolvable stitches). Just seen surgeon for follow up appointment. He cleared me "to do whatever I wanted" with the proviso that I could exercise to my level of discomfort, but not push beyond. I am an active 54 year old orienteer. So I plan to start jogging around day 14, but my sport does requires strong core muscles and there are the inevitable falls/collisons, some heavy and twisting, so it maybe many weeks before I can safely race again.
The hernia was relatively small and I decided I'd get it fixed early rather than let it get worse, which could easily have happened in one awkward fall.
I have a small bulge with some pain that developed on day 6. I was told this is quite common and was due to a pooling of fluid and blood.
My conclusion is there a different hernias, severity varies so do the surgical approaches. So you have ask/follow your surgeons advice exactly. I'd get surgery done sooner rather than later, read up on the area so you understand the problem and repair technique(s). Good luck.

my father had double inguinal hernia repair with mesh done. The 3rd day after surgery he noticed swelling in testicles. i took him to ER,found out by ultrasound there was no blood supply going to on testicle, (testicle torsion) he needed to have another surgery immediatley to try to save testicle. They were going to undue hernia repair to remove mesh. So now he has to wait 6 weeks for doctors to repair the hernia again. i am very upset at this doc. - something went wrong. procedure was not done correctly. i hope he doesn't have any future complications. Has anyone gone through this?