Umbilical hernia? Anyone have one have surgery?

red5150 · Dec 7, 2010

Have a moderate one. Not sure when it came about but was prominent when I dieted down for contest as I shed 88lbs. Tired of pushing it back in and when I do I get a twinge in my balls (not a good one either). Almost makes me want to puke. Any of you guys ever get one operated on? MD told me 6 weeks til unrestricted activity. I had a friend get a inguinal hernia done years ago and he was back in gym in 10 days but MD said that is way different. Would you guys run anything afterwords even if you cant lift for 6 weeks? I hope to be back in the gym in 2 weeks at least doing arms but not sure what to expect. Never been cut before.

Any input appreciated

LEX · Dec 7, 2010

guy did my umbilical with a gore patch three stitches to close was doing pull ups in a two weeks...lifting 3 days later...hardly felt anything...

red5150 · Dec 7, 2010

LEX said:
guy did my umbilical with a gore patch three stitches to close was doing pull ups in a two weeks...lifting 3 days later...hardly felt anything...

WOW! that gives me some hope. MD told be patch and probably 6 stitches. Have you been fine since, no problems going back to pre-op poundages in deads squats, bent rows?

infinity1 · Dec 7, 2010

Had one 4 years ago-had it fixed laproscopically with a patch. Laid up for 3 days. Back to the gym within 2 weeks with light to moderate weights. The worst part was not being able to take a dump for 4 days post anesthesia! Get it fixed youll feel much better.

knucklehed · Dec 7, 2010

I had one that popped out frequently, I I just popped it back in and got the funny feeling also. I was going to have it fixed, but before that happened I had the pec rupture. Following the pec surgery I was out of the gym for 8-10 weeks.
Unbelievable as it may sound, it never popeed out since. I think the time off allowed the hole in my abdominal wall to shrink enough to keep it form popping out.
Now I always put a belt on over the top of the area when doing sqauts, deads or any exercise thatcreates exceesive abdoninal pressure. So far nothing has popped out it been 5 years now

blacksterbmw · Dec 7, 2010

Had one repaired 3 years ago, didn't get the patch as the doc didn't think I'd need it as it was small. Was lifting light after 2 weeks and proper at 8 weeks

MR. BMJ · Dec 7, 2010

Had mine done in 2007 by a plastic surgeon who also did my gyno surgery the same day. No problems yet

It wasn't painful at all for me. I was able to get back in the gym within 2-4 weeks doing light work....calves, etc....anything that didn't place direct pressure on the area. It was 3-4 months before I did any kind of squats or deads though.

BMJ

Pushinw8s · Dec 7, 2010

I had one repaired back in February. I was pretty sore for about 4 days... felt like I had done 10,000 crunches. Sitting, standing, coughing, sneezing was pretty bad. Light workouts after 1 week, and back to full speed after 3 weeks.

eyesin · Dec 7, 2010

had mine fixed the beginning of this year, sucked that first few days, but was doing light workouts 3 weeks later, full ones 6 weeks later

The Dude · Dec 7, 2010

I had 2 that I had repaired with a patch in '07. I only saw them when I was dieting for a show as well. I started light weights with exercises that didn't cause any pressure about 5 days after. Dr said as long as I didn't have pain or "pulling" in the area I was good. I waited about 3 weeks before I started squatting, leg pressing, deadlifting etc. I had no problems

tommyguns2 · Dec 7, 2010

Had mine surgically repaired this past spring. Had the mesh inserted, with several stiches. No big deal. No activity for me for two weeks, then very light lifting for another four weeks.

While there is no rule of thumb, you should really listen carefully to your body. In the big scheme of things taking it easy for a couple extra weeks will be much better than not letting it heal completely, and then having to deal with subsequent issues.

Our lifestyle is a marathon, not a sprint....

1bigmofo · Dec 7, 2010

Had mine done July 09, laproscopic. The pain wAs bad for the first 5 days, but that's to be expected doc said. Had mesh put in. Doc said it would look normal in a few weeks. It's never fully gone down. He told me no lifting for 6 weeks. I waited 12.

LEX · Dec 8, 2010

red5150 said:
WOW! that gives me some hope. MD told be patch and probably 6 stitches. Have you been fine since, no problems going back to pre-op poundages in deads squats, bent rows?

no problems at all I've never worn a belt. got the hernia from dumbbell pullovers.

only time I know I've had something done when I'm seated and twist wired I can feel the patch in there but no pain. Just get it done you will be glad you did and a break from lifting for a week or so isn't going to hurt you.

keepushin770 · Dec 8, 2010

i had one about 4 months ago. outpatient surgery. doc told me to lay out of the gym for 4 weeks. i did. just didn't wanna take any chances or feel like i was in the gym doing nothing so i chilled out. got back to it 4 weeks later and felt the new soreness all over again. never hurts to allow the body to rest a little. IMO

maldorf · Dec 8, 2010

I had an umbilical one patched along with 2 inguinal hernias. If youre feeling pain in your balls when you push it , that is strange. An umbilical hernia should have no effect down there. The inguinal ones are the ones that hurt your nuts. After I got my inguinal ones fixed it felt like someone was kicking me in the nuts all day long. It was terrible. I was on oxycontins. The umbilical one hurt like a mofo too.

Id say that the 6 weeks unrestricted is a bit optomistic. I get back to unrestricted within about 8 weeks. I also ended up blowing out my patch in the umbilical hernia and now have a small hernia again. Be careful. They tell you that its stronger after the surgery than normal, but its not. It will always be a week spot IMO. It takes a good amount of time for the tissue to grow into and become incorporated into the patch. Give it time.

Thor · Dec 8, 2010

I AGREE

maldorf said:
I had an umbilical one patched along with 2 inguinal hernias. If youre feeling pain in your balls when you push it , that is strange. An umbilical hernia should have no effect down there. The inguinal ones are the ones that hurt your nuts. After I got my inguinal ones fixed it felt like someone was kicking me in the nuts all day long. It was terrible. I was on oxycontins. The umbilical one hurt like a mofo too.

Id say that the 6 weeks unrestricted is a bit optomistic. I get back to unrestricted within about 8 weeks. I also ended up blowing out my patch in the umbilical hernia and now have a small hernia again. Be careful. They tell you that its stronger after the surgery than normal, but its not. It will always be a week spot IMO. It takes a good amount of time for the tissue to grow into and become incorporated into the patch. Give it time.

I have an umbilical one and its like a big outtie, I push it back in all the time but it doesn't bother my nuts at all. I,ve had to lighten up a bit on lifts because sometimes I can feel it and it doesn't feel right, like its gonna just POP out. I know a guy from my gym who had that happen while training for a strong man comp, his intestines popped out and he had to be rushed to the er ! So I am taking it easy til i get it fixed,and even then I will take a month off completely from the gym.

red5150 · Dec 9, 2010

maldorf said:
I had an umbilical one patched along with 2 inguinal hernias. If youre feeling pain in your balls when you push it , that is strange. An umbilical hernia should have no effect down there. The inguinal ones are the ones that hurt your nuts. After I got my inguinal ones fixed it felt like someone was kicking me in the nuts all day long. It was terrible. I was on oxycontins. The umbilical one hurt like a mofo too.

Id say that the 6 weeks unrestricted is a bit optomistic. I get back to unrestricted within about 8 weeks. I also ended up blowing out my patch in the umbilical hernia and now have a small hernia again. Be careful. They tell you that its stronger after the surgery than normal, but its not. It will always be a week spot IMO. It takes a good amount of time for the tissue to grow into and become incorporated into the patch. Give it time.

OK, well I don't really get a pain in the balls, I just get a sick feelling almost like a sympathetic pain or twinge in my balls, kinda like if you watch MMA and you see someone take a full out kick in the nads. Yeah I will b careful dont want to blow it out again after I get it fixed.

maldorf · Dec 9, 2010

red5150 said:
OK, well I don't really get a pain in the balls, I just get a sick feelling almost like a sympathetic pain or twinge in my balls, kinda like if you watch MMA and you see someone take a full out kick in the nads. Yeah I will b careful dont want to blow it out again after I get it fixed.

I took it plenty easy really, and it wasnt until about 8 weeks later that I started in with really light weight squats,deads, and bentover rows. Before that I was using all mahcines really light. I think I blew mine out again doing dead lifts.