The Band Surgery wasn't THIS Painful!

2 days ago (Friday 12/17) i had an inguinal hernia repaired and have been rather uncomfortable ever since. It had been repaired 5-6 years ago laparoscopically using a mesh but it blew out again about a year after that repair. Just about the time it blew out I had started to regain most of the 100 pounds I had lost from the dieting binge de jure so it quickly became hidden in rolls of fat.

I asked my bariatric surgeon to check the original repair while he was inside me doing the band and the hiatal hernia repair (I seem to have a thing for hernias, don't I?). After the surgery he told me that the mesh had failed and, indeed, the inguinal hernia needed to be repaired again. He suggested waiting until I had lost some weight since it would be easier to repair if I wasn't so obese.

Well, the last time I went in for a fill he thought I had lost enough to make the hernia repair worthwhile so it was scheduled for 12/17. It didn't even strike me that that was just a week before Christmas! Since he had discovered before my band surgery that I had Barrett's Esophagus from years of GERD, I asked if we could do my annual endoscopy at the same time. He agreed and I'll find out the results of the biopsy in 2 weeks when I see him again.

Since the hernia had blown out again after having been repaired once before, he had to go in through an open incision instead of laparoscopically. I had forgotten how painful an open incision can be! Percocet has definitely become my friend. I'm also having a lot of nausea so he prescribed Phenergan for that. Between the Percocet and the Phenergan I'm drowsy all the time. I spent all of last night in my recliner because I had fallen asleep in front of the TV. I actually slept better there than in my own bed the night before since I can't roll on my side in the recliner. In my bed I kept waking myself up by rolling over on my left side, the same side the incision is on.

The good side of all this discomfort is that it really has killed my appetite. I was supposed to stay on soft foods yesterday and then move to my regular diet today. I haven't felt like a regular meal yet so I'm still eating greek yogurt and tapioca (not at the same time!). Also, I want to be certain I'm not constipated from the Percocet before I start eating anything more substantial than puddings and yogurts. Now that I think about it, I should also make a protein shake for one of my meals. For the time being, though, I'm just focussing on staying hydrated.

In the meantime, it's good to be back on the message board. You'd think I'd have plenty of time to catch up but I really am sleeping most of the time. Why am I surprised that abdominal surgery takes more out of me at 64 than it did at 37? Sometimes I vastly overestimate my recuperative powers!

My Goodness Rich!! You certainly have had alot to deal with lately. Get alot of rest, take it easy over the holidays and take care of yourself! I hope you are feeling better very soon.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Leslie

Hope you're feeling better. Mend well my friend.

Wow Rich!  Hope you have good results from your biopsy.  My husband had his first inguinal hernia repair when he was 2 and almost died because it became strangulated.  He had the other side repaired in 1989 with mesh and it is holding up pretty well.  Two years ago he had the original re-done with a much smaller incision (about 2 inches) and they put a morphine drip into the wound for the first 36 hours...he was a happy and sleepy camper!  5 days later he was walking 3 miles and two weeks post-op he was running!  These hernias are prone to recurrance, but you losing weight will help you to keep this one from blowing out.
Hope you feel better soon!  Merry Christmas Rich!