cliv

Back in February, right after we got married, my wife insisted that I go for a complete physical (I never had one before). The doctor gave me the old "turn your head and cough" and found a hernia. A few weeks later I went to the surgeon in his medical group and he confirmed it. To assure me it was real, he had me put my hand on my abdomen and cough. On the right side I felt nothing...on the left side, a bulge. So, ok, I believe both doctors. We scheduled surgery for several weeks later as it was a small hernia and didn't need immediate repair.

Fast forward to surgery day...no food or liquid after midnight...never having had surgery, I was slightly nervous, and especially since sharp medical instruments were going to be below my waist. We arrived and I got into the gown with the opening in the back, slippers and a hairnet...the nurse gives me some basic information and then tries to give me an IV...my left arm has well hidden arteries/veins and I just had a blood test, so inside my right elbow was black and blue and sore...being dehydrated (to avoid a catheter) made it even more difficult for her (I told her to use the inside of my elbow anyway), but she found a good spot on the back of my hand...then the anesthegeoligist gves me his talk, "you'll be in a twilight state with a local anesthetic at the incision site" (my choice instead of being asleep, for faster recovery time)... ok surgery time...they walk me into the OR (surgery center not a hospital) and I lay on the table with my head on a pillow and a pillow under my knees and they strap down my arms and legs...I am then told they are giving me the first dose of anesthetic through the IV, it will burn for a few seconds and I will feel it in about a minute...no burn but in about a minute I didn't care what was going on or where I was...I am normally modest but with the "I Don't Care" medicine flowing through my body, I didn't care when the doctor pulled the gown away (exposing me to a room full of nurses) and started...I remember saying that I felt the injection of the local anesthetic and maybe the scalpel, but that was remedied by something that was put in the IV...the next thing I am sure I remember was the doctor telling the nurse to close the incision...I remember saying "I feel the stitches going in, but I just don't care"...Then they WALKED me out to the recovery area (the same place as I was prepared for surgery)...It was only 50 minutes since I went into the OR !...They told me that I had to wait until 10:30 before I could leave AND I had to eat a snack or drink some juice (and keep it down) before I could leave. So at 10:30 they unhooked me from the IV and the heart rate / respiratory rate monitor and sent me into the locker room to get dressed. I got a wheelchair ride to the front where my wife got the car and we left with a prescription for percocet. The pharmacy said it would be a 20-25 minute wait, so I sat in the car and my wife went into the grocery store and got me all my favorite foods...during that time the local anesthetic wore off..I reached for my cell phone to call her and tell her to forget shopping and get my percocet, only to see her cellphone sitting next to mine...45 minutes later she was back at the car...we got my medicine and I immediately took 2 like the label said...we got home and I got into bed. I took 2 percocet every four hours for a day and a half, then went to 1 every four hours, then 1 every 6 hours and finally none.

Unfortunatly getting out of bed was the worst pain I have ever felt, so I slept in a recliner for about a week...I can now finally do everything without pain and most things without discomfort. After 3 days I was allowed to remove the outer bandage and shower...the out bandage reminded me of Glad Press and Seal plastic wrap with a section of gauze over the incision...The second bandage is some type of gauze that is waterproof and should fall off in about 7 days (I'm at 12 days and counting).

I go to the doctor in 3 days and I hope he tells me everything is fine...

raeanna74

Sounds much like my hernia surgery back in Jan. Mine got so bad before surgery that it constantly felt like I had heartburn and lifting heavy things was quite uncomfortable. If you had let it go it could have become much worse and more painful. My insicion was 3 fingerwidths below the sternum and not quite 2 inches long so I never suffered the discomfort from getting out of bed quite like you did but I did have a c-section so I know what cuts below the waistline feel like.

I feel for you. Glad you got it done. Now you'll be back to your old self faster than you think. After only a month I was itching to climb on the roof and clean the gutters and other much more active pursuits.

Good Luck.

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