Wogster

Okay, lots of larger framed guys around here, and a few are not younger any more, so maybe someone else has dealt with this.....

I've had an abdominal wall hernia for a couple of years, doc said before, if it doesn't bother you, don't worry about it, now it's bothering me, doc says it's time to get it fixed. Anyone had one of these, know what the recovery time is, and how long your bike is going to be whimpering and lonely in the garage???

It would happen during prime biking season

My boss is going to freak......

Tom Stormcrowe

I blew out an abdominal hernia in my umbilical region......most painful thing I've ever experienced in my life!

I was off the bike for 3 weeks after. This is because I developed some drainage issues from the incision site though. I wound up having to have a bit of intestine resected though because it had gotten into the hernia when it strangulated and went ischemic.

If childbirth is as painful as that strangulated hernia was, I'm amazed humanity hasn't died off!

Wogster

The first episode was painful, about the same as the back going out (on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the least it was a 12), now it's kinda dull and achy on occasion. Fortunately we have the Shouldice Hospital just North of here, a world renown hernia hospital, and my doc says to go there. I haven't gone yet, but they were founded by Dr E.E.Shouldice, who developed the Canadian method, and have done some 300,000 such operations, so they should be good. You know, when your M.D. says, if he needed it done, he would go there, then they have to be good. I need to find out how much is covered by the Province, how much is covered by my benefit plan at work, and how much I have to come up with.... Interestingly enough, the hospital has an exercycle in their facilities, so off bike time might not be much at all.

Wogster

An update on this, I see the Hernia doc, he says I need to lose 40lbs FIRST

He gave me this silly diet sheet, 1000kcal per day, holy crap, I unload friggin' trailers for a living, that's good for about 2K per day, right there, with another 500 biking on a daily basis, I guess the diet sheet is for someone for whom strenuous exercise is lifting fork to mouth.

I need at least 25-30lbs off in 8 weeks, before I see him again, anyone have a good suggestion on where I should start???? Other then maybe a different doctor? BTW that 25-30lbs will end my Clyde status.

Tom Stormcrowe

No, it'll move you to emeritus status and get you the certificate!

You'll still be welcome here forever, you know that!

Wogster

Oh I know, it's more, will 1000 calories per day, allow me to function, after all my job is essentially hard physical labour, I eat a lot, and much of it is bad, I am still slowing losing, I just need to lose a little quicker, about 3lbs a week, instead of the lb a month or so now. The diet is largely carb free, and I can see myself bonking at work, and bonking after once around the block on the bike, forget the 15km a day I do now.

I wonder if I eliminate some of the bad for me stuff, like chips, cookies and ice cream, will that be enough, maybe eliminate sugar in my coffee and switch to diet pop, can I eliminate enough, and add enough bike time to make a 9Kcal difference???? Do I need to buy a scale???? Is there a good way to see how much and what I can eat, and figure a burn rate???? This is what makes it complicated.....

Chief5286

I don't have first hand experience, but I know someone who went through the surgery about a year ago. I know for the first bit after he got home, there was significant pain. Laughing was bad. There was also some significant bruising in the abdominal region and in the nether region.

IIRC, he was basically on the couch for a couple of weeks. Better to get it taken care of than not though.

Winter76

So your doc put you on Atkins. After the first day or two you shouldn't really bonk much, your body will be in fat burning mode and if you've got a lot of extra you'll be fine.

twobikes

Weight Watchers is a good, sound approach to losing weight. I averaged about 1.5 to 1.7 pounds a week on it. That is slower than what you want to do in eight weeks. But, doing it too fast is not good, either. Weight Watchers aims to feed you enough that your metabolism does not go into starvation mode, but you lose weight, too.

I had a hernia pushing through the stomach muscles in the 1 o'clock position from my navel. You have an organ called the omentum that migrates inside your stomach wall. Sometimes it covers the hole for you. Sometimes it is elsewhere, and that is when you get the painful bulging. I have a clerical job, but I have loaded truck trailers, too. I would not want to try it with a hernia.

I also was not riding regularly nine years ago when I had my surgery. I did hear too many stories of guys who thought they were tough and did not follow the doctor's guidelines on what was allowed. Those guys usually blew out their surgery and had to have it all done over again. I remember being limited to lifting nothing heavier than four pounds for about six weeks. I had an abdominal incision six inches long with a nylon patch inside seven by ten inches, too. An abdominal incision takes the starch out of you more than you would think.

You might be capable of riding a bike after a couple of weeks; but should you crash, your incision could be subjected to some severe stresses.

tombailey

I'm assuming that the doc needs you to lose fat rather than weight? If so, there's no reason you can't carry on eating a reasonable amount. You need the energy for work and for biking. You just need to cut out the crap food and drink. It requires some effort, thought and planning. But isn't too hard. I put on about 20lbs of weight in the process of losing fat. Muscle weight isn't a health/medical problem (though it still makes going up hills a PITA!). You might find that this approach works as your work is basically weight-lifting.

Angus

I found out today I've got an "incarcerated" hernia. I almost had emergency surgery tonight, but the doc decided to wait until tomorrow morning. I wish I hadn't read this thread until after the surgery. This doesn't sound like it's going to be fun day tomorrow.