Great to be on the other side ? best wishes for your recovery ?

Thank you for sharing that, @tigerlily ! Did your surgeon give you an idea of how your recovery timeline will look like? 

Wishing you a quick recovery =)

@veganostomy I am not to lift anything over 10 lbs for 4 - 6 weeks. No vacuuming, shovelling of any kind, lifting of groceries, laundry basket, etc. Knowing this in advance, I prepared by getting my gardening done, and ramping up the weights and ab exercises. I prepared and froze 2 weeks worth of dinners; by then, I should be able to cook something.Toast, maybe ?. I see my surgeon in 4 weeks; I should have a better idea by then of what I can do and when. I am hopeful that I will be able to swim by then - it’s hard in hot weather to see everyone else going swimming and being stuck on the sidelines. But I know I need to take extra precautions against infection. 

My surgeon used a modified Sugarbaker technique to repair the hernia, btw. So all of it done by laparoscopy. So grateful for advances in medicine!

Laurie

So happy it went well! I need mine repaired badly, and biologic mesh would be my choice as well, or no mesh and just suture the muscle up well. Not sure I'll ever get it fixed though.

Posted by: @tigerlily

No vacuuming, shovelling of any kind, lifting of groceries, laundry basket, etc.

Hey, it doesn't sound that bad ???

Good luck, and please keep us posted! I know you want to get out and swim, but a proper recovery will ensure the best long-term outcome. ?

@veganostomy You’re right! I’m lucky to have family to wait on me - I could get used to that! ?

I am getting a bit better every day.

Laurie

@goatherder I was starting to have discomfort as a result of the hernia. I put it off for as long as I could - didn’t want to go through surgery ever again! When I found out that my descending colon as well as my transverse colon were both partly in my hernia, I realized that was a blockage waiting to happen. I decided that I wanted to have some control over this: my choice was either get it done as a non-urgent surgery (which meant I could choose my surgeon and the mesh) or I could wait until it became life threatening, and then I would have no choice over anything. It was an easy decision after that. 

Just something to consider - my surgeon offered me the option of no mesh, but she cautioned me that a recurrence of the hernia was almost guaranteed. ?

Laurie

@tigerlily My ostomy is mid transverse as it is. My problem is that my surgeon told me flat out to avoid any more surgeries if at all possible. I had 3 in the course of 10 days 7 years ago this week. The first, failed with a split open bowel. The second saw my main incision fail and my intestines spilling out onto the floor. The third put me in a coma for a week, and my heart stopped 3 times while under anesthesia! He really doesn't think I'd survive being put under again.

@goatherder Oh dear! Yes, of course you want to avoid surgery! You’ve been through enough. 

Everybody comes to this site with different experiences and needs. It’s always interesting and often quite humbling to hear what others have been through. Take good care.

Laurie

do you know exactly how and why your hernia happened?  

@ tigerlilly - sorry to hear you had to go through another surgery! But happy to hear it appears to be a success. My doctor had me wear a hernia belt after my reversal, which included a small parastomal hernia repair, for whenever I was up and around, but also to hug a pillow to my abs whenever I got up and down from bed or needed to sneeze and that gave some comfort as well. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

@dogtalkerer I don’t think I will ever know for sure what caused my hernia, but I have always felt that it was heavy lifting in the garden without good support. I will NOT be taking those risks again.

Laurie

@mmz thanks for sharing your doctor’s excellent advice. I am doing all of that; I really want to avoid going through this again. My surgeon told me that coughing and sneezing is a far greater risk factor for parastomal hernia than anything else. That surprised me, but I’m taking no chances. If I cough or sneeze, my left hand goes to protect my stoma; my right elbow covers my mouth and nose. I tell my husband it’s my new dance move. 

Laurie