Umbilical Hernias

[skmyers]

Not sure how many people have these, but several people close do me have them, just as I did.

The hernia I am talking about is located normally right at the top of your belly button. A portion of your skin protrudes out further than it should due to something just below the skin.

In my case, it was fatty tissue.

I bring this up for a couple of reasons. Everything wrong with me stems from not exercising since I was about 26. I am now 32. About three years ago, right in the middle of my getting fat and out of shape, I developed allergies. I didn't know it at the time because I had never had them before.

My allergies consisted of much coughing...deep hard coughing. It took two years for someone to point out that it might be allergies....since then, I have been taking Allavert, which got rid of the coughing.

During the start of my coughing phase, I coughed so hard, I developed the hernia I was talking about.

As the years went by I got fatter, nicely hiding the protrusion.

Then of course, I met John .

Been losing weight, gaining muscle and a slightly thinner tummy. This made my hernia poke out a bit more...especially while working out in the gym when my whole body was tensing in the mirror during exercises.

I couldn't have this! Ohhh No .

Anyway, I decided to have it taken care off. I was a bit worried at first because a friend had me believing that they would go in anally. Yes, I said it. I fell for that lie for about two hours. Slightly embarrassed for having believed, but I did....

As it turns out, they don't go in through your rectum. Instead, they cut a small incision just under the top portion of your belly button. Then, they go in and either A) push the hernia back in or B) cut it out.

They decided to cut mine out. I didn't watch....don't like blood, but my girlfriend did. She said the fatty tissue cut out was roughly the size of a golf ball...nasty!!

They stitched up my tendon (sometimes it's muscle that it happens to) and then stitched my belly button.

I had to not exercise for three straight days, which bothered me. I did do the recumbent bike for 25 minutes last night and getting better by the day.

Main reason for telling this is because not only did I have the hernia, but my girlfriend has the same one, as well as my brother. I figured if we three had it, there's gotta be more people with this type of hernia.

If you have any questions about the procedure, ask me, maybe I can help you out .

Stephen Myers
http://www.boredskm.com

[Steve569]

Damn man, I have the same problem. I thought hernias were lower so I've been hoping it was something else. I noticed it about a year ago but it doesnt bother me.

How long does the surgery last? Did it hurt or does the recovery?

[skmyers]

Originally Posted by Steve569

Damn man, I have the same problem. I thought hernias were lower so I've been hoping it was something else. I noticed it about a year ago but it doesnt bother me.

How long does the surgery last? Did it hurt or does the recovery?

My hernia never actually caused me problems, I just didnt like the way it was looking as I got more in shape. Normally, the only time you have to worry about a hernia is when it is part of the intestines sticking through the muscle wall...then it can become strangulated and that can be bad news.

As for the surgery, it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. I thought they would make the small incision then poke that sucker right back in and be done with it.

Here's the deal. I did out-patient surgery. You get a local anestethic(sp). That means they give you shots in and around your belly button. Although it stung each time, it was bearable.

Then, they let you sit for a few minutes to let the stuff take effect. Honestly, I was really skeptical about how bad it was gonna hurt when he made the incision.

Doctor comes in, grabs the scaple and cuts. I felt nothing. I didn't even feel the weight of the pressure of the cut.

The only thing that bothered me was the feeling of having your insides tugged at. You could feel the process, but no pain. Very strange.

The only times I did feel real pain was when they stitched up the tendon with what looked like string thicker than that used for a kite. He had to put the stitch way down, which did hurt a bit.

At one point, due to my heart racing and being tense, I passed slap out. Weird.

Overall, the pain was minimal to bearable. The total operation lasted about 25 minutes (actual cut time).

My girlfriend watched and I don't think she is gonna have it done anytime soon, but I think it was worth it. It feels good to be able to look down and not have that bump anymore.

Good luck if you have it done!!

Stephen Myers
http://www.boredskm.com

[skmyers]

PS. about hernias being lower, many are. There are several types of hernias...ours is the least damaging or harmful.

[Steve569]

Whew, thx. Dont know when Ill have it taken care of. If its not dangerous, I think Ill lose some weight first. At least its not my intestine. I appreciate the response. Im glad you told your story.

Steve

[angel_b]

I actually have an umbilical hernia. I first got it about 10 years ago helping my then husband lift a fridge - "I'll give you the light end" he said.

Anyway, I had it repaired about a year later, as it was causing me extreme pain. The hernia was so small that a piece of tissue would poke through and the "hole" would close around it - very painful.

When it was repaired, it was full-on surgery - general anaesthetic, day in hospital, the works.

Well, much to my disgust, it has since reopened and I've put off having it repaired again because I didn't want to go through a full surgical procedure.

I'm suprised that you had yours fixed as day surgery, skmyers. What country are you from? If it's day surgery here in Australia, I'll definitely have it repaired, as I'm sick of having to keep poking it back in - sorry anyone if that's TMI

[skmyers]

I think maybe in this case, it was a difference about what was poking through the muscle. Mine in particular was simple fatty tissue, non threatening. Yours sounds like there may be a little more involved.

As for the out-patient surgery, I live in the US in Mississippi. To fix the particular type of hernia I had, they could do one or both of two things.

One, like they did with me, was cut away the fatty tissue and sew up the muscle and the skin with stitches. The doctor told me there was about a 1 in a 100 chance it might come back.

The other way, which I kind of would have prefered was that instead of just stitching up the muscle where the hernia came through, they would also put a piece of mesh over the hole, they sew that to the muscle, making it nearly impossible for the hernia to come back.

I wish I could be of more help with yours. If it hurts, I would definitely get it looked at again. Also, do research on it. I did research for a few days to find exactly what was going to happen, or as close I could imagine would happen. That's how I learned about the mesh. The doctor told me he rarely does the mesh job, instead prefering simple stitches. Maybe he wants more business in the future .

Either way, good luck and get that taken care of! .

Stephen
http://www.boredskm.com

[angel_b]

I think mine is as simple as yours skymers - just fat poking through the hole. My first one was painful because the hole was so small that it would pinch the fatty tissue after it had poked through.

The hack that operated on me should've probably gone for the mesh but, alas, he didn't. I also copped a dose of golden staph post-operatively, but that's another story.

Now that the hernia has reappeared, it is larger so causes me no pain. It's just annoying having to push it back in all the time.

[skmyers]

Originally Posted by angel_b

I think mine is as simple as yours skymers - just fat poking through the hole. My first one was painful because the hole was so small that it would pinch the fatty tissue after it had poked through.

The hack that operated on me should've probably gone for the mesh but, alas, he didn't. I also copped a dose of golden staph post-operatively, but that's another story.

Now that the hernia has reappeared, it is larger so causes me no pain. It's just annoying having to push it back in all the time.

You can actually push it back in?? That's crazy . I had read about maybe being able to do that, but didn't actually think people could .

[StevieD]

Originally Posted by skmyers

You can actually push it back in?? That's crazy . I had read about maybe being able to do that, but didn't actually think people could .

I've been diagnosed with the same thing, an umbilical hernia. Just like the others discussed above, looks like it's fatty tissue bulging through a hole in my belly button. It is pretty "interesting" (to me it's gross) to feel it as you push it back in.

My surgery is also going to be outpatient, although with general anesthesia. The surgeon said that, depending on what it looks like, that the mesh may or may not be used. He said that he usually leans TOWARDS using it in someone that does a lot of strenuous exercise (specifically mentioned weightlifting), just to be safe against having it open again.