I had robot-assisted latharoscopic hernia repair this morning. The anastesiologist did a nerve block, which is wearing off and I’m using a light mix of Tylenol/codein and tramadol for pain management. I’m sure tomorrow is going to suck more when I wake up.

Anybody gone through this and has tips for pain avoidance or reduction?

don't lift much weight.

I've been through the same thing. Walking from your bed to the bathroom all doubled over. That's even if they've removed the catheter yet.

If you are going to be an inpatient for a short while, I recommend just taking it easy/chill for a day or two. As soon as they pull the catheter and heart leads, and you are just connected to a IV stand, I recommend you start walking.

Do it right away. Start with leaving your room, and progress to going down the hall to a coffee station. Go for these walks starting with four times a day and move up from there.

Remember, after a hernia resection/surgery, you will have to get your digestive system going. The secret to this is eating all of the slop they call food, and exercising by walking.

It is going to be painful to do, but you just got to get you insides working again.

A rectal laxative is a nasty experience. Nobody wants some crusty old nurse sticking who knows what up you chunnel. If there is no other way to get your bowels moving, you may be stuck with this option. Just man up and go through it.

Hope everything goes well for you.

H&K-Guy

Thanks, H&K-Guy. My procedure was fairly minor, I guess..an “outpatient” procedure, though I was fully sedated, spent an hour in the recovery room, and I was home by 11AM.

Sore throat from the breathing tube, sore “elsewhere” from the catheter...I’m not looking forward to getting my intestines working again.

quote:

Originally posted by brywards:
Thanks, H&K-Guy. My procedure was fairly minor, I guess..an “outpatient” procedure, though I was fully sedated, spent an hour in the recovery room, and I was home by 11AM.

Sore throat from the breathing tube, sore “elsewhere” from the catheter...I’m not looking forward to getting my intestines working again.

Yep, I hear you. I'm glad it was a simple procedure.

Your junk will recover in a few days. I just wouldn't get to frisky with anyone for a while.

It's mostly the anesthesia they use that shuts down your digestive system. Walking is the best (only?) way to get things moving again.

Keep watch on what you eat. The nurse that discharges you to leave will give you a recommended diet. Follow it like the Bible. Stay away from those jalapenos and ghost chillis for a while. They are awfully nice, but burn you twice, if you know what I mean.

Hope your recovery goes well.

H&K-Guy

I had an inguinal hernia repaired back in 2012, i think it was. I was cut and patched with general anesthesia though.

I don't remember any pain afterward but my dick and balls turned an interesting shade of purple.

They told me to keep up on the NSAIDs to keep the swelling down.

The swelling you are about to experience is normal. You twig and berries will turn in to a tree and basketballs. Sit on ice packs.

Mine was pain free except the spot in my hip they did the nerve block. It was sore for weeks.

I had three hernias repaired three years ago. He went in through the belly button to do all the work. Recovery was pretty quick and easy but I will say my belly button was really sore for weeks. Other than that...you will be fine.

I had laparoscopic hernia repair at the VA last spring and everything was much less stressful than 20+ years ago when I had the other side repaired with the traditional incision. Except for the fact that the anesthesiologist was concerned about the intubation and they tried it several times while I was awake. Fortunately they finally gave up and put me out.

I thought I had escaped the purple plum effect at first, but it showed up in my scrotum a couple of days after the surgery and took a week or more to clear up. No pain or swelling down below, though. In fact, I had virtually no pain at all, except for the aftermath of the catheter when peeing. I took one of the narcotic pills I was given the first night to help ensure I slept okay, but otherwise it was ibuprofen and acetaminophen only for about four days before I quit entirely. The one tip I had from a nurse was to alternate the two so I didn’t exceed the daily dose for either.

I was strongly cautioned to not lift more than 15 pounds for six(!) weeks, but that was impossible for me, and I (carefully) ignored the admonition a few times after about three weeks with no problems.

Just take it easy and take the medication they give you. You want to stay ahead of the pain, not try and catch it.

Don't touch yourself for a while. No jumping jacks.
Get well soon .

I've had two in the last couple of years. It's not that bad. You'll be sore for a couple of days. The hardest part is remembering that you aren't supposed to lift stuff over X pounds... I can tell you that lifting stuff over X pounds when you aren't supposed to is how you get to have two hernia surgeries a year apart, so follow the doc's advice and restrictions!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery! All above recs are great, IMO;
try to avoid narcotic pain meds as best as you can, max out on the advil/ibuprofen/aleve and tylenols of the pharmacy aisle.

And BTW, it is not the anesthesia that gives you long term constipation, it's the narcotic pain meds. Anesthesia meds are out of your body within a few hours, although for legal reasons they say "24 hrs" to not drive, operate heavy machinery, do legal signatures, etc
best, k

Thanks for all the advice and words of encouragement, gentlemen. I’m going to stop the narcotics today...they didn’t help me sleep any damn way.

From your post I assume it was an inguinal (groin) hernia.
Ice the area, frequently! Use an ice pack or bag of frozen vegetables. Ice it for 1/2 hr or so at a time. Cover the ice pack with a clean towel. Icing the area will cut down on pain and swelling and also will keep you from overdoing it. This will be most beneficial for the first couple of days, after that you can cut back or stop unless it is helping with pain or discomfort.
Take it easy for a few days, but not too easy. Lie on the couch or bed getting up every few hours and walk. That will cut down on the chance of bleeding and swelling. If you can, lay so that your lower body is slightly higher than your upper body. This will also cut down on swelling and scrotal bruising. Take it easy getting out of bed or off the couch, roll off instead of sitting up. Don't do any activity that involves straining. Think of it this way, if you glued something together you wouldn't want to stress the joint until the glue had completely set. In my professional experience, the majority of failed hernia repairs occured due to straining the repair before the area had healed. The last thing you want is to have the repair fail and have to have it done all over again. Hernias can and do recur after surgery. Assuming your surgeon knew what he or she was doing, do your part to minimize the chance of recurrence and keep from needing a redo.
If you feel like you are going to cough or sneeze, hold a pillow or something similar to the groin and lower abdominal wall to splint the area.
Avoid constipation, Tylenol/codeine is notorious for causing constipation. Try plain tylenol around the clock ( if no liver problems or other reason to avoid tylenol). Tramadol is much less constipating, if the tylenol isn't cutting it try that in addition to the tylenol.
Hope this helps and wish you a speedy recovery!

Follow the weight lifting restrictions TO THE LETTER unless you want to have it redone.
Do-overs are worse than the first fix.
Take stool softeners even if you aren’t taking narcs. Straining on the throne is the same as lifting too much - don’t do it.

It is too late for this to be helpful, but make sure they give you nausea medicine. My dad got sick from the anesthesia and they had to redo the surgery a year later.

No bareass boxing for a couple of weeks.

Plenty of tips from members who have been down the road you now travel.

Wishing you a speedy and full recovery.

Lock the cat out of the room. I kid you not.

Learnt this the hard way after my hernia surgery, the cat's pain radar pinged and it came running every chance it got to sit on me, while for the previous year couldn't give a rat's about me. Go figure.

Hope you feel better soon, listen to the man in the white coat.