He agreed that I have a hernia and we discussed the procedure. He is opting for open surgery rather than laparoscopic. I think that is because I had the other side done with open surgery and if there's an issue the second one can be done with laparoscopic. I asked if the surgery needs to be done immediately and he said there is no urgency and I could just live with it for the next 10 years as long as I'm able to push my guts back in. He also said I can wait for the work season to be completed because he wants me to not lift anything more than 10 lbs for 6 weeks.

That brings up an insurance question. Since my paid deductibles will be reset on January 1, should I wait until after that to get the surgery? That way if there is a problem and I have to go back then I won't be paying my insurance's total out-of-pocket cost in December and then again in the upcoming year. If I expend the entire out-of-pocket in January then I won't have to worry about spending anything other than the co-pay. Does that seem to be a good idea? I'm in no pain, I can shove my guts back in with no issues and they don't try to escape very often if I wear the truss during work. What do you think?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark123,

I go WTF. If at some point you can't shove your intestine back in that's a genuine emergency. And you will then get it done by some hack in the ER closest to you like right now and you won't get a shot to find someone competent (and there are real difference in outcome for sure and facilities matter in this). I would never choose to get an open one if laparoscopic is a possibility. get a different opinion and most likely a better surgeon. with open the norm is don't do squat for 10-12 week. with a laparoscopic the norm is like 3 weeks to all most all activity Now in the scheme of things that's a not a real long term differentiator but it may make a huge difference in your work situation. One of the real advantages of laparoscopic is that the can easily inspect the rest of your abdomen for potential problems and fix those if needed. I would definitely not plan on the idea that I have to have revision surgery, that should be a like .00001% idea.
Get it done as soon as you can.

^^^^^^^^^^^^
What he said. Get it done via lap asap. Do not focus on the deductible. It is YOUR health.

My wife just had hers fixed. She chose to do it on her terms: her choice of surgeon, place of surgery, etc. rather than tempt Mr Murphy and his Law and wait until it strangulated in the middle of the night with a blizzard blowing.

She's just over a week into recovery, and while the first 5 days were no fun (she had open surgery because of considerable scar tissue from her two surgeries last year and they went through her appendectomy scar) and needed Dilaudid to start with, she is over the worst of it now and Tylenol is sufficient. Lifting restrictions of 15lbs max for 6 weeks in her case.

YMMV.

You're all right, of course but I'm already putting it off until I'm done with work around December 10 and I'm literally talking a 3 weeks difference in waiting for the new year. Waiting for work to end puts me at December 17 for the surgery. That gives me plenty of time to rest up over the winter.

He can fit me in next week if I opt for it but I can't lose 6 weeks of work. That can't happen.

1) COVID pandemic
2) Elective surgery

I would schedule now , before elective surgery is put on hold. Keep the incision as small as possible to avoid a hospital stay as well as faster recovery. Screw the deductible- elective surgery is better than emergency surgery.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGfourme:
1) COVID pandemic
2) Elective surgery

I would schedule now , before elective surgery is put on hold. Keep the incision as small as possible to avoid a hospital stay as well as faster recovery. Screw the deductible- elective surgery is better than emergency surgery.

I did ask about that. The surgeon said he performed operations all through the covid scare. He said it's a non-issue.

I'm probably going to have it done December 17 just to get it over with and with the really easy time I had with the hernia on the other side in 2012, I'm not really concerned with the recovery. It'll be a breeze.

I've had one of each type of surgery. They are both effective, however the laparoscopic recovery time was much less.

BTW, my first hernia I lived with for several years before getting it fixed. It sounds like yours is similar.

Even though my wife's surgery was open, not laparoscopic, she was out the same day, FWIW.

quote:

Originally posted by apprentice:
I've had one of each type of surgery. They are both effective, however the laparoscopic recovery time was much less.

BTW, my first hernia I lived with for several years before getting it fixed. It sounds like yours is similar.

It's been less than a year since this one started. I'm not exactly sure when maybe November 2020. I'm in no pain at all. As the surgeon said there is no urgency.

Recovery time isn't an issue for me. I take the winter off.

quote:

Originally posted by Pyker:
Even though my wife's surgery was open, not laparoscopic, she was out the same day, FWIW.

Yeah, when I had the other side done, I went home, relaxed for 4 days and was back to normal. The only difference was the nifty colors on Ye Olde Twig and Berries. The purples and browns kind of freaked me out.

I pushed my guts back in for 10 years, longer you wait the larger it will get, mine started out pretty small, I now have my whole stomach as a patch and a 10 inch scar.

I had a three day stay at the first of the year during covid in recovery, to say I was miserable is an understatement. lifting a simple water glass the first day was close to impossible. after surgery they lifted me into bed with a hoist I'm 6 ft 190 lbs. Getting out of bed to go pee took two nurses with me screaming in pain. drugs only helped but never relived me totally from it. Every single thing you do requires stomach muscles. coughing and sneezing was a feeling of my stomach is going to open up and everything is going to fall out.

I had 4 months of being off work being self employed made that possible but also made it very tough to get back to work, I'm still trying to dig myself out of the backlog, I figured people would go else where but they just waited me out.

I'm up to lifting my max 60 lbs and feel much better and the ugly thing isn't attracting peoples attention.

Don't be like me.

quote:

Originally posted by XLT:
Don't be like me.

Holy shit!!

Yeah, definitely don’t do this, Mark.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

quote:

Originally posted by XLT:
Don't be like me.

Holy shit!!

Yeah, definitely don’t do this, Mark.

Yeah, don't worry about that. It'll be fixed in a few short months. Right now it's palm sized when it's out. I also found that daily abdominal workouts help in keeping it from popping out.

I did what you are contemplating.

Over my lifetime I have had four hernia surgeries. It was the second one that I put off for a few months. It was around 1995 and me and my hunting buddy had been putting in for a non-resident Idaho hunting permit for years. It was a draw hunt and they only allowed a handful of permits for non-residents. Well, we finally got the draw and were super excited. Sure enough, about six or eight weeks before I noticed a bulge in the genital area. Hell, I knew it was an inguinal hernia the first time I felt it. No way was I going to jeopardize our hunt for that so I bought one of those hernia control things you wear, kind of looks like a jock strap, and wore that and found that it worked really well. Hell, I even decided to wait until after the holidays and the new year to get her done. I had zero problems.

Hey, I'm not trying to tell you what to do , just sharing my experience here.

Yeah, if I wear the hernia belt I can do normal work with no issues. Stacking one ton of 50 lb fertilizer bags is no problem. Running behind an aerator, easy. That's why I'm asking about waiting 3 weeks for the deductible reset. There's no immediate health issue. I'm just wondering if it's financially smart.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark123,

Do a google search of elective surgery during COVID for Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
See if it was a non issue.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGfourme:
Do a google search of elective surgery during COVID for Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
See if it was a non issue.

Kentucky?

What did you come up with? From what I've read it was at the discretion of the surgeon and staff. IOW, a non-issue.

Pennsyltucky.
Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGfourme:
Pennsyltucky.
Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

Pennsyltucky is Pennsylvania without the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh metro areas.