Anyone had surgery before?

[Tricky]

I had two Bi-lateral hernias repaired yesterday & although im home & walking/hobbling about,im bloody sore!i cant drive for 2 weeks now & im signed off work for 3,also cant do any heavy lifting for 6 - 8 weeks!hoping the time passes quick as i want to get back into my training for the T.A.!
So whats your experiences of surgery,anything major or any tips on recovery?

[bassman]

I once shattered my elbow skateboarding when I was about 12-14. Three full arm casts and two surgeries later, i'm left with metal rods and wire in my left arm.

That was the worst pain of my life so far. Waking up after having holes drilled into your bones is not comfortable. And not using your arm for more than a year kinda causes your muscles to fade away. Had to have physical and shock therapy to learn to use my arm again.

It's also the gift that keeps on giving. If I bump my elbow just right, it swells up, turns blue, and hurts like a bitch. It also has a slight sting when there is a change of temperature or weather.

So yeah. Don't break your elbows!:stunned:

[MinionZombie]

Bloody heckery, bassman! :eek:

...

Interestingly, I went in for another appointment at the doc's today and finally got some action ... well, a tick in a box to say to put me on the waiting list for an operation to sort out a hernia.

Not the same sort of hernia as you've had Tricky, and it mustn't be as bad as the doc said I'd have up to 2 weeks of "no heavy lifting" ... still though, I've never had surgery before - but hopefully I'll finally get the problem fixed.

...

Back to Tricky though - I hope you heal up well, and soon. :)

[Trancelikestate]

i had a hernia surgery once years ago too. mine was called an inguinal hernia. that thing hurt too man. i heard they have a new technique now. thats good cuz my insicion was long. :p not fun. and anestesia or however you spell it is weird.

[Exatreides]

I had a simple scope done on my right knee for my chondromalacia Patella (little or no cartilage in my right knee due to misalignment of of the pattela)

Was in a cast for about three weeks, and the shitty part is the surgery didn't do anything to fix it! I still have it damn it. I actually need to find out how to fix it,(besides short term stuff) I'm going to try out for Airborn and Air Assault school, and I bloody well can't have a bum knee for any of that!

[darth los]

I had two Bi-lateral hernias repaired yesterday & although im home & walking/hobbling about,im bloody sore!i cant drive for 2 weeks now & im signed off work for 3,also cant do any heavy lifting for 6 - 8 weeks!hoping the time passes quick as i want to get back into my training for the T.A.!
So whats your experiences of surgery,anything major or any tips on recovery?



Dude, although I never had surgery I wanted to send you my best wishes for a speedy recovery.


I myself have no pain threshold to speak of and am a total bitch when it comes to pain. :(


So keep those horror stories coming guys!! :lol:






:cool:

[DawnGirl27]

No surgeries here, either, but thinking of you and hoping you heal correctly and quickly! ;)

[Tricky]

i had a hernia surgery once years ago too. mine was called an inguinal hernia. that thing hurt too man. i heard they have a new technique now. thats good cuz my insicion was long. :p not fun. and anestesia or however you spell it is weird.

Yeah thats what i had,but called bi-lateral as there was one either side of my groin so ive got two incisions!rather than stitching the muscle up like they used to which caused problems with tension & so forth,they've stitched mesh over the holes which the muscle grows into & becomes very strong,so the hernias shouldnt come back!the mesh kind of acts like the reinforcing bars in concrete.
Il admit i was a big girl & went to pieces in the anaesthesia room because i was terrified,not good being scared seen as im starting training with the army once im fully recovered, how will i cope with combat!:eek:
Anyway thanks for all the wishes guys,its appreciated!and il be around here a fair bit over the next 3 weeks while im housebound!

[FoodFight]

Here's to a speedy recovery. Not counting a few (very) minor surgeries, I've had a lumbar laminectomy (removal of a chunk of spinal disc materiel post herniation). If I can add anything, it's that you should heed the doctor's instructions and don't rush the healing process. I tried to do too much, too fast and I'll probably be paying for it the rest of my life with chronic lower back pain. So kick back and enjoy the time off!

[Trancelikestate]

eh that sux, the doc said i have a "weakness" on the other side too. i'm like that doesnt heal? so lame! so i have to be extra careful now.

[Mike70]

i had a hernia surgery when i was about your age bro. they hurt like a bitch and in some ways are worse than the actual hernia.

here's to your speedy recovery.

i've had a couple of surgeries aside from the hernia. the most major one being after i had a cyst erupt in my ear that blew out my eardrum and played havoc with my middle ear. the pain from this is something that my mind cannot even process anymore. this is the reason that i have gone slowly but surely deaf in my left ear to the point where i have about 25% hearing in it.

[MaximusIncredulous]

I had laparoscopic surgery done many years ago to get rid of my stone infested gallbladder. Out of the hospital in less than 24 hours but my gut felt like it was hit by a sledgehammer for about a week.

[MinionZombie]

So - in terms of post-hernia-op pain - what's the pain like, what type of pain is it etc (sharp or dull)?

I'm no fan of hospitals in general, so everytime I've been to one over the last six months has always been a tense affair ... not that anyone enjoys coughing for doctor, lol.

The operation itself, for hernias, what's that like?

[Neil]

Had a number of minor ops around my eyes, but that's it...

[Tricky]

So - in terms of post-hernia-op pain - what's the pain like, what type of pain is it etc (sharp or dull)?

I'm no fan of hospitals in general, so everytime I've been to one over the last six months has always been a tense affair ... not that anyone enjoys coughing for doctor, lol.

The operation itself, for hernias, what's that like?

Its mainly painful while walking around ,im climbing stairs like im in my 80's!and getting up isnt easy at all,im terrified of pulling something or popping stitches when getting up so it takes me a while!even though its quite unlikely for me to do that :rolleyes:
The pain isnt so much that i cant take it,its just very uncomfortable,like a constant dull ache which is mainly bruising i think,im glad i dont have a cough though,i had hiccups yesterday which made me swear!ive got a fair bit of numbness around the area where the surgery was done,im sure thats a bit of nerve damage that will hopefully fade over the next few weeks.
I dont really know much about the op to be honest,the last thing i remember is freaking out when they were anaesthetising me,next thing i knew i was back on the ward with my mum & the surgeon sat next to me & about an hour & a half had gone!the rest of the afternoon is kind of a blur as i was pretty groggy.The main thing im hoping is that once ive given myself time to heal that i can go back to my normal activities including weightlifting & running without restriction.
You'll be ok though MZ,few weeks of discomfort & a scar is better than having half your bowel removed if it gets strangulated!

[MikePizzoff]

When I was 14, I was hit by a van while I was crossing a street on foot. The van was doing about 35 mph. My nose was broken in multiple places, my cheek bones were shattered, and my forehead had hairline fractures running all through it. I had to get reconstructive surgery in order to prevent any extreme repercussions. I now have plastic plates in my face. Needless to say, it was not a fun time for me as a 14 year old. It had to happen during the Spring/Summer, too, so I was stuck indoors! :mad:

As for the question many people ask me about my reconstructive facial surgery, no, I do not look any different than I used to.

[bassman]

As for the question many people ask me about my reconstructive facial surgery, no, I do not look any different than I used to.


Wow man...you still look 14?:p

[DjfunkmasterG]

I have had two Stents put in within a week of each other in 2006, and let me tell you about pain... Ugh, to do that surgery they go in through the groin area.... YEAH, so it is a whole new way of experiencing BLUE BALLS.

[Skippy911sc]

I had Spinal Fusion and Discectomy a few years back...I started to have trouble walking so to the Dr. I went and he said I may become paralyzed if I don't have surgery. So off to a second opinion and same thing...went in for surgery (4 hours) and back home the next day. Pain was incredible and I was unable to eat for several weeks. They enter through your throat push all that stuff over and remove 2 bones from your neck and replace with cadaver bone then screw a titanium ladder to hold it all together. I do not wish this on anyone else!! I'm better now and it took about 2 years to fully recover but its all good!

Neck still hurts occasionally...and I carry a card to identify myself at the airports...the whole metal detector thing (thats a lot of fun!)

Good Luck with your recovery!

[AcesandEights]

Tricky, I wish an easy and speedy recovery filled with videogaming, good food and sympathy from all your lady friends!

I know that you've been aware that you had to have this surgery for quite some time, but that's not like it makes the recovery all that easier, so just give yourself time to heal and don't push the process.



I had Spinal Fusion and Discectomy a few years back...I started to have trouble walking so to the Dr. I went and he said I may become paralyzed if I don't have surgery. So off to a second opinion and same thing...went in for surgery (4 hours) and back home the next day. Pain was incredible and I was unable to eat for several weeks. They enter through your throat push all that stuff over and remove 2 bones from your neck and replace with cadaver bone then screw a titanium ladder to hold it all together. I do not wish this on anyone else!! I'm better now and it took about 2 years to fully recover but its all good!


:stunned:

You have nothing but massive amounts of respect from me for having had to endure all that crap, Skippy. Jesus...

[Publius]

replace with cadaver bone

So, in a way, you're a little tiny bit zombie! ;)

[EvilNed]

I once had to operate on a fistula that had formed in my lower back. I did not get put to sleep, and it hurt like a motherfucker.

Another time I operated on my punctured lung. Again, I was not put to sleep and while it wasn't a major operation, and I was on painkillers, it still wasn't nice feeling that knife scraping across my ribs.

[Publius]

I once had to operate on a fistula that had formed in my lower back. I did not get put to sleep, and it hurt like a motherfucker.

Another time I operated on my punctured lung. Again, I was not put to sleep and while it wasn't a major operation, and I was on painkillers, it still wasn't nice feeling that knife scraping across my ribs.

Dude, you did surgery on your own lower back and lung ("I had to operate" . . . "I operated")? That's hard core! Not to mention an impressive feat of contortionism in the case of the lower back.

;):D

[wayzim]

I had two Bi-lateral hernias repaired yesterday & although im home & walking/hobbling about,im bloody sore!i cant drive for 2 weeks now & im signed off work for 3,also cant do any heavy lifting for 6 - 8 weeks!hoping the time passes quick as i want to get back into my training for the T.A.!
So whats your experiences of surgery,anything major or any tips on recovery?

I had a hernia operation last year, which was a protrusion in my groin but not trapped, thankfully. ) but it took over a week to get me in for the operation. Both before and after I had a twenty pound weight allowance for lifting, so that took up the better part of a month ( which I did work some but in a limited capacity. )

Many years ago, due to an odd genetic disorder (Tuberous Sclerosis ) some cysts in my kidneys decided to bleed out on me. Fortunately the hospital I went to had a specialist who could do the generally non invasive procedure necessary to cauterize them. (it's kinda gross so I'll spare you all the details. )
I was almost literally flat on my back for a month, having lost so much blood, almost thirty pounds and all my taste buds. ( which the latter accounts for part of my weight loss. I couldn't hardly eat anything. )

I'm generally OK now, but could still have a repeat performance down the road, so all we can do is monitor my kidneys yearly, check the size of the growths. At this point there are no real treatment options but at least I'm otherwise healthy.

Wayne Z

[Yojimbo]

Broke my right arm at 2 years old (was pretending to be a superhero at the time) and though it healed at the time, as I grew older it became apparent that there was a problem - there was a gap on the tip near the elbow joint, and this gap was rubbing against my ulna nerve causing a gradual loss of sensation in my fingertips. Occasionally, the gap would somehow seize up against another bone causing my arm to lock in position. I had corrective surgery involving a bone graft being taken from another location on my arm and fastened with two long screws into place where the gap was. I remember that it hurt like hell post surgery and I had my first experience with demerol (which was way, way too heavy, but I am told that many folks really dig) From what I recall, I was in a cast for two months, and then in a removable cast for the remainder of the year, during which I worked with a physical therapist and a Judo Sensei to stretch out my arm and rebuild muscle. Fully recovered, with an uncanny ability to be able to flex my arm way past what is considered normal.

The surgery and the pain that followed (not only immediately after the surgery, but the entire process of PT) is not something that I would wish that anyone would have to deal with it, but if you need surgery then you really have no choice in the matter.

Worse than pain, however, was the itching I experienced in the cast and inside of my arm while the incision healed. I remember having vivid dreams about breaking my cast off and plunging my fingernails past the stiches into my incision and scratching away while blood spurted everywhere like some monty python skit. Pain I could deal with, but the itching nearly drove me insane.

Currently there is still an area of skin right above the area where they operated so many years back that still experiences numbness to varying degrees. I have become hypersenstitive to this, since I lack the pain receptors on my elbow that "normal" folks have. So when I bang my arm, I really have to look at my elbow area to make sure I did not cut into it. Also, it is a really weird sensation to scratch your fingernails over a numbed area.

[MikePizzoff]

I once had to operate on a fistula that had formed in my lower back. I did not get put to sleep, and it hurt like a motherfucker.

Another time I operated on my punctured lung. Again, I was not put to sleep and while it wasn't a major operation, and I was on painkillers, it still wasn't nice feeling that knife scraping across my ribs.

If I were you I wouldn't be able to get over the fact that I had performed surgery on myself...

[DeadJonas190]

I have had 3 in my life. I had a double hernia operation when I was a baby which I obviously do not remember. When I was 13 I was wrestling around with my older brother and fell foreward. When that happened, I put my hands in front of me and stopped my self, but my index finger and middle finger didnt land straight, they landed bent at the first knuckle. My brother kneeled down to get me into a head lock and kneeled right on my fingers and snapped them clean out of my fingers at the knuckle. That required surgery and a pin in my middle finger, 6 weeks in a cast that went 3 inches past the tip of my fingers (due to the pin sticking out) and another 3 weeks with these giant pad things on my fingers.

I also had my appendix removed in 2004 which put me out of work with the same restrictions you have Tricky. They put me on morphine during the surgery so I didn't feel anything for a day or two and then it was pretty much a dull throbbing off and on, but the pain meds they gave me worked great (Tylenol 3 or something like that). The only thing I could do was play video games so I got really good at quite a few of them over those few weeks being out of work.

Good luck with the recovery.

[Suicidalsteve]

[QUOTE=DeadJonas190;187555] When I was 13 I was wrestling around with my older brother and fell foreward. When that happened, I put my hands in front of me and stopped my self, but my index finger and middle finger didnt land straight, they landed bent at the first knuckle. My brother kneeled down to get me into a head lock and kneeled right on my fingers and snapped them clean out of my fingers at the knuckle. QUOTE]

I'm not very squeamish, but owww!
Tricky, hope your recovery goes well.

My own experience under the knife was literally a pain in the arse!!
I developed an abscess on the inside of my left butt cheek (ingrown hair follicle apparently, I know, too much info.)
Didn't know this at the time and being a bloke I endured the pain for 3 days, thinking it would go away.
By the time I went to the doc it was too late for anti-biotics, It was finger straight up the pooper then up to hospital. I was operated on that night.
The most painful part was having the packing changed everyday for a week.

[DawnGirl27]

:eek: :stunned:

[krakenslayer]

I'm not very squeamish, but owww!
Tricky, hope your recovery goes well.

My own experience under the knife was literally a pain in the arse!!
I developed an abscess on the inside of my left butt cheek (ingrown hair follicle apparently, I know, too much info.)
Didn't know this at the time and being a bloke I endured the pain for 3 days, thinking it would go away.
By the time I went to the doc it was too late for anti-biotics, It was finger straight up the pooper then up to hospital. I was operated on that night.
The most painful part was having the packing changed everyday for a week.

Doctor: What seems to be the trouble?
Suicidalsteve: Well... :moon:

I've been waiting for an opportunity to use that smiley. :lol:

[Suicidalsteve]

:D

Happy to oblige Krakenslayer! Athough not at the time!
Apparently, if I'd left it another day it could have burst and killed me.
Oh, and I smoke so that was the the cause as well. :rolleyes:
The NHS is truly a sadistic organisation. They ran me a bath a few hours after I'd came round, open wound + very hot water = me scraped off the ceiling with a fish slice!! :eek:
Still, I was back on my motorbike after the week, had to wear hospital issue fishnet pants to keep the packing in place, try explaining that if I'd crashed and the leathers were cut off! :o

[krakenslayer]

:D

Happy to oblige Krakenslayer! Athough not at the time!
Apparently, if I'd left it another day it could have burst and killed me.
Oh, and I smoke so that was the the cause as well. :rolleyes:
The NHS is truly a sadistic organisation. They ran me a bath a few hours after I'd came round, open wound + very hot water = me scraped off the ceiling with a fish slice!! :eek:
Still, I was back on my motorbike after the week, had to wear hospital issue fishnet pants to keep the packing in place, try explaining that if I'd crashed and the leathers were cut off! :o

Funniest shit ever. :lol:

Not at the time, I'm sure though. ;)

What worries me a little bit is this:


Oh, and I smoke so that was the the cause as well.

...usually smokers get things like gum ulcers and mouth cancer so I dread to think what you've been doing with your lit cigarettes. :lol:

[Suicidalsteve]

Funniest shit ever. :lol:

Didn't have a "funny shit" for quite a while! :p

The missus wasn't happy about my shower/bidet arrangement either!! :lol::lol:

[Tricky]

Well,ive just had my first shower since the op & ive taken my dressings off,ive got frankenstein monster lines up either side of my groin!ive also got quite large areas of numbness around the crease of my leg & the wound sites which i hope im going to get some feeling back to as the nerves heal!if im permanently numb i wont be best pleased!
other than that its getting easier to get myself up now & i feel ok in myself,lets hope im on the mend!Another thing im bothered about is that prior to the op i was in very good physical shape & hope im not going to lose all that in the weeks before i can start doing heavy exercise again!

[Neil]

Another thing im bothered about is that prior to the op i was in very good physical shape & hope im not going to lose all that in the weeks before i can start doing heavy exercise again!
Whatever you do, DON'T be tempted to start exercise early! Or when you do, push too hard!

I won't go into details, but my brother came off the worse for exercising too soon after an op! Be careful...

[MinionZombie]

Whatever you do, DON'T be tempted to start exercise early! Or when you do, push too hard!

I won't go into details, but my brother came off the worse for exercising too soon after an op! Be careful...
Indeed. It's better to wait a smidge longer now, than suffer the consequences forever.

I'll be keeping that in mind when I get my op later this year, although I think it's less extensive than yours, Tricky.

And if you're in good physical shape, you'll bounce back easily I'd have thought, unless your body goes on strike Northern style and just melts like that dude in X-Men ... but I doubt it.

[Publius]

It's better to wait a smidge longer now

Is that related to a "midge"? ;)

[EvilNed]

Dude, you did surgery on your own lower back and lung ("I had to operate" . . . "I operated")? That's hard core! Not to mention an impressive feat of contortionism in the case of the lower back.

;):D


If I were you I wouldn't be able to get over the fact that I had performed surgery on myself...

!!!

Sorry guys. The word "operate" is the same in Swedish, but you use it differently. In Swedish, saying "I had to operate" is the most common way to use the word (Jag opererade...). I guess it just snuck in there.

I am no Rambo, unfortunetaly.

[Debbieangel]

Here's wishing a very speedy but careful recovery!!!
About8 years ago I was operated on for gallbladder surgery,simple enough they did the surgery off I went home same day. That was on a friday then sunday I was back in hospital in SCREAMING pain. They missed a extra "lusecka" duct which is very unusual and I had "bile" leaking all through my body. To make a long story short they operated that monday cutting me from beneath breastbone down to pelvic area. Took awhile to get back on my feet. So, I am telling YOU don't hurry it up,just do what doctors tell you and don't over do but don't under do either.
What I am saying is dont lay on your butt constantly, you dont want to end up with pneumonia on top of what you already got but, move around abit too.
JUST DON'T OVERDO!!
Take care of yourself and I hope you feel better real real soon, my thoughts and prayers are with you!:)
Listen to the Doctors!!!

[Dtothe3]

I hate to say it dude, but you don't know pain.

I had a cyst in my scrotum (I was 13). Just for clarification, having your two veg squished by an ever enlarging cyst is no fun. Whatsoever. It took me a few days before I plucked up the courage to tell my stepdad (he's a doctor), and yes, that was embarrassing.

During that time I slept sat upright in a cross legged position with a pillow placed under my arse so that my balls (all three of them by this point) could hang free. I survived my schools bucket seats for three days with this, spent the entire time wishing for death, assuming that it was less painful then my sore sack.

Only 1 of two ops in my life (that I remember). The other was a heart op when I was less then a rugrat. The only reason why I even told my stepdad/family was because my uncle had a similar thing when he was a boy, cept he didn't tell anyone. Hence he was one testicle, and I still have two. My mum drilled that into me as soon as I could talk.

[Publius]

Sorry guys. The word "operate" is the same in Swedish, but you use it differently. In Swedish, saying "I had to operate" is the most common way to use the word (Jag opererade...). I guess it just snuck in there.

How interesting! Swedish is cool.