36 Yr Old Mother of 9.14 & 11.8 Lb Baby!! - Louisville, KY

Louisville, mine either. Honestly I didn't even settle fart with the hernia although I might have got it approved eventually. I was going to go see a physical therapist but my hernia can't be fixed by that so I figured why bother.

** meant to say fiddle fart with getting the hernia approved through insurance*

Thank you, I must say, so far so good (even swollen)! He mostly fixed it is the answer. He repaired it as much as possible .....since the muscle repair pulls in most tissue/muscle, but there is a small hole that still remains therefore I could possible get fixed or damage with significant straining. I have mesh though to reinforce it. The doctor could not be overly aggressive fixing the hernia due to all the work being done l(he didn't want to risk losing blood supply to navel all together). I am completely good with it.

Oh and yes a small lateral scar due to the skin being thin and overly stretched out. It was super thin and in order not to be too aggressive with righting or pulling for top of skin (that can cause ischemia)...he thought it was best to make small lateral incision. This is at least how I understand to explain it! I knew there was a small chance of this.

**tighting

I am from Louisville and have almost a matching story too this one. We had very similar "fixes," whys, and body types. I didnt use Dr. Salzman, I used Calobrace, but healed very similarly to this post. Based in that, I would tell you that I couldn't pick up my 40lb son for at least 6-8 weeks. Not only is the lifting itself hard to do, but you dont really have a food place to "sit" them comfortably in your hip. So my little guys did a lot more walking than they were used to. Other things are easier faster, but lifting, pushing, and especially pulling were the hardest moves during recovery.

*mostly

Congrats it feels like a big decision huh? The first 3 days are the worse so be sure you have a nurse maid. I was nervous to be with the Exparel (numbing medicine sprayed inside the stomach before the close you up) and the pain meds it's not too too bad. If you have had a C-section it's similar to that. They hardest thing was for me is trying to engage her abdominal muscles when you lie in bed or try to get up. I needed help getting in and out of bed for 3 to 4 days. Just be sure you are walking around every couple of hours moving your legs so you don't get a blood clot. The first day I didn't do much moving though! Keep me posted on your progress and best of luck.

Thanks! It was a huge decision! I've known I would need it if I wanted my tummy back after two C sections and two BIG tummies during pregnancy! I've heard from a friend who compared recovery to Cs, so it makes me glad you say that, too!

We are so close in our journey! Glad to hear you are driving I won't begin driving on Monday. Luckily for me I have a ton of pillows and so I wedged them at my sides so I don't rollover! Pillows pillows pillows

Oh no! How do you get rid of it? How do you know it is that versus just normal swelling?

There's nothing you can do except get it aspirated by your PS. I've gone twice now... hoping tomorrow will be my last. I am very discouraged - and hate that I didn't heal "normally" All you can do is wear your binder snug and no bending/twisting/ or doing anything that gets your heart rate up a little. I've got spanx, binder, folded washcloths on trying to keep that skin flat.
It looks like a wave. You push on it and it just sloshes around like a wave.

That would be a fairly simple recovery if it's skin only. Gosh I bet you feel awesome right now! Good for you

Yeah I had a very low c sec scar that he might have been aiming for. Plus my muscle separation was fairly lengthy I believe so maybe that made a difference! I'm am not sure how my belly button will turn out because my hernia was large but I always had an outtie and as long as it's flat!!

Sounds like me! Yeah I am 12 days and so swollen at my incision (it's rock hard) and around navel. Geez sound like I will be for a while if you are day 17! You get good results? What binder sure you wearing and how often?

I'm just wearing spanx during the day. Nothing at night. I started that at 14 days post op. I was so glad to be done with the zippered garment. I threw it away! I still itch from it and have rashes down my sides. I'm starting to get a few red sore spots around my incision. I'm hoping it just irritated from clothes rubbing against it.