Inguinal hernia

[edge]

Does anybody have any advice on riding with a hernia?

I'm 43, have had three, one umbilical, and bilateral inguinal hernias. Have had surgery to place mesh on all three, last time was Jan09, when i lived in the US.
In the last two weeks i've started to feel that familiar pressure and throbbing in the groin. Saw a GP 2 days ago, who's referred me for an ultrasound, maybe in 6 weeks (!)...may not even know what's really going on until late May.
I had leukemia and chemotherapy around 16months ago...had a great early spring this year, thought i might get close to my pre-cancer form this coming summer. Alas, i literally bust a gut riding with the fast boys on the local club run.
I've stopped doing hilly rides (God how i miss the Bwlch and the Rhigos!) and ride alone along the flat marshy lane between Cardiff and Newport.
Can i salvage my season? should i stop riding now, missing out on prime riding weather? switch to swimming?

A high pain threshold is not always a good thing

[edge]

Yes, well i was doing 5-7hr group rides, some with pretty fast (racing) lads
now 1.5hr steady flat ride between Cardiff and Newport just to keep the legs going...

[tepott]

the problem with hernias is you never got two exactly the same
i have had 5 done now
1 massive hietus which involved having a 11hr op and half of my stomach removed as well as a gullet reconstruction before which i could ride almost pain free apart from the last 10 weeks before the op

the other 4 were all post op hernias at the sites were i was opened up for the biggy 2 of which i could ride with and the other 2 icouldnt even walk in comfort.

[edge]

good'eavens ...how long ago were these surgeries?
are you able to ride now?

[colnagodram]

Had a hernia op. last September,nothing as major as the above just a small op. with local anasthetic.I was told not to ride the bike for atleast 3 weeks and only gently after that I kept in the small ring(39) for about a month,lucky if I was doing 10 miles at a time.Even in December I was getting a slight twinge now and then,perfectly normal according to the Doc.
Good luck with yours....take it easy,that's all I can advise.

[tepott]

good'eavens ...how long ago were these surgeries?
are you able to ride now?

Yes i can now ride with no problem but i am a little wary. Mine all started with a genetic defect (that i knew nothing about) that causes my gullet to spasm when i swallow food which over time damaged the musscle at the bottom of the gullet so when i stepped up my judo training for a big comp my stomach basicly started to turn inside out and travel up my gullet. I stopped counting the ops when it reached 20 or so. Its been pretty good for the last 6 yrs or so.

All i have done now is a endoscopy every few years to make sure everything is ok and the odd tweek here and there the rest is handled with meds

[edge]

I had an ultrasound then last week went for the results...
30/4/12 saw another GP today to hear the results of the ultrasound, shame it has to be a different doctor every time. i 'misspoke' and annoyed him. The report says there's "some fat protruding from the lateral aspect deep to the mesh". That's all, nothing to get too concerned about. I tried to explain that i know what it feels like to tear the viscera, he thought there may be changes secondary to surgery (3years ago) that cause the nerves in the groin to be inflamed in some way, and also that there may be a slight musculoskeletal tear but not a hernia. He also felt i was putting his ability into question and his countenance grew weary...i tried to retract, but the damage was done. I'd wager there was an element of smug pleasure in his tone when he said he could still refer me to a surgeon but i'd have to wait 6 months to be seen. I've really cut back on my mileage and elevation gain for the last month. Not so painful but still doesn't feel right "down there". Tempted to just leave it...

[BeSpoke]

Don't leave it... Take the doctor up on his offer to refer you to a surgeon..... 6 months sounds like a long time but if you are still having problems in 6 months time you will be glad that you asked for a 2nd opinion.

[penn33]

I had bad experiment with Inguinal hernia! tough old times

[jimmight]

I have a confession to make, I bought a triathlon magazine. Among other stories on the cover was "ways to improve your riding position" sadly it was TT bar test..