How about this morning. ;) :D

Yeah ... hey how ya doin'

Thanks for asking guys! Still not ready for Jack yet Milt! I seem to be doing fine. Pain has been manageable with the pills, so far.

My wife is helping me get off and on the couch as needed, this is when I feel the most pain. I'm trying to take it easy but still get up and walk every so often. I'm taking Targa911s advice and am using a stick while walking for stability.

I'm just really glad the surgery part is over, now focusing on healing!

Sounds just about right in my experience. Maybe it was that rectal surgery where the Jack came in handy. ;)

You can use the stick to get up and down from the sofa/chair/bed too if your wife is not around. Sounds like you are right where you should be. Keep us informed.

I had the left side done in January 1992. Went to the hospital, in surgery at 7 AM. Woke up at 11AM with the WORST hangover I've ever felt! General anesthesia. My dad took me home, and he said that I looked like "death warmed over". I slept three hours on the couch, and then woke up and felt fine. Later that night, my high-school friend Matt called and asked if I wanted to go to a hot house party that was going on; 30 minutes later I was sitting in his Mustang! It never hurt.

One week later I peeled to bandage back to see what the stitches looked like....and discovered that my stomach was stapled back together! Urk! Oh well, it worked and you can barely see the scar. They wanted to do the other side, but since it didn't hurt [the only reason I had the left side done was that American airlines wouldn't hire me for their Eagle division with the hernia.], I left it alone.

They've got the surgery down pat, but they need to find better chemicals to knock you out- I felt like CRAP when I woke up!

N

Yeah, Normy thats why I opted for IV Sedation (MAC) and local. I didn't want to deal with that on top of this!

Everythings appears to be fine other than the Milk Of Mag. hasn't kicked in yet. The nurse told me to take ONLY 1 dose a day. I'm hoping it kicks in today or tomorrow...

They had me on a mobile bed, and put an IV in my arm; a moment later the nurse inserted a hypodermic needle into a fitting on the IV, and then she asked me to talk backwards from 10; I was puzzled; Why do you want me to do this....then I went to sleep. I think I made it to 6...

I told them that I wanted them to tell me what they were doing. They probably hear this all the time, they never do it. I really wanted to see the whole process, and the doctor told me that it wasn't possible to do the surgery with a local anesthetic. I really wanted to see my intestines!

Am I a "gear head" or what?

N!

IMHO the "Cadillac" anesthetic for hernia repair is an epidural injection (or w/ catheter placement if timing is a concern) performed in a side-lying position. Lots of upside, little risk when done well. Being thin or close to ideal weight helps but not mandatory. It takes a little time and planning but a VERY nice sole anesthetic for inguinal (or umbilical if need be) hernia repair. Lots of folks decline epidural injection because their back has been declared sacred by some half-informed thespian. Hate that...especially when it could save everyone a lot of trouble.

I just wanted to update everyone. I'm feeling almost normal again. I'm only a little over 2 weeks out but the healing process hasn't been as bad as I feared. I'm still taking it easy for the next 6 weeks.

Considering about 3 out of 10 of us males will have to deal with a hernia at some point in time, my advice is if you have one (or two like I did) research find an experienced surgeon and get it taken care of ASAP. Don't wait until its a medical emergency.

And lastly, don't read up to much on it. This was a mistake I made prior to surgery. I stressed a lot more than I should have. The majority of information online is negative. Considering that theres around 900,000 hernia repairs in the US annually and hundreds of negative reviews shows that the majority of outcomes are positive but just not posted. An experienced surgeon can do this surgery with his/her eyes closed.

Thanks again to everyone who was there for me through my little ordeal! I really appreciate it!

Now I can start focusing more on Porsche and BMW!

Over and out!