Hi All!!
Has anyone ever had surgery for an umbilical hernia? I need to have this procedure soon and am wondering how long I will 'really' be off the ice. I think the doctor said between 2-4 weeks. But I'm in denial.

A young skater (22 yrs old) had it recently and he was off for only two weeks and then was jumping!! I am 43. Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks.

Not personal experience, but a friend had this done a year or so ago, and was back on the ice about 3 days later! Mind you, she wasn't actually doing anything much, just skating round slowly, but I'm quite sure her doctors would have been horrified had they known!

Basically, if it hurts, or feels like you might tear something, don't do it. Might be worth focussing on moves for a few weeks, or ice dance, or something that you're less likely to fall on.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

I had this very same surgery at age 41 and I was off the ice for 10 days, but I did take it a bit easy the first week. YMMV of course.

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Gordon Zaft
http://sk8rboi.blogspot.com
School figures are skating's equivalent of the Latin Mass.

Thanks guys. Gordon what does YMMV mean? I go to the surgeon on Fri and get more info.

I'm not Gordon, but YMMV means "your mileage may vary" (from one of those old car commercials in the 1960s)... but translates to mean "Yours may not be the same as mine... but probably in the same general range".

Yes, that's correct. Sorry for the jargon!

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Gordon Zaft
http://sk8rboi.blogspot.com
School figures are skating's equivalent of the Latin Mass.

Love the jargon!!! Gordon...after the surgery how long did it take to not 'feel' the incision site?

I imagine it would depend on the extent of the surgery. If the hernia is really big and they have to cut through a lot of muscle, then you're looking at much more healing time than if they can do a tiny incision (say, arthroscopically) and leave much of the surrounding tissue intact. I'd say listen to your doctor and listen to your body and take it slooooooow.

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"Go wash an elephant if you wanna do something big." -Baby Gramps

Thanks LilJen. It happens to be a small hernia and the icision is supposed to be very small. Thank goodness. I see the surgeon tomorrow.

I don't really remember but I think it was 3-4 weeks before I didn't feel it.

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Gordon Zaft
http://sk8rboi.blogspot.com
School figures are skating's equivalent of the Latin Mass.

Thanks Gordon! That's promising.

Well, here's the update. I will have the surgery on Dec.4 in the early am. The Dr. said I will be off the ice for 3 weeks and then just stroking, MIF for the next 2 weeks. Then... I can start jumping and spinning. So basically no jumping or spinning for 6 WEEKS! Hope I can be ready for AN. I figure if I'm not, I can withdraw from the free and still do the artistic. I'll just see what I can do. This surgery is something I have to do. It is starting to hurt me. It even hurts when I bend over. Yuky feeling. Anyway, I'll let you all know the results.

If anyone else has any interesting hernia stories please share.

Ok everyone. Here's an update. I had the surgery on Dec 4, so it's almost a week. I'm still reeeeaalllyy tired but not so much pain. I'm sooooooooooo bored. Everything went well and it looks pretty good if I say so myself. I tried driving for the past two days. Just going out to Dunkin Donuts for a Dunkacino. (My favorite drink in the world - next to wine that is). Don't think I'm ready to drive. I get very tired on the way home. I was allowed to drive 2 days after the surgery but didn't. Too looped out.

Anyway, 2 more weeks until I can get back on the ice. By then I'll have no more sanity left!!

Glad everything went well. It could be the meds making you sleepy - I know Tylenol makes me tired.

Hoping for a quick recovery.

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I have one of those but they said I still don't need surgery for it, what happened that you need surgery? Did you just start getting pain and what did the surgery do? All I recall is that my belly button made a cute little balloon while I was a child and they said one day I would need it fixed...so far so good.

coskater

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Who me? Couldn't be....
http://www.youtube.com/bouldersk8r

Glad you're feeling okay, but don't overdo it.

And what sort of drink is a Dunkacino? Some kind of coffee drink, I take it?

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

That's how mine was; but my doctor pointed out, these things only get bigger with age, not smaller, so I decided to get it fixed while a) I was healthy and relatively young, and b) had insurance that would cover it.

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Gordon Zaft
http://sk8rboi.blogspot.com
School figures are skating's equivalent of the Latin Mass.

Glad it's over and you're doing well! Any anasthetic can knock the H*ll out of you for several weeks, so that may be why you're still tired.

I also have an umbilical hernia that was discovered many years ago -not even sure how many. I don't believe it could go away, but I have had absolutely no symptoms for as long as I can remember, so at least it hasn't gotten bigger.

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Hi all. Doing better every day! I agree with dbny, the anesthesia is horrible. I only took a half of a vicadin the day after the surgery, so medication is not the cause of the fatigue. It's got to be the anesthesia. Going to see the surgeon again today.

Coskater asked what made the hernia worse. I started to have pain and like gordon said, hernias don'tget better over time they just get worse.

And, to Mrs. Redboots! A Dunkacino is a coffee/hot chocolate drink. Very addictive. It's my only vice.

Anyway, got to get the kid ready for school.