Hernias

kikz
kikz Member Posts: 1,345 Member
in Ovarian Cancer #1

I have been reading, especially on Facebook, about a lot of ladies getting hernias.  Are we supposed to be especially careful about liftng or doing other things?   I was never advised much about "after" by any of my doctors.  I am stubborn and if i need to get a bin down and no one is around for example,  I will at least attempt it.  Of course my strength isn't what it used to be so I try not to be too stupid about it.

I guess I am trying to figure out what the happy medium is between overdoing and babying myself too much.  I think I am also really feeling my age.  For me age has always been a state of mind and in my mind I am thirty.   Unfortunately my 65-year old body does not seem to agree.  I know stupid cancer has everything to do with that.

On another post I advised Carla that only she can determine her limitations and here I am in a quandary about my own.  

Que vida loca!

Karen

Comments

  • lovesanimals
    lovesanimals Member Posts: 1,366 Member
    #2
    Hi Karen

    I myself haven't had any problems with hernias (so far) but I am really careful about how much I lift, using my legs instead of my back, and trying not to twist unnaturally because I have osteoporosis of the lumbar and right hip.  My thinning bones predate my cancer (although chemo didn't help) and have gotten worse over the last few years.  In fact, I have an appointment tomorrow with an endocrinologist to see what my game plan should be at this point.

    In my 53 year old head I feel very young, but like you, my body does not seem to agree.  I think it makes a lot of good sense to be careful.  I don't want to risk paying a really painful price for overdoing it.  We don't want to be totally dependent on others but at the same time, I'd rather err on the side of caution than risk something that will have me laid up in bed for a few weeks.  Sometimes it's not easy to find that happy medium!

    Kelly

  • Kaleena
    Kaleena Member Posts: 2,088 Member
    #3
    Hernias.
     
    Hi Karen:
    After my

    Hernias.

     

    Hi Karen:

    After my surgeries (one for the hyssterectomy and one for the staging) I waited the alotted time and was given the go ahead to do exercises etc.   However, I did a sit up and wham.   I felt a pull.   I ended up with a huge hernia.   It was so large that to sit up I had to roll on my side.  They wouldn't do surgery on it so I went for several years with a lopsided belly and finding it difficult to find clothes that fit right.   That was in 2005.   In 2010 I had surgery for my recurrence and asked if they could repair the hernia while they were in there.   My doctor said yes, but after my 3 hour surgery for the recurrence, the hernia was too large for the gyne/onc and they called in the hernia team.  It took another 3 hours.  It was so great to have that taken care of!

    Just give enough time before you do heavy lifting, etc.   

    My best to you!

     

    Kathy

  • scatsm
    scatsm Member Posts: 296 Member
    #4
    I don't know why one person gets a hernia

    and someone else doesn't. Mine started a couple of months after surgery as a bump near my navel...now, a year later, it is the size of a basketball. I hate it, but I hate the idea of surgery even worse so far. We'll see how long I last. All I can say is, be glad you are one of the lucky ones and don't let fear get in the way of living as fully as you can. I am still doing Pilates 3 times a week even with the hernia. For me, I'd be wheelchair bound without it (I have osteoarthritis and the lovely gift from chemo, neuropathy making it hard to be active).

    Keep on moving and lifting, Karen!

    Susan

  • Hearty Pioneer
    Hearty Pioneer Member Posts: 158
    #5
    3 of them

    Oh, I got 3 hernias from my debulking sugergy.  One was very large.  When I had my diep/ double mastectomy, the plastic surgery repaired all 3 and placed a mesh over the area to keep things in place.

  • Susan53
    Susan53 Member Posts: 178
    #6
    Hernia

    I had my first hernia after my debulking surgery.  They could not mend it until I was finished with chemo and radiation.  I was very lopsided and looked very pregnant.  When it got repaired doctor said the tear was the size of a grapfruit and the hernia was the size of soccer ball.  One year later I had another hernia this time not so big.  Same surgeon went in to repair it and found that I had blown a hole in the middle of the mesh patch.  I took a bit to repair and I was very sore this last time.  My doctor said she had heard of that happening but has never seen it until me.  I think I have the start of another hernia again and I am watching it.  I guess that debulking surgery really does us older women in.  I have to learn that I am now 60 and have to take it a bit easier.

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