So, I’m fairly certain I developed an inguinal or lower abdominal wall hernia sometime last month (constant feeling of having been kicked in the nuts, diffuse pain near/above the pubis bone, increases with exertion, point tenderness, etc.). The next 6 weeks will entail a heavy training & race load with a build-up to a November ultramarathon, so needless to say, this comes at an inopportune time.
Before I go and do the smart thing, I figured I’d ask if anyone has had this problem & how long you were able to put off the inevitable without losing any sections of intestine or vital organs.
What’s my recovery schedule going to look like, time & activity-wise? Is running within two weeks of surgery a reasonable expectation?
I starting noticing the same things ~14 months ago, right before IMLP. I put off seeing the Dr until earlier this year when the bulging started getting worse. I’m going in for the surgery in Sept after my season ends. My Drs. looked at it and said I could continue to race and train (which I’ve been doing for ~3 months since the diagnosis), just keep an eye out and make sure it doesn’t get stuck out. Apparently people live for years with it at my level, but with my more active lifestyle getting something done is better sooner than later, but isn’t “urgent”.
See your dr and hopefully he’ll tell you can put it off until after the ultra. Obviously, I can’t help you with the recovery questions yet.
I had one similar to what you describe. My general doctor pushed it back in and when I went in for my pre-op the Doc. could not find it protruding or feel the rupture and told me to wait until it pops back out and come back. That was about 17 years ago and no problems since recovering from the soreness. You may also be able to manipulate things down there appropriately and push the protrusion back in yourself.
I feel your pain. I had similar episode in '03, Here’s my experience:
Feb - After a back country ski trip, I noticed some ‘pain’ in my lower ab, on the right side.
March - On my way to a 7 day extreme Ski Mountaineering Trip, I noticed a slight ‘bluge’. Thought I’d just HTFU.
Each day was spent climbing/skiing about 5000 to 7000 feet of really steep, deep powder terrain. By the end of 3 days, I had to really cinch the waist strap of my pack to keep the pain in reason, and the bulging down !
At the end of the trip I went to the Doc’s, told him my story, also told him I was entered in IMWI 2003. He thought I was crazy. He said it could of ruptured, and then I’d really be in trouble, since the only access was Helicopter. On April 1, I had the surgury. Was running 3 weeks later, and Full On Training 2 weeks later. Did IMWI '03, and then married on Oct 4, 2003.