To ask if anyone's living with a hernia?

[BipBop123]

I have a hernia in my belly button. It came when j was around 30 weeks pregnant but wasn't diagnosed untill dd was 6 months old. I an very overweight And am in the process of trying to lose weight. Went to gp about the hernia and he said it's small and doesn't cause me too much trouble so to leave it for now.

I didn't realise you could just leave a hernia I thought they could become life threatening if left?
I sometimes get an awful aching in it and have to put pressure on it. AIBU to ask if anyone else is living with one that's just been left? How do you manage the pain when it flares up? Do you have a plan?

I've got apparently an incisional hernia but have had several abdominal surgeries before and they've said they don't want to do more, so just need to keep an eye on it. It is a bit worrying. I too have put on a bit of weight, not sure that helps. It's hard, they have said if it 'pops out' to get help urgently. It's another thing to worry about as also have had ops for small bowel obstruction in the past and sounds similar. I am not keen on more surgery or mesh though. so am hoping it doesn't get worse.

They gave me some co codomol for the pain. Also find pressure helps if painful and lying down. Trying not to think about it too much.

It's been giving me quite abit of anxiety recently. Sorry to hear about yours too. I have weeks where I forget about it but then it seems to flare up and I think I can't just live like this!

Hi, hubby had an inguinal hernia (down near his testicles, sorry if tmi). He was in quite a bit of pain. Drs asked if he wanted to leave it or have surgery. Given that it had taken 12 months to diagnose, he felt he’d done enough waiting and opted for surgery. During the 8 months between diagnosis and surgery, he was in a lot of pain. Resting helped but wasn’t always practical.
Tbh, I would opt for surgery if it is already causing you pain because it’s likely to just continue. I think some people are able to live with them if they are nor causing any problems. Hope you feel better soon xxx

I’m on my third recurrence. Muscles separated with 2 pregnancies close together both sections. The last operation was meant to be bells and whistles mesh with titanium bolt thingies but uncle hernia found his way back!

I’m ignoring it for now, each surgery is harder to recover from, and the last one was pretty rough tbh. I’m 51 now and I’d prefer to avoid any more ops unless I have no option!

Good luck with it, if it gives you pain I’d definitely go for surgery - I think it hurts when it gets partially trapped (I can feel mine making the hole bigger if you know what I mean. Cannot get constipated let’s say!!

If its flaring up and you have to put pressure on then go back to the GP. The NHS is so strapped they can sometimes only refer you if you are having problems, so don't downplay it.

I have an umbilical hernia , I had it before I was pregnant and became a lot more noticeable and a bit painful when I was heavily pregnant . Dr’s have said that once I decide to stop having children then they will fix it as no point now .

Different types of hernia have different risks, there's no point comparing incisional, inguinal, umbilical, spigellian, femoral, hiatus or cerebellar...

Listen to what your expert says, consider the options, choose the one that suits you.