Anyone had an umbilical hernia repaired?

[Bowie2022]

Last year, in pregnancy, I ended up with an umbilical hernia. It was painful for a while then the pain subsided so I left it. GP said it can be left if it’s not causing bowel obstruction.
But, I love keeping fit and weight lifting so now I’m 7 months post natal and almost back to my usual workouts but this bloody hernia is sticking out again every time I do ab workouts and hurts if I push it!
I had a c-section so I don’t particularly want more abdominal surgery but if it’s going to hinder me with my strength maybe I should.
Has anyone had an umbilical hernia repaired? What was the recovery like, please?!

Have you checked for a diastasis as they usually go together and certain ab workouts can make it worse. You mention the hernia sticking out which is a sign you’re putting too much pressure on your abs

@FusionChefGeoff yes I had DR but had help to repair it. Can it come back again? I haven’t done anything particularly strenuous with my abs yet but I would like to in future. I’m worries I won’t ever be able to with the umbilical hernia

I’ve had one repaired. Was a day case and I was home pretty quickly. A week later I drove to Yorkshire (400 miles) for a two week holiday. It was an easy recovery.

I wouldn’t leave it too long. I had an inguinal hernia and I left it. It strangulated, which is bloody grim. I ended up having almost 4 hours of surgery to sort me out. Lucky to have survived that.

The issue with hernias is the risk of strangulation. The old ‘watch and wait’ approach I believ has been superseded by repair it before it gets worse. Noone wants an emergency operation. I had to go to a different GP to refer me to the hospital as my original one didn’t care.

@LegalAlienatedwatch and wait is what they did with me and was told the risk of strangulation was minimal. It did strangulate and caused a far bigger issue.

A colleague has a hernia and is in the same boat, I’ve told them to push for it to be repaired asap. Strangulation was bloody awful, the pain was another level.

I’ve been in the UK for 20 years and seeing the level of care dropping is really bad. You have to google everything or ask MN for advice, what blood tests to get for what etc. It’s scary.

It’s so sad you both had to go though so much pain and a more expensive and complicated surgery. :-(

A relative had one, it was extremely quick and they didn’t even need to stay overnight at hospital. Better have it done before it gets worse or becomes strangulated

My DH had an strangulated umbilical hernia a few years ago. Fortunately it was treated quickly and he didn't need any bowel removing so it was all relatively straightforward - it could have been very different if there had been delays though. He was only in hospital for one night and that was only because they wanted to keep a closer eye on things because it had been strangulated.I think it would have been a day case otherwise. He was back to normal pretty quickly and only needed paracetamol and ibuprofen for a few days.
I would push to get it done if I were you.