On November 7, 2008 I underwent abdominal surgery for a tennis ball size hole in my abdominal fascia. I will give you the Reader’s Digest version.
My symptoms were minor…nothing excruciating or unbearable. So why fix it if it doesn’t really hurt that much? Because each time I felt a twinge, a pinch, a cramp or an internal itch (oddly enough!!) it was the abdominal fascia tearing and over time it just kept getting bigger and bigger. Allowing this to continue just didn’t seem (to me) to be a good idea. As a side note, my research and my doctor tell me that the tear was as a result of my two pregnancies with very large babies. Thankfully, I got NO external stretch marks but I guess I got them all inside me. I’ve always had very tight and toned abs…maybe I was too tight? Who knows.
The symptoms were not constant nor were they consistent. But when they DID exhibit themselves, it would be during the same activities - eg: twisting, turning, dancing, some ab exercises, reaching above my head to the top shelf of a cabinet, that sort of thing.
The surgery itself went very well but I had EXTREME post op problems as a result of too much anesthesia and/or an adverse reaction to it. I’m fine now, still not 100% in the gym (some exercises like incline crunches still hurt too much to do) but I’m doing really well.
My ab fascia was pulled SO TIGHT in order to make the repair that I walked bent over, completely parallel to the ground for 2 weeks as a result. It’s STILL tight but easing with time. Thank GOODNESS!!!
I went back to working out after only 4 weeks post op…I couldn’t wait to get back to the gym. But the pain was waaaay too much for me - I couldn’t even do non-strenous cardio. So I waited another 4 weeks (for a total of 2 months post op) and it was the right thing do as I no longer had the excruciating pain (very discouraging) that I did at 2 weeks post op. I just needed more time to heal.Â
My incision is like that of a C-section and the doctor promises me it will fade over time (I can’t wait for THAT to happen!). Today I am almost 3 months post op and still have an area on my abdomen about 4″x 5″ that is still numb. This, too, my doctor tells me will go away within 6-12 months.Â
If you have any legitamate questions, just ask.
See you in the gym!Â
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