Dh needs hernia surgery

Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive November 2007: Dh needs hernia surgery

My dh went to the er last night because he has had stomach pain for about a week that hasn't really gone away and then yesterday felt worse. He has a hernia and needs surgery. Things are going to be stressful around here for alot of reasons. He can't lift anything over 10 pounds until he gets the surgery. We don't have health insurance( it costs more than our mortgage and it's crap) but since he got hurt at work it might be taken care of that way. I don't know how all that works. He is in pain though and the regular doctor can't see him until December 4th. There is an office for people without health insurance that charges on a sliding scale and they have similar programs for if you need surgery. Dh has been very active this year, getting to be in the best shape of his life, watching what he eats and working out.He can't lift weights until this is fixed. The doctor said he was probably born with this hernia and moving things at work is what did it. He also wrestles with the kdis and plays in a band, carrying heavy equipment. He plays with my brother and he told him not to worry about it, he could handle the equipment just fine. I want thigns to get back to normal for him as soon as possible. Oh, he also has a horrible phobia of being put to sleep. They said he could probably just get aspinal but he can't put these things out of his mind for even a minute, he'll be worrying.

By Happynerdmom on Friday, November 16, 2007 - 09:10 am:

Poor guy. My DH had hernia surgery several years ago. He was in an airport, went to pick up his luggage, and literally fell to his knees! I'll say a prayer for you guys that it can be taken care of quickly and that it does not become too much of a financial burden. (((hugs)))

By Bobbie~moderatr on Friday, November 16, 2007 - 09:23 am:

DH had surgery for two hernias two years ago this winter. He had both an Inguinal hernia (groin) and a Para-umbilical hernia (stomach/belly button area). The groin tare is what got him in to see the doctor, it would hurt for him to walk any distance, down there.
So we went in to see our PCP and ended up at a surgeon. He had the surgery done with a spinal and twilight. He went in at 5 in the morning and was discharged by 5 that evening after being fully awake, on his feet and able to eat and hold down the food. His recovery was slow and his weight/lift limit was low for a few months but now you would never know he had the surgery, except for the scar on his stomach. He has a belly button for the first time in his life.

Your DH will be in my prayers for sure... So will you..

By Dawnk777 on Friday, November 16, 2007 - 10:40 am:

Will keep both of you in my prayers. I hope he doesn't worry too much. My DH is a worrier and it's very stressful sometimes!

By Breann on Friday, November 16, 2007 - 11:35 am:

If he got hurt at work, workers compensation should pay for it.
My DH had hernia surgery last March. It was paid for by workers compensation.
He couldn't go back to his regular manual job for 6 weeks, so his company let him work in the office during that time. He usually gets 5-8 hours of overtime each week, and the office work was only 8 hours a day, so workers compensation compensated his pay to make it equal to what he would normally get.
The surgery was simple, and only took about 90 minutes. We were only at the hospital for a total of 4 hours. DH was VERY sore for about 3 days, and had trouble getting up and down. Once he was in a position, he was fine....it was just getting to that position that was uncomfortable.

By Rayelle on Friday, November 16, 2007 - 07:19 pm:

Well, at least his boss says it's not a problem, he'll file workmans comp or pay out of his own pocket whatever needs done. We were concerned he might try to say there was no proof it happened in the workplace or something. I didn't know how that would work. He knows it did, so that's good. Now it's everything else. I feel very calm about it though, I have a good feeling it will be fine.

By Karen~admin on Saturday, November 17, 2007 - 09:45 am:

I'm sorry to hear he needs surgery, but DO take it seriously. You don't want him to end up with a strangulated hernia, so he needs to LISTEN and not do the lifting, etc. that he was told not to do.

On the upside, hernia repair is a pretty basic/simple surgery - Jen had bilateral inguinal hernia surgery at age 6, and 2 days later was outside playing with the other kids.

Good luck!

By Mrsheidi on Saturday, November 17, 2007 - 06:06 pm:

My dad had a hernia a while back and it was SO painful. I'm sorry you guys are having to go through this but at least he has workman's comp and his surgery will definitely get rid of the pain.
Let us know how it went!