I don’t believe there are enough personal accounts online from women who have had an abdominal hernia repaired, let alone personal accounts from women who have had muscle repair/distasia correction done at the same time. I am a little over two weeks past my experience with all of this and my hope is that someone who’s considering this procedure finds my information and that it helps in some way, even in a small way!

I am a 31 year old wife and mother of two kids who are 9 and 6 years old. I found out I had an umbilical hernia with a pretty severe case of recti diastasis about 5 years ago and due to back pain and pain in the hernia area I decided it was time to get this over with. Unfortunately there was a miscommunication between my surgeon and I in my consultation and I had an erroneously optimistic view regarding recovery time, ha! I wish I would’ve known so much before going into surgery and recovery, so hopefully if you’re looking for information you’re able to take something helpful out of this article!

Day 1: Surgery! I prepared for weeks leading up to my surgery. Meals, rides for the kids, help with the dog, cleaning and cooking for the first week. I thought I’d only have to cover “my shifts” as a mom, wife and employee for about a week. Which is standard recovery time for your average hernia repair. NOT the same. With my ducks in a row I checked in for outpatient surgery. Everything was typical and before I knew it I was under and back up again, sore and sleepy. There was some mild dizziness and nausea while I was still in recovery waiting to go home but within 5 hours after my surgery I was home on my couch. Cozy, dopey and completely high on some amazing drugs. I was even feeling good enough to sleep in my own bed that night, which is a very high-off-the-ground king. Not smart. By the time I woke up at 4am after needing to get up like 4 times during the night to pee (that IV sure worked at the hospital!) I was dying. Pain meds were worn off and I had severe pain, everything hurt! I got back ahead of my pain within an hour and decided to sleep in my recliner chair downstairs indefinitely. The hospital also sent me home with a binder/corset type thing that was a lifesaver while up and walking around throughout recovery. I should add, after surgery I got a message from my surgeon that he had to repair/cut out a lot more tissue than anticipated, and the whole surgery was more invasive than he anticipated.

Week 1: Recovery! As soon as I got home I started on a stool softener, Dulcoease. I kept my diet very healthy, soups and teas and not much else. It was painful to eat a large amount of anything, so small healthy snacks (nothing to cause bloating!!) were key! I got up to pee a few times throughout the day but nothing more than that. It was very painful to sit up and walk around. It wasn’t until 4 days after surgery that I felt the need to, you know, number 2. This was absolutely awful. The first time going when my whole abdomen was still so tender was like torture. The bloating and gas from not being able to go was also causing a ton of pain around my incision area and internal stitches. I ended up sending my husband to CVS on Thanksgiving day for an enema… yes.. it had come to that. After the initial poo everything came a lot easier. But don’t slack on the laxatives or fiber, please don’t slack! By the end of week one I had not left my house and was pretty much still tied to the couch other than an occasional hobble through my kitchen. No driving either, ouch! It was very clear to me that I wasn’t going anywhere, not to work, not outside, I had underestimated my recovery time by a lot.

Week 2: Still recovering! I worked from home Mon-Thurs because by Monday my brain was ready to explode and my body wasn’t having anything close to going into work. I was using the bathroom slightly easier and walking a bit more around my house. Still sleeping in my recliner through all of week 2! At this point I was only taking ibuprofen throughout the day and one hydrocodone before bedtime. Every day I was able to stay standing for a little longer but nothing super impressive. Thursday of week 2 I went into the office. Payroll needed to be done so I put on my big girl pants and drove to work. I made it ok in my office chair for a few hours, but had to take a hydrocodone midway through the day because of all the pressure on my stomach from trying to sit up straight. By Thursday night I had swelling, pain and had to work from home the next day. I tried to recoup over the weekend as much as possible. I was standing for long enough to pack my kids lunches and do a tiny bit of cooking by the end of week 2. I also moved into my own bed at the end of week two, propped up in the back and behind the knees.

Week 3: Frustrating! I tried going into the office through week three, and here I sit on Wednesday night (mid-way through week three) in pain and my incision area is tender and sore. Between driving (which is way more difficult when holding a small pillow over your stomach so it doesn’t jostle around) and sitting upright in my chair, my whole torso is tender.. and angry at me! The area above my incision where the surgeon had to bring a lot of tissue together is aching and a tad swollen. Just from sitting in an upright position in my office chair and in the car.  I will be asking to working from home again tomorrow if I don’t feel a lot better by morning. Will keep updates coming!