Since having my 2 kids I have been having excruciating pain in my stomach to the point I cannot walk or stand. I have been told by my doctor that I have a stomach hernia and that my stomach muscles are separated and I will be needing surgery to have it fixed. However I am not finished having children. If I get this surgery can I have more children or will that be it?
6 Replies
You should ask your GP but I would assume you would need surgery again to repair the damage the next pregnancy would do.
Do you have diasti recti? And a stomach hernia? Do you need surgery for the hernia and they will fix the diasti recti aswell?
If it is diasti recti I am aware surgery isn't always the option it can be helped through exercise.(incase it separates again next pregnancy since your in severe pain it might not be the best option) Check out mummy fitness on facebook she has diasti recti and opted not to have surgery but to fix with exercise she has created a support group for women alot of helpful tips on what makes it worse ect. Here is the link https://www.facebook.com/MummyFitness/
I've had two children and my last pregnancy my "abs' were separated, I had to do exercises to get them to close, they are about 2-3cm apart and wont close anymore. I also had an umbilical hernia about the size of an avocado above my belly button, I had surgery last year to repair it, every now and then I get a cramp like pain where the repair was done, I've had it looked at again and there is nothing they can do. I'm currently pregnant with baby number 3 and will have to have it repaired again after this baby. Hope this helps. :)
Can I ask what the surgery was like? Was it day surgery? How long you were out of action? Was it covered by Medicare or out of pocket?
I live about 5 hours away from any major hospitals so just trying to get myself organised.
Hi, it is typically day surgery but I had it so late in the afternoon (4pm) they kept me overnight, I took a week off work and they recommend not driving for 2 weeks. Mine was covered by Medicare, I went to the doctors originally and they gave me a referral to the hospital, I had 3 appointments with them and booked in the surgery date on the 3rd apt, I waited 60 days for the surgery.
I had never been put under before so I was incredibly nervous, my husband stayed with my right up until they had to put me to sleep, I remember shaking from begin so nervous then waking up in recovery.
I have had 3 children. After my first pregnancy I ended up with a belly button hernia. It caused no problems during my second pregnancy but was much larger after he was born ( he was 9 pounds). I asked my obstetrician if I should have it fixed prior to any more kids. As it was causing no problems the advice was to leave it until I was completely done having kids. During my 3rd pregnancy at about 18 weeks I got the same excruciating pain you described. It was horrific but often stopped as quickly as it started. Eventually the pain was more frequent and more painful. I ended up having to have surgery at 22 weeks pregnant as it was literally starting to twist my bowel. It was torture being pregnant and having the repair surgery. Uncomfortable and a long recovery of no lifting my other children etc. About 12 weeks of no lifting. I needed triple the mesh and a long incision due to my tummy size. It has all settled now but definitely investigate with a specialist prior to having more children. I don't recommend the surgery whilst pregnant. It ended up being life threatening for me if left untreated but it was very traumatic. Major surgery, anesthetic etc whilst pregnant was awful not to mention the baby kicking away on the inside. Good luck though. I hope you get it sorted.