I had an endoscopy and was told I have a hernia but wasn’t told anything else regarding it. I believe the doctor wants to wait till our follow up in a couple weeks as I was getting out of sedation. Do people still exercise with hernias?

I have had 2 surgeries for hernias so far, my doc says I have one more obvious one. If you get one, you are likely to get others. Unless something you are doing hurts or feels uncomfortable you can exercise all you want. You should probably talk with your doctor about specifics around activities like yoga, Pilates or abdominal crunches. Each hernia is different and I would wait until you talk with your doctor about trying something new. After surgery is over listen to your doctor completely and even give your body more time to heal if you need to. Most of the time the docs tell me to walk.

Thank you for the response @learn2cook it’s a little scary even though it seems to be really common. I don’t want a revision and hoping I can just get a hernia repair. But such is life. The doctor said I also had some curves to my sleeve so a revision maybe in my future. But he wasn’t a Bariatric doctor but a gastro. Thank you

Auntie, are you talking about a Hiatal Hernia in your esophagus? That is different from an abdominal hernia which is what I think learn2cook is talking about.

The following exercises are considered safe for a hiatal hernia:

• walking
• jogging
• swimming
• cycling
• gentle or modified yoga, without inversions

You can discuss additional excercise with your doctor whe you see him.

Edited January 13, 20242 yr by CelticSoul
spelling

Celtic Soul - yes hiatal hernia. My follow up hasn’t been scheduled yet but doctor said in 4-6weeks. I’ll likely call the office and get clarification. So in the mean time I would like to get active again but I don’t want to progress anything. Thank you for the response ??

I had surgery for an incarcerated vertral hernia. I had absolutely no idea I had a hernia at all until there was pain. But once the pain started, it STARTED. And there was no more doing ANYTHING but just getting through until I had the surgery. My advice would be to be careful. You can work out, but I wouldn't push too hard. Just just enough to get a good work out but maybe avoid major core work. Once it becomes incarcerated, it's PAINFUL and needs surgery.

Lol, I had to look up incarcerated for hernias because I was picturing guys in stripes behind bars! I have had both with small intestines sticking out a muscle wall in my lower intestine (umbilical) that hurt intermittently for years until it became enstrangulated. US insurance often doesn’t pay for surgery unless there is complete blood flow stoppage. Hiatal hernia is a different beast that feels like a heart attack because the esophagus is turned inside out like a sock and jammed pulsating in your throat and chest. Both kinds, the doctors told me to walk when not in pain. What kept me sane, now and then, is knowing the pain is fixable, your response is management only. Sorry, I get a little Hermione Granger sometimes.