How extensive is your hernia?
Tomorrow is 6 weeks since I had "abdominal wall reconstruction with separation of components" to repair a ginormous incisional hernia that went from just above my navel to almost the bikini line. It was truly ginormous!! I didn't get mesh. They split the muscles and pulled them to the center and overlapped them. Because the hernia was so big, the results pretty much are the same as if I'd had a tummy tuck. (I have a flat stomach now!! And insurance paid for it!) I had a general surgeon for the hernia and a plastic surgeon for putting the outside back together. (He's had to make me a new belly button, as well as getting rid of all the scar tissue from the old surgeries. Like I said, it was basically a tummy tuck.)
Because the surgery was so extensive, and I have other health issues as a crohnnie, I had to be in the hospital four days after surgery, but once I got home I was tired but not in a lot of pain. I had to have drains because it was such an extensive operation, and they were a nuisance, but not a pain. I think I took ultram one day for pain after coming home, and stuck with tylenol after that for a week.
I couldn't sleep in bed, because I needed more support to get up. I piled pillows on the couch, but a recliner would have been even better. It felt better to sleep on an incline than flat, and I had to have another pillow under my knees to take pressure off the abdomen.
Your hernia surgery may not be as extensive. I'd had three previous abdominal surgeries to remove parts of my small intestine, and they cut in the same spot each time. The last time it just didn't heal right, which resulted in the hernia. I will say this recovery was a lot easier than the resections were. I could have driven within a week of this surgery, but my DS (23 years old) is a mean caretaker and wouldn't let me.
He was right of course, since it could have complicated things a lot if I had slid on ice or had to turn suddenly.
I have a five pound lifting limit right now, with it increasing to ten pounds in two more weeks. After that, I'll get to gradually increase the weight limit. I'll get to start working out at the beginning of April.
I still wear my binder at night, and wear a compression garment during the day, to keep the swelling down.
Like I said, this surgery was a lot easier than the times they cut me open before.
I've found a lot of information and support on the healing process for what I went through on a tummy tuck forum. My recovery is a lot like the tummy tuck recovery, except my doctors are going very slow on lifting my restrictions. If anyone is contemplating a TT, let me know and I'll give you the link to the forum.