Completely freaking out after hitting the weights

Hi All,

It's been a little over 3 months and have the go ahead to go to the gym...right now i'm doing 5 days of cardio and 3 days of weights (alternating upper and lower body). The problem is when I come home i'm freaking out thinking I'm going to have a bowel obstruction or hernia...I've read stories where it's that easy to get. I live alone which makes me even more worried.

Do I lift and say a little prayer after or do I give up the weights? I love lifting and it makes me feel so good...I'm just having a total freak out...

I'm not doing any ab work ...just upper and lower body for now. I just hope I don't feel like this everytime I go to the gym and lift weights Any advice i'd really appreciate it...Thank you

are you straining when you lift? how hard are you pushing yourself. I would lift just to tone until you are further out, nothign that causes strain or pushes you too hard. and i would probably increase weights VERY slowly.  Also, you may want to consider dong weight only 2 times a week instead of 3....... 3 is not necessary especially when you have a fear of a hernia . I did only2 times a week and i had no fears of hearnias and i was not post op.

That makes a lot of sense, I guess my pre-op stubborness has led to lift hard and lift heavy but the new order of the day is lift light and more reps for now.

At this point, I would only be doing weights for resistence, NOT for bulking up.  You are so early out yet. 

You're right, I guess I'm used to bulking and cutting from my pre-op days...I'll have to change the way I look at working out for awhile...I emailed my doctor again to double check if I have any restrictions.

I never heard of getting a bowel obstruction from exertion. I think you can cross that off your list of things to worry about. I was cleared to lift weights again after a month. My best advice is to listen to your body, and if it's telling you to be careful, then take it easy. But I don't think you have much more to worry about than a non-op at this point. I'd lay off the ab work for a couple more months but I say go for broke on everything else. You're losing muscle mass like crazy with this rapid weight loss and the benefits you'll get from working out are much greater than the small chance of a hernia. And if you do get a hernia.. I know a lot of people around here throw a party when that happens because hey, free plastics!

Thank you so much Anna

You really put my mind at ease...it's people like you that make this board so amazing :) Everytime I start freaking out i'm going to come back to your post :)

You're welcome, hot stuff! Now go get ripped!

Why worry so much?  I don't recall anyone saying they got a bowel obstruction from working out.  As for the hernia ... sure it could happen but you are far enough out for it to be as safe as it's ever going to be. 

I was cleared to lift at about 6 weeks after having a major 10 inch hernia repaired and plastic surgery.    You just need to be mindful of what you are doing and if you are really concerned be sure to wear a support belt.    I was instructed to wear a support belt for 6 months for the hernia when lifting.

Enjoy the gym!  

Using a support belt is a great idea, right now I'm using a body binder ...I'll try out my belt this week and see if I get more stabilization. I was on such a remorseful mindtrip after weights lately...this week at the gym I was working out at 65% of my usual lifting regime when I was pre-op .

But, Tom thanks for pitching in, I really appreciate the suggestions and help. It's great to get advice from someone who's already been there ...thanks again!