Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: AuRavelling79 on July 08, 2025, 07:11:54 am
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So. Yours Truly has been diagnosed with an inguinal hernia.
Increasing discomfort over the last week became sharp over the weekend and yesterday teatime after working pain became really sharp.
Went to A&E with the rest of Bristol's great unwashed and doc pushed it back in and referred me to GP. Informal advice is it will be months before an NHS op is available.
So any advice about working - level of work - supports you can buy - to wear while waiting for op would be much appreciated
Thanks in advance.
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Go on eBay and get yourself the inguinal hernia truss support belt. Been wearing mine for about 12 months now whilst waiting for my op.
Absolute godsend. No pain whatsoever whilst working. As long as you keep the lump in you’re fine.
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Go on eBay and get yourself the inguinal hernia truss support belt. Been wearing mine for about 12 months now whilst waiting for my op.
Absolute godsend. No pain whatsoever whilst working. As long as you keep the lump in you’re fine.
Really appreciate your response. Have taken your advice and ordered.
May I ask a couple of further questions?
Have you modified your work as in not doing higher stuff or lighter equipment? Or amount per day.
Do you have any idea what the NHS waiting time is/will be?
How old are you?
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No I’m still working the same as always.
No change whatsoever.
I’m 58.
NHS waiting time - how long is a piece of string! Can’t help you there mate.
Tip - buy a spare ‘belt’ as over time the Velcro fails.
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Sounds like a good excuse to retire
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My son just had one repaired just above his belly button, have to wait about 4 weeks, went in hospital 7 am was home by 11 am.
Was not allowed to lift anything for 3 weeks then after that another few weeks of very little light lifting, was told not to work for 6 weeks but went back after 5 weeks just ground first floor pole work but taking it very easy, 3 months on back to normal.
Hope you get yours sorted out soon
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Sounds like a good excuse to retire
You give up too easily.....its only a hernia....if he wears the appropriate clothing and is a bit more mindful in his approach to his working day he ll be fine....
Good luck Malc....my brother has had 2 hernias and its a very common,straightforward procedure for a health professional to work on. He didn't do much after each op but he's more of a sedentary person than us window cleaners.
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Cant give you any advice but hope your feeling better soon.
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No I’m still working the same as always.
No change whatsoever.
I’m 58.
NHS waiting time - how long is a piece of string! Can’t help you there mate.
Tip - buy a spare ‘belt’ as over time the Velcro fails.
Well my delivery from Anne Summers has arrived! Ordered this morning from Amazon and arrived at 8.30pm so tried it out and got Mrs. Gold to help me adjust it ... ooooh ... errr.... ;D
Cleaned my upper windows including my xtreme 47 on my loft rooflight.
Worked fine! Felt a bit 'new' and bulky to start but actually ok.
Taken off now I've stopped trying it out.
If not too personal a question do you wear it just for work or for all waking hours? Or what?
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Yes it’s bulky and a bit uncomfortable to begin with but you just get used to it. I wear mine all the time and take it off for bed. And when I have a bath /shower of course!
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Do you have any idea what the NHS waiting time is/will be?
⏱️ Average Waiting Times
England-wide averages: Roughly 57 weeks (about 13 months) for 9 out of 10 hernia patients from GP referral to surgery
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Longest waits: Some hospitals like Queen Elizabeth Birmingham report delays of up to 82–85 weeks
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Quickest trusts: Newcastle’s Royal Victoria has waits as short as 18 weeks
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📊 Regional & Hospital Variability
2020–21 data: Average waiting time in England was 191 days (~27 weeks)
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Consultation stage: Waiting for the first general surgery consultation ranges from 8 to 23 weeks depending on your hospital (e.g., 8 weeks in East Cheshire vs 23 weeks in Royal Free London
😞 Real-World Patient Experiences
Some patients report multiple-year waits—both in personal accounts and on Reddit—citing 3–5 years on the list before surgery, and in some cases needing emergency operation when the hernia became strangulated
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On Reddit, users in Northern Ireland mention waits of 4–5 years, while some in England report around 3 years
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🏥 Efforts to Reduce the Backlog
Standby lists are being used to fill last-minute cancellations, helping some patients get surgery months earlier
theguardian.com+5thetimes.co.uk+5reddit.com+5
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High-Intensity Theatre (HIT) sessions (e.g. at Guy’s & St Thomas’) cluster many hernia ops into single days, significantly boosting throughput
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Robotic-assisted keyhole surgery is expanding, with potential to speed up recovery and free capacity, though full impact will be over the next decade
theguardian.com
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Get well soon chap.
That's the main reason I have private health policy. Too many NHS waiting times.
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Get well soon chap.
That's the main reason I have private health policy. Too many NHS waiting times.
When you get north of 60 the price rockets. I used to sell PMI.
If I have to wait many months or it gets too difficult/painful/slow to materialise I can go private and self pay.
Well worth it if I am working and earning.
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I’m at least 15 months in now. The hernia is no different from right at the beginning. No change whatsoever.
That’s not to say they can’t get bigger etc as I believe they can. But it’s also true that the hernia could get no worse over time as is the case for me.
Just got to keep it contained and the ‘belt’ does a great job in that respect.
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I had one diagnosed at the start of Covid, wore a truss for 4 years, had the op done in Jan, this year,
I'm 68 now
I wanted to survive till I got my pension, I did that ok👍
Just took things easier and didn't strain myself
All depends on how bad it is though.
Mine was a lump that I was able to push back in.
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I had one diagnosed at the start of Covid, wore a truss for 4 years, had the op done in Jan, this year,
I'm 68 now
I wanted to survive till I got my pension, I did that ok👍
Just took things easier and didn't strain myself
All depends on how bad it is though.
Mine was a lump that I was able to push back in.
May I ask what kind of hernia it was and what kind of surgery did you have? Did it get worse over the four years wait?
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I had one diagnosed at the start of Covid, wore a truss for 4 years, had the op done in Jan, this year,
I'm 68 now
I wanted to survive till I got my pension, I did that ok👍
Just took things easier and didn't strain myself
All depends on how bad it is though.
Mine was a lump that I was able to push back in.
May I ask what kind of hernia it was and what kind of surgery did you have? Did it get worse over the four years wait?
Inguinal
I had the mesh fitted and stitched back up
Worked a treat 👍
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Just had a quick google, cost to have this fixed privately between 2K-4K I think I'd consider this over a year half wait for NHS . I guess if you're able to still work without any down time before surgery it's worth waiting, but I'd consider loss of earnings over going private, tough decision I guess as even after private treatment you've got recovery down time.
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Im a bit confused, if I were to answer the OP Id have to be sure he was serious about putting his hernia to work, they can be temperamental buggers.
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Just had a quick google, cost to have this fixed privately between 2K-4K I think I'd consider this over a year half wait for NHS . I guess if you're able to still work without any down time before surgery it's worth waiting, but I'd consider loss of earnings over going private, tough decision I guess as even after private treatment you've got recovery down time.
Indeed.
I am working with a belt thingy but I find I am being 'careful' and not wanting to strain anything as it wasn't pleasant waiting in A&E and having it pushed back into place.
Also don't want it to get bigger and need urgent/ or bigger surgery if possible. Stitch in time (literally ;D) and all that!
Carefully looking at this place and reviews of it. The lead guy is a hernia specialist.
Oxford Hernia Clinic: Private Hernia Repair Surgery https://share.google/incojV5lCm9AsBskR
They are answering my damnfool questions very promptly over the last two working days.
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Hello mate I had three hernias and two were inguinal ones, had them operated on last August, so the pain for me wasn't to bad , one out of three of them hurt a bit but was getting worse and they were all slowly getting bigger, I didn't need to use any support straps, after the operation was done I went back to work about three and half weeks slowly and used a hernia belt bought on Amazon for about a month, the one that has velcro, was a pain to use but worth it in my opinion
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They offered to do my hernia quickly (months), it's quick in and out, after speaking to a couple of others they said the same que isnt long, once your hernia op is done use the support belt, give yourself 3 to 4 weeks off, go back taking it easy, for me within 3 months back to normal but after six weeks was doing full days again and i was cautious because didn't want to tear of the mesh again, thats your main worry really.
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needs to be done asap...If the tear on your stomache lining gets bigger the more your inner will start to creep through. mine was about 8 years ago. Tell the truth ive forgot how long ill have to find out. Worse when healing when you have a big rotweiler to take out. They say around 10 years it may apear again. There can be complications sometimes. Hopefully get a decent surgeon
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Well here's the thing.
July 7th went to A&E
Worked lightly with a hernia belt and investigated going private.
Provisionally booked into the Oxford Hernia Clinic for yesterday Aug 8th. £2490 all in.
Blow me down, get an OP appointment NHS for last Saturday August 2nd.
Private guy says go along to it and it can feed in to the OP appointment with me for August 4th
So I sit with the Consultant surgeon at Bristol Southmead and he says 'next Saturday' (today Aug 9th).
You could have picked me up off the floor!
Contacted private guy and he seemed genuinely pleased for me and wished me good luck.
Went to Pre Op on Tuesday and Operation just now - am now led in recovery typing this out.
Dull pain. Waiting for me to urinate.
;D
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Wish you a speedy recovery.
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Dull pain. Waiting for me to urinate.
That's taking the pee.
More seriously, really pleased you've managed to have it sorted so quickly.
Hope the recovery is quick and complete.
Vin
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Thanks chaps!
It was open surgery under general anaesthetic.
Home now. Operation at 1pm. Now 11pm. Sat on sofa watching the Telly box.
Probably lull before the storm but virtually no pain if I don't move.
Pain about 4/10 when I came round.
2/10 when I left hospital at about 8pm.
Surgeon (who was the consultant and who I met at OP consultation a week ago) said it was about the size of a plum so 4" scar and a 'middle' sized hernia.
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Really good result buddy and £2.5k that you can spend on something nice instead
Very happy days!
Keep us posted on your recovery.
I’m still waiting and pushing the ‘plum’ back in!
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Really good result buddy and £2.5k that you can spend on something nice instead
Very happy days!
Keep us posted on your recovery.
I’m still waiting and pushing the ‘plum’ back in!
I'm utterly gobsmacked.
I have to say I went in last Saturday expecting to be told months or 'dunno, how long is a piece of string'.
If it had been more than a month, maybe six weeks I'd have still gone private.
2.5k is not loose change but I'd rather be fit and able to work.
Maybe I was nervous of doing more damage but the four weeks of working (knowingly) with a hernia (even with a belt) meant I was setting my daily figure at £150/200 instead of £250/300.
As a part timer I could spread my work over 4/5 days instead of 2/3.
I'm about 21 hours into after the OP. Pain is virtually non existent lying in bed or sitting still and about 3/10 if I walk but an involuntary cough is very painful.
I'm on two 500 paracetamol/two 200 ibuprofen and 2 x 30mg codeine plus a laxative for the dreaded first poo!
I'm told if everything goes to plan (it has so far) the pain is likely to peak in the next two days as bruising comes out.
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I'm no doctor but my general advice is that, on the day you really feel like you can start working, leave it a while longer.
Vin
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I'm no doctor but my general advice is that, on the day you really feel like you can start working, leave it a while longer.
Vin
Thanks for reinforcing that advice.
The leaflets say 4-6 weeks. The surgeon (after I explained my work told me to go the full six weeks even if I didn't think pole work was heavy lifting he said the leverage at heights might catch me out.)
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I'm no doctor but my general advice is that, on the day you really feel like you can start working, leave it a while longer.
Vin
Thanks for reinforcing that advice.
The leaflets say 4-6 weeks. The surgeon (after I explained my work told me to go the full six weeks even if I didn't think pole work was heavy lifting he said the leverage at heights might catch me out.)
Rope Dan the Man in for any urgent work and let every thing else lay in wait until you are able to get back into it. In fact, most of your 'run of the mill' customers probably won't notice you haven't been around.
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I'm no doctor but my general advice is that, on the day you really feel like you can start working, leave it a while longer.
Vin
Thanks for reinforcing that advice.
The leaflets say 4-6 weeks. The surgeon (after I explained my work told me to go the full six weeks even if I didn't think pole work was heavy lifting he said the leverage at heights might catch me out.)
Rope Dan the Man in for any urgent work and let every thing else ly in wait until you are able to get back into it. In fact, most of your 'run of the mill' customers probably won't notice you haven't been around.
I have done just that! He'll do my cream work and get the full rate for it because I'm so generous. ;D
The rest I have pre warned over the last month that I shall be skipping (4 weekly) and that I might be a week or two late (some 8 weekly) and some won't be affected as I am part time and as you say some won't even notice.
If all goes to plan I aim to do some low level sub 20ft stuff with no stretches at about week 6 or 7 after the op. But I won't spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar and if it's longer I'll let those affected know.
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Looks like you’ve had a great result courtesy of the NHS….wishing you a speedy recovery👍🏻
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Looks like you’ve had a great result courtesy of the NHS….wishing you a speedy recovery👍🏻
I'm gobsmacked. My brother had heart node ablation pretty speedily last month too.
But this experience has been incredible. The surgeon and his team did eight hernias in a row yesterday. I was number 6.
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Nice one mate, worst time for me was first two days after the triple then got better slowly, seem like your doing well, main thing is though dont rush it because you will feel like it and the mesh could pop off and back to square one, good luck
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Wishing you a speedy recovery Malc.
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Update. Now on my fifth day since the OP.
Did a slow walk of about half a mile yesterday evening. Felt twinges after but nothing unexpected.
Stopped Codeine Day 3.
First dump Day 3. No pain. No pushing, mind. ;D
Now a couple of paracetamol and ibuprofen together twice a day.
Compression socks off this lunch time.
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Update at one week.
Ouch. The bruising came out on day 5.
But now walking about a mile a day rather gingerly.
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Had the same one done feb 14 . Did feel I needed full 6 weeks . Local mechanic got done week after went back to work to soon had to go back in . Reversed the op been on med since and will have to get re done when fully recovered . Also I bought an extreme 25 to use as much as possible. That made a real difference . Often use a max 50 left them another month and all good after 3 months
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Had the same one done feb 14 . Did feel I needed full 6 weeks . Local mechanic got done week after went back to work to soon had to go back in . Reversed the op been on med since and will have to get re done when fully recovered . Also I bought an extreme 25 to use as much as possible. That made a real difference . Often use a max 50 left them another month and all good after 3 months
Thanks for the input. Good advice.
How old are you if you don't mind me asking?
I've just today - at 30 days after the OP - cleaned my van and my house (a semi-detached) reachable with my 20ft extreme.
I feel ok but don't want to overdo it. I am planning to do three properties including a bungalow on Thursday which means I'll work steadily and do just over an hour on the glass and about an hour preparing and driving.
If that's ok then I will do the same Friday and next week at nearly six weeks do about 2 hours a day but no higher than my 20ft Xtreme.
My surgeon - when I explained my work - said don't go back full time (5 hours on the glass for me ;D) until 6 weeks and no high reach or awkward stuff for 8.
I have dropped a big commercial which was at 45ft and passed it to my son in law and I have another couple of smaller but higher jobs I shall hand over too.
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I am almost 59 . For me all customers didn’t expect me back . If I done some on an extremely compact round they would all expect me back . Worst problem was we had that real bad storm end of January . So half my run was really dirty for to long
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Well I decided to do three easy houses and a dormer bungalow today as a little starter and all seems good thus far.
Just over a month in and all seems okay. But I shall obey the doc and not go for high or awkward stuff too soon.
Nice to actually be earning again even if it was only £98 in three steady hours.
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Little update as you are all dying to know. ;D
Now two months after the operation and everything feels back to normal. Used my Xtreme at 40ft plus on Monday as surgeon said wait 8 weeks for heavier work.
No ill effects.
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I would have just used the excuse to bin off the awkward high jobs especially at your age
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I would have just used the excuse to bin off the awkward high jobs especially at your age
;D
High jobs. Not awkward. They're gone.
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Thanks for the updates. Really helpful.
I have my pre op assessment on the 14th. Is there a set time after that that the operation will be done?
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Thanks for the updates. Really helpful.
I have my pre op assessment on the 14th. Is there a set time after that that the operation will be done?
I thought it was valid for 3 months, but DIL who works at our local says it's 6 months.
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Cheers for that.
I’m trying to wangle it so that I can get in done in January for obvious reasons.
Is there a way of doing that or is it simply down to it gets done when they say?
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Cheers for that.
I’m trying to wangle it so that I can get in done in January for obvious reasons.
Is there a way of doing that or is it simply down to it gets done when they say?
This is what happened to me. Your mileage might vary.
I had a provisional private date for August 8th. I was to have a pre-op assessment on 4th by video. Criteria was that my BMI couldn't be above 30.
In the meantime an outpatients appointment came up on Saturday 2nd August on the NHS.
At that appointment the surgeon copped a feel and asked about my age and health. (66 and otherwise healthy - BMI about 27 so overweight but not too much)
He said he was doing half a dozen hernia ops on otherwise healthy people 'next Saturday' (9th August) could I make it?
I told him he'd have to pick me up off the floor first but yes please.
He said book your Pre-op for Tuesday 5th with the admin lady on your way out. I did.
I emailed the private clinic cancelling as soon as I got home and the private surgeon himself graciously responded with a thumbs up and good luck on the Sunday morning.
On the Tuesday at the NHS they took bloods, heart trace and weighed me in.
On Saturday 9th I was booked in at 11.00 am.
At about 1pm after gowning up and final checks and literally putting an X on my left upper thigh with an arrow pointing at the hernia site I had the OP.
Under general anaesthetic.
Came to about 2.30/3pm.
Dosed up with painkillers and had to show I could stagger unaided to urinate about 5.30 and after feeling a bit faint ended up being driven home by Mrs. Gold at about 8pm.
Painful getting out of bed or off the sofa day 1 and 2. Less so day 3.
Driving by day 10.
Drove away to Durham for a long weekend doing the bulk of the driving at 3 weeks 5 days.
Didn't work for a full month and then for two days of 2 hours each on bungalows and second floor easy work.
Week 5/6 I did two days of four hours and three days of four hours including breaks on two storey stuff.
Week 7 three 5 hour days including some 3 floor work.
Week 8 back to normal and did my one remaining 4 floor job at 40ft.
Now on week 10 languishing in my caravan.
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Cheers for all that matey. Very detailed. Much appreciated.
In an idea world I can get it done beginning of January which would give me most of winter to recover.
That would be a very good win as I avoid working in the worst of the weather and the customers are less bothered where you are in the winter months than the rest of the year.
Will have to see 🤞
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Cheers for that.
I’m trying to wangle it so that I can get in done in January for obvious reasons.
Is there a way of doing that or is it simply down to it gets done when they say?
I managed to delay my second hip replacement surgery first with a loose tooth and then a steaming cold.
The tooth was an infection risk.
If you manage to get it delayed and you’re unwell in January, like so many people are, it may be put back until the spring.
Just take the date offered. All best plans……….