So today is day 5 in the hospital post op and I’m slowly crawling back life, well enough to make this post.
Last sunday I felt a “slight uncomfortable tightning sensation” in my abdomen, and honestly it was easy enough to ignore. I didnt think much of it.
The next day it got a little worse but honestly still totally manageable. Didnt bother me one bit.
Tueseday, it was the same until the evening… I became suddenly very nauseous with a slight fever and I threw up, once, and honestly almost instantly felt better….. we did call the night doctor and they advised us to take some paracetamol (tylenol for the Americans)and call them back in an hour. an I felt good enough to go back go sleep, fever had settled mostly, they did advise us to call our own family doctor in the morning.
In hindsight all the signals were there, and as I’m typing this out … Reddit.. I know…
The next day I awoke to find my pain mostly gone. I only had a pulling sensation on the right side of my stomach…… I got suspicious at this point and did call our family doctor.
I was asked to come in and she ran an array of tests, some blood tests and some light stretching movements to test for pain, no fever, which I could all do without issue. Supposedly one of the symptoms is pain, I had none. The only saving grace was a slight elevation in my blood’s infection value. She called the surgical doctor at a local hospital who wanted me to come immediatly.
Arriving at the hospital, I was made to wait in the ER while blood tests were being done. They came in shortly and showed a wide array of problematic results. I was lead to do an ultrasound after. A kind technician dr there did a scan and quickly stopped with an “oh”…
“Sir… Your appendix is quite inflamed and you will have to be operated on with a degree of urgency”.
And so it happened. I was brought up to surgery prep and a few hours later they operated on me… The kicker… It had already mostly necrosed!! All kinds of bacteria had leaked into surrounding tissue.
What could have been a quick surgery and a near instant discharge has now become a (already) 5 day recovery (and counting) with horse dosages of antibiotics.
In the last days I havent slept at all. Had near constant 39C (102F) fever and overal really did not like life.
I’m a little better, fever now has set down to 38C (100F).
I feel so sick from all the antibiotics, I miss my wife, I miss my baby, I miss my bed.
Man… If only I knew… I mean it really didnt hurt all that much… I might be in here for few more days and there’s a fair chance I’m developing some additional complications… FML.. well at least I’m alive.
If you read this… Please don’t be like me… Do better.
TLDR; ignored all the tell-tale signs of appendicitus… Went in when it was too late and now I have to dosed with endless antbiotics and feel crap for weeks
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I’m with you. Recently had my gallbladder self destruct. I can’t really blame myself though because I didn’t feel anything until it was actually past the point of no return, had I felt something I probably would have seeked help before I did.
Nah I am fully convinced appendixes are just out for blood. They go bad so quickly and everyone I know with an appendix problem felt little to no pain until it was an emergency. Ain’t nobody got the time or money to pop into the doctor’s office for every stomach pain that is probably gas with a 1/100 chance of being something more serious.
Sorry you’re stuck in the shitty liminal recovery land, hope you get back on your feet soon!
>”Sir… Your appendix is quite inflamed and you will have to be operated on with a degree of urgency”.
I read that in a very proper English accent with a calm tone and could not stop laughing. I imagine that not much urgency was conveyed in the way it was said.
But I’m glad you’re starting to improve and I hope you don’t have any more complications. Get better soon, OP.
>Sir… Your appendix is quite inflamed and you will have to be operated on with a degree of urgency
Do all doctors talk like this in your country?
Mine actually burst. I thought I just pulled a muscle. No fever or anything like you, but when they finally did a CT Scan I got sent directly to the ER. Drove myself there, walked in, said “Hello, my appendix burst.”
Happens. 🙂
I haven’t heard about it recently, but my country used to have a lot of cases of people calling the semi-urgent emergency/night doctor for serious cases like this, only to be told to take 2 paracetamols.
I had a very similar experience: felt “off” but not deathly sick, a belly ache, a little vomiting/diarrhea, lack of appetite, totally manageable. After 36 hours with no food, the stomach ache mostly went away and I was actually convincing myself I should have some chicken broth in the morning. I rolled over to take a drink and my stomach exploded. I felt like I had been stabbed in something vital. I was at the other end of the house from my husband so tried calling him but I was in so much pain, it was a croak. So I called my dog instead, who started to bark and woke up my husband. He took one look at me and starting dressing to take me to the hospital.
On the way there, the pain eased up a little but I figured the pain pill I had taken was starting to work. In reality, this is probably when the appendix ruptured.
It never occurred to me any of this was appendix as the pain was much higher in my belly.
It took several hours to get into surgery. The scan did not indicate it had already ruptured, so they attempted to do it through the belly button first. Ended up with a giant scar and, eventually, a massive hernia. Still better than dying of sepsis.
The amount of times I thought I had appendicitis but was just period cramps… This scares me lol. When I get sick or infections I’m like you no real concerning symptoms till I’m near death.
I was like you. But in my case, doctors sent me home after an ultrasound because they could not find anything wrong. Two weeks later, I ended up in emergency surgery. Sometimes, appendicitis does not have classic symptoms. My pain was under my ribcage, and a kind cab driver saved my life.
My FIL was going out to a birthday lunch. He had mild pain. My MIL insisted on urgent care prior to the birthday meal.
Emergency surgery and it burst right as they were removing it, showering his insides. The resulting need to clean up the mess is why he was in the hospital for a few days.
For years he would say “All I got for my birthday was a lousy appendectomy.”
this is what happened to my fiancé, he had to be in the hospital for 2 weeks and had a picc line for like a month after with antibiotics twice a day. good luck on your recovery!
My husband walked around for a week with a ruptured appendix.
He took a physical training test (he was in the military at the time) on a Friday morning and threw up that night and had abdominal pain. I took him to the ER on Sunday night as he was not improving and the PA on duty thought it might be gastritis and treated him for that. He was told to follow up with his regular doctor the next day. He went to sick call every day and they could not figure out the issue and just keep putting him on quarters for 24 hours. The Friday after his symptoms started, I was at work 65 miles away. He called me and told me he had started running a 102° fever. I hauled butt home and took him back to the ER. This time, actual medical doctors examined him. They thought it was his gallbladder as the pain was below his ribs on the right side. A CT scan confirmed it was actually his appendix and they took him up for surgery. The surgeon later told us it looked like a bomb had gone off in there and he estimated that it had ruptured the week prior. The only thing that saved him is that the rupture blew upward and walled itself off. The fever was when the infection finally started making its way out.
He lost 25 pounds in a week and does not recommend the appendicitis diet.
Similar experience. I felt off and kind of sick, and had some cramping discomfort that I attributed to my period/endometriosis so I just dealt with it with Tylenol and heat pads. It finally got so bad I did go to the ER (where they didn’t do any sort of ultrasound or physical exam at all) but told me I had a UTI (I didn’t).
Nope, exploded appendix that had caused an ovarian torsion and I was going septic from necrotic tissue. Spent seven days recovering in the hospital.
I knew of a kid who died in his sleep from appendicitis. One of those things that can go from 0-100 very quickly. Glad you caught it when you did, OP.
I had an on-off pinching feeling for three weeks, never long enough to feel the need to see the doctor. Granted, I was 17 and stupid. It didn’t feel great, but it was manageable. Then, one day, it was no longer manageable. My mom took me to the doctor, who pretty promptly sent me to the ER. From the time I got to the hospital to the OR, it was under three hours. I was absolutely terrified because the day before, I had watched something on TV about the statistics of dying from anesthesia. I was positive I was going to be in that statistic.
My appendicitis story.
On a Wed I had pain around my navel area and assumed it was constipation. I was still going regularly so I wondered if it was just some bowel irritation. It turned into a constant dull ache by Thurs. By Fri it had migrated from the center of my lower abdomen to my right side. I know enough about anatomy to know this is bad.
My brother, who is a doctor, once said “Never ignore abdominal pain”. I called my doctor who got me in that day. As part of his exam he did a finger push test where you quickly shove your fingers into that spot, let them sit until the pain goes away, then quickly withdraw them. The “rebound test”. I looked it up and it is interesting, the test highlights the irritated tissues around the appendix. They complain when they move on the push in and out.
He sent me in for a CAT scan asap. I got a contrast dye scan. The radiologist came out and said “You’re going in for surgery immediately. If you’d waited another day it likely would’ve ruptured.” Even my doctor checked on me at 7pm on a Friday to see how it was going.
I ended up going into surgery at midnight. First surgery ever. It was laparoscopic so minimally invasive. I walked right out the next day. The next day I also found out about the wonders of Dilaudid. Wooo boy.
The reason the pain started in the center and went to the right was because the nerve that feeds that appendix area goes to the spine at that center point and starts complaining at the spinal junction.
BTW, from what I read if you wait until it ruptures they may have to slice your belly open from crotch to ribs and pull your organs out to wash them in an antibiotic rinse to prevent deadly peritonitis. There is a danger of the intestines getting blocked when returning them due to twisting.
Your body probably just temporarily relieved some pressure, giving you false hope. That’s the scariest part of this whole story, honestly. It’s why healthcare professionals always tell you to get weird abdominal pain checked out, even if it subsides. It can mean things just got way worse internally.
Can confirm. 7:30 pm Tuesday night, pain started. Being a woman, thought “ugh, cramps”, took painkillers and went home. Noon Tuesday, at the docs as the pain was worse. Cyst on the ovary maybe? Worth checking out.
Nope.
By 2 pm in emergency surgery with a surgeon lecturing me for waiting so long that my appendix had nearly ruptured and was so borderline they had to do a full incision, rather than lapro. 25 years little, still have a noticeable 5 inch scar on my abdomen.
The appendix is a stealth time bomb with a sole purpose to assassinate you.
Glad you’re okay, hope you recover quickly.
You are lucky you didn’t die.
My appendicitis also presented as basically just a nuisance. Then it turned into what felt like bad heart burn, but it just didn’t go away. I went to the ER eventually but got sent home and told to come back in the morning if it was still the same. It was, so they did an ultrasound and yep, needed surgery.
I remember walking into the OR and I actually asked “are you really sure I need surgery, it just doesn’t seem painful enough to need surgery?”
And same story, the surgeon told me it was one of the most infected appendixes he’d ever seen and could have burst at any moment. It ended up being an open surgery instead of laparoscopic.
It was not fun! Heal quick!
Mine went on for 6 days. Monday, I started having abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. We were military at a very small station in Italy, not even a full base, so all we had was a nurse and a PA. (?) Nearest real doctors who spoke English were probably 4 hours away in Naples. The PA told me to quit bothering him for a simple bellyache. Tuesday, it was worse. He told me to quit pretending to be sick to get sympathy. This went on for the rest of the week. Friday, he finally admitted that maybe I had appendicitis and arranged for me to go to the local Italian ER. They admitted me and scheduled me for surgery Saturday morning.
My appendix burst when they touched it. I spent 10 days in the hospital on heavy-duty IV antibiotics, with a 7-inch scar on my belly where they opened me up to clean out my abdominal cavity. I was told years later by the surgeon who did my tubal ligation that I had a belly full of adhesions from it.
But worse, my baby was 5 months old and entirely breastfed. She refused to take a bottle. (Pediatricians in the late 1970s-early 1980s were still recommending that you give the baby water.) Remember the IV antibiotics? I could express enough milk to keep lactation going, but I couldn’t send it home for my baby.
My husband didn’t tell me for years that my appendix had actually burst. And it was years after that before he told me that during those 10 days, he and our landlady got the baby to take 3 bottles. Not 3 a day. 3 total.
Appendicitis was the worst pain I ever felt. Like you, ignored it the first day. The second day I was crawling on the ground, puking up anything that I ate or drank and just straight stomach acid/bile. I called my mom to take me to the ER, and I laid in the snow because the cold helped me not think of the pain. Thankfully it didn’t burst or start leaking, but it was close they said. I was out the next day. I’d have gone home the same day, but it took the satellite ER 5 hours to transport me to the main campus. They refused to let my mom drive me, and I had to wait for a medical transport. Never have I been so thirsty in my life when I woke up from surgery. 12+ hours of no food or water wasn’t fun.