Sunday morning 3 am, I was awakened by a bad case of the runs and stomach cramps. Nothing I haven't had before so I thought it was no big deal. Went back to bed and woke up again, same thing but the pain was moving from around my belly button to my right side. Then I started throwing up. Thought maybe I had food poisoning so I drank some water to stay hydrated and went back to sleep. Woke up later that morning with the chills and the pain in my side had intensified. Wife took my temperature and it was around 100. Asked me if I was hungry (had been about 12 hours since I had eaten last). I wasn't hungry which was a little unusual for that stretch of time. Wife looked on the internet and the signs were all pointing to appendicitis. She took me to the emergency room. We waited in the waiting room for about 3 hours before they took us back. They had me drink a lemon drink over the course of 90 minutes. Then I had to wait another 90 minutes before the scan. They scanned me and confirmed the appendicitis. They admitted me to the hospital at 1:00 am and scheduled my surgery for 7:30 am Monday morning. Woke up with three incisions in my belly (including one on my belly button). They said it was routine since I caught it early but if I waited and it burst it would have been really bad. Don't wait if this happens to you!
3 incisions? Why 3? I only had one. I don't remember all the details of mine, since i was 8 when it was removed. But I do remember intense stomach pains. The coolest part was that they put my appendix in a little jar with formaldehyde and let me have it. Took it to every show and tell I can remember.
I had this about a year and a half ago. I couldn't really tell the pain was on my right side until I was poked. The pain really started up near my stomach and sort of moved up and down, so I thought it was just constipation as well, but when I was poked it hurt a lot more on the right side. Nonetheless, the ER still did a CT scan (had to drink that contrast fluid as well) to confirm. The surgeon, however, said it was a complete waste of time and money to do that CT scan as the symptoms were quite obvious indicators of appendicitis. But yeah, once that sucker ruptures, you can be in serious danger (intestinal fluids are not good leaking out). I think they always tell you "it was close," though. I had mine removed laproscopically. 3 tiny scars instead of 1 large one and quicker recovery.
Glad they caught it in time. My wife's burst when she was 10 years old. She was still living in Zimbabwe at the time and is damn lucky to be alive. She has that scar, a hernia surgery scar, and an emergency C-section scar on her stomach.
For your reading pleasure: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appendicitis#Laparoscopic_surgery Laparoscopic surgery reduces recovery time and the size of the scars. Two of them aren't really noticable because one is near the belly-button and another is lively covered by your underwear or pants. The one on the size is the most visible when your shirt is off, but it's quite small. The old-style surgeries have rather large scars in that location, but only one. Still, recovery time is longer.
glad you didnt do what I did with my gall bladder and sat thru the pain for multiple days on end. I have three scars from when they pulled what was left of my gall bladder, that seems to be a common number for surgery in the abdomen these days. Under my long chest cut, I have three small ones from this most recent thing. anyway Mulder, glad you are doing well. I can totally relate bro.
My wife was diagnosed with having a ruptured appendix several weeks ago after having severe stomach pains. Instead of immediately removing the appendix, the doctors inserted a PICC line in her arm, and she was placed on IV antibiotics for a few weeks. She's is now on oral antibiotics and is scheduled for surgery next week.
huh...I got mine old school. It's about a 2 inch scar but is covered by the underwear line. Mine healed very well but I have seen some other's that werent so fortunate
CT scans?!?! You know what they did to me when I was suspected with an appendicitis?! Finger f-ed my a-hole! That's right, they stuck it up there and felt around! Is that normal? Or should I be making a call to Dateline for a potential story?
Hmm, I don't think you can feel the appendix through the rectum... maybe they were making sure it wasn't your prostate? I got a probe in my butt and had my lower intestines filled with contrast fluid, if that makes you feel any better.
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That's normal. I have a friend who is a doctor and he said that it actually should be done more often as it's cheap, quick and useful but many doctors don't want to or they think it's too embarrassing to the patient. When I had my appendectomy done, I had a maybe a 23 year old, shy but hot blonde - fresh from med school - doing the rectal stuff to me. I can't tell which one of us was more embarrassed, me or her.
"Most excellent. Subject believes implanted appendectomy memory. Commence phase two with abdominal transponder and fart plasma amplifier!" (PS -- glad you caught it and that you're okay. 3hrs, not glad about that, but it's kind of standard.)
3 scars = 1 hole for the camera, 2 holes for instruments to be placed within the abdomen to perform the surgery. As for the ER doing a CT scan and "wasting" money; I don't know any surgeons in practice today who would operate on a suspected appendicitis without CT confirmation. So for your surgeon to talk all big about how it was a waste of time/money, its bs, no one (maybe only an old school surgeon who trained before CT scans were readily available might) operates w/o CT scans these days.
