As I went to bed one night last week, I thought I had had a good day. It was my 3 year olds first day of preschool, I took lots of photos, had a good cry, heard all her news that evening, took a great power-walk, had a glass of wine and hit the hay.
At 4am I woke up feeling strange, as if I had a tummy bug. Five hours later I was still up, but in really bad shape and beginning to feel like this was no flu.
The doctors office told my husband that the pain in my abdomen should go away for a while, every time I threw up. It didn't. It felt like I was impaled on a sword. I couldn't walk properly and could keep nothing down - or in. They told him to get me to the ER. I was almost embarrassed, despite the pain. Didn't the doctors there have more important things to do than deal with a tummy bug, albeit a bad one? My doctor's office again told my husband to get me in and I did feel, deep down, that this might just be something else.
By the time my husband and three scared toddlers got me to the ER I was very dehydrated, with a BP of 70/50 and vomiting constantly with nothing coming up.
About 11 hours later I was in surgery with a ruptured appendix and thinking "how on EARTH did this happen?" And "how could something the size of a worm, with no definite purpose, cause so much pain and even death, if a rupture is not given medical attention?" You'll find lots of answers at the end of this story.
I had many, many tests. I was given a pregnancy test, in case of an ectopic pregnancy despite promising them I could not get pregnant due to my husband's surgery a couple of years ago.
"But did he get his count done afterwards?" the nurse asked.
"Yes!" I said. "And it's zero!"
The doctor gave the nurse a look (yep, I saw it, despite my pain)and they took a test anyway! I had to laugh, really. Maybe they thought that between running a busy home and having small kids and a busy work schedule, they thought I had time for extra-curricular 'activity'. I didn't take it personally. Aren't all of us women supposed to be fantastic multi-taskers? Hey, maybe I can have it all - boyfriend too!
After my negative pregnancy test (thank you, Dr. Doubtful) I had blood tests, urine tests, a pelvic exam, an ultrasound and finally a CT-scan. Morphine wasn't working at all so they put me on other painkillers. The pain is very hard to explain, I had experienced nothing like it before.
The CT-scan showed the issue to be my appendix which I had pretty much figured out at this stage, especially as my general abdominal pain had localized strongly to the right side. The cat scan also showed fluid gathering and a rupture beginning. I developed a fever right before surgery, further sign of an impending rupture.
Emergency surgery well went, I was put under general anesthesia and the rupture happened during surgery. I was lucky to have had laprascopic surgery, despite the rupture, (done via my belly button with two other small incisions in my abdomen) as opposed to a tradition appendectomy where a large incision is made.
Two days later I was home and am now ok, despite pain (in my left side, more than my right side, strangely enough) and progress is good. My belly is not as distended as when I left (be prepared for rapid weight gain and a rather huge belly because doctors literally fill your abdomen with air before surgery). I have now lost the 8 pounds of fluid I gained (gained in three days!) and my gut size is not as Frankenstein-ish as it was over the weekend. I've worked hard for that flat tummy - I want it back! I will be on antibiotics for some time.
Here is my advice from this experience - TRUST YOUR GUT. Literally, and figuratively in this case. While the appendix has been somewhat connected to helping our digestive system, we don't need it. And a rupture is nothing to joke around with. If pain is constant after vomiting, call a doctor or get to the ER.
Like many others, I am one who feels like she might be wasting doctors time and I'd rather stay in bed for a day and call it even. But severe pain is your friend. It's there for a reason - don't ignore it. My instincts told me to get to a hospital (my first time ever in the ER, as an adult) so listen to what your body is telling you. If it feels wrong, it probably is. If it feels serious, it probably is, too.
That's my preaching over -
Here is a little information on the appendix, and more importantly, appendicitis, courtesy of the University of Michigan Hospitals Systems -
"Appendicitis is one of the causes of serious belly pain. It happens when the appendix , a part of the large intestine, becomes infected and inflamed.
Experts do not know what the appendix does in the body, but most of the time it does not cause problems.
About 8 out of 100 people will get appendicitis sometime during their lives. It is most common in people ages 10 to 30, but it can happen at any age.
What causes appendicitis?
It is not clear why people get appendicitis. Infection in the appendix causes appendicitis. But doctors and scientists are not sure what causes the infection. In many cases, a small object (such as a hard piece of stool) blocks the opening to the appendix. Then bacteria can grow in the appendix and cause an infection.
What are the symptoms?
The main symptom of appendicitis is belly pain. Many people feel the first pain near the belly button. Then it moves to the lower right side of the belly. But the pain can be in different parts of your belly or even on your side or back. The pain may get worse if you move, walk, or cough. You may also have a fever or feel sick to your stomach.
Sometimes the only symptom is a general feeling of not being well and a pain that is hard to describe. The pain in your belly may be different than any pain you have had before. It may be severe. Or it may not seem like a very strong pain, but you may have the feeling that something is wrong. Trust your instincts.
Because the diagnosis is not always easy to make, it is very important to see a doctor as soon as possible if you have symptoms.
In some cases, appendicitis does not cause any symptoms except for belly pain. If you have moderate belly pain that does not go away after 4 hours, call your doctor. If you have severe belly pain, call your doctor right away.
How is appendicitis diagnosed?
Your doctor will ask you questions about what symptoms you have, when they started, and what was happening before the pain began. Your doctor will press on your belly to see where the pain is. He or she will take your temperature to see if you have a fever, which is a sign of infection. You also may have blood tests to look for signs of infection.
Your doctor may not be sure whether you have appendicitis. You may need other tests, such as a CT scan or an ultrasound of your belly.
Sometimes tests can't show for certain that you have appendicitis, but your doctor may strongly suspect that you do because of your symptoms. In this case, your doctor probably will recommend you have surgery to have your appendix taken out. Most of the time, the doctor is right and the appendix is infected. During surgery your doctor may find that your appendix is normal and something else caused your pain. Your doctor will go ahead and remove your appendix. You can live just fine without it, and taking it out gets rid of any chance that it could cause problems later.
How is it treated?
The only treatment for appendicitis is surgery to remove your appendix (appendectomy). If you have appendicitis and do not have surgery in time, your appendix can burst. A burst appendix can cause serious problems. It’s best to remove the appendix before it bursts.
There are different types of surgery for appendicitis. Your surgeon may operate through a large cut (incision) in your belly or use a tool called a laparoscope to remove your appendix through a few smaller incisions. Either way, you may take antibiotics before your surgery, after your surgery, or both. There are advantages and disadvantages to each type of surgery. Talk with your surgeon about which type is best for you.
If your appendix does burst, you will need antibiotics. Surgery to remove a burst appendix may be more complicated.
Symptoms
The main symptom of appendicitis is belly (abdominal) pain. The pain can feel like indigestion or like you need to have a bowel movement or pass gas. Many people feel the first pain near the belly button. Then it moves to the lower right side of the belly. But the pain can be in different parts of your belly or even on your side. The pain may get worse if you move, walk, or cough. You may also have a fever or feel sick to your stomach.
Many people who have had appendicitis say the pain is hard to describe. It may not feel like any pain you have had before. It may not even be a very bad pain, but you may feel like something is wrong. If you have moderate belly pain that does not go away after 4 hours, call your doctor. If you have severe belly pain, call your doctor right away.
You may have appendicitis if:
You have pain in your belly. The pain may begin around your belly button.
The pain in your belly gets stronger and moves below your belly button on your right side (the lower right quadrant ). This is the most common place to feel pain when you have appendicitis.
The pain does not go away and gets worse when you move, walk, or cough.
You have pain in any part of your belly or on your side.
You feel nauseated or throw up a few times. You also may not feel like eating.
You have constipation, back pain, a slight fever, or a swollen abdomen.
Some people do not have the symptoms listed above. Older people, children younger than 2 years, and pregnant women may not have pain in the lower right part of the belly. Other people feel pain in their side because their appendix is in a different position than normal.
Pain in the abdomen is very common.
There are also many conditions with symptoms similar to appendicitis. But because appendicitis can become serious in a short amount of time, call your doctor right away if you have any of the symptoms listed above. Treatment is much easier if the appendix has not ruptured. In most people, the appendix does not rupture until they have felt sick for at least 24 hours.
Exams and Tests
Appendicitis is diagnosed with a medical history, physical examination, lab tests, and sometimes imaging tests. Appendicitis can be difficult to diagnose, especially in children, pregnant women, and older people.
Medical history
The doctor will ask you questions about your symptoms, including the order in which your symptoms appeared and what was happening before the pain began.
Physical exam
The doctor will push on different parts of your belly to see where the pain is. The doctor will probably focus on the lower right quadrant , where most people feel pain when they have appendicitis.
The doctor may insert a gloved finger into your anus (digital rectal exam) to help identify the cause of your pain. Women may have a pelvic exam to help rule out other problems."
http://health.med.umich.edu/healthcontent.cfm?xyzpdqabc=0&id=6&action=de...
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Did you (or someone you know) have you appendix removed? Did you have a rupture? I'd love to hear other experiences!
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Add a Comment24 Comments
I had all the symptoms. But nothing was wrong when I went to the emergency room. They did tests and gave me pain medication and said I had flank pain. I went on my way and took the meds. 3 days later I have the same pain only this time it moved a bit to the side and part of my stomach.and it was intense. I was chilled and sweating throwing up low grade fever.I thought maybe they were right considering I am an stna and the work we do involves a lot of lifting . I couldn't stand the pain any longer it had radiated to damn near my whole right side.
March 28, 2015 - 5:00pmI had gone back to the same emergency room and said "I am not leaving here until you find out what is wrong"
The emergency doctor ran very test and did a cat scan
Came back and asked me what medication I was allergic to,I said "penicillin why?" He said well u have appendicitis. Taa daaa I just wanted to hug him I smiled and cried but said thank u a bunch of times. I was off 2 he's later for surgery. Now the reason why i was not diagnosed with it the first time I went in was because it was not as inflamed to make an appearance. Never felt better just a little sore . take pain meds as subscribed if u don't need them don't rely on them. Keep an Ice pack on ur abdomen and drink lots of water.
Walk like they say and do your breathing exercises. Good luck
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My pain started 3 weeks ago. I was in pe. I wasn't participating due to shoulder injury. It started by my bellybuttn for that whole week I cried myself to slep due to the pain. Then when I had my exam Iacted myself so that no one would get how sore I was and how it was getting worse. I couldn't concentrate properly during the exams,couldn't study and couldn't sleep. My parents a work shift work so they never got how sore I was I cried a lot and punched stuff to let go of the pains I got a lot of migraines and my stomach down the far right - low right got sore very sore and is getting worse and my nan watched meyesterday how slow I was walking for someone with long legs and today I ran across town to catch a bus but when I got there Ifelt like fainting and now I keep biting on my pillow and I'm still crying its killing me.
February 22, 2015 - 5:57pmThis Comment
I stumbled upon here while googling weight gain after appendix surgery. You see my 22 year old daughter had the surgery when she was 15 years old. Like they others said, I thought she had a virus or even strep throat( which also has vomiting as a symptom , believe it or not.). She also had pain in the belly area which eventual went the right side. Anyway, I took her to the doctor and after taking the test for strep throat (negative ), he thought she had a virus. Took her home, slowly gave her fluids, and she threw up throughout the day. Finally that evening , I feared she was getting dehydrated (mother's intuition) called the doctor and he told me to take her to the hospital. After her drinking that chalky fluid and iv, she got a CT scan that shown that she had appendicitis but it didn't burst. She had the surgery in the middle of the night. I felt so bad for her because she also had her period at the same time. Anyway, I saw her doctor while I was in the hospital lobby and he felt so bad that he misdiagnosed her. She made a full recovery and she only missed two days of school (This happened during spring break ) but didn't participate in gym for 2 weeks. Before the operation, she was very skinny. After the operation, she gained weight to the point of being 20 lbs overweight which is no good since her dad has high blood pressure which runs in his family. She can't lose the weight either. If anybody knows of any websites regarding appendix operation and weight gain, please let me know.
November 9, 2014 - 5:29amThis Comment
Doesn't matter what general research says- each case is different.
April 18, 2015 - 10:29amI know my body, my diet, etc.
No other changes in my lifestyle or hormones- and have gained weight consistently for 4 months post-appendectomy.
From 113 to 123 and counting. Pants tighter every day.
This Comment
Hi, thank you so much for sharing your story.
My boyfriend has been unwell for a week today it started with stomach cramps and Vommiting
He went to a&e and they took blood and an X-ray
Said he had a lot of built up poop gave him a laxative and sent him home
He has gotten no better that was 4 days ago. Pain in the right above hip and in the top left under ribs.
He is overweight and I heard overweight people don't get 100% typical appendicitis signs.
Just sharing a short version of this in the hopes someone knows what's wrong as I am very worried.
Thank you
March 10, 2013 - 5:16amThis Comment
you should know if you have an inflammend/rupured apeendix if you have
January 24, 2012 - 6:59am1. pain in the lower right stomach
2. inappialty to realease gas
3. nausea
4. vomiting
5 fever (from 99 to 102)
6.loss of appitiete (not eating as much as normal)
if you have two or more of these symtoms go to the ER or doctors immediatly.
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Well i was very very sick to my stomach and i then woke up will a bad pain in my lower stomach. And it hurt when i walked. So i went to the hospitol and they gave me morphin and it did not help. gave me a ct scan and they said they couldnt find my appendix. but then he said that, that does not mean it is not. Well then someone tell me this when will they decide if it is. Im lost.
November 8, 2010 - 12:30pmThis Comment
what the doctor is saying that on the CT scan your appendix showed up. then didnt show saying your fine. if you are still experienceting the pain. go to the ER IMMEDIATLY. this means the miss read the CT and need to cheak you again.
January 24, 2012 - 7:03amThis Comment
Anon - Are you sure they said they could not find the appendix? Perhaps they said they did not see signs of inflammation. If you are still worried you may want to ask for copies of your records to clarify exactly what was said and what was found in the CT scan. You could then follow up with your regular doctor. Good luck to you.
November 8, 2010 - 5:30pmThis Comment
I am 15 now, but when i was 13 i had appendicitis. My experiance is quite similar to yours. I wasnt feeling well when i came home from school on a friday and started vomiting uncontrolably, I thought that i had gotten food poisoning from the school lunch. I surley could not keep any food or drink in my stomach for the next three days! Since i could not stop throwing up my parents took me to an emergency medical center where I got a shot to stop the vomiting and i also got bloodwork done. The results came back the next day and it said my white count was up more than usual, but for some reason the doctor nor my parents thought any thing of it. ( this all happened over three days friday, Saturday, and Sunday). Come Monday i went back to school and was walking extremely slow and hunched over, like an old crippled woman, and i began a fever around 101.2. So after school that day, my mom took me to the doctor and she said " your stomach is only hurting because you were throwing up so much the past weekend. It will go away soon, your muscles are just sore." I didnt eat anything at all. Tuesday i was forced to go to school once again, i just endures the pain of moving aroung school all day and went home.(nothing significant happened). Then on wednesday i was in my health class, my teacher gave us a free day, so all of my classmates were walking outside or drawing on the board. But i was sitting in the back of the class in a desk, with my head down. I was already wearing one jacket but i kept feeling so cold, so i then borrowed one of my friends jackets and put that on aswell. I was still freezing ( no exageration) and i remember that i kept thinking to myself " why is it so so cold in here?!!" About 5 minutes later i was shaking and shivering uncontrolably, no matter how tightley i clenched my body i couldnt stop shivering. I then asked my teacher to go to the office and i called home. My mom picked me up early and took me to the doctor once again and i specifically pointed out that the rightside of my abdomen was still hurting. She thought nothing of it and told my mom that she was being a " worry wart". I went back to school again on thursday and stayed the full day and when i came home my mom checked my temperature 102.5 ( still the same fever, i had been running one the entire week!) She finally had enough, she looked up my symptoms on the internet and thought i might have appendicitis, my father then dorve me to the emergency room ( at 11:30 at night). there they asked me continually " are you pregnant?!" i said no. " are you sure?!". The doctors decided to give me a cat scan . Usually this can be done right away they just have to inject iodine into the IV , but with just my luck, im alergic to iodine. so i spent four hours drinking this disguting white paste , i couldnt hold it down and started throwing it up everywhere. the cat scan technician came in and asked why i was taking so long and i told him. he said he would try and see if i had enough in me for the scan to work, and it did. I had a hole or something in my appendix. ( it was now friday morning around 3 or 4 the ambulence picked me up and took me to another hospital for sergery. On the ride there it was very bumpy so the nurse riding with me kept asking if my stomach was hurting , i said no. she said that most kids with appendicitis stomach's usualy hurt on the ambulence ride. But my pain was gone ( it wasnt hurting because i had ruptured already) i didnt know. After i got out of surgery the doctor had informed me that when she went in, my appendix had already burst. ( this was still friday) I was supposed to get out on monday but things took a turn for the worst. When i got the x-ray to make sure everything was back to normal, it wasnt, my intestines stop working and the infection was spreading to the rest of my organs. so three days later ( tuesday) i went in for another surgery. The doctors took out all of my organs and cleaned them. i now had a 14 inch scar. I was then in the hospital for three - four weeks for recovery time.
November 16, 2009 - 3:55pmThis Comment