NHS appendicitis nightmare

I had appendicitis about 7 years ago. It was treated with IV antibiotics while I waited for removal. In the end they decided not to remove it as the antibiotics seemed to do the job. I had one incident a few months later where it seemed like it was grumbling again but nothing since.

They didn’t allow me to eat for several days though (I think at least 48 hours) until my husband complained and I was allowed a yoghurt.

Ah just seen your update! So glad it is now sorted.

Best wishes to your DH for a speedy recovery

OP, is he being regularly monitored so they will pick it up if it ruptures? Hopefully he is on a surgical ward and this will happen.

I had appendicitis at age 40.

Admitted through A&E with severe abdominal pain and blood tests showed elevated infection markers. Then had an ultrasound which was supposed to be of appendix and gallbladder to confirm the source of the pain. They found some small gallstones then forgot to scan the appendix. We're supposed to repeat the scan to look at the appendix but this never got booked in. As they didn't have a diagnosis they moved me off the surgical ward onto the geriatric ward (!). They left me there for a week suffering recurring bouts of excruciating pain for which they repeatedly pumped me full of morphine. Unfortunately the prescribed dose didn't touch the pain. I recall one incident where my DH and DD came on the ward to visit me just in time to hear the doctor by my bedside shouting down the phone "I've given her the maximum dose of morphine. It's not working and I don't know what to do!"

Finally after a week the consultant in charge of my case turned up to review me. Gave the registrars a tongue lashing and put me straight on the list for surgery that day.

I then waited for three days on nil by mouth, two of those being without IV fluids as my cannula fell out and no one had time to replace it.

When they finally got me into theatre my appendix burst during the operation. Amazing it had not happened sooner as they had left me 10 days after being admitted with acute symptoms. So that was an extra three days of post surgical stay on the ward on IV antibiotics.

I finally got out of the hospital two weeks after being admitted, a stone lighter due to being denied food for 3 days and very weak. It's amazing I came out at all.

OP, you need to start raising merry hell with PALS. This is an emergency and he needs that operation now. The appendix could burst at any time.

So glad he's all right now @Nolongerokay

Glad to hear he's been seen.

I remember after mine, (which the surgeon described to his students as a 'very nasty appendix op' no keyhole for me I have a 4 inch scar down my front) feeling absolutely stuffed with eating an apple.

It's weird how quickly your stomach shrinks, after a week of little food. I was absolutely stuffed after that apple 🍎!

This happened to me about three years ago. I did pretend it wasn't happening for too long in retrospect, and was very ill by the time I was admitted (although not in much pain interestingly). I was lucky that the hospital was trialling a new protocol and has a CT scanner actually in A&E, so the cause was spotted quickly and I was operated on very early the following day after presenting at A&E early evening.

I had peritonitis and was in for just over a week in the end. Horrible. But as others have said he's in the right place now, and I hope he's dealt with today. I didn't eat at all for about 5 days in total, pre and post op. That element will be fine as it can be managed in hospital. I had no appetite whatsoever. Not in the least bit hungry. Very strange.

Happened to me, admitted and they couldn’t decide if I had appendicitis or an infection to begin with. Turns out it was partial ruptured appendicitis. I think admitted on the Monday prepped for surgery Wednesday but it didn’t happen till Saturday, every day it was nil by mouth then luckily by 6pm in was allowed to eat then nil my mouth after midnight.

As it had start to rupture I had a drain fitted after surgery so had to stay in a bit longer. Loads of antibiotics for weeks after and all good.

@return2sender yes that's what mine feels like, I think it's grumbling as just like a niggling pain that comes and goes but hasn't got any worse 🤞🏼 but don't want it to get to the point that it does

When somebody is given a general anaesthetic there is a risk that their stomach contacts will come back up their food pipe and them go in to their lungs. If the lungs are flooded with vomit this can cause infection and death.
If immediate surgery is required to save a life this is considered a risk worth taking.
For anything else, they fast.

I had this in my 40s a few years ago. Mine had ruptured so I was on an antibiotic drip waiting for surgery. Despite the urgency, I still had to wait 24 hours for surgery - and they eventually did do it in the middle of the night, so did their very best to keep me from waiting.
It was all awful and recovery was awful but I was fine after a few months.
I sipped water while waiting, they told me that was fine, last thing I wanted to do was eat though! I lost almost 2 stone in 2 weeks.

We have 1 emergency theatre in my hospital which runs 24 hours a day.

If you're lucky, you come in unwell and there's only one or two people above you on rhe list so you're operated on within a few hours. Recently I've known the list be as long as 10 people.

If anyone who is more emergent comes in you drop down. If there's any change in medical condition the nurses update the surgeons who reprioritise if they need to.

At night there's 1 reg and 1 junior operating and another junior on the wards.if there's anything urgent they have to stop to attend to that.

It's not a brilliant system but it's currently the best we've got.

He’s being monitored and hopefully surgery will happen today.

Unfortunately, emergency surgery will always take precedent.

NHS have no staff that’s the problem.

Skilled surgeons, drs and OPD’s can only do so much in a shift. It’s not right that your husband has had to wait so long but it is just the way it is.

Hi I was 6 months. It had been grumbling throughout my pregnancy but hadn't realised it was appendicitis at the time, it would come periodically and felt like trapped wind. This was until the pain stayed and I couldn't take it anymore.

I had an MRI scan instead of a CT due to the radiation risk.

Hope you are feeling better soon x

He probably won’t want to eat straight after his surgery anyway so having the surgery won’t necessarily cure the no food issue.

Hi OP - I had a “grumbling appendix” for several years before my appendix were actually removed when I was 40. You can have appendicitis multiple times before it needs surgery, three times antibiotics prevented the need for surgery for me. It’s not well known but is how it’s usually handled now. They prep you for surgery but antibiotics often solve the immediate need so the NHS can prioritise more urgent patients (though I know it feels very very urgent to your DH).

4th time I had appendicitis my appendix was finally removed, largely because I wasn’t in the UK when it happened.

Try to keep calm. To reassure you my first bout I spent ten days in pain but they never burst. Hope it’s okay - send DH my sympathy!!

Not in adulthood but I had to have my appendix out as a child and it transpired that it had ruptured. It was gangrene apparently. I'm still alive! It was INCREDIBLY painful though. But the recovery from the op was quick, I remember maybe a week after running around with friends.
Hope he gets seen soon.

@return2sender can I ask how far along you were when you had appendicitis? I also have it, I'm 12 weeks and been treated with antibiotics as potential increased risk during first trimester for surgery. Symptoms havnt fully gone tho so I feel I may have to return 😩 sorry don't want to take oVer the thread, HopiNg your husband is sorted today OP!

When I had an emergency appendectomy five years ago, I was a similar age and was told that I was too old to have appendicitis. After scans etc it was decided I needed it to come out and was given the choice of surgery with a skeleton staff that night or fully staffed next day. I chose next day and waited until the afternoon. I didn't feel like eating anyway.
It turned out that my appendix wasn't infected but pre-cancerous and that why it had happened in my sixties.

Mine was open surgery because they weren't sure it was definitely appendix. Recovery was fine, it's a tiny cut.

Also don't worry about him not eating, he won't want to eat anyway.

I had similar - I went in on Wednesday morning and was eventually operated on Saturday afternoon. In that time I had a sandwich on the Wednesday afternoon that I begged from the nurses after finding out I wouldn’t be operated on that day.

I’d had antibiotic treatment before. When a GP says ‘we can give you these strong antibiotics or you can go straight to hospital’ and you don’t want to ‘make a fuss’.

Appendix was removed fine, although they had to switch to open surgery as it was too nasty to remove via the laparoscopic route. I was home Sunday afternoon and no lasting issues.

Because it’s much more risky if you’ve eaten, but emergencies outweigh the risk. Is he even hungry? I certainly wasn’t but guess it’s a good sign if he is (mine was gangerous and rupturing). I’d not eaten for days but they still insisted on telling me they’d have to put their hands around my throat when putting me to sleep incase I vomited as it was non elective surgery. It wasn’t pleasant as that was my first surgery. Now I love a general anaesthetic!

Also I very much doubt he wants to eat, I certainly couldn’t eat a thing, couldn’t stop vomiting