Talk to me about your appendix

[8mileeminem]

I have been to the doctors this morning after a horrendous night of abdominal pain, doctor said it's the start of appendicitis, I don't really know what to expect, been having pain off and on all day again, doctors checkup again this afternoon and he wants me back again in the morning, he's monitoring it at the moment he said.

What to expect? Pain could subside and it could be no issue. Pain could continue, you could go to hospital for further investigations which could result in a) pain subsiding, no further issue b) conservative treatment i.e. antibiotics c) worst case scenario - appendectomy. Until you go back to the dr make sure you take regular paracetamol/analgesia and a hot water bottle helps. Try peppermint too, it helps with cramps and a number of other conditions it could be at this stage (appendicitis can only be diagnosed effectively by scans not physician opinion). Hope you manage to get some rest and your pain eases

Be very careful about being fobbed off with a "grumbling appendix" and some tablets.

Appendicitis = surgery.

Sounds horrible but these days its a keyhole job,overnight stay and out the next day

Sorry to disagree but appendicitis doesn't always result in surgery and can be treated by antibiotics...IV usually, hence the hospital admission. But tdh is right, if it comes to surgery, majority are routine and keyhole and recovery is quite quick

Thankyou for the info

I think there is an agenda to start with minimalist treatment to save money . This can sometimes lead to more serious outcomes which could have been avoided had earlier intervention occurred. There are thousands of needless deaths in NHS facilities every year due to poor or lack of treatment

If the pain becomes more severe I would go straight to a and e. You can have serious complications from appendicitis.

My sister had appendectomy and I can still remember that if it was an hour late it would have been pretty bad. Make sure to check whether you need surgery immediately as what you should be avoiding is an appendicitis exploding inside you.

Definitely go to A&E if the pain gets severe. When I got appendicitis it was horribly painful but I was suffering from a swollen kidney on the same side at the same time so was misdiagnosed for a while but I kept asking over and over if they were sure it wasn't my appendix until they checked with an MRI and saw it was, and only just in time (the cell walls had got so thin they were close to bursting)

How did the doctor examine you to come up with the diagnosis of appendicitis starting? There are so many causes of abdominal pain that I would want to be sure - was any imaging done and blood tests to rule out other things? And honestly, having you trek back and forth to the doctors' when you're in pain is just not nice, I feel a bit angry for you. Hope you're not in too much pain, remember to take painkillers regularly and keep an eye on any change or increase in pain.