Goodbye little appendix...

Stones · Post by **Stones** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:02 pm

Useless organ. I had mine removed on Monday night /yesterday morning so I'm feeling a bit grouchy.

They let me out of hospital last night (yes, only one hospital meal!) so I'm resting up at home with lots of painkillers. They managed to do it laparoscopically so I'm hoping it'll heal pretty quickly though it really hurts now.

Anyone else had theirs removed? How long did it take to recover?

Post by **Skylace** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:38 pm

Feel better soon! I've not had mine taken out but hopefully our resident nurse eefan will see this can give you some info

Post by **eefanincan** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 5:11 pm

eefan to the rescue!

Stones, you'll likely recover much faster by having had it done laproscopically --- much less stress on the body than the larger incision. That being said, you will still need to rest and not do too much lifting, bending etc. so you can give the muscles a chance to heal. Most people heal very well within 2 weeks. So you have a perfect excuse to sit around and be lazy over the Christmas holidays

I would suggest trying to get off the narcotic pain killers as soon as you can as they can play a lot of havoc with the stomach.... maybe try some paracetamol or ibuprofen -- you can even alternate them with your stronger stuff if you need to.

SquareEyes · Post by **SquareEyes** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 9:23 pm

This useless little thing nearly killed me...

It was back in the 60's. I was a young kid. A dodgy doctor mis-diagnosed it as "trapped wind". Within 12 hours, I was being rushed into hospital with sirens blazing. The appendix had rotted away & leaked. I had nasty peritonitis.

I can still remember holding on to my dad's finger and asking him not to leave me (but of course, he had to). I always get tearful when I think of that part... The pre-op wasn't fantastic those days either. I remember being "taken for a little ride" and wheeled into the op theater, where I saw all the instruments etc, and then was asked to "count backwards from 10" while they put the mask on my face.

Of course, I made it through, although I have a botched sewing attempt to this day, as they also messed up when stitching the various layers. My wife also had her appendix out around the same era, obviously by competent docs. She has a small, straight scar, without any puckering. I have a Frankenstein monster attempt.

Post by **eefanincan** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 1:27 am

A ruptured appendix is definately more serious than one that doesn't..... and it can take much longer to recover, for sure. These days, you will usually end up on triple IV antibiotics, have an NG tube (nasogastric tube) and suction for awhile to take some of the strain off of your system to give it a chance to heal after the surgery. I don't think the surgery itself is really that much different today than it was back then, including the fact that some surgeons sew much better than others

SpursFan1902 · Post by **SpursFan1902** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:33 am

I had mine out when I was 17 and spent a week in the hospital and then 2 weeks home in bed. No laproscopy in the good ol' days!! It was not nearly as painful as the stupid thing acting up. I think I have been thru all of the useless organs now..api, gall bladder.. all of 'em gone.

Stones · Post by **Stones** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:22 am

eefanincan wrote:I would suggest trying to get off the narcotic pain killers as soon as you can as they can play a lot of havoc with the stomach.... maybe try some paracetamol or ibuprofen -- you can even alternate them with your stronger stuff if you need to.

I haven't taken any painkillers since Wednesday evening (and that may have been partly recreational). What do I do with all these scary drugs left? Give them to the doctors? I'm not sure why they gave me enough to take 3 lots of 30mg codeine a day for 2 weeks!

It is hardly hurting at all now although my stomach gets little stabbing pains after I've eaten. It has just been poked about though so it's probably just where the food is going passed.

My wounds are healing up rather nicely, the biggest one will be on my belly button and I've got one there already.

Squareeyes: that sounds well scary.

I had a very similar pain about 2 months a go, really painful, started in the middle of my stomach and moved down to the appendix. The doctor told me it was period pain simply because I was due. She even poked my appendix and said it was my ovary.

Post by **eefanincan** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 10:50 pm

Wow--- they sure gave you a ton of painkillers.... here, you would likely get 30 tablets to do your recovery. So, if you've got extras left that you don't want to keep around anymore, I would suggest returning them to the pharmacy and they can safely dispose of them.

Glad that you're not having too much pain any more..... laproscopic surgeries are sooooooooooooo much better than open ones

Here's hoping the rest of your recovery is speedy

SquareEyes · Post by **SquareEyes** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 12:56 am

Stones - that pain moving down from your belly-button to the top of your right leg is classic appendicitis. That's how it works. I bet you also felt more pain when they released the pressure on your abdomen than then they pushed it down.

Believe me, in this case it was certainly "better out than in". This little bugger can kill you. Apparently though, for those without a problem appendix, it supports the immune system, Go figure!

Anyway - great to see you around and typing! "Merry holidays", or whatever the political bullsh*t is that you have to say these days

Stones · Post by **Stones** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 1:51 pm

EEfanincan, one of my incisions has gone all sore and a bit oogy. I've been cleaning it with salt water but it's the one at the bottom my clothes keep catching it.

Post by **eefanincan** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 12:20 am

OK -- sounds gross, but is it oozing any fluid? If it's clear fluid, not really a big deal, but if it's a thicker fluid (possibly yellow or green) then you should get it checked out. Also, if it's more than slightly red, get it checked out. Sometimes it's just irritation from your clothing and keeping it covered with some gauze for awhile will help. You can also try putting some antibiotic ointment on it for a couple of days -- that would likely help if it's not a big infection.

Hope you feel better soon!

Stones · Post by **Stones** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 6:47 pm

eefanincan wrote:Hope you feel better soon!

Yeah, it was all gross and oozy. It was all red and swollen too so I spoke to Dr Gorgeous (he has the most dreamyest eyes) and he sent me to the nurse so I'm on anti biotics now. No drinking for me. Or maybe just a little bit.

SpursFan1902 · Post by **SpursFan1902** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 8:35 pm

Wow, your own Dr. McDreamy. I am glad you are on the mend. xxoo

Post by **eefanincan** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 12:55 am

Stones wrote:
eefanincan wrote:Hope you feel better soon!
Yeah, it was all gross and oozy. It was all red and swollen too so I spoke to Dr Gorgeous (he has the most dreamyest eyes) and he sent me to the nurse so I'm on anti biotics now. No drinking for me. Or maybe just a little bit.

That's good -- you should see some improvement then in about 72h or so --- get some rest

Stones · Post by **Stones** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 6:46 pm

Spurs: he is sooo pretty! I don't go and see him normally

Thanks eefan. One of the incisions really hurts since the nurse gave it a good poking but I think it was due to start hurting so I'm sure it wasn't the poking!