topic Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!! in Fashion

Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

Cookie06 — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 12:32:35 GMT

Hi Girls,

I am finally recovering from my burst appendix. The lesson to learn from my experience, don't try and be a tough guy and drive on through the pain!!!

I have Crohn's disease, not bad only have an attack about once a year. Well late May, I started getting Crohn's like pains. So like I usually do, after a day of the horrible pain in my right side, I started on Prednisone. It usually starts working after a couple of days dosage. Well after the third day and no relief from the pain, I decided that it was not my Crohn's after all.

My husband came home from work and I told him I better go to the walk-in clinic. So long story short, they scheduled a CT scan. After leaving the clinic, the walk in doc said go home, pack a bag and we have a bed waiting for you at the hospital. So we did. Now this is the interesting part. I went in on Wednesday and they didn't do the surgery until Friday?? I don't get it.

So I thought I was going to get better and I was on pain meds for the pain. After a week and a half, I was getting really short of breath. So after five days of this, I finally called my husband at work and told him we needed to go to the ER. Well, I thought I was having a heart attack, but didn't tell my husband that, he would have totally freaked. So we went to the ER, got in right away because they thought I might be having a heart attack. Turned out my chest had filled with fluid, collapsed my lung. They drained a liter of fluid off my chest two days later. So after a month, I am feeling sort of human again.

The other lesson to be learned from this, don't self diagnose!!!

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

Nataliesgramma — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 12:46:07 GMT

Glad you are OK!!!

My daughter has active Crohn's disease and started having type of stomach pain that wasn't like a Crohn's flare-up....she went to the ER and found out it was gall stones.....

You just never know what it could be...best to get checked out just in case...

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

peachesncream — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 13:25:55 GMT

Oh my goodness, you have been through a lot!

I'm glad you're finally on the mend. Hope you're taking it easy.

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

Justice4all — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 13:36:30 GMT

Cookie, so glad you made it! As we age we can no longer be nonchalant because illnesses generally are more serious. I thought I was having an appendix attack recently and it was excruciating and terrifying.

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

kittymomNC — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 15:28:49 GMT

What a horror story! I can't imagine the pain you were in, and glad to hear you're finally better. You waited a lot longer than I would have to go to the doctor or ER, and it sounds like the complications were worse than the original problem.

My son (who is single) woke me one night about 3:00 a.m. ringing my doorbell. He was in such pain he could hardly walk and I don't know how he drove to my house, and he had the symptoms of appendicitis. We're close by a hospital, so went right over.

While sitting in the waiting room to be seen, he started turning white, and I was almost yelling at them to do something or he was going to faint and fall right out of the chair (not sure if I said I would sue them!! I was upset...). They took him in and from 4:00 a.m. until afternoon they kept saying they were sure it was appendicitis, but they kept doing different things to prove it and he was in excruciating pain most of that time. They finally did surgery that afternoon around 4:00 p.m. I still don't know why they took so long, when they kept saying from the get-go that they were SURE it was his appendix. But he was discharged the next day and was fine.

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

gardensla — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 15:33:11 GMT

Holy smokes! What a harrowing experience. Be well!

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

Tinkerbell3 — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 03:27:46 GMT

Why would they have waited for two days? Clearly,.it wasn't a burst appendix. An emergency surgery would have been warranted and you would have been taken to OR asap. Were they monitoring you? Seems risky.

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

Mindy D — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 04:24:54 GMT

Did they explain what caused the fluid? Did you have a drain tube in you?

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

Nonametoday — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 15:15:17 GMT

The appendix was already ruptured and fluid and infection needed to be removed to prevent their spread. Oh, dear. Please. She is the one who was ill. Don't try to play doctor without the proper training.

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

Q4u — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 15:24:19 GMT

Bless your heart... I'm very glad you are ok as well!

My Grandmother died of a burst appendix....

2 years ago in November my DH and I were having lunch out and I suddenly got radiating pains that went across my shoulders, up my neck and down both arms to my elbows. My first thought was "uh oh".... a heart attack. We went right to the ER.

They were wonderful.... stat test upon test, blood work, everything but nothing was showing a heart attack and they wanted to be positive so I was set up for a Cat Scan.

Long story short..... heart in great shape, but I have a pinched nerve in my neck that caused all this!

Always go in.... never "tough" it out.....

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

Mama Mia — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 17:48:32 GMT

Mine did too, quite a few years ago. It was worse than childbirth as it hurt so bad. I had peritonitis and was in the hospital for 22 days. Nothing I care to repeat.

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

winamac1 — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 21:01:04 GMT

@Cookie06 wrote:
Hi Girls,
I am finally recovering from my burst appendix. The lesson to learn from my experience, don't try and be a tough guy and drive on through the pain!!!

I have Crohn's disease, not bad only have an attack about once a year. Well late May, I started getting Crohn's like pains. So like I usually do, after a day of the horrible pain in my right side, I started on Prednisone. It usually starts working after a couple of days dosage. Well after the third day and no relief from the pain, I decided that it was not my Crohn's after all.

My husband came home from work and I told him I better go to the walk-in clinic. So long story short, they scheduled a CT scan. After leaving the clinic, the walk in doc said go home, pack a bag and we have a bed waiting for you at the hospital. So we did. Now this is the interesting part. I went in on Wednesday and they didn't do the surgery until Friday?? I don't get it.

So I thought I was going to get better and I was on pain meds for the pain. After a week and a half, I was getting really short of breath. So after five days of this, I finally called my husband at work and told him we needed to go to the ER. Well, I thought I was having a heart attack, but didn't tell my husband that, he would have totally freaked. So we went to the ER, got in right away because they thought I might be having a heart attack. Turned out my chest had filled with fluid, collapsed my lung. They drained a liter of fluid off my chest two days later. So after a month, I am feeling sort of human again.

The other lesson to be learned from this, don't self diagnose!!!

I'm glad you are ok!! I don't have Crohn's disese, but my appendix ruptured in 1999, and I almost died. I was in the hospital for 5 weeks--terrible!!!

So glad you are alright!

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

JustJazzmom — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 03:07:18 GMT

Usually a person has to be stabilized before going into surgery and that means IV antibiotics and IV's as the gut bacteria can spread throughout the entire intestinal system plus through the lymph nodes-- lots of lymph nodes in the abdominal region.

Glad to hear that you are recuperating. People have less post operative complications when antibiotics are given pre operatively.

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

handygal2 — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 03:21:58 GMT

Thanks for sharing your story with us, and glad you're feeling better! If your advice can save one person from additional danger, you've done a true blessing.

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

glmama — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 03:46:30 GMT

So glad that you are ok.

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

Cookie06 — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 06:07:26 GMT

@Tinkerbell3 wrote:
Why would they have waited for two days? Clearly,.it wasn't a burst appendix. An emergency surgery would have been warranted and you would have been taken to OR asap. Were they monitoring you? Seems risky.

Well if you would like to look at the medical reports and explain why I had Peritonitis and absesses in my guts. Pus and infection everywhere in there. But, oh I am sure you are right that my appendix didn't burst, I mean Clearly it couldn't have.

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

TootyJane — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 02:13:10 GMT

Cookie06, I'm glad you are on the mend. I know first hand what you've been through. My appendix ruptured the week after Memorial Day weekend in 1993. I had been feeling as if I had the flu for several days. My boss came over to see how I was (we had just moved into our house several weeks before). He stayed for a few minutes and then left. Within 10 minutes or so of him leaving I literally felt something happen. I had to crawl to the phone. Called my husband and told him to come home right away -- there was something wrong. We went to the ER and it was determined that my appendix had likely ruptured and off the surgery I went. Afterward the surgeon came to talk to me. Said it was one of the worst ruptures he had ever seen and I was lucky to be alive. I was the the hospital for 7 nights on heavy duty antibiotics and painkillers. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

Himi lover — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 13:12:09 GMT

Back in the 70s I had a burst appendix along with peritonitis. Awful pain in the stomach along with temp of 102. My mother took me to the emergency room. At first, they couldn't quite figure out what was going on. But then decided a couple of days later, that was the problem and operated. I was in intensive care a few days, and was in the hospital almost 2 weeks. Not fun.

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

FlowershopGirl — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 14:25:57 GMT

Oh you really went through agony! I'm so gld you're on the mend and that you caught it in time!

Re: Glad to be alive after my Appendix burst!!

so so — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 14:32:45 GMT

Get well wishes to you!!!! I have learned the hard way not to self diagnose. gets me into BIG trouble everytime. feel better soon!