Anyone ever have it?   How long were you out of work?   I think I might have it, my whole stomach ached bad yesterday like I got beat up or something, but from about 8pm last night until now it hurts only on my right side near my belt line.  I only have some of the symptoms from WebMD:

What Are the Symptoms?

The classic symptoms of appendicitis include:

Dull pain near the navel or the upper abdomen that becomes sharp as it moves to the lower right abdomen. This is usually the first sign
Loss of appetite
Nausea and/or vomiting soon after abdominal pain begins
Abdominal swelling
Temperature of 99° F to 102° F
Constipation or diarrhea with gas
Inability to pass gas

I think I'm going to the Urgent Care when I get off work.  I'm only working a half day today.

Do it quick. It doesnt take long to get from the first symptoms to the bursting stage. I'm talking a matter of 2-3 days.  If it is appendicitis, it's very life threatening. I would call your boss and go to the doctor first thing in the morning.

I can only share my experience FWIW.

You can have attacks that go away.  I had several very painful attacks over about a two year period before things became utterly intolerable.  In my case, the pain was in the center of my stomach; so I thought I had acute heartburn or such.

The last attack was really bad – I finally admitted that I had a problem when I started throwing up bile (bright yellow), which I had never done before.

Went to the hospital – still didn’t know the problem but I was in such pain that I’d have been willing to let them cut me open just to see if they could find the problem!!

Turns out my appendix had turned gangrenous (not good!).  I wound up with peritonitis, was put on heavy-duty antibiotics, and had an ominous sign outside my hospital room door warning that I was an “infection risk”.

[b]Suggest you don’t wait as long as I did!![/b]

Incidentally, nowadays I think they can remove your appendix laproscopically, which can dramatically improve your recovery time.  Mine was apparently removed with a chainsaw [:D] - I was out of work almost a month.

I had appendicitis off and on the whole time I was younger, but it always went away. Then, when I was 21 I was going home from fishing with some buddies one night, at around midnight, and I noticed it was starting to hurt again a little, but I didn't think much of it. By 10am I was in the operating room and it was about to burst.

Sometimes it doesn't take too long.

Don't wait to get it checked out! Removal of a non-burst appendix will get you a day or two in the hospital, and a week or so light duty, but a burst one will give you a raging case of peritonitis (infection of the lining of the abdominal cavity and the viscera) that could keep you out of commision for months. Also, the operation on a non-burst appendix is a pretty minor affair, but on a burst one it is much longer and more involved as they really have to ckean out all of the ous and (possibly) fecal matter frm yuor abdomen to prevent abscess formation. Really severe cases may necessetate an ostomy bag for a while. Just get it checked out..its worth it.

thats,"clean out all the pus" typeing one handed w my 7 week old kid in my lap. (she gets an AR for her 1st b-day like her big sis)

I took mine out myself and never missed any work.[;D]

The classic sign for an acute appendicitis is rebound tenderness.

To check for this, lay flat on your back on a relatively hard surface like a floor. Bare your abdomen and visualise 4 quadrants centered at your belly-button. Have a friend do the following in each of the 4 quads; press slowly down on your abdomen about 2 inches and then quickly release all pressure. This test should be repeated in all 4 quadrants.

As the name suggests, a positive sign is tenderness or pain as the skin and internal organs 'rebound' from the pressure to their original position. You will not have to wonder if you are positive for this.....if it is a positive, you will probably punch the friend pressing on your belly.

When I was on leave and visiting an uncle in Odessa, I woke up in the middle of the night in terrible pain. I drove myself to the hospital. By the time I got there I was hyperventilating. They shot me up with Demerol (yeeeeehaw!) and let it take effect. Then some sawbones came in and looked at me, and said I had an attack of appendicitis, and they were gonna hafta operate. I could see dollar signs in his eyes, so I told him he was NOT going to operate, and that I was leaving. He said I couldn't leave, so I told him "Watch me!" I left. Haven't had a lick of trouble since, and that was 25 years ago.

Geeze, I'm having second thoughts about posting this. My appendix will probably swell up and burst before I get to see this post attached to this thread.  [rolleyes]

I had appendicitis when I was 13.  It took three trips to the dr. by the time they figured it out.  The last time I was camping at a resevoir and got sick, took 4 hours to drive back into town and it burst a few minutes after they cut me open.  Spent a week in the hospital for that one.  But do ge it checked out, if it bursts and releases the wastes/blood in your body, it will cause problems.

Got it when I was eight, vacationing with my grandparents in the countryside in Denmark.  I had excruciating pain in the abdomen - to the extent that it was impossibel to walk or stand up straight.  I threw up continually, about ten times in a six-hour period.  It was originally misdiagnosed by a local doctor, but then my grandparents took me into Copenhagen and called their regular doctor, who immediately recognized it for acute appendicities - and at that point it had already burst.

Apparently it was all very dramatic and impressive - with the ambulance driving on sidewalks and bicycle paths because of rush hour traffic.  Of course I was slipping in and out of consciousness, so I didn't get to enjoy the way an eight year-old normally would have.  The doctors told my parents that I would have been dead if I had gotten to the hospital twenty minutes later.

The recovery was several weeks - and it was five days before they even took the tubes out of me and I could have any food or liquid through my mouth.

So my advice - yeah, definitely see a doctor if you are worried that your appendix is acting up.  [;)]

I've had some slight discomfort in my lower right abdomen off and on over the past month or two.  I'm not sure if its because I'm getting fat and my belt digs into my stock while sitting straight up or if its appendicitis.  I'm gonna set up an appointment with a doctor soon here so I'll have to see.  Maybe they can just take it out for good measure [:)]

My buddy had his taken out but his hadnt burst yet.  They made a small 2" incision and pulled it out.  He spent the night in the hospital but went home the next day.

Question for those who had pain over a period of time.  Was it extreme pain or just minor discomfort?

Don't mess around with it--acute abdominal pain is serious and demands immediate attention.

I was out of work a week, although I kept telling myself I would go back tomorrow.  Thought I would be good to go, but one day the post-op pain/soreness would get me, next day it was drug side effects, next day it was just being so damn tired...pretty soon , it was a week already.

Best post-surgical advice I got was to get Gas-X (chewable simethicone tablets--it breaks up gas bubbles)--it is over-the -counter stuff.  If you are reading this in advance, ask your doctor  about it.

Basically, your innards have been manhandled and sedated and your food intake has been up and down.  I was getting horrible cramps/pain until I took the Gas-X---what a relief!!

If you are the holistic type, skip all the medical stuff, and just build an "abdominal snowman" in your backyard and perform voodoo acupuncture with .223 rounds in place of needles.

It was just a dull ache. If you stay in one position it wasn't even really that bad, but moving around intensified the pain. When it was about to pop I couldn't even stand up straight and was doubled over.

I had it when i was nine.  I went in in the night, spent that night and another night and then went home.  Still have a small 2.5" scar.  I didn't quite like the way they checked for appendicitus.  I think the doctor might have jumped the fence.

-DEERSNIPER
[sniper]

When I finally had mine out, it wasn't that big of a deal and I wish I had just let them do it sooner instead of being stubborn.

I had it out in the morning and went home the next afternoon with 6 or 7 staples holding a 3.5" incision together. The first thing I did when I woke up was walk to the bathroom and take a piss and I was back to work the day after I got out of the hospital. Didn't hurt at all afterwards and I didn't hardly take any pain meds except when I was going to bed for the first couple of nights.

I had it.. when I was in the 2nd grade. I'm not going to try and remember how old I was, too tired. (spent the afternoon at the range, heh)

For about a day I had a really bad fever and my abdomen was pretty sore.. My mom couldn't figure it out so she was going to take me to the doctor the next day. Well the next morning at school The pain got a lot worse to the point where I couldn't stand up straight and walking was a bitch.. went to the nurse all pissed off and said I wanted to go. My mom took me to the hopspital and the docs knew what it was in pretty short order.. By the time they finally started operating it had started to burst.. I guess if I had shown up about 10 minutes later I'd probably have died..

They couldn't sew me up after the operation and for a week they had to keep stuffing bandages in the gaping hole (pretty unpleasant too I might add). After that, and taking a few days to begin walking on my own again, I went home.. and stayed home from school for two weeks, waiting for the incision to heal.. (No staples..not even sure if they sewed it up?!? can't remember now....) Not a pleasant experience by any means.. especially for a little kid.

Just one of those things that don't even have a purpose.. except to try and kill you. [:)]

My adventure pretty much mirrors Big Bear's. Mine burst in the barracks and a E5 with a hot 350 Nova broke a few land speed records getting me to the hospital. Spent 5 weeks there.

I've been posting lightly (and didn't post at all for nearly a week) because I had my appendix removed early in the morning on the 18th of December.  The pain started at about 7:30 the morning of the 17th and instensified after I started vomiting.  The pain was pretty bad for me, but I didn't have all the classic symptoms of appendicitis, I could jump up and down without horrible pain (other than what I was feeling), and had no "rebound" pain.  The first doctor I went to (got to see him at about 9:30) was quite certain that I had appendicitis and wanted to check my white blood cell count to be absolutely sure.  Sadly, my insurance doesn't cover the local hospital, so I had to drive (in pain) all the way to Charlottesville to the UVA hospital to seek treatment.  It took them about 9 hours, countless (and painful) belly proddings, ultrasounds, blood work, and a CAT scan to finally determine that I did indeed have appendicitis and not an ulcer (which was what one doctor was sure I had), pancreitis, or gall stones.

I had laproscopic surgery to remove the appendix which was enlarged and infected, but not yet "classically" inflamed as is often the case.  I was very sore for about 3-4 days and had trouble sitting down and getting up (basically anything that exercised my abdominal muscles), but pain meds helped that.  The pain is mostly gone now, with only an occasional ping in my side where the larger slit was made.  




I got it out early.  From what I understand, having a burst appendix is extremely painful and is potentially fatal.  If I were you I'd get the operation done ASAP.

In my case the first attack was moderately painful.  The subsequent attacks quickly became very painful.  The last one was intensely so (like I had been shot in the stomach with a rifle).

The [b]only[/b] symptoms that I had (that I recognized) were extreme pain in the center of the stomach and repeated vomiting.  Frankly, I was not entirely convinced it was my appendix until after the surgery was over and the doctor had confirmed it to me.  IMHO, self-diagnosis is not the way to go!  

Note that when I went to the hospital in extreme pain, they refused to give me any painkillers because they didn’t want to mask the symptoms.  I remember flopping around like a fish for hours on the hospital gurney because of the pain.  

Since the surgery caused my bowels to shut down for maybe four days, they did not give me any food during that time.  They also absolutely refused to give me anything to drink.  I was dying of thirst and my lips became chapped.  They sometimes would give me a moist Q-tip to rub against my lips. When the nurse wasn’t looking, I would chew on the Q-tip to try to get some fluid out of it.

They also installed a couple of drains in my abdomen.

[b]You just don’t want to go through any of this![/b]

If my last attack had by chance occurred in an isolated area, or maybe during a real heavy snow storm, things could have gone very badly for me.  Again, you just don’t want to wait too long on this.

I am a surgeon and have removed as many appendicies as any surgeon in active practice.

McBurney's point--draw a line between the point of the hip (pelvis) and the navel.  If the point of maximal tenderness is at a point two thirds away from the navel, you better get your ass to a surgeon.

CAT scan is 90% accurate in confirming acute appendicitis.

Right lower quadrant pain and tenderness--ride on a bumpy road.

Temp elevated--get a white blood count

cheeks flushed

hurts to jump

no appetite

GO!

Appendicitis - Had it.

I had off and on discomfort in the lower quadrant. Based on my symptoms my doctor initially thought I had a kidney stone. I was sent home with a prescription for Cipro ( for possible infection of the urinary tract) and told to drink plenty of liquids and watch for a stone to pass. I revisited the doc after a few days. The discomfort was very mild. My doctor sent me for a CT scan and it was positive for Appendicitis. I had my Appendix removed that evening around 21:00 and left the hospital the next day around 15:00. The procedure was done Laproscopically. Three small incisions. I was back to work after two weeks with instructions to lift nothing heavier than a phone book. Those restrictions were lifted after another 4 weeks.

My surgeon tried to talk me out of the operation. He told me that I had none of the classic symptoms and that he was only going by the call he received from the radiologist who read my CT scan. Even the attending Docs who came in to check me pre-operation were surprised at how good I looked and that I was getting my Appendix removed. My surgeon said that I must have the immune system of a horse.

Thanks for all the replies everyone,

It was appendicitis.  I went directly to the ER and not the Urgent Care (good idea).  It was verified by a CT scan.  They took it out at 0130 on New Years Morning.  I have a 5" cut held together with staples now, they couldn't do in the other way with the three cuts (too much padding on my belly)[:)].  I stayed 1.5 days in the hospital, can't work, drive or do anything involving much effort for three weeks.  My appendix was the size of a polish sausage![%|] and very close to bursting, the surgeon couldn't beleive that I had worked that day.

They gave me Demoral(sp?) for the pain by IV in the hospital now recovery with at home with percocet!, it seems to work a little longer.

BTW only symptoms were pain, diarrhea (the day before I went to the ER) and a little Nausea (didn't really get the nausea until I was in the ER) Only a very slight loss of appetite.  No pain on release of pressure on the site of the appendix.  Blood count and temp were very normal, weird.

My officemate had a close call with this recently, scary stuff...

I remember Percocet from having my wisdom teeth out.  The funny thing is about how it really works- it doesn't block the pain so much as it turns you into a zombie so that you don't notice it.  I remember thinking, my teeth hurt like crazy, then zoning out a few seconds later and staring at the TV for half an hour.  Not necessarily a bad effect, I guess...

And then what did Big Bear do...[img]http://photos.ar15.com/ImageGallery/IG_LoadAvatar.asp?sAccountUnq=2193[/img]

Indeed

You are probably the first "delivery" of 2003.

You better check---I think there is a prize for this!!