What kind of pain did you feel before you had your appendix taken out?

[of the seas]

I had a sharp pain in my right side all day Friday. It started getting worse Friday night. It hurt when I coughed and sneezed. It was hard to get comfortable when I slept. When I woke up Saturday I felt much better. But, at about 11am today, it started to hurt again. It hurts when I get up. I'm not sure if it's my appendix or what. I'm not sure if the pain would go away and come back. I have no fever and my stomach is not upset.
Tell me about your appendix pain!!!!!!

 

[tink1978]

Mine felt like I had a really bad case of trapped gas. My side was sore and it hurt to cough or sneeze. I thought I had pulled a muscle. When the pain lasted longer than 24 hours...I went to the doctor and was then scheduled for surgery. BTW, I did not run a fever either. Better to have the doctor take a look than let it burst.

 

[floridafam]

I asked DD8 (she had hers out when she was 5.) She said it was like the worst stomach ache she ever had. Hers actually hurt more toward the middle of her tummy.

She had a slight fever and started throwing up.

It certainly is something I would get checked out.

 

[ducklite]

A few sysmptoms of appendicitis are:

Vomiting
Inability to lay flat and draw your knees to your chest
Rebound pain--pushing in on the area doesn't hurt, letting go does
Fever

Obviously not all cases have all those symptoms, but if it doesn't get better by morning, or gets worse, I'd get to a doctor--it could be a variety of other problems that require medical intervention.

Anne

 

[flipturngirl]

I hope that everything is okay. If it is your appendix or if it is not let us know what is going on. That is so scary.

 

[ceroarty]

Seriously, if you think it is your appendix you should go to the ER. I realize that this may seem extreme but if it ruptures things could go a whole lot worse. I had a similiar experience the pain kept coming and going(a couple of weeks) but I didn't want to go the hospital. When I finally went they said I was very lucky that it didn't rupture. Just something to think about. The only reason I finally went to the hospital is because of my little girls.

 

[SAINT1983]

One thing you might want to consider is a kidney stone. When I had my two they felt very similar to what you were saying, especially the parts about the pain getting progressively worse, and then going away and coming back. Apparently the pain comes from the stone moving around the tissue of the kidney and ureter. You might want to start drinking a lot of water just to be on the safe side.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

DH just had his appendix removed a few weeks ago. He thought he had a nervous stomach because of something that occurred during working hours. He came home and went straight to bed. The next morning he called in sick because he still didn't feel good. At 11am he called me, asked what was in the area near his hip on the right side, saying he could hardly stand up and walk. I immediately assumed it was appendicitis. I knew of two people who recently had their gall bladders removed and knew that their pain was higher up on the right side. I also thought it could be a kidney stone.

I took him to the ER. He was in pain but still able to get around, albeit slowly and gingerly. He laid in the ER for hours until they confirmed through blood tests and urinalysis that it wasn't something else. The doc was pretty confident it was his appendix, but the hospital was busy and he waited a long time for surgery. I left his side around 3:30pm to get home to DD when she got home from school. At this point his appendix hadn't ruptured.

He went into surgery around 8pm - and luckily he was already on paid meds because by that time ithe appendix began to rupture. He had a three day stay in the hospital. If his appendix had ruptured he would have had to stay for a week.

 

[arminnie]

I had a huge meal at Boma's the night before and woke up with pain in my right side.

I asked the front desk at Port Orleans about a doctor and went to the walk in care place just off property. The doctor felt it and in about 30 seconds said "It's your appendix" and sent me to the hospital.

I had my appendix out at 10 pm that night (open not lap) and left the hospital before noon the next morning.

The next night I went to Candlelight Procession (walking).

It's pretty easy for them to diagnose an appendix problem, but it is pretty severe if you ignore it.

 

[disneynutt1225]

I had my appendix taken out almost 13 years ago. My mother thought I was suffering from menstrual cramps, so she sent me to school anyway. I made it through a good portion of the day and finally begged her to take me home because I was in SO MUCH pain in my side. It felt like something was exploding in my body. She let me fester for a couple more hours until I started vomiting and I couldn't stand up anymore. Then she finally took me to my doctor. I didn't run a fever, so initially they didn't think it was my appendix.

The Dr. checked my white cell count and it was slightly elevated. She told my mother to take me to the hospital anyway to get a cat scan to see what was really going on. In the less than an hour it took to get to the hospital and in a bed my white cell count had exploded! I had an emergency appendectomy when my appendix was in the beginning stages of a rupture and from that day on my mother never called me a hypochondriac again!

 

[wheeler1]

For me, it only really hurt when I reached up high with my right hand. Like trying to get something out of the top kitchen cabinet. Then I could feel a bit of pain. But that was it for me, that and a sense that something just wasnt right.

 

[Missy Mouse]

I had a sharp pain in my right side all day Friday. It started getting worse Friday night. It hurt when I coughed and sneezed. It was hard to get comfortable when I slept. When I woke up Saturday I felt much better. But, at about 11am today, it started to hurt again. It hurts when I get up. I'm not sure if it's my appendix or what. I'm not sure if the pain would go away and come back. I have no fever and my stomach is not upset.
Tell me about your appendix pain!!!!!!

Appendix pain is very clear. There is pain at McBurney's point - trace a line diagonal from your belly button to the beginning of your right hip bone (the iliac crest)...press half way in between...if you are tender there that is a positive sign of appendicitis....also rebound tenderness and guarding...if you grimace when people come near that area or if you get pain AFTER you press on your right side then I would get to an emergency room ASAP. It's especially not good if you suddenly don't have pain anymore after being in pain for awhile. Your appendix can rupture.

 

[87Heel]

Here's my appendix story ...
felt like general indigestion in the afternoon/early evening (really questioned that tuna salad sandwich from lunch). Started vomiting about 7 pm (at the office bathroom, nice). Drove the hour home, with a stop to vomit along the way (nice, again). Up most of the night getting sick until there's nothing left to give (you get the picture). Went back to work in the morning (yeah, stupid, but I wasn't nauseous any more) and worked a few hours to finish a project. Went home, tired and general abdominal pain---but it just felt like a pulled muscle from vomiting so much, and was definitely not at McBurney's point. DH convinced me to go the hospital in the morning (I said I was OK as long as I just walked slowly and kind of bent over....) They ran every test in the world, lots of xrays, and two gyn exams (yeah, that was great). They still weren't absolutely sure it would be the appendix going into surgery. But it was, and it was perforated, so I got 10 days in the hospital on IV antibiotics, too.

 

[hlbtimes2]

One of the little home tests I've been told to perform from more then one medical source is- jump off a slightly elevated surface- off the curb, down one step, or just up and down if you dont have something elevated. If the pain increases when you do that, its likely its apx. pain, and you need to seek help.

 

[of the seas]

One of the little home tests I've been told to perform from more then one medical source is- jump off a slightly elevated surface- off the curb, down one step, or just up and down if you dont have something elevated. If the pain increases when you do that, its likely its apx. pain, and you need to seek help.

I tried this down the stairs twice. The pain didn't seem to increase.

The pain seems to be inline of my belly button about 3 inches to the right.


Thanks everyone for your suggestions and stories. I am just nervous! I don't want to go to Urgent Care for nothing. This has always been a problem of mine. I'm never sure when that moment is to go to the hospital. I tell myself "it's not that bad!" of "Maybe I am over reacting!"
A couple years ago I had a real bad panic attack for over a half an hour and I finally went to the ER. It was nothing. I felt like I wasted my time and the doctors and a whole lot of my money!!!

 

[disneynutt1225]

So, are you going to the doctor?

I forgot to add to my story that my appendix was not where it was supposed to be, it was three inches higher. So I have a half moon scar instead of a small line. It looks like my side is smiling, LOL!

Anyway, better safe than sorry, if you ask me.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I have had lower right side pain for over 4 months. In December I was diagnosed with an ovarian cyst and had a repeat ultrasound to make sure it was very a cyst. By then the cyst was gone (now have one on my left side), but I'm still having pain. No fever and no elevated white count, so they say it's not my appendix. I am going to consult with a GI dr next week.

 

[phillybeth]

Mine started as menstrual cramps that just didn't go away after a few hours and constipation- both very unusual for me. They started of in the center of my lower abdomen, then moved to the right side- that's when I got scared and went to the hospital. I never had a fever, my white count was just barely elevated, and a CT scan came back inconclusive. They ruled out ectopic pregnancy, ovarian cysts, and ovarian torsion.

Even going in to surgery the doc had NO idea what he would find- he was going to take my appendix regardless, but really doubted that it was causing my pain. Turns out it was inflamed- I had a low-grade chronic infection; the working hypothesis was that the pain was caused by a combo of the low-grade infection and fluid retention.

 

[Daxx]

Mine was odd. Right before we left for Disney, (a Tuesday) I felt this gas-like pain shoot up to my ribs. I figured that if I could just let out a big burp, I'd be ok. Then, it sort of went away by the next day when we left for WDW. By Sunday, my back was killing me. I didn't think I could make it another day in the parks. It felt like someone had kicked me in the back/kidneys. I figured that I must have a kidney infection or kidney stones or something like that. We called the concierge at our Disney resort and they called a shuttle to the closest non-emergency room type medical facility. They couldn't determine what I had, decided to do a pelvic and said it was prob. ovarian cysts. They sent me to Celebration hospital where they did a sonogram and said it seemed like cysts and that might explain the elevated white blood cell count. I never had a fever!!! One of the ER Drs said "Could it be your appendix?" Like I would know this how?! You're the Dr., you tell me! Everything they did to determine appendix wasn't reacting like an appendix problem should. Anyway, instead of giving me a CT scan there, they sent me back to the resort w/pain killers (and no antibiotics to take care of the white blood cell count). The pain meds made me v. tired but I felt a bit better. When I got home, I had more tests, etc. and nothing showed. Finally, two weeks later, my Dr. ordered a CT scan and found out I had an infected appendix. They let me walk around for a month in that condition before having me do a 2nd CT scan. They wanted to see if the appendix would heal itself. After that scan, they decided to take it out 3 weeks later. It was a nightmare of a summer!!!!

 

[floridafam]

phillybeth,

My DD's CT scan was basically inconclusive, too. I guess that is pretty common. When the Dr. opened her up he discovered that she actually had another medical condition, Meckel's Diverticulum, that was causing pressure near her appendix and she had a bowel obstruction so they took care of that while they were in there.

Her Dr. said that any time they open up someone to do an appendectomy they check for Meckels. I never knew what it was until that day.

It's interesting to hear everyone's symptoms and see how they vary.