The middle boy went to the ER last night, and after a few tests, they said that his appendix had to go. They cut it out this morning. He’s back in his room, resting.
He said, “If they could just give me a constant morphine drip, that’d be good.” So he’s in good spirits.
I’m sure that the doctor will fill us in on the generalities, but I’m looking for what he can expect in the near future for specific activities.
He’s 18, in 12th grade, plays in the band, works as a server in a restaurant, and will be reporting to boot camp for the Navy in a few months (he wants to work on the flight deck).
Any advice or experience for doing those things (or other typical 12th-grader stuff I haven’t thought of yet) after an appendectomy?
I was oldish when mine came out, and I don’t think I was particularly restricted after two weeks? And once I could walk without wincing (which I don’t think more than a couple of days), I don’t think my normal oldish guy routine was affected (desk job).
What does he play in the band? I’m certain he’ll have a weight restriction, but a flute will be fine, a sousaphone not so much.
I was 40 when I had mine out. I was working as a children’s librarian in a busy branch, so I eased back in. It was a little over two weeks before I resumed my regular schedule. It may have been four before I started running again. My worst memory demonstrates the utter cluelessness of my inlaws. They were supposed to come over and help out while Ms. P was at work. My MIL brought over a huge steak to fix for lunch. She left almost immediately to go do something or another, leaving my FIL to deal with the cooking. He had no clue how to proceed, and I ended up doing it myself. It would have been far easier if they had stayed home and let me zap something in the microwave for lunch.
I had mine removed in 11th grade. It took a couple days before I could walk without pain. As far as recovery, I was told to take it easy for a bit; no strenuous PE activities for me. I do not recall any pain after the initial day or three.
One thing that generally happens is that the wound itches like crazy (DO NOT SCRATCH!) and swells so it looks like there’s a finger under the bandage. Also, a couple girls wanted to see my wound, but as it was covered, I could not oblige them. By the time the bandage came off, their interest had fled.
Call his recruiter. They like to know these things. One of my children had a appendectomy as a teen. She acted like it was nothing. I had trouble keeping her quiet. My youngest had her gall bladder out as a teen. Now, she didn’t mind milking it for all it was worth. She was ‘sick’ for weeks. Every child is different.
I went to prom my senior year two days after my surgery.
Okay, so I didn’t dance and mostly sat at a table. If it’s the same surgery I got with a twoish inch incision they didn’t even cut the abdominal muscles just pulled a gap apart between bands of muscle to work through. Prom was Friday and I was back in school Monday. I wasn’t back to normal for a couple weeks but just moving around a little more carefully and not lifting heavy stuff was enough of a limit. I was dragging a bit for those first two weeks or so. I needed to stop and rest more.
I almost entirely skipped prescription pain meds though. I took one of the I think Darvocet they gave me when I got home from prom. Other than that it was Tylenol or nothing. Not being a little loopy probably helped. I didn’t have both the recovery and the drugs making me sleepy. I also had a good sense of when I needed to slow down since I wasn’t masking discomfort.
I had a drain that was in for about a week after the surgery. Little suction bulb that sucked up pus and blood. After probably 2 weeks I was good as new.
Whoops. Finally got a look at the incision, and it’s about 1-1/2" long.
I have warned him that sometimes people grow a new finger where their appendix used to be–stem cells, ya know–but I don’t think he’s still gullible enough to believe me.
The boy’s back home now. They’re out of school until Tuesday, and he’s of the opinion that he will be in far, far too much pain to attend at that time.
My appendix burst when I was 28, and caused peritonitis. I wasn’t allowed out of the hospital bed for two weeks, nor a bite of food, nor a drop to drink. At the end of the two weeks, when I was finally strong enough to get out of bed, I put my clothes on and walked out.
The idiot surgeon put the wrong kind of sutures inside the incision, the kind that don’t dissolve. So for the next two years I had to see another surgeon while, one by one, I was rejecting sutures. I still have a big scar there, and a little pain when I gain weight.
