I Pit the Human Appendix

The BBQ Pit
1

Two weeks ago, I thought I had a bout of food poisoning, it lasted two days, the first day of searing Alien Chestburster-esque pain, subsiding to a dull ache…

after two days it was gone and I felt healthy again

last Saturday, the symptoms started coming back, less intense, but similar, however, there was also a dull ache/pressure that migrated around my gastric cavity, it got so bad that I thought I was having a heart attack, so I took a trip to the emergency room

EKG; fine
blood work; fine
CAT scan; slight enlargement of the Appendix, not appendicitis per se, but not normal either

I was released and told to come back in the next day for additional blood work, which came back fine

I was released again, told to take it easy, which I did, and if symptoms changed, to come back in.

I felt fine until around 1 PM yesterday, when I was SLAMMED with;
Sore throat
body aches
fever (101.6-102)
gastric pain
it came out of nowhere, one minute I was fine, the next, hammered by a mega-fluesque symptoms

Back to the Emergency room;
elevated white cell count
102 degree fever
sore throat
gastric issues

another CAT scan later, the Appendix was a little bigger, still not inflamed, however, this time, I was admitted to the hospital proper for observation (where I’m posting this thread from, in fact)

So, at 5 PM today, my appendix is coming out, even though it doesn’t appear to be inflamed, just larger than normal, better to err on the side of caution here

frak you, Appendix, you useless ticking time bomb, it’ll be good to be rid of you!

Whoever invented the appendix needs to be fired…out of a cannon, into the sun!

2

That sucks - I hope everything goes well!

(Sorry, I can’t summon the proper level of snide and vitriol for the Pit today.)

3

My appendicitis wasn’t nearly as drastic, or confusing. It only started to attack me on 9/11, when everyone was carrying around bucketloads of stress, and so I thought this ball of lead in my gut was an ulcer. It stayed at “uneasy stomach” from dinnertime on 9/11 through about lunchtime on 9/12, then quickly moved to indigestion and a cramp within an hour.

If it helps you feel better about your own, I was screaming and crying like a little girl before we reached the hospital, and I ended up mostly naked, partly shaved, and on a morphine drip before the end of the day.

There’s a silver lining in there somewhere, but I can’t find it. Appendicitis sucks.

4

Picture it, Orlando, August 1989.

My son is two weeks old. My husband is in San Diego with the Navy. My son is not sleeping through the night, and I am a first time parent, so I have no clue what the hell I’m doing.

Saturday I was scheduled to start packing up to move out of my apartment. I was freezing. I had the heat on. In Orlando. In August.

I was able to get up, nurse the baby, and fall back into bed. Ivylad calls at noon, and I am bent over double trying to get to the phone.

He tells me to hang up so he can call his mom and sister. They come over, take the baby and get me to the hospital.

My friends and father come over and pack up my apartment.

It’s Saturday at the VA hospital. They admit me. Since it’s a Saturday, they don’t want to bother my obstetrician. (New mother with horrible stomach pains, no rush) He was quite pissed about that when he saw me on Monday.

It took them 10 days to figure out my appendix had burst but sealed itself off. They ended up doing what they called band-aid surgery…they stuck a syringe in my stomach and sucked out the pus.

Does the appendix actually do anything? Has anyone ever figured that out?

5

I had mine out about two months ago. I felt constipated around noon, went to classes, came home, skipped dinner. I danced around my living room for a while since my insurance sucks and I’m poor. By the time I went in I was bent over and rocking back and forth. It was like 2.5 hours before they could get me morphine and I was in the fetal position at that time. I love morphine by the way. The surgery is cake nowadays. It took me about a week to feel normal, and they left a drain in my side for a while since mine burst. Getting that thing removed felt… interesting.

Anyway, good luck, hope it goes well.

6

It’s essentially vestigial, but may have a role in maintaining the flora of the intestines. It also might have an immunological role, being rich in immune cells (but that may simply be because it’s normally full of bacteria as well.)

Vestigially, it’s little more than a remainder of an organ that was probably once, back in our evolutionary history, stuffed to the brim with symbiotic bacteria that broke down cellulose for us. As we drifted away from an all-plant diet, to easier-digested food, we probably lost most of the appendix’s function.

7

I read recently that it might be a reservoir for normal gut flora. Appendicitis still sucks though. How 'bout a reservoir design that doesn’t kill people/cause extreme pain? Geez. It’s so hard to get good customer service ANYWHERE these days…

8

The gall bladder seems to be another organ designed to be a reservoir but screws up with alarming frequency. Had mine out in the early 90’s and I don’t miss it.

9

Of course it’s useful - where else would you keep your index?

I had mine out around 23 years ago or so. None of that prissy arthroscopic stuff for me: get a knife, make a hole, and birth that baby.

A week before I had gotten a stomach bug. Doctor said that was a common precursor for appendicitis.

I’ve got a big scar on my left side, doctors probed, said they felt a big lump so they made a big hole.

I don’t miss it except when it’s time to remember something.

10

Well, I’m done, sans appendix, it was the early stage of appendicitis, and my appendix was buried further back than normal, explaining why there was more back pain than gastric pain

they even got me in earlier than expected, 2 PM, and was in recovery by 5 PM

aside from some tenderness and pain from the surgery, I’m much better, thanks for the well wishes

the first thing we should genetically engineer once the technology becomes available is engineer out the appendix

11

My right side. Duh!

Umm, I meant your left, yeah, that’s the ticket.

Glad to hear you’re feeling better, MacTech.

12

Darn. I was hoping I’d finally met a real life case of situs inversus.

13

Mine wasn’t on the left side but it was an odd presentation. Apparently it was attached to my small colon (yes actually on the small colon) the long way, not on the short end.

You can see from my scar where my surgeon started cutting again when he couldn’t find it . . . I have a seven inch incision running straight up my right side that ends just a bit north of my belly button (but an inch or so to the right of it).

I had an NG tube for four days (YUCK). I didn’t realize this was not a normal appendectomy until much later.

Glad you are feeling better, and color me jealous at how small your incision almost certainly is.

14

I unpit the appendix, having one has been very handy, I might even go so far as to say lifesaving for me. It’s amazing what a skilled surgeon can do with it.

15

…especially with a little butter and some onions…

16

…Or some Fava Beans and a nice Chianti… FTFTFTFTFTFT! :slight_smile:

17

Completely offtopic - MacTech, I just noticed and completely adore your location.

Carry on.

18

Do tell!

19

It’s funny, looking back on the operation, it amazed me how quickly the anasthesia worked, one minute I was taling to the surgeons, the next BAM, lights out, sleepytime!, instant unconciousness

waking up was interesting, my mind wanted to stay alert, my body was saying SLEEP NOW, SLEEP GOOOOOOD!

I was on percocet for the pain, and for a supposed narcotic med, they had absolutely no effect on my conciousness or perceptions of reality, as I have a high pain tolerance, they seemed to have a minimal effect on the pain as well

I only wish they kept my ex-appendix, so I could see what it looked like in reality, as photos are just too…two dimensional, and then I could stomp on it, pay it back for the pain it caused me

20

My thoughts go with you! Being in hospital sucks, operations suck and feeling like crud sucks. I can empathize with you maybe more than you know.

I’m currently on a generic percocet as well. I find that I don’t realize how much pain I’m in until I take the next round, then bam! oh my god does that feel good I didn’t know how bad I was hurting…

Sending healing thoughts your way.