Yesterday morning daughter #3 wakes up and is feeling a little punky. Think nothing of it. Fast forward to lunch and the nurse is calling saying she’s running a slight fever and complaining of abdominal pain. Call Dr. office and they suggest taking her to the E.R. Couple of hours later they’ve diagnosed her with appendicitis and need to take her appendix out. Because she’s got VWD, we’ve got to coordinate with the Hemat as well as the surgeon. She has her surgery around 8:00. Now she’s already home. Gotta say I am impressed with modern medicine.
Kind of amazing that the only “incisions” are three little ones over her appendix and one on the other side of the abdomen.
The most uncomfortable thing for her was the enema while they were d/xing her and getting rid of the gas that they pump you up with.
Sounds like they did it laproscopically – back when I had mine out (in 1974, when I was in 6th grade), it was a major surgery, with a 6-inch incision and a week’s hospital stay. Things have come a long way since then – I had an angioplasty & stent two weeks ago, and I was in the hospital for only a day.
Yes indeed. I even read an article the other day where they are experimenting doing this orally.
Exactly. Basically she’s a bleeder. So you always have some DDAVP lying around. You also need to make sure you tell your doc or dentist that you have it before you have any kind or surgery, even just having a tooth pulled. She’s not quite at that age but there are also some concerns when girls/ladies start having their periods because they be very long and heavy. I’ve read literature that suggest getting them on birth control so that it well help boost the levels of VW factor as well as factor VIII.
All I can envision is a realy long flexible cable to be swallowed and passed through the gut like a sewer snake. :eek:
Laparoscopic surgery sounds much better! Although it’s true - the after-effects of the gas used to inflate you with are somewhat unpleasant. Most commonly, it seems to cause an immense dull ache in the upper body / shoulders.
I’m glad your girl’s okay. I was surprised, when I started working in surgery, to see how many people have to go through this. It’s kind of reassuring to know how many get done on a daily basis, even in a fairly small hospital.
Hope she has a fast recovery.
Best,
karol
TMI alert! I don’t need an epi-pen, I need a DDAVP pen. Unfortunately the heavy and long periods is a true statement. Large clots, heavy flow (to the point of lining the walk from my bed to the bath with towels just so I can stand up in the morning and not ruin carpet), & anemia are the main problems, irregularity to a lesser extent. The docs put me on birth control pills on and off over the years, but I never really saw a difference. I’m now coming off 2 years on BC pills and my new OBGYN and hemat are saying that the promising thing nowadays to keep the periods from being so heavy is an IUD called Mirena. That goes in the end of this month. Although I’m not so sure I’d recommend this for a young lady. I hope her doctors are better at handling this than mine were, whobasically did nothing.
Sorry didn’t mean to highjack this. I’m glad she’s doing well!
Did she eat the school pizza and/or spaghetti? Based on the appendix-removal needs of 3 people I know, it appears that having eaten school-made (or at least, school-served) tomato sauce in the 24 hours prior to symptoms is a major cause of appendicitis!
Also, I fear the if/when I end up needing my appendix taken out. Largely because I’ve never been severely injured/sick and have no idea what it’s like (and since I’m 27, it has had time to become very scary in my brain) but also because if they dare try to cut through my belly-button to “minimize the scarring”, I’m going to freak out! I have a minor (ok, major) phobia based on the idea of things going in and out through there and… I’d rather have a big massive scar in my side than even a tiny one in my navel! My husband has been instructed numerous times to let doctors know of this fact. Just thinking about it… I’m feeling queasy now, and I think I’ll go remind him…!
I’m glad your daughter is doing well!
:eek: :dubious:
I’m glad she’s doing well!