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I remember two or three times in my early life where I felt appendicitis-like symptoms only for them to go away after a few hours. That was until one night when

I remember two or three times in my early life where I felt appendicitis-like symptoms only for them to go away after a few hours. That was until one night when the pains persisted past midnight. My roommate insisted on taking me to the ER. After several hours there I finally got checked in, had a CT scan, and prepped for surgery. The docs said I did indeed have appendicitis, and in fact had scarring from past episodes. Before the surgery the pain actually started to subside. I wonder if I could have moved past that episode, and if it would have hit me years later.

cyberax 3y ago
Yes. Appendicitis can go away on its own, and it can also be treated with antibiotics. Doctors prefer surgery because it's a definite cure, without negative effects of a long antibiotic course.
- maximinus_thrax 3y ago
  Yes, it is possible but not likely for appendicitis to go away on its own. I mean the idea here is the likelihood of it going away on its own vs the possibility of it to burst and cause peritonitis. Doctors prefer surgery because peritonitis has a mortality rate of ~13% for < 50yo and ~30% otherwise, assuming immediate medical care and of course the surgery to clean up the burst organ. Appendicitis going away without surgery is a common trope I heard from antivaxxers over the years. It's a very dangerous train of thought. (someone who no longer has an appendix)
  - cyberax 3y ago
    > Yes, it is possible but not likely for appendicitis to go away on its own. Yes, that's correct. I should have specified that it's rare, and it's extremely dangerous to leave appendicitis untreated. I was morbidly curious about how appendicitis was treated before the advent of aseptic surgery, and apparently it was mostly "just let the patient die". But several treatments seemed to help, including _massage_ of the area along with a kind of yoga-like contortions. Apparently, it sometimes could "unclog" the swollen appendix and let the pus drain into the colon. Here's an article in JAMA that describes it: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/447654 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/44765... from 1896, no less (sidenote: and you have to pay to read it). Another side note, I used to be a professionally certified masseur (about 20 years ago) and we were trained to recognize the signs of appendicitis. It can be almost completely asymptomatic until the appendix is almost bursting.
    - maximinus_thrax 3y ago
      > Another side note, I used to be a professionally certified masseur (about 20 years ago) and we were trained to recognize the signs of appendicitis. I Can you elaborate on that? It's interesting, because when I had appendicitis, I had just a bit of pain (which didn't go away overnight) but nothing serious. When I got to the hospital, the doctor who triaged me touched my abdomen for a few seconds and he was like 'prep this guy up'.
      - cyberax 3y ago
        Yep, it's pretty common. Sometimes people don't feel acute pain at all, but a kind of soreness you feel from overworking your core muscles. That's why they go to get a massage to help them feel better. We were taught several tests to do in this case, and immediately refer the patient to the ER if they are positive. From the memory, soreness/pain on the right side of the abdomen if the left side is pressured, and soreness/pain increasing when the pressure is removed. And some cases can apparently be palpitated directly, but I forgot what exactly it should feel like.
        twothamendment 3y ago
        I went to the local clinic because I wasn't sure if my appendix was the problem. I had some signs, but others not at all. The doc pushed in on my right side, slowly. It didn't hurt, maybe a bit uncomfortable. He let of quickly and it was a short, sharp pain - that is what he was looking for. He called the ER and we drove there The ER couldn't believe that I didn't need and pain meds. I felt nearly fine and was even hungry - apparently I shouldn't have been. After the scan they said my appendix was huge. Easy surgery. In hindsight, I'm sure it was acting up when I was backpacking, but I won that battle. Good thing, because I was in the middle of nowhere.
        kergonath 3y ago
        > The ER couldn't believe that I didn't need and pain meds. I felt nearly fine and was even hungry - apparently I shouldn't have been. I could not eat for a day when it happened to me. I threw up everything I ate. That’s why my parents suspected some food-borne pathogen initially. I could not feel any pain besides the cramps at that point. We went straight to the ER in the morning when I was in such a pain that I could not put the right foot on the ground. It was indeed an appendicitis but it was apparently still far from rupturing, so it was not quite the last minute. But my goodness was it painful.
outime 3y ago
For what it's worth, I can relate to your story very much, albeit with a slight twist. The last time I experienced such intense pain, I ended up fainting (first and only instance in my life) in the ER. Consequently, surgery became a must. IMHO, considering your past experiences with similar symptoms and existing scarring, it seems advisable to forgo the appendix, especially given your susceptibility to infection. If you hadn't done it, perhaps one of the future occasions could have ended much worse.
meindnoch 3y ago
My brother had the same. Except the second time it hit, it almost perforated, then he got peritonitis after the surgery, so he had a second emergency surgery where they had to remove 12cm of his bowel to save his life. Don't hesitate going to the ER if you suspect your appendix.

cyberax 3y ago

Yes. Appendicitis can go away on its own, and it can also be treated with antibiotics. Doctors prefer surgery because it's a definite cure, without negative effects of a long antibiotic course.

maximinus_thrax 3y ago
Yes, it is possible but not likely for appendicitis to go away on its own. I mean the idea here is the likelihood of it going away on its own vs the possibility of it to burst and cause peritonitis. Doctors prefer surgery because peritonitis has a mortality rate of ~13% for < 50yo and ~30% otherwise, assuming immediate medical care and of course the surgery to clean up the burst organ. Appendicitis going away without surgery is a common trope I heard from antivaxxers over the years. It's a very dangerous train of thought. (someone who no longer has an appendix)
- cyberax 3y ago
  > Yes, it is possible but not likely for appendicitis to go away on its own. Yes, that's correct. I should have specified that it's rare, and it's extremely dangerous to leave appendicitis untreated. I was morbidly curious about how appendicitis was treated before the advent of aseptic surgery, and apparently it was mostly "just let the patient die". But several treatments seemed to help, including _massage_ of the area along with a kind of yoga-like contortions. Apparently, it sometimes could "unclog" the swollen appendix and let the pus drain into the colon. Here's an article in JAMA that describes it: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/447654 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/44765... from 1896, no less (sidenote: and you have to pay to read it). Another side note, I used to be a professionally certified masseur (about 20 years ago) and we were trained to recognize the signs of appendicitis. It can be almost completely asymptomatic until the appendix is almost bursting.
  - maximinus_thrax 3y ago
    > Another side note, I used to be a professionally certified masseur (about 20 years ago) and we were trained to recognize the signs of appendicitis. I Can you elaborate on that? It's interesting, because when I had appendicitis, I had just a bit of pain (which didn't go away overnight) but nothing serious. When I got to the hospital, the doctor who triaged me touched my abdomen for a few seconds and he was like 'prep this guy up'.
    - cyberax 3y ago
      Yep, it's pretty common. Sometimes people don't feel acute pain at all, but a kind of soreness you feel from overworking your core muscles. That's why they go to get a massage to help them feel better. We were taught several tests to do in this case, and immediately refer the patient to the ER if they are positive. From the memory, soreness/pain on the right side of the abdomen if the left side is pressured, and soreness/pain increasing when the pressure is removed. And some cases can apparently be palpitated directly, but I forgot what exactly it should feel like.
      - twothamendment 3y ago
        I went to the local clinic because I wasn't sure if my appendix was the problem. I had some signs, but others not at all. The doc pushed in on my right side, slowly. It didn't hurt, maybe a bit uncomfortable. He let of quickly and it was a short, sharp pain - that is what he was looking for. He called the ER and we drove there The ER couldn't believe that I didn't need and pain meds. I felt nearly fine and was even hungry - apparently I shouldn't have been. After the scan they said my appendix was huge. Easy surgery. In hindsight, I'm sure it was acting up when I was backpacking, but I won that battle. Good thing, because I was in the middle of nowhere.
        kergonath 3y ago
        > The ER couldn't believe that I didn't need and pain meds. I felt nearly fine and was even hungry - apparently I shouldn't have been. I could not eat for a day when it happened to me. I threw up everything I ate. That’s why my parents suspected some food-borne pathogen initially. I could not feel any pain besides the cramps at that point. We went straight to the ER in the morning when I was in such a pain that I could not put the right foot on the ground. It was indeed an appendicitis but it was apparently still far from rupturing, so it was not quite the last minute. But my goodness was it painful.

outime 3y ago

For what it's worth, I can relate to your story very much, albeit with a slight twist. The last time I experienced such intense pain, I ended up fainting (first and only instance in my life) in the ER. Consequently, surgery became a must. IMHO, considering your past experiences with similar symptoms and existing scarring, it seems advisable to forgo the appendix, especially given your susceptibility to infection. If you hadn't done it, perhaps one of the future occasions could have ended much worse.

meindnoch 3y ago

My brother had the same. Except the second time it hit, it almost perforated, then he got peritonitis after the surgery, so he had a second emergency surgery where they had to remove 12cm of his bowel to save his life. Don't hesitate going to the ER if you suspect your appendix.