Coping With Appendectomy

Hi! I had a laparoscopic appendectomy on Thursday, April 17, 2008. It was totally unexpected, as I came home from work on Wednesday, April 16, feeling just fine. By the end of dinner, my stomach was hurting. I took antacids, and then tylenol, neither of which alleviated the pain. Later, when I finally laid down to go to sleep, the stomach pain had grown much worse and I could not sleep. By 11:00PM, I begun the cycle of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea which persisted throughout the night. By 6:00am the next morning, I was exhausted from no sleep and completely bent over in pain like I have never felt before. By 2:00PM, I went to the doctor and he READILY sent me to the emergency room. I had an emergency appendectomy by 6:00PM that night.

PLEASE, please, please, if you have a persistently aggravating stomach ache, do not ignore it and see a doctor quickly. If you have appendicitis, you WILL have to have surgery and it is best to have the appendix removed before it bursts. If it bursts, aside from the recovery time and huge scar, you could die from infection.

By Monday, April 21, 2008 (against by doctors wishes), I was back at work with no pain or surgical complications. I have three approximately 1/4-1/3 inch scars that have healed very nicely. I thank God that this experience was brief and has passed :-)!