Hello !
Well, I just had appendix surgery about 2 weeks ago. About 8 months ago I wound up in the emergency room with pain in my right side. I was very sick with vomiting and diarrhea. They sent me home and told me I had a virus !! Then the pain continued and I wound up on painkillers for 2 months. They put me through every single test known to man, upper GI, lower GI, colonoscopy, endoscopy, ultrasounds etc. etc. Nothing turned up. Then the pain subsided and it became only once in a while but my bowels were all messed up and I started getting lots of indigestion. They gave me Prevacid. So, 2 weeks ago I have the same pain in my side and was going to take a painkiller but instead went to the clinic. They sent me to the emergency room again but this time my white count was up, showing an infection. The put me through a barium CAT scan, which was EXTREMELY painful ! The test came out negative. They called the surgeon down to look at me and within 5 minutes he told me it was my appendix and I went up to surgery. I am still recuperating so am not sure how my digestive problems will be after. I have had a difficult recovery with stomach upsets and bowel upsets but I think all of these problems were caused by the appendix and I don't care what the drs. say ! I wish I had gone to see a surgeon 8 months ago. I would have suffered alot less.
Good luck to all,
Suzanne
Ultrasound SHOULD be an effective diagnostic tool for acute appendicitis, but you are,of course, in the hands of the particular administering technician. I went in for ultrasound, and the tech "couldn't find" my appendix. When she finally found it and put pressure on it, I had to get up off the table and run to the adjacent bathroom to vomit! This didn't seem to cause her (or my doctor, when I later told him) any concern. I went undiagnosed for another 6 weeks after that.
Read on the 'net about appendicitis, if you are curious. It is very common, yet can be difficult to diagnose. Many doctors do not "believe" in chronic appendicitis. In recovery, the surgeon told me that "chronic appendicitis is something we hear about, but don't see." I think "don't want to see" is more true. I'm not a doctor, but I know what I have experienced!
Do you have your appendix?
I lived on Mylanta for FOUR YEARS with nausea, weird abdominal pain that felt like acute hunger pangs, embarrassingly noisy gut, etc.The docs just kept giving me acid blockers. I was finally diagnosed by an ER RECEPTIONIST (!), went in for an emergency appendectomy, and lo and behold, it was perforated and gangrenous, had walled itself off in a big pocket of pus.
Since the appendectomy (3 years ago) I haven't had any more "stomach" problems.
your comment is very interesting!yes i do have my appendix but not my gallbladder.i wonder what my dr would say if i asked him about that.how did they determine it was your appendix?ultrasound?please write me back!
Maybe you should try prilosec it helps with reflux