4 weeks before appendectomy of ruptured appendix - what activities are safe ?

I'm 41yrs old, otherwise in reasonable fitness and health but have been diagnosed with a ruptured appendix and have had a drain/antibiotic therapy to clear up the infection and resulting abscess. The appendix will be taken out in 4 weeks' time. What range of physical activity should I carry out in the interval? Would there be a risk of causing damage by lifting, bending, moderate gym exercise etc ?

Thanks..


This discussion is related to Returning to sports after laparoscopic appendectomy.

[patient915]

To the other people that I saw commenting on this when you posted it previously, this is sometimes done.  Sometimes the doctor will give you the antibiotic therapy and then wait to take out the appendix until it has "calmed down" a little bit.  You really need to ask your doctor which exercises you can do.  Without knowing your exact situation we don't know what to recommend.  I would call your doctor and ask them this.

[IrishCommuter]

Thanks for your reply - sorry, I'm getting befuddled navigating medhelp.org - the closest I can find to deleting this duplicate post is to report it as miscategorised. If someone with The Knack can delete it for me, I'd be very grateful  !!

[IrishCommuter]

Just as a followup, I did actually ask my hospital doctor at the most recent visit when the drain was removed and he suggested I needn't avoid anything in particular. As this was completely different to a GP's opinion I subsequently heard - which said to take things very carefully prior to the op - I'm just looking to reconcile the two viewpoints. I'm leaning to the hospital doctor with his greater specific experience but wanted to double-check whether there was a general consensus.

[patient915]

I would say that you could do things like walking and weightlifting that doesn't involve your stomach or bending over.  I would think that you could cause damage by bending over or other things like that.

[IrishCommuter]

OK, well something NOT to do was evidently to simultaneously bend and twist reaching to pick up a bib. This squeezed something which really didn't appreciate being squeezed and has been painful for the past fortnight as a consequence!

Subsequent to my original posted question, I have had a colonoscopy and heard from a nurse that my appendectomy is now scheduled for another 6 weeks' time. Since the original onset of appendicitis was early July, this makes the interval between rupture and removal nearly 3 months. I pointed out to the two doctors I saw doing the colonoscopy (one who I've been dealing with since the beginning) that I'm experiencing ongoing pain - a continuous cramp-like sensation just below my stomach 24/7 (like a sensation of bloating) and sharp, short stabbing pains in the lower right side intermittently when I move, occasionally when I'm stationary but - so far anyway - this doesn't seem to have had a bearing on the suggested operation date (though I'm waiting for written confirmation rather than hearsay). I'm not on any antibiotics at this point, just paracetamol and tradol painkillers as and when required.

I'm aware that intervals of months between antibiotic treatment and appendix removal are not uncommon but still, it seems odd to me that a ruptured appendix which caused so much infection can be left for this length of time after conclusion of the antibiotic course (weeks ago at this stage). Is there a strong argument for leaving the area to heal ? I could understand if the discomfort was easing with time but it seems to be fairly constant, even worsening at times. What is to prevent it leaking or becoming inflamed/infected again?

The reason it ruptured in the first place was that the appendicitis pain I had was unpleasant but far from agonising. I only had a very mild fever and wasn't nauseous or sick so I assumed I had some sort of stomach bug and only realised too late what had happened. Even when I arrived at A&E, the rebound test failed to generate more than a twinge on four separate occasions. My concern is that if the infection recurs, it might again present mild symptoms - given my current pain experience, how can I be confident it's not already occurring !?