Appendix? Hospital send me home

[vikrobbie]

Hi,
Im 21 years old and usually fit and healthy. 8 weeks ago i appeared in emergency with right lower abdo pain which felt like a stabbing pain. The next day i was taken to surgery for an appendectomy- through a laproscope. they didnt remove my appendix but noticed several fluid cysts on both my ovaries. I was discharced the next day. Since then i have been in and out of hopital 6 times with the same pain. My last admission was last week an i had terrible shoulder pain, back pain and lower right pain. At first we went to the doctor's instead of hospital because we knew the hospital would send me home. The doc sent me straight to the hospital. The kept me in for a few days to manage the pain. I have had normal blood tests,ct scans and ultrasounds which cant seem to pick up anything abnormal. My mom thinks that they should go in and remove my appendix as my WBC count was up 8 weeks ago and has returned to normal. I can't do anything, every time i move i'm in constant pain. On my last visit one surgeon told me i worst comes to worst they would go back in and have a look, and remove my appendix at the same time. My question is, can my appendix be flaring up and causing this much pain bu still have a normal white blood count as of last week. I am in agony and sick of getting to the hospital to find out they are sending me home with no answers. I have a gastroenterolgy appointment on the 22nd October, but i dont think i can wait that long. Please help

[Curls]

For adhesions, Mary53 (I think that's the number she uses with Mary) on the ovarian cancer patient forum  descibes exercises that other women have loved to help break up the adhesions and reduce that kind of pain.  They sound simple, yet effective, and have popped up a few times as women have explorered this problem.

vikrobbie, if you now have one small fluid filled cyst then they are likely functional cysts that come and go with each cycle for some women.  They are nothing to worry about.  When a cyst bursts it can be very painful, but then that would be the end of that.  They can cause a surprising amount of symptoms such as gas, bloating, but one small one shouldn't be a huge deal to your body like you said.

[bj31]

I know what you are talking about with the adhesions.  I have had a multitude of abdominal surgeries and have a massive amount of those painful adhesions.  Think of it like this...  Picture a ball as your abdomin.  Now take some glue on different places around that ball.  Think of the glue as the adhesion.  Now when you stand up, walk, do anything but lay, you can pull the glue off the ball or stretch it just the same.  At times depending on the severity of the adhesion, you can actually pull the adhesion completely off whatever it attached too.  Let me tell you, that hurts.  The cyst that they removed could account for some of the pain, as I have had them too.  But for the most part it sounds like the effects of having adhesions.  By the way, if no one has told you this, the more surgeries you have, the more adhesions you will have.  Now the pain you are having right now very well could be from them removing those adhesions as the area where they took them from is basically raw.  Give it some time to heal and if your problem continues with the adhesions, try to stand up slow, hunched over and slowly bring yourself up right.  If you ever have trouble sleeping with it take your pillow,get into a fetal position, put the pillow into your stomach and it may help some what.  Good Luck

[vikrobbie]

Sorry for not getting back sooner..

Went back to hospital on Monday night and demanded a exploratory laparscopy and told them to take my appendix out whilst they were in there.. So appendix came out on Tuesday. I also had one small cyst- shouldnt be causing the pain and adhesions on my lower left bowel (whatever they are!)

I konw its not IBS, my mother has that and definately not any different after i have eaten.

I have had pain since tuesday- but i think that is related more with the surgery i had. I was fine until about half an hour ago - i have burning sensation near my belly button, hoping it wont last long and i can head to bed. I have a endoscopy and colonoscopy boked for the 25 Oct- shoud be fun! I suggest you find a good gastroentologist and get him to do one too.

Hope this helps

vik x

[maybesomeday]

I also have gas & bloating,  and horrific pains in my lower right abdomen,  but strangely,  sometimes the pains are in the lower left abdomen as well.  When it hurts,  I can feel a lump (about the size of a golf ball),  and if I sit down & relax it goes away (the pain and the lump).  I am starting to think I am going crazy.

[Curls]

Vikrobbie - Those cysts could be causing symptoms.  Check out the prior posts on the ovarian cancer site.  They deal with benign cysts, not just cancer.

Maybe - I so don't like it when docs use IBS as an answer for anything they can't explain.  IBS is not site specific.  Maybe MRI would find something?  I think chronic appen would be fine sometimes and flare at others.  Can you switch doctors or see a different specialist?  They should be able to get to the root of this.  Ask for an exploratory laparscopy?  They might not authorize it, but it's worth asking and going through a procedure to just to look if it's causing this.  Radiologist's skill levels vary, so ask the various labs who the best ones are and see if you can have the transvaginal ultrasound done again to look for cysts or other gyno abnormalities.  That usually has more symptoms though than you do - gas, bloat, not a single site specific pain.  An ER is going to be limited in it's diagnositic workup and will look for life-threatening items, since they can't do a whole doctor follow up process?  This forum isn't the busiest - so if no one knows - I've noticed the posts don't get answered...  

Good luck to both of you!!!

[maybesomeday]

Boy does this sound familiar.  I have been having the same problem for 4 months now.  Was starting to think I am the only person in the world who has this.  I went to the emergency room on June 8th with a stabbing pain in my lower right abdomen.  They did CT scan,  ovarian ultrasound,  CBC,  and then sent me home.  The thing is,  I have this pain almost every day,  if I am up moving around it hurts badly.  If I sit down & relax it goes away,  though.  I can actually feel a lump there when it hurts,  though.  Was starting to think perhaps it's a hernia.  I have heard of "cronic appendicitis",  but don't know much about it.  I have been to the gastro,  they suggest it is IBS.  I've been on this board for months now asking questions,  but no-one EVER answers my posts.  I hope you (and me too) get some answers.  It is awful to have a mystery pain that makes you so you can't function.