HOW TO SURVIVE ACUTE APPENDICITIS

WHAT IS APPENDIX?

Is appendix real? Does it exist in us humans?

The answer is YES!

In accordance with anatomy, the vermiform appendix is an inner organ that can become inflamed.

WHAT IS APPENDICITIS?

Pathologically, inflammation of the vermiform appendix.

Inflammation is a condition of any part of the body, consisting of congestion of the blood vessels, with obstruction of the blood current, and growth of morbid tissue. It is manifested outwardly by redness and swelling, attended with heat and pain.

Forget the vocabularies, basically, it is ‘heat, redness, swellings, and pain‘

WHAT THEN IS ‘ACUTE APPENDICITIS’?

Appendicitis becomes acute when the pain is severe and unbearable.

FEELINGS YOU GET BEFORE DIAGNOSIS:

• A twirling movement from your belly button (navel) to the lower right side of your abdomen.
• Tiredness.
• Inability to walk well.
• Consistent twirling even after eating ( for those that would tag it as hunger or stress)
• It is not a sharp pain initially, more like a twisting or twirling pain.

HOW TO COPE WITH THE FEELINGS?

• Lying on your back.
• Not bending.
• Eating a lot.

IS DIAGNOSIS IMPORTANT?

YES, it is. Do not ever self diagnose, a proper diagnosis is needed.

HOW TO GET DIAGNOSED?

• Visit a health centre or clinic or hospital to place a complaint to a medical personnel. You can as well place a call to your family or personal doctor for medical advice or suggestions.
• You would be advised to go for a scan, GO FOR IT.
• In case you do not have a doctor friend or you’re shy of clinics, go directly for a scan, it is called ‘medical check up, not ‘self medication‘. No one can crucify you.

 

WHAT TO DO AFTER A SCAN?

If:

• it was a medical personnel that advised you to go for the scan, go back to them or the hospital you earlier visited.
• you did not visit the clinic or any medical personnel earlier, just go to the hospital EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! Show the result to a health worker as this is not a wait-in-line situation, THIS IS EMERGENCY.

P.S: An advantage of visiting a clinic is that when you show them the result of your scan, with an impression of acute appendicitis, you would be referred to a bigger health institute or hospital, placing you in the spotlight, which is good for you in this situation.

WHAT WOULD THE DOCTORS SAY?

Appendicitis is like a coin, there are two sides to it. It has two stages, sub-acute and acute; less severe and very severe, literally.

• For sub-acute appendicitis: antibiotics and constant visit to the hospital.
• For acute appendicitis: immediate surgery

Since we are dealing with acute appendicitis at the moment, the surgery is our focus.

Ordinarily, the doctors( surgeons) would:

•  Perform series of physical examinations such as: pulling your right legs backwards and pushing it inwards  AND
•  Ask sets of questions from the surgery team such as:

1. When the feeling started?
2. Do you notice weight loss?
3. Do you notice a loss in your appetite?
4. Have you been redundant in weight? (Meaning: has your weight in kilograms or ) been stagnant?)
5. Does your lower right abdomen twirl or twist?
6. Where the movement started? (Usually moves from the bellybutton or navel to the right side of the abdomen)
7. Is it a sharp pain or a twirling or twisting pain? (Mostly, it’s a twirling pain at first which can become severe depending on the type of appendicitis involved).

MOST ESSENTIAL:

From you visiting the hospital or clinic to you going for a scan and then back to the hospital, it is essential you are not alone. Make sure you have a family relative or trusted friend with you. This is because of the burden that comes with walking on your own. You would most definitely need a human aid or support.

HOURS OF SURGERY: 

Basically, 3 HOURS. Here is the breakdown:

• PREPARATORY: You would be given anaesthetics, prolly on your spine to make your lower body or entire body numb to pain. You can then choose to sleep (I mean, for you to be unconscious) or not. The preparatory takes close to an hour.
• VITAL CHECKS: Your vitals such as your blood pressure, temperature and other vital checks would be made at intervals. This continues till the end of the surgery so there is no specific time frame for it.
• THE MAIN: I call it the main because it entails the surgery itself. If you choose to be conscious, you’d barely feel the touches going around your abdomen, no pain whatsoever, just slight ticklish vibrations. The main takes up to an hour and half. (1hr 30min)

 

P.S: Guys, if you feel pain, no matter how slight it is, inform the anaesthesiologist (A physician who specializes in anesthesiology and administers anesthesia) SPEAK UP!

And yes, you’d be put to sleep eventually to help relax your nerves and get over the anesthesia (An artificial method of preventing sensation, used to eliminate pain) given.

AFTER SURGERY:

You would be moved into the recovery room after a successful surgery, and then you would continue your blissful sleep. Your next destination would be the surgical ward. You’d be placed on drips (fluids) for some time.

P.S: No magician can tell if a surgery is successful or not. It takes very natural processes before the success of any surgery can be confirmed. In the case of appendectomy or any other surgery, it is expected of an individual to perform some actions before the surgery can be called a success.

Such actions include:

1. Release of gas from the anus. Also called farting.
2. Urinating successfully.
3. Belching.
4. Giving out a deep yawn.

 

On the contrary, there are some actions that would be regarded unusual if a patient performs them. Some are:

1. Vomiting or throwing up ( this is a wary signal that can postpone ones discharge as the doctors would want to observe the patient for sometime).
2. Hiccups, in some cases might be unusual. However, it is not too significant.

TOTAL NUMBER OF DAYS BEFORE DISCHARGE

Maximum: 3 days.

Minimum: 2 days.

AFTER DISCHARGE 

You are now free to eat. Infact, ideally, you’d begin to take in fluids (juice and cereals) after a day. But the real solid food begins after your discharge. You would be placed on tablets now that the drips have been stopped.

DRESSING: 

Before discharge, your heavy dressing (the one from the theatre) would be removed and a simpler dressing would replace it.

NORMAL LIFE :

Yes my sweet! Your normal life continues after your discharge. You can now tend to that business of yours and resume your everyday day activities painlessly.

 

MY ADVICE:

DIET: I strongly advise to consume a lot of fruits and veggies, fibres and protein, for quick healing.

VISIT THE HOSPITAL AT INTERVALS FOR REGULAR CHECK UP ON THE SUTURED SPOT. TELL ALL YOUR COMPLAINTS TO THE DOCTOR. I WISH YOU A SAFE JOURNEY.

FIGHTING!❤️.