10 replies to this topic

[SLW]

Advertisement

I was just wondering how all those who posted on here suspecting they had chronic appendicitis are going? Did you have your suspicions confirmed? Anyone have their appendix removed? I have been suffering from "IBS" for as long as I can remember but about once a year I get a pain that is different from the usual. It starts suddenly and always appears on my lower right side. I always think it is my appendix but every time I go to the ER they say it's probably IBS and send me home. There was one time they suspected appendicitis and my white blood cell count was up but they said they wanted to do an ultrasound before taking it out. When I came back the following morning for the ultrasound, the sonographer wasn't rostered on, so they sent me home and told me to come back only if the pain got worse. This was about 3 and a half years ago and I've had an "attack" of this pain pretty much yearly since. Now for the past month and a half the pain has come back. It started one morning with an overwhelming feeling of nausea and by that night I was getting intense pain on my lower right side. It came as a sharp stabbing pain and would vary in intensity, made worse by movement. I was literally bed ridden for 2 weeks. I went to hospital but all my bloods and urine came back normal as did x-rays and ultrasound. So they are sending me for a colonoscopy and an endoscopy which will take about 2-3 months for me to get in. I am worried that I actually have chronic appendicitis and I'm struggling to find a Dr. who will believe me. My pain is purely lower right sided, is sharp and stabbing, varies in intensity, isn't affected by different foods and sometimes the pain radiates into my hip, down my leg and into my back. I also have a lymph node up in my groin on the right side (which is a sign of my body fighting infection). My mum had similar attacks over the years when she was younger and after having her appendix removed all her symptoms went away. I don't know what to do right now? Do I trust my doctors when they say it's IBS or do I find someone willing to perform surgery on my appendix "just in case". This pain has significantly affected my studies and is preventing me from finding work because I'm afraid I'll be such an unreliable employee with this pain. Is anybody else going through this right now? Please help!

[BQ]

I seriously doubt someone would operate on you especially when your bloods, xrays and US were "normal". And I know of no Dr that would operate on someone "just in case". As a reminder...An operation is rather drastic. I would continue to get the colonoscopy and endoscopy done. The area and pain you describe is also a common area for IBS pain... and IBS pain can be severe. So it is possible it could be from IBS and not chronic appendicitis.Statistically speaking.... chances are probably better that you have IBS rather than chronic appendicitis as Chronic app is rare. And IBS isn't rare.If you start running a fever that accompanies the pain... I would go back to the Dr. In the meantime.. just do the best you can while awaiting your testing.

[SLW]

Thanks for your reply. It has put my mind at ease a little bit. I guess what scares me is that this pain presents itself differently to my usual IBS symptoms which are bloating, nausea and abdominal cramps (rather than localised pain). But I will definitely go ahead with the colonoscopy/endoscopy because I really want to get to the bottom of this.

[dilu]

IBS is not a diagnosis. It's just a cover for a range of symptoms. Many doctors use it when they can't really find any causes of your problems. I have the same symptoms as you. It is almost impossible to live with them and they get worse with the years. A very long time i had an accute appendicitis, but it was misdiagnosed on the basis of a faulty white blood cell count and later corrected to be an appendicitis. By that time i had already taken antibiotics and no surgery was performed to remove the appendix. After researching many possible causes myself (especially after vancomycin and metronidazole totally but temporarily removed all symptoms) i will consider chronical appendicitis as a serious option. The more, after reading this posts of people who had similar experiences. One is in English and one in Dutch (maybe you can translate it with google):http://www.mombu.com/medicine/general-body/t-severe-ibs-or-chronic-appendicitis-stress-appendix-appendicitis-constipation-weight-2212835.htmlhttp://www.mo.be/wereldblog/ivan-godfroid/congolees-fingerspitzengefuehlPersonally, when i hear doctors use the diagnosis 'IBS', I run. They just didn't take the time to seriously study the topic. IBS doesn't really exist and they don't have a treatment for it, because they don't know what it is. It's the same as saying that the cause of all your problems is between your ears. And that doesn't help you.Take careDilu

I was just wondering how all those who posted on here suspecting they had chronic appendicitis are going? Did you have your suspicions confirmed? Anyone have their appendix removed? I have been suffering from "IBS" for as long as I can remember but about once a year I get a pain that is different from the usual. It starts suddenly and always appears on my lower right side. I always think it is my appendix but every time I go to the ER they say it's probably IBS and send me home. There was one time they suspected appendicitis and my white blood cell count was up but they said they wanted to do an ultrasound before taking it out. When I came back the following morning for the ultrasound, the sonographer wasn't rostered on, so they sent me home and told me to come back only if the pain got worse. This was about 3 and a half years ago and I've had an "attack" of this pain pretty much yearly since. Now for the past month and a half the pain has come back. It started one morning with an overwhelming feeling of nausea and by that night I was getting intense pain on my lower right side. It came as a sharp stabbing pain and would vary in intensity, made worse by movement. I was literally bed ridden for 2 weeks. I went to hospital but all my bloods and urine came back normal as did x-rays and ultrasound. So they are sending me for a colonoscopy and an endoscopy which will take about 2-3 months for me to get in. I am worried that I actually have chronic appendicitis and I'm struggling to find a Dr. who will believe me. My pain is purely lower right sided, is sharp and stabbing, varies in intensity, isn't affected by different foods and sometimes the pain radiates into my hip, down my leg and into my back. I also have a lymph node up in my groin on the right side (which is a sign of my body fighting infection). My mum had similar attacks over the years when she was younger and after having her appendix removed all her symptoms went away. I don't know what to do right now? Do I trust my doctors when they say it's IBS or do I find someone willing to perform surgery on my appendix "just in case". This pain has significantly affected my studies and is preventing me from finding work because I'm afraid I'll be such an unreliable employee with this pain. Is anybody else going through this right now? Please help!

[BQ]

IBS doesn't really exist and they don't have a treatment for it, because they don't know what it is.

I am sorry but I have to disagree with you Dilu. IBS IS a diagnosis. I am sure some Dr's do no tgo far enough to rule out other GI problems. But that doesn't mean that IBS doesn't exist. See our home page for info: http://www.ibsgroup.org/Also please see the "Manage" tab in the dark blue Menu bar above us here. Loads of information there.I am not out to argue with you... but saying it doesn't exist simply isn't true hon. If that is your opinion.. you are entitled to it and that's fine. But those are not the facts about IBS.

[dilu]

Any scientific discussion has to be logical and unbiased. However your reaction is neither of that. You pose that I'm entitled to my opinion, but at the same time you mention that only YOUR opinion is true and that what I say "simply isn't true". In that manner, it is hardly possible to come to any dialectic progress on a topic. I quote the definition of IBS as given on this website: "Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a functional bowel disorder of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract characterized by recurrent abdominal pain and discomfort accompanied by alterations in bowel function, diarrhea, constipation or a combination of both, typically over months or years. The cause of IBS is unknown.". It is clear that any organ in the body can be irritated by a number of causes. Stating 'irritability' as a diagnosis is therefor far from groundbraking. What the scientific community should concentrate on is to find the real causes behind the irritation and thus help the patient, who often suffers for many years already, to get relief from his pains or discomfort. If, for example, a patient has a chronic appendicitis, which leaks bowel bacteria into his abdominal cavity, then his pelvic floor muscle can get irritated, causing it to become 'overactive' and blocking bowel movement. If a patient has small intestines bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) then this too can cause his bowel to be irritated. If a patient has diabetes, then the nerves regulating the bowel movement can be affected, giving the impression of an irritated bowel. Pancreatic problems, problems with the enterohepathic cycle, etc.. a whole array of defect body functions can cause an irritated bowel. Sending a patient home with at mere "IBS" diagnosis, for which there is said to be "no known cause", is symply letting the patient down. More effort has to be done by the medical profession to find the real cause of the 'irritated' bowel in each individual case, instead of throwing all the patients on the same pile, using this vague 'IBS' diagnosis. - With kind regards, Di Lu.

I am sorry but I have to disagree with you Dilu. IBS IS a diagnosis. I am sure some Dr's do no tgo far enough to rule out other GI problems. But that doesn't mean that IBS doesn't exist. See our home page for info: http://www.ibsgroup.org/Also please see the "Manage" tab in the dark blue Menu bar above us here. Loads of information there.I am not out to argue with you... but saying it doesn't exist simply isn't true hon. If that is your opinion.. you are entitled to it and that's fine. But those are not the facts about IBS.

[BQ]

Like I said.. you are entitled to your opinion. All the best.

[dilu]

Please note that I don't need your reminder to know that I'm entitled to my own opinion. It's something I know already a long time. And, as far as I know, it is still a universal right, not depending on your approval. Moreover, it's certainly not relevant in this discussion. It would be better if you could realize that you have a slightly patronizing attitude, thinking that you are the one who has to regulate the different opinions of other people, in the light of your belief that your opinion is the only correct one. So, in the future please try to bring your opinion as a logical and objective contribution to the discussion, instead of involving your personal desires into it. Take care. Di Lu.

Like I said.. you are entitled to your opinion. All the best.

[melaniemetz]

Please note that I don't need your reminder to know that I'm entitled to my own opinion. It's something I know already a long time. And, as far as I know, it is still a universal right, not depending on your approval. Moreover, it's certainly not relevant in this discussion. It would be better if you could realize that you have a slightly patronizing attitude, thinking that you are the one who has to regulate the different opinions of other people, in the light of your belief that your opinion is the only correct one. So, in the future please try to bring your opinion as a logical and objective contribution to the discussion, instead of involving your personal desires into it. Take care. Di Lu.

I also have an opinion that not enough research is done to find the "root cause" for people with IBS. Sure, some IBS cases may indeed be due to "IBS", a nerve issue, increased gut sensitivity, etc. However, I also believe there are many cases that are caused by something else. Anything from a small tumor somewhere else in the body to a trace mineral deficiency or enzyme deficiency...who knows. And if that root cause was actually determined and treated the IBS symptoms would subside. I believe there is some cause of my recent worsening symtoms that has not been found. I sometimes believe I know what it might be but the doctor's won't take me seriously and won't do additional diagnostic testing to look more closely at what I think the cause may be. It's very frustrating! We know our bodies better than many doctors. My first GI doctor had be start taking Prevacid, assuming my "excessive burping" at the time was acid reflux (which it wasn't). The Prevacid made my symptoms 100x worse over the months...and then they wanted me to take more!! If I feel worse, increase my dose! When I stopped taking it things improved (temporarily). Anyway, some docs are better than others. Some may search harder for a root cause than others. But I understand also that there is only so much knowledge out there, only so much research that's been done, and only so much time the docs can devote to each of our cases. My suffering has made me want to become a doctor and devote my life and research to "IBS" and the multitude of other disorders that may cause IBS type symptoms. Just my 2 cents.

[dilu]

Like I said.. telling a patient that he/she has IBS is like saying to a car owner that his car has for example 'combustion problems'. There can be many causes for problems with the combustion. E.g.: low quality fuel, a blocked fuel filter, defect injection/carburator, problems with the valves in the motor, etc... There is a whole range of possible causes. Saying that the patient has IBS is like saying that the car has 'Combustion Problem Syndrome', subsequently sending the car owner home with the message: 'we can't do anything for you, just drive slower or don't drive' and probably thinking that it's his driving style that is the cause. Calling a disease 'IBS' is naming it by its symptoms, without going any deeper into the matter.

Like I said.. you are entitled to your opinion. All the best.

[Lisa Ancona Gatti]

I was just wondering how all those who posted on here suspecting they had chronic appendicitis are going? Did you have your suspicions confirmed? Anyone have their appendix removed? I have been suffering from "IBS" for as long as I can remember but about once a year I get a pain that is different from the usual. It starts suddenly and always appears on my lower right side. I always think it is my appendix but every time I go to the ER they say it's probably IBS and send me home. There was one time they suspected appendicitis and my white blood cell count was up but they said they wanted to do an ultrasound before taking it out. When I came back the following morning for the ultrasound, the sonographer wasn't rostered on, so they sent me home and told me to come back only if the pain got worse. This was about 3 and a half years ago and I've had an "attack" of this pain pretty much yearly since. Now for the past month and a half the pain has come back. It started one morning with an overwhelming feeling of nausea and by that night I was getting intense pain on my lower right side. It came as a sharp stabbing pain and would vary in intensity, made worse by movement. I was literally bed ridden for 2 weeks. I went to hospital but all my bloods and urine came back normal as did x-rays and ultrasound. So they are sending me for a colonoscopy and an endoscopy which will take about 2-3 months for me to get in. I am worried that I actually have chronic appendicitis and I'm struggling to find a Dr. who will believe me. My pain is purely lower right sided, is sharp and stabbing, varies in intensity, isn't affected by different foods and sometimes the pain radiates into my hip, down my leg and into my back. I also have a lymph node up in my groin on the right side (which is a sign of my body fighting infection). My mum had similar attacks over the years when she was younger and after having her appendix removed all her symptoms went away. I don't know what to do right now? Do I trust my doctors when they say it's IBS or do I find someone willing to perform surgery on my appendix "just in case". This pain has significantly affected my studies and is preventing me from finding work because I'm afraid I'll be such an unreliable employee with this pain. Is anybody else going through this right now? Please help!   

 

 

Hello, I have been going through exactly what you are . Actuaully, It is my 18 year old daughter, She has been having all kinds of stomach issues for two years. No answers from anyone. After many doctors and endoscopiy all they could offer was a finicky stomach. She was nauseous pretty much everyday and would have these stomach episodes of pain,but as you described it she would say" This pain is different". Lon g story short, it happened yesterday, so bad I took her to the ER. They gave her a catscan of her stomach and she had appendicitis. Her white blood count was leo high. a sign of infection. They removed her appendix immediately before it ruptured.. I suggest you ask your doctor to order you a catscan of your stomach . That should help with diagnosis. i am not sure if you need to wait for another pain episode for them to see it. I am sure your case is exactly what my daughters is. You must insist on the catscan. Be your own doctor . She had it removed last night at 8;30 laprascopicly and  is already home recovering. I wish you the best