Nicole M Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 My husband is with our boys at Urgent Care waiting for a CAT scan in an hour. I am at work. Gah. The doctor thinks there is a high probability that our oldest, 17, has appendicitis. Does anyone have experience with this? I'm wondering about surgery, recovery time, etc. I can't fret over the actual child, so I'm coming to you, so you can fret with me...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Fairy Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I don't have any experience either, but I'll fret with you. :grouphug: Stinks that you are stuck at work! Will you be able to go if he needs surgery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loupelou Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 My daughter had her appendix removed at the age of 4. Her surgeon removed it using laparoscopy (?), she has a small scar on her lower abdomen. The surgery lasted about 30 minutes and she spent a couple of days in the hospital. No big deal, I know it's hard \, especially not being there. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I had mine taken out at 15. I understand that surgery has changed since then. A friend of mine had hers done a few years later through keyhole surgery and she was back at school after two days. I felt kinda icky and sore for about five days if I recall correctly. Part of it was because I did not follow doctors orders and stay in hospital an extra night (I have a doctor phobia). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I had mine out 30 years ago. It was a quick surgery (even then) and while I stayed in the hospital for 5 days (I don't think they do that anymore), it was an easy recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 Thanks, everyone. My job is managing a concert hall on a college campus. We have conferences here in the summer. We were supposed to have a speaker start at 8, but he's stuck on the highway and not here yet. So this incredibly obnoxious guy is onstage blabbing away about money and spirituality (I do not have any idea what this particular conference is, but it's totally turning me off right now!). They were supposed to be finished at 11, but I don't think that's going to happen. There isn't anyone I can call to relieve me, either. I will go straight to the hospital afterwards if he does have to have surgery, though. I'm glad to know it's a relatively easy surgery. Thanks, again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reya Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 My DH had it, believe it or not, at the age of 27! I ID'd it and drove him to the hospital. He wouldn't kick up a fuss in the ER, so I dragged him by the ear and said, "He has appendicitis! Admit him NOW!" And they did. :-) Caught early, the surgery is as minor as abdominal surgery can be. DH was back at work after 3 days. But then again, he gets mega-cabin fever. EDIT: Oh, and he was discharged that afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I had complications (i.e. too boneheaded to go to the hospital before it ruptured) and still only spent 2 days in the hospital, about 2 weeks recovering though because of complications. My mother had hers out and was back to being a "normal mom" ;) within a week (a few years ago). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 Well, the CAT scan was inconclusive. Or, it didn't show an obvious problem. But it "might" be pre-appendicitis. Great. So we have to watch him over the weekend and see how he feels. In the meantime, I am trapped in a sound booth listening to a live "infomercial" about getting rich quick. Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 How very frustrating that all must have been. Sending good thoughts for a positive outcome. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 No experience, but much prayer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Well, the CAT scan was inconclusive. Or, it didn't show an obvious problem. But it "might" be pre-appendicitis. Great. So we have to watch him over the weekend and see how he feels. In the meantime, I am trapped in a sound booth listening to a live "infomercial" about getting rich quick. Nice! We had an incident last saturday that i'm still not sure on. She hasn't had anything else since though, so maybe it was something else - but she couldn't bend to sit in her seat and she honestly NEVER hollers out like that. The nurse i had to talk to didn't think she needed to drive up. ANYWAY, hopefully it is nothing in your son's case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doran Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Well, the CAT scan was inconclusive. Or, it didn't show an obvious problem. But it "might" be pre-appendicitis. Great. So we have to watch him over the weekend and see how he feels. In the meantime, I am trapped in a sound booth listening to a live "infomercial" about getting rich quick. Nice! I missed this yesterday. How is E today? Goodness, the things we have to juggle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted July 11, 2009 Author Share Posted July 11, 2009 I missed this yesterday. How is E today? Goodness, the things we have to juggle! He seems to be pretty chipper today. I guess it was a viral something. I think that boy has some intestinal issues that I don't understand, frankly. We had gone completely dairy free last November or so, because E had had chronic sinus problems since forever. (And lots of antibiotics followed each time by a round of super intensive, super expensive probiotics.) Allergy tests did not indicate a dairy problem, but we wanted to see what would happen. Since then, he is sometimes congested, but hasn't had any infections. So. Fast forward to this week. Since there hadn't been any sinus issues lately, we decided to make ice cream, and we pigged out. This was his first massive dose of dairy. My tummy did not feel too good that day, but I recovered. That night and the next day, E was incapacitated and all the pain was on the right side. Finally that night, last night, my husband took him in. It did not seem possible that dairy could have such a profound affect on someone, so I thought it had to be something else. Now I just don't know if it was bad timing with the ice cream and a virus or what. The odd thing was that last night I while all this was going on, there was a presentation in my little concert hall unlike anything I have ever witnessed. It was a conference / talk about getting rich. I honestly did not understand anything that was said. It was like a cult thing. The crowd was totally revved up and into it; dressed to the nines, all drinking this power energy drink stuff.... They started at 8 and went until 12:30am! The only thing I understood was "You need to do 50 acts of kindness every week. You reap what you sow." What? That's the key to wealth? We can't just do kind things, but we do them so we get rich? Confused. I'm telling you, it was like I'd entered the twilight zone. Meanwhile, I'm getting texts, "Waiting for the CAT scan." :willy_nilly: I'm glad that's over! Hopefully he doesn't have any more issues. We're supposed to watch him over the weekend, in case he was in the beginning stages of appendicitis. Looking good so far, though. Thanks for all your kind words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotherclassicmom Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 I have dairy intolerance, ice cream seems to do me in. I can have pain that doubles me over and actually makes me sweat. It usually ends in, how do you put this nicely, issues in the bathroom that clean me out. Sorry if that is TMI. Anyhow, has he had anything like that? Since you have been dairy free for awhile, if he does have an intolerance it could explain it. Hope he gets feeling better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted July 11, 2009 Author Share Posted July 11, 2009 I have dairy intolerance, ice cream seems to do me in. I can have pain that doubles me over and actually makes me sweat. It usually ends in, how do you put this nicely, issues in the bathroom that clean me out. Sorry if that is TMI. Anyhow, has he had anything like that? Since you have been dairy free for awhile, if he does have an intolerance it could explain it. Hope he gets feeling better. Oh, goodness! I don't think there was an explosive conclusion to the whole incident, though there were, uh, issues. I wondered about lactose intolerance, actually. Bummer, if that's the case! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Have they ruled out gall bladder problems? My dd had gall bladder problems when she was pregnant and a high fat meal was pretty much a guarantee of pain later. The pain is on the right side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted July 11, 2009 Author Share Posted July 11, 2009 Have they ruled out gall bladder problems? My dd had gall bladder problems when she was pregnant and a high fat meal was pretty much a guarantee of pain later. The pain is on the right side. Oh! I don't know. Do teenage boys have gall bladder problems? They did blood work and it was all fine. Does the pain pass, then recur? How do you detect a gall bladder issue? I think I'll do some googling.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Oh! I don't know. Do teenage boys have gall bladder problems? They did blood work and it was all fine. Does the pain pass, then recur? How do you detect a gall bladder issue? I think I'll do some googling.... Yes, boys can have gall bladder problems. My brother had to have his removed about two years ago. The pain can come and go. Gall bladder problems can be detected by ultrasound and CT scan I believe. I don't think there is any blood work that detects it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Oh, goodness! I don't think there was an explosive conclusion to the whole incident, though there were, uh, issues. I wondered about lactose intolerance, actually. Bummer, if that's the case! Lactose intolerance isn't necessarily an end to dairy consumption. My son was diagnosed as severely learning delayed when he was 2 1/2. His delays were speech, language, communication (couldn't even communicate nonverbally), cognitive, academic, social. We even considered autism. However, he had diarrhea so I asked for a gastro consult. Blood work, stool analysis, sweat test (to rule out cystic fibrosis), and lower GI all were normal. Doctor even ruled out lactose intolerance. When summer came (he was in preschool), I decided to do elimination diet to find out if there was a food cause. Because of family history, I started with dairy and his diarrhea cleared up in 3 days...after having it for a 1 1/2 years. By the end of summer, he was a near kid; he went from barely being able to put two words together to speaking in full sentences. By the time he was 5, he was completely caught up. Lactose intolerance can be very painful and wreck havoc on the entire body but.... It can be treated. We had great success with Digestive Advantage. My son and I (I'm intolerant too) can have dairy with no problems. It's a one a day pill. If you find it to be lactose intolerance, I'd give it a try if you don't want to have to give it up. Of course, it won't help with congestion issues. I linked to its website but it is sold in some stores too. I've seen it in Safeway, Walgreens, and I think Walmart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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