any one had appendicitis?

[fat_brstd]

Story:

Just got out of hospital today having gone in last wed with a rather bad stomach pain. Turns out i had a "gangrenous appendix which on a scale of 1 to 10 is deffinately a 10" which was "The worst ive seen in a long time" quote the surgen who had the misfourtune to have to take it out for me. Yes im back home now and yes i feel a lot better and im on the road to being all sorted.

The Question is:

how long did you wait before you got back on a bike? And how far were you willing to go once you got back on it?

Particulars:

1 Im overweight, stocky but still tubby (5'8 15.5 stone)
2 I dont do "recreational" exersice I only do what i have to for to get about my day and job so heavy lifting is fine but running is not thus i dont have a massivly strong 6 pack
3 The scar has been stiched using invisible stiches that disolve of there own accord not traditional ones that you have to get taken out and is about 4 inches long.

Im hopping just over 2 weeks is going to be enough as i really need transport by then. The doc said she had no idea about bikes but to use common sense and dont try to do any lifting till it felt totaly safe.

thanks in advance guys.

[phizog]

I had the pains you described. But I ignored it, and it went away after a while. A month later they came back, but worse. But I ignored it. I tried to sleep it off but after several hours of trying to get to sleep and not being able to because of the pain, I got the parents up and got them to take me to the hospital. They stuffed around for a day or so, lost the blood sample, etc. etc. The pain went away after the first day in hospital. Was about to go, but they said they just had to wait for the results to give me the all clear. But it came back that there was something wrong. Thing is, they can't be sure until they actually get in there (read as: they didn't have the expensive equipment used to detect this problem), so they scheduled the operation just in case.

Lucky they did, as it had already exploded :S Thats why the pain had gone away.. Anyhow, they got all the crap out and when I woke up I was feeling realllly bad. They gave me some painkillers but it still totally sucked. I hadn't eaten since I came into hospital (so about 2 days ago by this point) and now I was on massive amount of antibiotics which cause really bad nausea. They gave me some antinausea stuff but none of it worked.

All up I was in hospital for about 5-6 days.

When I got home I was pretty dead, couldn't move without pain, etc. and the nausea was something else. I couldn't bring myself to eat anything, and having antibiotics on an empty stomach just makes it worse. After some medicinal marijuana my nausea was gone and I was able to eat! With the full stomach I was much better.


About a week and a half later I went for a ride, even though it was a bit painful going over bumps, etc.

Good luck :)

[phizog]

edit: Don't expect to do ANY heavy lifting for 2-4 weeks though, depending on your recovery.

[Pedrosa]

You must have been distraught on learning that the problem was not simply a case of " the mother of all gasses!"

Heal fast and watch how you go mate.:D

[timwilky]

Twin bro worked as a chef, decided that he needed some holiday and went to the quack fainting bad stomach ache trying to convince them that there was no way he could be near a kitchen.

Doctor called the ambulance to the surgery and 3 hours later bro was on the table. Woke up that night really ****ed with himself. next day signed himself out and got a taxi to the pub to console himself.

Appendix then. Something an nothing. Mine were whipped out when I was 6 years old.

[Pedro68]

Not quite ...

Had the symptoms, so was rushed into hospital (almost exactly 10 years ago to the day) in the early hours of the morning. Had 3 doctors prod and poke me around the abdominal area, causing me much pain. The trouble is, none of them could quite agree that it was actually appendicitis as the pain seemed to be just a little too close to the centre of my abdomen (closer than it should have been for a clear-cut case of appendicitis). Eventually they all agreed that surgery would be the best option.

I was told that I would be "prep'd" for surgery later that day (about 4pm), and I was ensured it was a "routine operation", with a tiny (2 inch) incision that would "heal quickly" and that I would be discharged the next day.

Well when I woke up god knows how long later (probably a good few hours), I was greeted by my family, and a few doctors ... one of whom proclaimed herself as my "senior consultant" ... at this point, I got the impression that this wasn't quite a "routine operation" ... and when I tried to move, the pain in my lower abdomen kinda confirmed this.

I was then told that during the "routine appendectomy" they discovered what was really causing me the abdominal pain ... a 10cm section of inflamed lower intestine ... so my 2 inch appendectomy scar was very kindly extended by a further 4 inches - cutting into stomach muscle :( and they removed the 10cm section of lower intestine.

Tissue samples from the removed section of intestine was being sent away for tests but the consultant was almost certain that it was "Crohns Disease".

I had a nice little "wrist-watch" that administered a dose of diamorphine every so often (but still not often enough IMO!) as the abdominal pain was fairly bad. However, I was told I could not go home until I had had a "bowel movement" :-s it was painful enough just pi$$ing FFS! I thought F-this, I'll stay until I'm better then! However, the bowels just don't work that way :(

Glad to say I was released after about 4 - 5 days of sharing a ward filled with "elderly people with bowel problems" (not the nicest place on the earth to be). Oh, I was informed by the consultant that I would not be able to drive or lift any heavy objects for 2 MONTHS.

I'd just started a new job - only worked there 3 days - but they were great. They realised how serious it was and allowed me to take the 2 months off on full pay :) Although they were a little bit miffed at me taking a further 2 weeks holiday for paternity leave only a week after returning to work :D LOL

BTW - the journey home in a little old Vauxhall Nova was one of the worst journeys of my life and painful as hell!!

[phizog]

it was painful enough just pi$$ing FFS

Mate I know exactly what you mean. I couldn't move in bed after the operation, couldn't even sit up without help. After two days I was able to walk to the bathroom (2 metres away) and back, but it bloody hurt alot! And yes, after my hospital experience I decided I didn't want to ever get that old/helpless - there is no dignity left once you reach a certain age/condition.

[Flamin_Squirrel]

I've had it. In Greece.

Not an experience I'd wish to repeat. Much like phizog I wasn't able to situp without help for a while, nor could I walk for a few days. I walked out of the hospital a week and a bit later unaided, but still felt wobbly.

This was 10 years ago now and I wasn't riding at the time, but if I was I certainly wouldn't have been thinking about riding for a good 2 weeks at least I'd reckon.

[Ed]

FB - that sounds hideously painful. All that home brew I guess!!!

Can't advise on the rest etc. But I hope you feel better soon.

[Pedro68]

After two days I was able to walk to the bathroom (2 metres away) and back, but it bloody hurt alot! And yes, after my hospital experience I decided I didn't want to ever get that old/helpless - there is no dignity left once you reach a certain age/condition.
Well the loos on the ward I was on were a good few metres more than that away ... it was a right pain in the ar$e (and the abdomen), not to mention totally undignified (those flappy overalls you have to wear), to have to drag your feet and your saline drip to the toilets just to TRY and "squeeze one out" ... no joy ... then back to the ward. So that was another hour gone out of my day ... only the old codgers left to talk to about which parts of their bowels were left intact and still actually worked :rolleyes:

As for the dignity ... guess we were intended to finish as we started ... dribbling into our laps and pi$$ing ourself :confused:

This was 10 years ago now and I wasn't riding at the time, but if I was I certainly wouldn't have been thinking about riding for a good 2 weeks at least I'd reckon.

I wasn't riding at the time either ... thankfully ... and as FS said I think if I was, I certainly wouldn't have even considered getting back on a bike for at least 2 weeks ... but in my condition, stomach muscles having been sliced open, I'd have definitely said 4 - 6 weeks.

Whatever you do, don't rush back to it ... otherwise I suspect you could end up with some painful scar tissue (if it doesn't heal properly). I'm not a doctor although I know of people who have had this happen to them (that is, not allowing a scar to heal properly). So if in doubt ... seek medical advice from your GP first.

[Demonz]

The best thing about apendicitus was the pethadine :) mmmm pethadine.... I didnt complain to the wife - seemed relatively trivial compared to a C section.