Question:

I have a fear of getting appendicitis!  It is almost my worst fear (next to having an ibs attack with no bathroom for miles). One thing I dont understand is,  if appendicitis occurs because a build up of bacteria, then wouldnt people with IBS be less prone to getting it?  Because we are going to the bathroom so often, we are basically cleaning out our intestines, therefor not allowing bacteria to build up. Or am I missing something?

Response:

In article <1998080400245800.UAA03…@ladder03.news.aol.com>, njdevfa…@aol.com (Njdevfan95) wrote: > I have a fear of getting appendicitis!  It is almost my worst fear (next to > having an ibs attack with no bathroom for miles).

Signs: rebound pain in McBirney’s point; low fever; pain that starts in the middle and moves abruptly to the right; vomiting, nausea and/or diarrhea; lack of appetite; peritonitis; death (anecdotal sign: greenish color of face). Any bad pain in McBirney’s point or even severe right-side abdominal pain should be taken seriously, especially if it lasts more than 12 hours and does not get better. People who I have known who have had it reported "the worst bellyache I’ve ever had" (including my mother, who took a hot bath and went to bed with a heating bad – things NOT to do with acute appendicitis!), feeling weak and tired, and really queasy but no actual barfing. > One thing I dont understand is,  if appendicitis > occurs because a build up of bacteria,

But it doesn’t. While the exact mechanism isn’t clearly understood (at least last time I heard), acute appendicitis is an infection of the appendix. It has nothing to do with frequency of bowel movements or anything like that. If you have an appendix, you are at risk for appendicitis, plain and simple.

Response:

I personally had appendicitis when I was 9 years old.  I went to the emergency room at 10pm and was finally seen at 2:15 am (emergency room?) anyway ever since then I have had IBS type symptoms.  My appendix did burst while I was waiting to be seen and I have always belived that this has something to do with my digestive problems. I am 24 now and I can remember going back to 4th grade after my operation and having gut problems ever since.  If anyone has had similar situations please let me know. greg

Response:

In article <1998080301541000.VAA18…@ladder03.news.aol.com>, pony…@aol.com (PONY166) wrote: > I personally had appendicitis when I was 9 years old.  I went to the emergency > room at 10pm and was finally seen at 2:15 am (emergency room?) anyway ever > since then I have had IBS type symptoms.  My appendix did burst while I was > waiting to be seen and I have always belived that this has something to do with > my digestive problems. I am 24 now and I can remember going back to 4th grade > after my operation and having gut problems ever since.  If anyone has had > similar situations please let me know.

Part of my constellation of IBS symptoms is chronic (or subclinical) appendicitis. It’ll get a little swollen, have rebound pain on McBirney’s point, and I’ll have a very low-grade fever along with the nausea/diarrhea – but no sign of infection and usually still have some appetite. It has been bad enough that I’ve thought ‘this is IT!’ but so far, it hasn’t. One reason for my particular condition is that I have a truly spastic colon, and I often have bad cramping at the cecum (where the small and large intestines join) from which the appendix dangles.

Response:

Never had appendicitis.  Have IBS. Although based on one of the theories of IBS, I could see how it would be possible for your situation to have "caused" it. One theory is that some infections can cause damage to the nerves in the gut, and it is the damaged nerves that  create the symptoms (the gut no longer regulates motility properly, over or under responding to stimuli and/or pain is no longer properly reported to the brain.. normal stuff now triggers the pain nerves, when it shouldn’t).  Lord know you had plenty of bacteria if you burst. ********************************************************* Blessed is he who has learned to laugh at himself, for he shall never ceased to be entertained                                           —John Powell kmot…@aol.com

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This really caught my eye.  Since I was 16 I had the constipation turning to diarreah, the cramps and sweating thing… But, when I was 24 my appendix burst.  It took the hospital four days to figure out what was wrong with me.  When I got out of the hospital my chronic diarreah started and it has been getting worse every year.  I have mentioned this to all my DRs, but none have thought it was important.  BTW, and on the same note, my symptoms took an even worse turn after I had surgery to correct my sphinctor (sp?) muscle.

Response:

Does common sense just go out the window with doctors when it comes to this.  I mean… Fine, appendix bursts, chronic diarrhea???   To me, there seems to be a connection.  Their conclusion… it’s stress, all in your head.  I don’t get it. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -insea…@juno.com wrote: > This really caught my eye.  Since I was 16 I had the constipation > turning to diarreah, the cramps and sweating thing… But, when I was 24 > my appendix burst.  It took the hospital four days to figure out what > was wrong with me.  When I got out of the hospital my chronic diarreah > started and it has been getting worse every year.  I have mentioned this > to all my DRs, but none have thought it was important.  BTW, and on the > same note, my symptoms took an even worse turn after I had surgery to > correct my sphinctor (sp?) muscle.

Response:

This post also really caught my ey!  My digestive woes started a three  months before I had appendicitis.  I felt a little better for a few weeks afterwards and then my symptoms all returned.   Sometimes I wonder if I wasn’t misdiagnosed, but I had an extremely high white blood cell count before my appendectomy which returned to normal aftwerwards. Also, the pathology report on my appendix was positive for acute appendicitis. I can’t help but wonder if it’s related somehow.

Response:

In article <35C60743.B612D…@wcnet.net>, doo…@wcnet.net wrote: > Does common sense just go out the window with doctors when it comes to > this.  I mean… Fine, appendix bursts, chronic diarrhea???   To me, there > seems to be a connection.  Their conclusion… it’s stress, all in your > head.  I don’t get it.

*Anecdotes Ahead* *Anecdotes Ahead* My aunt has had IBS since god was a child … long before her appendix burst when she was 72. My grandfather’s appendix burst at age 62 – and he never had IBS. My mother had IBS but it went into remission – even after her appendix went thermal when she was 20. (And I have chronic appendicitis – I could blow any day! – and have had IBS for over 20 years.)

Response:

Okay, this brings up another question.  How many of you out there have IBS running in your family? I am an adoptee who just found her birth family last year.  My IBS goes back 20 years for me.  I found out that my birth mother, her sister, their mother and father, all had IBS.  I mentioned this to my DR, and of course he didn’t think that it meant anything at all. Just curious. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> My aunt has had IBS since god was a child … long before her appendix > burst when she was 72. My grandfather’s appendix burst at age 62 – and he > never had IBS. My mother had IBS but it went into remission – even after > her appendix went thermal when she was 20. (And I have chronic appendicitis > – I could blow any day! – and have had IBS for over 20 years.)

Response:

In article <35C66FEA.5…@juno.com>, insea…@juno.com wrote: > [I wrote] > > My aunt has had IBS since god was a child … long before her appendix > > burst when she was 72. My grandfather’s appendix burst at age 62 – and he > > never had IBS. My mother had IBS but it went into remission – even after > > her appendix went thermal when she was 20. (And I have chronic appendicitis > > – I could blow any day! – and have had IBS for over 20 years.) > Okay, this brings up another question.  How many of you out there have > IBS running in your family?

It runs in my family (so to speak). I have it, Mom has had it (claims to not have it now, but gets "food posioning" suspiciously often) maternal aunt has it, father didn’t, brother doesn’t, don’t think my cousins have it. Nobody on the paternal side seems to have it but then again they pretty much all died young, whereas my maternal side seems to have but also lives long, healthy lives.

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