Emergency Laparoscopic Appendectomy Experience.

[dirtychinchilla]

Bloody hell, gangrenous!! Glad you made it through. The worst thing about a laparoscopic surgery, in my opinion, is the gas afterwards. It's a nightmare to get it out, particularly when you need to use your poor beaten up abdominal muscles to squeeze the farts out!

 

[Orangeade]

Glad, you're on the mend.

NHS sounds like a disaster nowadays. Don't get me wrong we pay hundreds a month here which to other people seems expensive but the health care is exceptionally high quality.

 

[Chris344]

Same happened to me. First day like you said I new something wasn't right with the pain (hard to describe the pain, like a dull pain) went to A and E where I saw a doc but said probably upset stomach but maybe could be appendix. Sent me home with drugs.
Next day got worse so went back it's then they said your staying in and need to go to surgery asap.
Mine had burst also and took them a while to sort out.
The week after for me I had real bad series pain episodes and couldn't walk great. Then all of a sudden the pain just stopped. Went from excruciating to nothing it was weird.

The pain was bad but I still say my kidney stone pain was worse.

That sounds very similar. Initially, the pain was dull and not as excruciating as it was the next day, but it was still very uncomfortable. I’m still experiencing occasional dull aches during digestion, but they only last for a few seconds.

I’m sorry to hear about your kidney stone. If that was more painful than this, then wow—I didn’t think pain could get any worse. Have you had any issues related to your Appendectomy?

 

[Chris344]

Bloody hell, gangrenous!! Glad you made it through. The worst thing about a laparoscopic surgery, in my opinion, is the gas afterwards. It's a nightmare to get it out, particularly when you need to use your poor beaten up abdominal muscles to squeeze the farts out!

Thank you. The gas was horrendously painful. I was trying not to force it out because it was excruciatingly tender, especially in and around the area that had just been operated on.

 

[Chris344]

Glad you're OK - yeah, the ambulance situation is a joke The whole system seems set up to fob you off - I guess the theory is, by the time someone sees you, you're either better or dead

My other half deals with ambulance calls a lot at work, and based on her stories, in an emergency situation I wouldn't even bother calling - straight in the car to A&E. We also have private cover, which - as mentioned above - obviously won't deal with emergency treatment, but initial assessment/diagnosis should be a lot quicker.

Thank you, I completely agree—it was a shambles. It was a time-sensitive situation, and waiting for the ambulance could have actually cost me my life. They said it would take 2-3 hours, but that could have easily turned into another 2-3 hours on top of that. I didn’t have time to waste, so even though the journey was rough, we knew we just had to get to the hospital. Fortunately, we were able to make it in time.

 

[aardvark]

phew, good you are ok.
Shocking how bad the NHS was and how long it took.

 

[Hodders]

Once again it just highlights that we don't pay enough tax. All those countries with a great public health system pay more tax.

We pat enough to resent it, but not enough to see the value for money!

Glad you're on the mend OP.

Had mine out 20 years ago at Reading. Told to go to XYZ ward. My wife had to park the car so I was left with a fever to find the ward. Problem was the ward had moved earlier that week. Half the directions I was given were to where it had been and half to where it was. After 30 minutes getting lost I was feeling terrible so ended up being taken on a wheelchair. My wife was having kittens as they thought they'd lost me.

Then post-op a nurse cam to check the wound (no laprascopic for me). I noticed she had just emptied a catheter bag and not washed her hands. I asked her really nicely to clean her hands and she then refused to check me!

Worst bit was my mate bought me a jar of pickled gherkins to remind me of my appendix and a copy of Viz. Wanted to read it cos I was bored, couldn't cos laughing hurt!

 

[GreatAuk]

Wow, glad you're on the mend OP, what an awful experience. Glad you got to hospital when you did and they managed to get you under the knife when they did.

 

[Chris344]

phew, good you are ok.
Shocking how bad the NHS was and how long it took.

Thank you.

 

[Chris344]

Once again it just highlights that we don't pay enough tax. All those countries with a great public health system pay more tax.

We pat enough to resent it, but not enough to see the value for money!

Glad you're on the mend OP.

Had mine out 20 years ago at Reading. Told to go to XYZ ward. My wife had to park the car so I was left with a fever to find the ward. Problem was the ward had moved earlier that week. Half the directions I was given were to where it had been and half to where it was. After 30 minutes getting lost I was feeling terrible so ended up being taken on a wheelchair. My wife was having kittens as they thought they'd lost me.

Then post-op a nurse cam to check the wound (no laprascopic for me). I noticed she had just emptied a catheter bag and not washed her hands. I asked her really nicely to clean her hands and she then refused to check me!

Worst bit was my mate bought me a jar of pickled gherkins to remind me of my appendix and a copy of Viz. Wanted to read it cos I was bored, couldn't cos laughing hurt!

Agreed, I would gladly pay a ring-fenced additional NI specifically for the NHS if it would help to raise standards across the board and meant that people received better care from the outset.

 

[Chris344]

Wow, glad you're on the mend OP, what an awful experience. Glad you got to hospital when you did and they managed to get you under the knife when they did.

Thank you, it was certainly close. I’m just glad they didn’t just fob me off with antibiotics.

 

[Tykey]

Interesting read OP and definitely useful to raise awareness to such things. Those of us in good health - we are so so lucky! Glad you're ok OP, hope it gives a new appreciation of things etc.