Ruptured appendix and acute abdomen

I’m looking for anyone who has dealt with an appendectomy or has medical insight to share. I need some perspective here.🤷 About six weeks ago, I hit a wall with back pain, a night of vomiting, and a high fever. On paper, nothing pointed toward appendicitis—my rectal temperature didn't even spike by half a degree, and other clinical signs were negative. Still, after seven days, a urologist sent me to surgery. Following an ultrasound, I was in the OR that same day. It was rough. Five days with a nasogastric tube, a midline incision with about 20 stitches, and three drains because there was an abscess alongside the appendicitis. I spent 20 days in the hospital and didn't have a bowel movement for a couple of days after the procedure.👍Now, my bowel movements happen four or five times a day. I've had two follow-ups with the surgeon and a few visits to a gastroenterologist. I also deal with frequent rectal pain after walking. No one has given me any real answers. My gastroenterologist noted that my recovery is sluggish—I look pale and washed out—so he put me on a standard diet after dealing with hard stools and mucus. On top of that, the slightest urge to urinate sends me running to the bathroom. I saw a urologist post-op, and they said everything looks fine.
I should mention that I’m a bit of a worrier; I tend to get anxious over everything.😲
Has anyone else gone through something similar?
To make matters worse, I picked up pneumonia while in the hospital, though I think I'm over the hump now. The staff took care of me, but nobody would actually take a moment to sit down and explain what was happening. I get that they're busy, but honestly... a basic FAQ or something would go a long way.🙄

Honestly, just stick to what the surgeon tells you. You can pretty much ignore the urologists and GI specialists—they’ll just end up scaring the life out of you for no reason.
Going seven whole days without realizing it was appendicitis is a bit of a mess... how did you even wind up seeing a urologist in the first place?
People always say the appendix is like a "wildcard in your gut" for a reason... it shows up in such weird, atypical ways sometimes that you're left scratching your head until they finally find the actual cause during an exam.
Seeing that long incision and those two or three drains tells me that on top of the appendicitis, you definitely had some level of localized peritonitis going on—you were seriously sick, man.
I wouldn't sweat the frequent bathroom trips or that rectal discomfort too much right now. You went through a massive ordeal, and since you were almost certainly pumped full of two or three different antibiotics, it’s totally normal for your system to be acting a bit wonky.
Look, this is just my take, but my best advice is to stay close to your surgeon... and try not to stress too much. At the end of the day, you made it through.

I see you know your stuff. Are you a surgeon?👍 Yeah. I was on two or even three different IV antibiotics, followed by ten days of Piano sheet music. I assumed it was acute prostatitis, and my GP backed me up. The worst thing you can do is try to self-diagnose. I was foolish enough to skip getting blood work done entirely. I didn't even have trouble urinating at the time.🙄
I have another issue. My kid is sick—tested positive for Group A Strep in their nasopharynx—and my own immune system is pretty weak. I’m not sure if those heavy-duty antibiotics will actually touch this Strep strain.🤷...plus, I wonder if the antibiotics are still in my system. Last dose was 15 days ago.
Yeah, everyone tells me I pulled through just fine.🙂
On another note, is it alright to transition back to a regular diet? I'm doing it gradually and started taking a multivitamins syrup (the kind for kids and adults). I'm trying to get in a 20-minute walk every day... anything else I should be doing?

I’m just trying to live a normal life and eat like a regular person, you know? Honestly, I’m pretty convinced those spring allergies are just a side effect from being on antibiotics, and things should settle down once I get my diet back on track. Most of those over-the-counter syrups are basically just a way for companies to drain your wallet; unless it's a placebo, they don't really do much for you.
Those antibiotics I took about two weeks ago aren't doing anything anymore, so don't even stress about the whole "boosting your immune system" thing. Just make sure your kid doesn't cough right in your face or anything, and I doubt you'll have any issues... and look, I'm definitely not a doctor or anything...

😲

Scott Allen10 said:I’m just trying to live a normal life and eat like a regular person, you know? Honestly, I’m pretty convinced those spring allergies are just a side effect from being on antibiotics, and things should settle down once I get my diet back on track. Most of those over-the-counter syrups are basically just a way for companies to drain your wallet; unless it's a placebo, they don't really do much for you.
Those antibiotics I took about two weeks ago aren't doing anything anymore, so don't even stress about the whole "boosting your immune system" thing. Just make sure your kid doesn't cough right in your face or anything, and I doubt you'll have any issues... and look, I'm definitely not a doctor or anything...

Thanks for the response, it actually helped calm me down🙏. To clarify, it isn't diarrhea; the stools are formed, I just have four or five movements a day. Once that settles, the pain subsides, then returns later. Also, frequent urination. I saw a urologist—prostate is fine, urine culture came back clean—but I've had insomnia since my hospital stay, so I'm waking up to pee every hour and a half. If I actually manage to sleep, I don't wake up to go. But the insomnia has been there since the surgery.
I've been taking multivitamins since I was a kid; we bought them for the little one, but he wouldn't take them, so I started. It's 15 ml for adults. I just take it when it's available in the house.😁😛...I share a bed with my son.🤷I plan to ask the surgeon this week whether I should start antibiotics or just wait for symptoms to show 😢. By the way, what is your medical specialty, if you don't mind me asking?

Sandra Scott8 said:😲

Thanks for the response, it actually helped calm me down🙏. To clarify, it isn't diarrhea; the stools are formed, I just have four or five movements a day. Once that settles, the pain subsides, then returns later. Also, frequent urination. I saw a urologist—prostate is fine, urine culture came back clean—but I've had insomnia since my hospital stay, so I'm waking up to pee every hour and a half. If I actually manage to sleep, I don't wake up to go. But the insomnia has been there since the surgery.
I've been taking multivitamins since I was a kid; we bought them for the little one, but he wouldn't take them, so I started. It's 15 ml for adults. I just take it when it's available in the house.😁😛...I share a bed with my son.🤷I plan to ask the surgeon this week whether I should start antibiotics or just wait for symptoms to show 😢. By the way, what is your medical specialty, if you don't mind me asking?

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