What the heck is Appendagitis?

[Ronin13]

This was the question I was asking the ER doctor on Tuesday night when he came back after examining my CT scan. I went in at around 1900 hours on Tuesday with severe abdominal pain that I thought was appendicitis (except on the wrong side). Explained simply by the doc, there are fatty appendages on the outside of your large intestine, and rarely do these get twisted and cut off blood flow. This process mimics appendicitis, or diverticulitis in terms of pain and discomfort. So if anyone has ever had appendicitis, imagine that level of pain, except there is no surgery to correct it... it has to go away on it's own. The only help is prescription pain meds, which this pain has often broken through the fog of hydrocodone. Luckily it's self-limiting and goes away after 5-7 days. The only problem is that those 5-7 days are extremely painful. I don't wish this crap on anyone. Out two days of work and laid up, with very limited mobility.

[CS1983]

Eek. Sorry to hear this.

[fitz19d]

Suprised they can't go in and clip it off

[Ronin13]

Suprised they can't go in and clip it off

This is an option if it's bad enough or persists passed 10 days (which the doctor assured me was very uncommon- but then again, appendagitis is very uncommon). I think since it resolves on it's own they want to reduce the risks involved with laproscopic surgery.

[MrAK]

Good god, I've known people with diverticulitis but never knew the pain was comparable to appendicitis. Those folk have got a new level of respect from me.

[Ronin13]

Good god, I've known people with diverticulitis but never knew the pain was comparable to appendicitis. Those folk have got a new level of respect from me.

The literature says people thinking they have diverticulitis can be misdiagnosed and actually have appendagitis. This is rare, as appendagitis is not a very common ailment. But yes, the pain is immense, and pretty much constant.