How does appendicitis pain feel

If you have appendicitis, you may also have other symptoms, including: feeling sick nausea being sick loss of appetite constipation or diarrhoea a high temperature and a flushed face When to get medical help If you have abdominal pain that's gradually getting worse, contact your GP or local out-of-hours service immediately. Appendicitis can easily be confused with something else, such as: gastroenteritis severe irritable bowel syndrome IBS constipation bladder or urine infections Crohn's disease a pelvic infection In women, symptoms similar to those of appendicitis can sometimes have a gynaecological cause, such as an ectopic pregnancy , menstrual pain or pelvic inflammatory disease PID.

But any condition that causes constant abdominal pain requires urgent medical attention. If your pain eases for a while but then gets worse, your appendix may have burst. However, according to one study , there may still be some challenges in diagnosing acute appendicitis with these imaging tests.

Treatment of appendicitis usually involves the surgical removal of the appendix. Called an appendectomy , this procedure can often be done as an outpatient operation. There are two types of appendectomies and with both types of surgeries, antibiotics are often prescribed to treat any remaining infection:.

Open surgery involves one incision in the lower right abdomen. This is especially helpful if your appendix has burst and the area around the appendix needs to be treated for infection. A tube called a cannula is inserted into one of the incisions. This tube fills the abdomen with gas which expands it and helps the surgeon get a better look at the appendix.

Another thin, flexible tool called a laparoscope is then inserted through that incision. It contains a tiny camera that displays images on a nearby monitor.

The camera helps guide the surgeon with instruments to remove the appendix , that are inserted through another small incision. Most gas pain is triggered by diet, so making some changes to what you eat and drink may help you avoid or limit this type of pain. It may be helpful to keep a food diary of everything you eat and drink, and to note when you experience gas pain.

That can help you identify connections between foods or beverages and your symptoms. Common triggers of gas include:. To help ease your gas pain, you may want to try these home remedies :. Over-the-counter remedies, such as simethicone Gas-X, Mylanta , may help clump gas bubbles together so they can be passed more easily.

Walking and other physical activity may also help you release trapped gas. Gas and appendicitis are just two of many conditions that can cause abdominal pain. Abdominal pain from gas and appendicitis can feel similar at first. The easiest way to tell the difference between the two is to pay careful attention to any other symptoms. If you start having abdominal pain, especially in your lower right side, be on the lookout for fever, nausea, and loss of appetite.

These symptoms, along with abdominal pain, could signal appendicitis. If you suspect appendicitis, err on the side of caution and get medical attention quickly. A ruptured appendix can be a serious health emergency.

I thought they were just cramps. So for the next two weeks, I continued to feel debilitating pain without thinking anything of it. This just goes to show you what women go through every month. But the pain was so bad that I began to cry as I waited for a red light to turn green.

When my mom saw me crying through the rear view mirror, she knew something was wrong, as I rarely cry. So when we arrived on campus, she ordered that I go to the emergency room.

They did a CT scan and [determined the issue was] my appendix. They put me under that night, before it burst. I was weak for the next month or so and also ordered not to drink alcohol, coffee, or spicy food. I was 42, and in a small town in Turkey along the coast. We had just had lunch—crab pulled from the water—then got on a boat. I thought I had food poisoning. I felt excruciating, sharp pains on my right lower side. As we traveled through Turkey on a bus later in the trip, going over cobblestone roads and bumps was painful.

It took about a week of tests before they gave me the CT scan to figure out what happened—and they were shocked when they found a burst appendix. I looked fine on the outside, but the scans showed a mess internally. I was in the hospital for four days, and they released me with two more weeks of antibiotics. About six weeks after the original hospital stint, I went back in to have the abscess and remains of the appendix removed.

There was a good bit of scar tissue that had formed from the burst that also had to be removed. It was a Saturday afternoon when I felt an intense pain in my lower abdomen, and then it subsided and became more of a dull pain, more in my lower right side.

After doing several tests and blood samples, I had emergency surgery at 4 A. I spent the rest of Tuesday in the hospital recovering, and at 6 P. I had the surgery laparoscopically, and the recovery time was about two weeks. The first thing I noticed was that my abs felt really sore, but no other muscles or parts of the body did. But as time went on, the area of the soreness shrunk and localized. Soreness became pain, and I had difficulty sitting up.

I vaguely remember a burning sensation. Of course I turned to the internet, and all my symptoms seemed to line up with appendicitis. After pretty much laying in bed not sleeping because of the pain all night, I woke my dad around 6 A. We headed to the hospital shortly after and went through all the hoops of being an American navigating Canadian health care.

I have three small incision points, each about an inch wide, and minor scarring. Healing largely required rest, also to let the incisions heal. After a few weeks I was able to run and start moving again, and any post-surgery symptoms wore off relatively soon after. But I remember laying in bed with just this feeling of overall malaise.

My stomach hurt like I was having gas. I got so nauseous that I threw up laying in my bed. It felt like there was an inflated balloon in my abdomen—and I had that classic localized, constant, dull, throbbing pain on my lower right side. It was more uncomfortable than painful.

I walked into urgent care and they sent me over to the ER pretty much right away. A ruptured appendix will often require a longer recovery time. The bottom line? Appendicitis can strike at any age. Learn more about vaccine availability. Advertising Policy. You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter. Related Articles.