Villandra, that's amazing.  I can't believe I have been finding people with this same problem.  I am glad you finally were able to have yours taken care of.   that's great.  it's been 7 wks for me.  I still get a small pinch where the appendix was.  but it's so much better!!!  

thanks for sharing your story.   I am thinking along the same lines as you.. this is not as rare as they think.

Most surgery for appendicitis is laparascopic nowadays - I was fine an hour after surgery.   Had to be in the hospital an extra day because I'd had a severe infection.   Actually went home sooner than I would have because doctor wouldn't let me have my asthma meds.   Two weeks later I just have a pinch where the appendix was too - wondering how long that is supposed to take to go away.   System taking a while to recover, which I'm told is normal.   I still have diarrhea and not quite back on a normal diet.   As to bladder infections, they're very common after any abdominal surgery because of routine catheteriziation.   You may not have been told they did that.  

I just had the same thing.   Retrocecal appendicitis - that's when the appendix is turned up behind the cecum (right large intestine).    It came and went for nearly a year.   Efforts to diagnose it turned up nothing except diverticula in the sigmoid colon.   Pain always ended up similar to appendicitis but never in the right spot, and it was all over.   Dr and I both thought I had diverticulitis.   Finally one day I developed the classic terrible pain in teh right spot.   I had a ruptured appendix that had abscessed and nearby parts of my abdomen were full of infected fluid.   Luckily this responded to antibiotics and surgery after only four days in hospital.  

Retrocecal appendicitis is hard to diagnose, it's routinely misdiagnosed, and it seems to be prone to this coming and going antic.   They think that mine actually ruptured and healed several times.  It did get treated with antibiotics each time, mind you.   I always had a high fever and sky high white blood count.   But without insurance it was never even imaged when I was sick.  ER doctors always said you're fine, go home.   Come and go appendicitis can be fine when it's not flaring up.  A CT scan when I was in a well phase found nothing.   A barium enema imaged only the first part of my appendix, which apparently was the only part that was not affected.  Teh rest was ragged and necrotic by the time it was removed. 

I really suspect that the notion that chronic appendicitis is rare is nothing mroe than "standard medical wisdom".   You know, like how often to get a mammogram.  

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good luck 

Ahhhh... Annon, if your bladder infections come back negative, I have been told over and over in my own case of this that this is not an infection.  It is increasingly clear that, since chronic pain patients tend to have this condition, it is highly likely that it was caused by the vitamin D deficiency.  I really think that you should check with your doctor, who seems to be quite good and open, about the guaifenesin to see if it will alleviate the bladder problems.  I am theorizing that the bladder problems are due to the build-up of calcium and phosphates from the vitamin D deficiency and which are typically found in abnormal amounts in fibromyalgia patients.  I am going to be starting guaifenesin in the next week, and I will keep you up to date in case it helps you.  For your doctor, or you, in case you didn't see this in one of my posts, the researcher for guaifenesin is Dr. R.P. St. Armand at UCLA. 

Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry about your mom's condition.  Definitely get her vit D level checked as the Bone and Cancer Foundation says that all cancer patients have low vit D and correcting it can help relieve the patients' pain.  There is research being done on vitamin D compounds for treating cancer.  You may want to do some searches on this in case there are any clinical trials that your mom might qualify for.  Best of luck to you all, and I hope we keep in touch.

I just realized i wrote chornix instead of chronic!  lol

I have had a bladder infections before.  Not too bad.  brobably about three total.  I do worry about the bladder though because my mother has bladder cancer.   And when I have had infections, they don't show in a urine test.  I know this dr, the surgeon, doesn't want to prescribe me anything unless I show a positive result in the urine test.. even though I told him they never show a positive result.   so I wil def. keep an eye on it! 

thanks for the well wishes and all the info.  it's much appreciated.  ;)

Whoah! Annon, I guess you'd call that a psychic appendix connection. Ho ho!! About the bladder infection, keep tabs on this, especially if no infection is ever found. Many of the vit D deficient people in my chronic pain class have bladder issues (and some recurring pain) even after correcting the deficiency. I'm now investigating guaifenesin for this. It comes from the bark of a type of tree and has been used for ages in cough medicine to loosen mucus. I learned recently that many people with chronic pain get pain relief from guaifenesin. Fibromyalgia patients, who all have very low vitamin D if they are lucky enough to get tested, have a problem with excessive and inappropriate calcium and phosphate retention in the tissues. When D is low, the body can't absorb much calcium and phosphorous no matter how much of these minerals are ingested (and magnesium, but that seems to be a different story). It seems that if you have low vit D, your body goes into survival mode and hordes away whatever calcium and phosphorous (in the form of phosphate) it can since it's not getting enough new supplies. Some calcium is normally retained by the kidneys, which is a temporary, normal storage place. But, with low vit D, calcium and phosphate get stored inappropriately in the tissues, such as muscle tissue. The tissues harden, and researchers are now learning that this is where a lot of the chronic pain comes from. The guaifenesin releases the inappropriate calcium and phosphates from the tissues and thereby reduces pain (with some amount of side effects as the stuff makes its way out of your body). You and your sister might want to look into this if you have any recurring pain or bladder issues after getting your D levels up and keeping them up. The main researcher involved in this is Dr. Paul St. Armand, an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Harbor-UCLA. I wish you a successful recovery, appendicitis and vit D!

Larisalle, thanks again for the comments.  :)

well I guess I am probably right on track.  LOL.  I had my surgery about a week and a halg ago.  I really had like NO pain.   just a pinch or it here and there.  maybe pinch isn't a great word to use?!   But not bad at all.   I saw my doctor today and he said all seems fine.. although i may have a bladder infection!!  ugh.   I only have a complaint .. a question with my Dr.. re the pain by the Rt side where the appendix was.. apparently that takes about 6 wks to be fully healed.  so i guess all is well.  :)

Welll.. here is something weird..  I went to the ER around 10:45 sunday night..  the Dr came in at 3am to tell me i needed by appendix removed... i was in the OR by 3:30... i was home by around 3 the following day.  How weird is THAT??? :D

Ok.. thanks for the invite.. I'll let you know. :)

Hi, Annon, yes, it's really amazing when you find someone who has gone through this.  You feel (and the doctors who don't know what they are doing make you feel) incredibly alone.  About your appendicitis, when was your surgery?  In term of my recovery, it was pretty quick.  The surgery was at 3am.  I was back home by 3pm the next day.  It took about a week to be able to get around on my feet reasonably well and was able to go my classes.  It took two weeks to feel pretty stable on my feet.  But, I never quite had a good digestion after the surgery, and I had frequent, low grade nausea (these cleared up with the vitamin D).  i don't remember a pinch of pain like you're describing.  If you keep feeling it, I'd get it checked out, and keep tabs on your temperature to make sure it isn't rising, which would be one sign of infection.  Your doctor probably told you this, but also check that the area of the incision is not getting red/inflamed/swollen -- if it is definitely get it checked out, especially if there are any red streaks radiating away from the area (a doctor once told me that this is a sign of an infection that has spread into the bloodstream).  Ask your doctor if you can use hot compresses on the incision area.

A friend and I are starting a vitamin D support group.  Would you and/or your sister be interested in joining and sharing your story?  We're just getting started, but if you would like, please email me at larissalle@hotmail.com.  We are keeping everyone's stories anonymous.  I can let you know more offline about what we're hoping to accomplish. 

larrisalle, can i ask how long it took you to recover?

i have has very little pain.  they wanted to send me home hours after the surgery, but the surgeon said no.   i still have a little pinch of pain here (where the appendix was) or there (where one of the incisions was), but nothing more.  I was just wondering if that was normal.    every time i get a pinch of pain where the appendix was, i fear they didn't get it all.