Ask a doctor - What is it like to have appendicitis?

Q. What is it like to have appendicitis?

Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.

Answered by Secondmedic Expert

Having appendicitis is an extremely uncomfortable and painful experience. The most common symptom of appendicitis is a sharp pain located in the lower right side of your abdomen. You may also feel feverish, nauseous or have vomiting. In cases with severe inflammation, you might experience difficulty passing gas or visiting the restroom.

In addition to the classic symptoms listed above, some other signs that suggest potential appendicitis include diminished appetite, bloating and diarrhea or constipation. Often times people describe feeling as if they are “squeezing” their stomach area in order to make the pain go away temporarily.

If left untreated for long enough, appendicitis can become life-threatening as it can lead to rupture – where bursts and leaks into surrounding organs and tissuess happens – peritonitis (severe infection of abdominal cavity)or sepsis(infection spreading through bloodstream). Therefore it's crucial that a person immediately visits a doctor upon experiencing these symptoms mentioned earlier even if diagnosis isn't clear yet from initial examination because time delay doesn't improve prognosis significantly but increases risk for serious complication exponentially .

Thanks to advances in modern medicine, fortunately majority of cases which receive timely treatment have excellent prognosis; surgery being one of primary line treatment for confirmed diagnosis ,usually removes appendix completely due its natural tendency for recurrent infection thus reducing chances for recurrence substantially...Though recovery process may take up few weeks complete rest is advised along with proper medication until full recovery has been established by medical personnel..