Fear of appendicitis!!

[Medicalmystery]

Hi. I've never done this before so sorry if i ramble! ... I have currently been under going investigation for crohns since having my little girl 2 years ago! They beleive its in the ileum (hope I've spelt that right) but its being stubborn right now so awaiting more MRI contrast results! ... My question is, I've currently had a stay in hospital and at first was suspected to have appendicitis! ... After several blood tests and varies other things they decided it would be the weirdest appendicitis ever if it was and i was put on a very strong course of antibiotics just to be sure! ... Im now home but this past day or so been struggling with pain in my lrq like a sharp stabbing pain and alot of tenderness and swelling! Also getting twinges in my llq but not too worried about that!... I've now got loose bowels and ive got a temperature and fever! Its like this quite alot (especially if im due a period .. Wierd) but since they have mentioned appendicitis im scared!! If its my bowel playing up again im happy to ride it out but im scared its my appendix and I've been miss diagnosed! Anybody else been wrongly diagnosed with appendicitis first and should i be worried enough to go to the hospital or should i ride it out! Sorry for for the massive essay, just scared as i have small children!

Thanks in advance for any help xx

 

[ronroush7]

I have not had this happen but I hope you get a diagnosis soon.

 

[DustyKat]

Hi medicalmystery and welcome to the forum.

Diagnosing disease is often a case of ruling things out rather than receiving a firm diagnosis straight up. It isn’t uncommon, when in the process of being diagnosed, to have appendicitis thrown into the ring as a cause for symptoms such as yours.

The signs and symptoms of Ileal Crohn’s and appendicitis are very similar and it not unusual to have appendix involvement when there is inflammation in the terminal ileum without having acute appendicitis. When you look at the following image you will see how close in proximity they are to each other and hence the overlap of symptoms.

If pain becomes severe, your fever worsens, or you start vomiting then you should seek medical advice promptly. What you are looking for is symptoms and severity that are NOT usual for you because no matter what you have it is a sign that things are escalating. BUT should you remain unsure at any time then it is always best to seek medical advice, far better to be told that all is well than to sit on things and wish you had done something sooner.

Good luck and let us know how you get on. :heart:

 

[eleanor_rigby]

Hello,

I was misdiagnosed with appendicitis. I awoke one day to a terrible fever, freezing one minute, sweating the next, and extreme pain on the lrq. I was admitted and I think doctors were concerned due to my fever, low blood pressure and rapid heart rate. A CT scan showed a mass and abscess, which is why I think I found it so painful for anyone to touch my lrq. It was thought that my appendix had burst but it turned out to be Crohn's.

For me, a fever is very abnormal so I know if I get a fever I need to get to hospital. However, I know some people do just have fevers as part of their disease.

It definitely sounds like something is going on to me for you, be it Crohn's or appendicitis. What really helped me to get things moving was a colonoscopy, as this enabled them to see my perforation. And then the CT scan as I said, enabled them to see I had an abscess.

 

[DEmberton]

I had a night in hospital with suspected appendicitis after lots of vomiting, being feverish and lower right pain. But by the morning I was fine so they let me go. After that they gave me a gastroscopy (but not colonoscopy) and told me it was just IBS with a bit of a shrug and maybe food poisoning on that occasion.

I would get the same symptoms every now and again over the years, but it took losing a lot of weight for me to go back to the doctor and finally get diagnosed as Crohn's some 18 years later. I suggest you don't leave it that long.

 

[Scipio]

I had both Crohn's and appendicitis at the same time, although at the time it was diagnosed only as appendicitis. The Crohn's was not diagnosed until a year later, but lookimg back it's clear it had been there for years.

I had abdominal pain and occasional fevers that suddenly got sharply worse. I went to ER and they admitted me with suspected appendicitis. They removed the appendix 14 hours later, and by then it had ruptured. In fact it was so shredded that the surgeon wasn't sure that what he had removed was the appendix. He called the pathologist in to the hospital while I was still open on the table (this was a Sunday night) to make a histological determination that this was in fact the appendix. I was then put on massive doses of antibiotics due to the ruptured appendix.

So my advice is if the pain and fever suddenly get a lot worse, get to the hospital and push them to investigate the possibility of appendicitis. It's perfectly possible to have both that and Crohn's at the same time.