So Sunday (5th June, post our pre-Ramadan party usually held before my Muslim friends start their fasting month) I woke up at 6pm after a nap with my cat and had my usual snacks. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain on my lower abdomen, slightly on the right side. I thought this was another usual stomach pain I've felt since I suffer from a lot of stomach aches then suddenly I vomitted. The vomitting went on for 4-5 hours straight before I realised it was not normal. I puked water constantly, I couldn't move, couldn't walk and couldn't straighten my legs. I kinda had that gut feeling that it was appendicitis. 

I am like any other health skeptic. I go to gym, watch out for my food, take care of myself so how is it possible that I end up with this? Once the triage doctor gave me a diagnosis, the specialists and the surgeon came to me and I had to demand that it was absolutely positive that I had appendicitis. What if they made a horrible mistake and was about to remove the wrong organ? What if it was only a severe case of bloating? Truth was, the blood test will always detect. And they're experts. It was in fact a ruptured appendix.

It's the inflammation of the appendix, a little pouch that hangs at the end of our large intestine. No one actually knows what it does but we can live without it. It's caused by a blockage either from an already occuring infection, foreign body, our own faeces that travelled the wrong direction or even cancer (that's not my case). Here's a useful link from the NHS (coz I'm a typical half-Brit like that) for an in-depth explanation of what it is. 

I hate needles going in my vein. I felt that small but intimidating tube just crawling into my vein and welcoming itself as a guest. I had IV painkillers and 2 bags of saline to induce urination (I was so dehydrated I needed more before I could go). I wore an operating robe and also a cap before they whisked me off into the OR and I had so many things going through my head. What if the anaesthetics does not work? I would feel everything during the entire surgery and even see the robotic arms twiddle away inside me. But it was too late now. Either I die or I live, the former NOT BEING AN OPTION. 

It was honestly an interesting moment of my life. In 25 years of living, I was about to understand anaesthesia and its effect in comparison to taking barbiturates recreationally. How could the two be different? Would I be dreaming or tripping out? What would I have dreamt of? How would my body react to anaesthesia? Would it feel like as if I had taken Valium, where your body knows its in pain but your synapses doesn't interpret them? The anaesthetist pumped a pretty large dose of clear liquid into my IV tube. It took a few seconds for the liquid to work and I felt a pretty familiar, dizzy feel. It was that space of calmness and relaxation. I kept on feeling my fingers to see if I had also felt a sense of numbness and yet again, that familiar numb-but-not-numb feeling kicked in and I knew I was going to be fine. The gas mask was put over my face and that was it. TKO.

So here's a diagram I found on Google Images on laparoscopic appendectomy. It is not your traditional surgery where there is one, big line down your abdomen. This is also known as key hole surgery and yes, it is very expensive but there's minimal scarring. 

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DISCLAIMER:

If you do experience any similar symptoms, please go to your nearest hospital and appendicitis is very serious especially when ruptured. Everything here is what I have experienced and blog posts are personal experiences so never use them as a way to self-medicate or self-diagnose serious issues.