How long is recovery from surgery for a ruptured appendix?
In two of my previous posts, I discuss the symptoms I had with appendicitis and my ruptured appendix surgery and hospital recovery.
Unfortunately, my symptoms were not only somewhat atypical, but also, I didn’t know how to recognize even the normal symptoms. These reasons caused me to wait too long to go to the ER for abdominal pain.
Further complicating matters, I was on a beach trip when my symptoms occurred, and I didn’t want to be inconvenienced.
On the day that we left the beach for home, I had to stop at the ER an hour and a half away from my hometown. By the time I got to the ER, my scans revealed that it was probably more than just “appendicitis.”
We left the ER in Hattiesburg and drove straight to St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, my hometown, an hour and a half away, to have the surgery. After the surgery, the doctor diagnosed me with Gangrenous Appendicitis and confirmed that I had a ruptured appendix.
I spent four nights in the hospital due to the rupture. This is much longer than it would have been had I caught it earlier.
Also, my risk of secondary infection was extremely high. This article discusses my recovery at home after a ruptured appendix. Was I going to be another statistic and have a secondary infection and need surgery again?
Home at last, but am I going to ever be ok?
It was time to leave the hospital. I had not washed my hair or had a formal shower in almost a week. My husband drove me to my friend’s hair salon, and they washed and dried my hair before I began my recovery at home.
We went home, and I saw my dogs for the first time in 10 days. Due to several reasons, I’m sure they thought I was dead.
First of all, we left them with my 19-year-old son for a week while we were at the beach. Second of all, the rest of my family arrived back home from the beach without me. I stayed in the hospital for four nights, after being on a week-long beach trip.
It was good to see my dogs. I had been worried about their jumping up on me in the abdomen area, but it all worked out fine.
My weight~~skinny or swollen?
When I got home and finished greeting the dogs, I immediately went to my bathroom and shed the clothes I wore home, in order to put on my own pajamas. I had worn a hospital gown for four days. I looked at my body for the first time since my appendicitis.
I had expected to be tiny since I had eaten virtually nothing for four or five days.
That wasn’t the case. I wasn’t tiny.
Gaining eight pounds of water weight in four days manifests itself in an unattractive way. This weight gain had to be caused by all of the IV fluids I received.
There was a puffy part in the small of my back, and there was a straight line from my back to the back of my thigh. I had no defined butt. It took several days for my butt to reappear and for me to lose my water weight.
In summary:
- I gained eight pounds of water weight in four days, from surgery day to hospital release day.
- The lowest that I weighed during this process was ten days post surgery. (16 pounds less than my highest weight, and eight pounds less than I did on surgery day)
- By the next week, around 17 days post surgery, I had gained two pounds back from my lowest weight.
- I netted a weight loss of six pounds in three weeks, yet the numbers wildly fluctuated.
Lots of rest during the recovery for a ruptured appendix
The master bedroom was my cave for the next two weeks. My surgeon had said to “give him two weeks.” I’m a rule follower and didn’t want any complications. So I gave him two weeks. I stayed horizontal way more than I would have chosen. When I did do a few tasks that first week of the two-week recovery after a ruptured appendix, I got very tired. I napped often.
Since I never really felt bad, I did feel guilty for just lying around. However, I also liked having an excuse to watch Amazon Prime and Netflix as much as I wanted and not to have to drive my younger daughter to cheer practice at 6 a.m. every morning that first week I was home.
Meals
Food for me
The first two nights that I was home, I couldn’t and didn’t want to eat what everyone else could. My surgeon had always said eat what you feel like eating.
My mother-in-law made me some homeade cauliflower soup and chicken noodle soup to eat during the first two days and nights. Also, one of my great friends brought me chicken and dumplings and chicken spaghetti. My friend’s daughter had just had her wisdom teeth out, yet she still brought me some food.
Food for my family
My friends and neighbors cooked the best meals for us for two weeks. They were over-the-top, amazing meals.
By Friday night around 48 hours after coming home, I was able to eat normal food. A friend whom I’ve known since elementary school and was in my wedding brought us breakfast casserole and fruit. It was a brilliant choice, a nice change-up from the other meals. She is a breast cancer survivor, Juice Plus representative, and knows what people need during these times.
My close friends fed us the first week, and the neighbors on my street fed us the second week. Other friends brought happies by the house during that time.
Sweet tooth
My taste buds somehow changed, and I acquired a sweet tooth. My husband got a kick out of my new-found sweet tooth and told lots of people about it.
We received homemade pies, pies from a local bakery called Olivia’s Emporium and pies from Buttermilk Sky. Lemon Iced Boxed or Key Lime Pie became my obsession.
He told people that I had eaten more sweets during these two weeks than I had since we had been married.
It was the truth. In fact, my first time to drive was to the bakery about a week later to get another pie.
Thursday (day one of home recovery after a ruptured appendix)
Just keeping it real, I had started my period the day of my release from the hospital which was the day before. Those who know me know that “Day Two” of my cycle is my day of doom and gloom.
Because my body was “messed up,” my period wasn’t as heavy as usual. So, I somewhat forgot to credit my cycle for the mood I was in that day. It rained all day which added to my doom and gloom.
My 21st wedding anniversary was also this day.
In addition, I was bummed because I was supposed to be returning that day from a trip to the Dominican Republic with a friend of mine who is a travel agent. She sent me the above pics from her trip.
We were supposed to have gone Monday-Thursday. Ironically, the bad publicity about traveling to the Dominican had just come out the night before my surgery. Then, during my hospital stay, more stories kept surfacing about dangers in the Dominican. I tried to make myself feel better by telling myself I wasn’t supposed to be there because of these bad reports.
As I lay there feeling sorry for myself that day, I couldn’t help but chuckle that the name of the hospital that I had stayed in was St. Dominic.
Although a far cry from my Dominican trip that never was, the similarity in the spelling was something worth noting.
Thursday night
My mood got worse that night. The only time I had cried during the ruptured appendix experience was the day I was heading back from the beach. Due to pain, I had to exit and take a break from driving. I found myself in a random store’s parking lot, talking to my husband on the phone about four hours away from home. I had only cried briefly. My surgery would be later that night unbeknownst to us at the time.
However, when my mother-in-law walked into my bedroom on this night with a bowl of cauliflower soup for me, I burst into tears. I now attribute that to being on day two of my cycle, but at the time I just felt overwhelmed.
She was kind and tried to help me not be as overwhelmed. She understood when I told her that I just felt bitchy, bossing my family around. Since I was supposed to be resting and still couldn’t do much, I needed their help. However, I felt guilty for asking for help and especially when I thought about my needing their help for two more weeks!
I also told her I had some real estate work to do, and I wasn’t in the mood to do it. I’m mad at Eve for eating the apple in the garden of Eden; I despise being on my menstrual cycle.
No guilt Amazon Prime and Netflix
My mother-in-law’s advice was to not worry about any of that and to watch a series that she really liked and thought I would like. It was The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime. I took her advice and loved it. I finished the two-season series in three days. That was one perk of the home recovery after a ruptured appendix–guilt-free binge watching. My college friends had also recommended the series to me months ago.
Also, one of my college friends on a group text recommended The Crown. I watched and loved it, too. I also watched The Kominsky Method which my tennis partner had recommended to me a while back. It was funny and is only a total of four hours. Those two shows are on Netflix.
The weekend
I had great friends continuing to bring meals. I got up some to do some tasks for myself, but I still tired easily. My surgeon was right. I needed to listen to my body and only do what I felt like doing. After this experience, I’m learning to listen to my body.
One strange phenomenon had to do with my sense of smell. My husband met some friends each day that weekend to watch Ole Miss baseball. Ole Miss played in a Super Regional, and the winner advanced to the College World Series. When he would come home after drinking a few beers, I could smell the alcohol and whatever he had eaten while he was still standing several feet away from me. It was very distinct. I felt bad bringing it to his attention each day, but it was the weirdest thing. We have been married for 21 years, and this had never happened before! This hasn’t happened again thank goodness!
Progress during my recovery for a ruptured appendix
General updates
I was counting down my two-week recovery while the possibility of infection was always in the back of my mind. With each day that passed, I was thankful for no sign of infection. I took Augmentin and Diflucan (Fluconazole) for seven days. They had prescribed a very weak opioid for me called Tramadol for pain. This is not the same as Toradol, the NSAID, that I had received through IV at the hospital. I took Tramadol at night simply because I could.
The first week, I took Dulcolax stool softeners and occasionally Mylanta. The nurses and my friends warned me about the possibility of constipation.
I wasn’t allowed to take a bath or get in a swimming pool until after my post-op appointment for risk of infection, but I could shower. The surgeon had glued my incisions, not stitched them, which is why I could shower.
After my round of antibiotics, I began taking a Probiotic from Pure to introduce good bacteria into my system. I also had a couple of glasses of wine that second weekend I was home.
I walked every day for 20-45 minutes, sometimes a couple of times a day.
First work outing
Friday at noon, about nine days after coming home from the hospital and almost two weeks post surgery, I had a real estate closing. There was one problem. I was scared to wear anything that buttoned or zipped at the waist. My wardrobe had serious limitations. I did find some pants I could wear, and I drove myself to the closing. After that, I went by a house which I would be listing soon. Then, I went home and napped.
I worked again on Tuesday, and by then, I was able to fit into my jeans. It’s the little things that you normally take for granted that you become thankful for during the recovery for a ruptured appendix.
First dinner outing
The same Friday night as my real estate closing (almost two weeks post-op) was the first time I considered going to dinner anywhere. But, I ended up getting tired, and we didn’t go.
The next day, on Saturday (two weeks post-op), I felt like a new person. I even floated on a raft in our pool, careful not to get my incisions wet. My husband and I went to a very early dinner, came home around 7 p.m., walked the dogs, and watched Netflix in bed. I was getting closer to being myself again.
Missed events due to my recovery after a ruptured appendix
In addition to missing a trip to the Dominican Republic with a friend who is a travel agent, I missed other events due to recovery after a ruptured appendix. I missed a wedding at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee on Saturday night. I cancelled my room and thought, “well, that money can go towards a hospital bill.”
The following weekend, my older daughter’s Varsity cheer squad went to Ole Miss Cheer Camp, and some friends had invited us to stay with them and go to dinner in Oxford Saturday night. The cheerleaders performed Sunday, so we would already be there to watch. Since I couldn’t go, my husband ended up just riding with a family bright and early Sunday morning to watch her.
Yes, by Saturday and Sunday, I felt way better. I could now see that I would be normal again soon. I was looking forward to my post-op appointment on Wednesday and to have all of this behind me.
Post-op appointment with the surgeon
My appointment was exactly two weeks from the day I got home from the hospital and 18 days after surgery. I was excited about the appointment. My surgeon didn’t require any blood work because he said he could tell by the way I looked, that I was fine.
He said that any secondary infections or complications would have already occurred, that the signs would have already been there. I would have had fever and pain. He said there is a main line in our bodies, and I would have known about the infections soon after finishing my week of antibiotics.
Also, he said I was very lucky and one of the few without issues post-surgery. He said I had been a prime candidate for secondary infection and complications due to mine being the worst case he had seen this year.
He emphasized that although he was able to do the surgery laparoscopically, it took four times the usual amount of IV fluids to clean me out after removing my appendix. It took him longer to clean me out than to remove the appendix. If he had made any nicks to my colon, the risks for complications would have increased.
He’s a dang good surgeon. As good as laparoscopic surgery can be, it’s scary to think that surgeons are performing it by looking at a screen and remotely moving a robot. Some surgeons are better with their hands than others, and I had one of the best in town operate on me.
He said my appendix, which normally looks like a worm, looked like a sausage link with the tip missing. Disgusting! All of the nastiness that had backed up inside there had leaked into my otherwise sterile abdomen and had formed pus and gangrene in my abdomen.
The future
One person who is a friend and a doctor told me that I may not feel 100 percent for six months to one year. Although this surprises me, I will keep this in the back of my mind.
The surgeon at the first hospital I stopped at had said that he would attempt the surgery laparoscopically, but was almost positive by the looks of the scan, that he would have to “cut me open.” Thank goodness the Jackson surgeon was able to do laparoscopic with no complications. Whew.
Several people have told me that I really don’t understand how serious my condition was. They are probably right.
I do know, however, that I’m one of the lucky ones.
**Update–It has been two months since my surgery. I ran a couple of times three weeks post-surgery. I went back to Orange Theory Fitness a month post-surgery. I took the Probiotic from Pure for 30 days. I’m back to my pre-surgery life and feel great. Unfortunately, I do still crave lemon iced box or key lime pies…**
Previous Posts
To read about my symptoms, go to How Do You Recognize the Beginning Signs of Appendicitis. Additionally, to read about my surgery and hospital stay, go to Ruptured Appendix Surgery and Hospital Recovery. To read information written by some top experts, go to Appendicitis–What is it and why is it so dangerous by Appledore Medical Group.
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What types of complications with a ruptured appendix have you heard about? Please comment below.
Read Laurie’s story of how her recent life experiences led to the birth of this site, White Cotton. Feel free to send her a message.
