A friend of mine was sharing that the latest for burst appendixes is to treat them with anti-biotics rather than surgery because of bad results from surgery.
I can attest to that problem because of what happened to me:
First, hospital could not diagnose that I had even had a burst appendix because I did NOT have an elevated white cell count or a fever which for people who have had inoculations growing up are common symptoms. But, I had neither of these symptoms so they gave me Morphine for the pain, kept me overnight for observation, put me on oxygen so I could breathe at the altitude of Mt. Shasta because I had thrown up so many times (12 to 15 times the previous night) that I couldn't keep down my heart medicine which allowed me then to breathe at that altitude successfully. The next morning they released me from the hospital but I knew that I likely was dying and that the hospital had failed me.
I wouldn't let my wife come to me and even visit me in the hotel room because I believed I was dying and I was at about 10% of my normal energy at that point. So, I prepared to die alone in the hotel because I didn't want my wife to see me die then. This was now Saturday morning and my appendix had burst and I had had friends nearby drive me to the hospital before I passed out from the pain alone in my hotel room from my appendix bursting.
My daughter's boyfriend stayed with me Monday and Tuesday. He had those days off in Portland and so drove down to watch over me. I was okay with this because I knew he could handle me dying if it came to that. My wife arrived on Wednesday because my energy level was by then about 40% of normal and I didn't think I was going to die as much. By one week later from my burst appendix and only able to eat maybe one handful of food during that time which consisted of a little pasta and mango and a little yogurt I was pretty weak still and unable to eat enough to sustain myself. By the following Saturday I returned to the hospital and asked for a sonogram of my intestines. They said they should do a CT Scan which they did. Then they told me I needed emergency surgery or I would die. I said "I can't survive surgery I'm too weak." We had the surgery but at this point I think the surgery was a mistake because this was March 2015 and now here I am in September 2018 and I am living with a permanent hernia caused by the surgery. Yes. I'm alive but now my hernia is as big as my hand and my intestines have come through the hernia past, my stomach muscles. This has changed the way I walk and prevents me from lifting anything above 30 to 40 pounds unless I'm wearing a weight lifters belt. So, I bought a Nike Weight lifters belt for when I walk distances or exercise.
I have researched hernia surgery but found that isn't really useful at my age. No developed country does hernia surgeries for men over 65 and I was 67 when my appendix burst. 2nd there is a 20% chance of permanent debilitating pain the rest of my life if I have this surgery. 3rd, when I talked to a surgeon he said I would need a 1 foot by 1 foot screen attached with 12 stainless steel pins into my stomach muscles. I asked if this would hurt all the time. He said, "Maybe".
So, if you can survive your burst appendix just with anti-biotics so you aren't dealing with a hernia as big as your hand to the right of your belly button I would say go for it!
I have met men who spent 30 or 40 days in the hospital and almost died and I have met one man who had to have a colostomy bag (he showed me his bag for poop) that I have met caused by their burst appendixes. So, this is something you are either going to survive or you are going to die from.
Luckily, I have an incredible 1800s type of immune system so I likely would have survived it even without my surgery which left me with a permanent hernia I will have to live with the rest of my life.
I met a Guy in a gas station that told me his mother is 90 and her hernia is now 1 foot across but at least she is still alive and she never had surgery. So, it is possible to live with these things although inconvenient. If I wear a weight belt I can walk long distances and even lift weights. I even ski still but I wear a weight belt so I don't explode if I fall down skiing.
Either you keep going at 70 or you are gone soon. So, I'll keep skiing and hiking and walking and snorkeling and riding my dual sport motorcycle as long as I can still do it.
People who give up and sit down and stay down usually are gone soon. So, I'm going to keep moving and traveling and writing and enjoying my life to 100 or more of I can.
By God's Grace
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