Self diagnosis
 

A little medical help here please. Has anyone had their appendix taken out or almost burst? I'd assume it would be sharp pain, not a dull kind. (Please tell me I'm right). Anyone ever have what feels like a doorknob underneath their skin in the tummy region?

I'd see a doctor on that one.

A lump that size cannot be good.

could be a hernia!

Thats what I was thinking.

How low is it? If it is really low- could be ovarian cyst. Also, what side is it on. Gently press down on it, if it hurts more when you release than when you apply pressure, it could be appendix. If it is tender to the touch- cyst. Get it checked out though. I agree with the hernia hypothesis too.

i had appendicitis.. it was a SHARP SHARP SHARP pain, not dull at all... you should still get it checked out though

You probably have a hernia.

Good god...it scares me that in this day and age, someone can find a huge painful lump on their body and have no idea they need to go see a doctor, no matter what it may be.

Christ.

I had my appendix taken out when I was 5 years old!

I never felt like I had a lump, it was just HUGE SHARP pains that I had. I remember going to the doctor and he told me to stand up and jump on one leg, and I couldnt do it. I was just in so much pain.

I was supposed to go into surgery one morning, and my doctor was worried about me, so he came into my room and operated me that very night. He said that if he would have waited until the morning, it would have burst, and I could have died!:eek:

I was so very thankful for him!

I still have my scar, but its hardly noticiable

First of all, it is NOT as if I don't know I need to see a doctor but at 11:30 p.m. I was looking for some input from GC as to possible scenarios. Secondly, I don't have insurance right now since I lost my job so I'd rather go in with some knowledge of what this is and is going to cost. I have had cysts before but it didn't feel like this. It is not bulging or protuding in any way and isn't the size of a doorknob just feels roundish and smooth and that was the best analogy I could come up with.

are you upset at the comments people have made?

I'm sure what I said was mildly offensive. For that, I am sorry. But I'm so sick of getting online and having people ask me what's wrong with them in a medical sense. I'm not a doctor, neither is anyone else on GC (not positive on this one). This is not the place to go for medical information. If you want medical information, go to WebMD.com. (Although that's not the best either). Or BETTER regardless if you have insurance or not, go to a doctor.

Self diagnosis is a BAD THING. So many people get some ailment, their friends speculate that it's a dozen different things, then they go to WebMD and read about those dozen things and either freak out and think they're going to die, when what they have is actually minor, or don't do anything cause they don't think it's a big deal, and then end up really sick because they used word of mouth or an online self-diagnosis tool instead of going to the only people who can TRULY make a diagnosis...

A DOCTOR.

Oh, and just a note, ask any doctor what they think about self-diagnosis.

They hate it. Patients are rarely on the mark when it comes to their diagnoses, and the doctors have to spend the entire session explaining that they DON'T have what they self-diagnosed themselves with, rather than explaining what they do have and what they should be doing about it.

That all being said, I hope everything turns out well for you.

Karen,
i know what it is like, I don't have health insurance either.:(

Push in on it, if you have rebound pain (not much pain when you push it, but very painful when you release), then it's definately your appendix. I took an EMT class a year ago, and this is one of the main things I remember.