What is normal after an appendectomy???

[helen]

I had my appendix out by key hole surgery, i had three incisions one above my pubic bone,my tummy button where they brought out my appendix and the other one was on my left side, they used staples to fasten the wounds,7 staples in my belly button 2 staples above my pubic bone and 2 staples in my side.My stomach was blown up like a balloon and was black and blue with severe bruising i nearly died when i saw my stomach.
The belly button wound was bleeding and so was the one above my pubic bone but the one on my side never bled thought nothing about it until i got home 2 days later and it was very tender around the wound i persieviered and the following sunday it started to bleed a dark black colour, on the monday i went to the doctors and i had a superficial blood clot underneath the wound it was the size of an egg, had antibiotics to stop infection i keep having check ups at the doctors and have been off work 5 weeks the clot is still there but is reduced in size back at the doctors next week is this normal or not

[Kenneth ©]

No, it is not "normal" but it happens. So long as you are improving it is headed in the right direction. I was 6 weeks before I was well enough to go back to work.

[onthebit]

I wish my doc would have told me a little more about the range of what's normal after surgery. She gave me the impression recovery would take about a week, and that I could go back to horseback riding in 2 weeks!

Granted, I did have a lap appy, however, at the one week point, I was still exhausted and experiencing a lot of post-operative fatigue. I mean, one day, I went for a short walk, came home, took a nap, and went out to dinner with a friend. I spent the next day in bed because I had apparently overdone it! Additionally, I had the chills for about 4 days after the operation. No infection, but still had the chills. I worried that I had an infection because I had no idea of what to expect. I like my doc a lot, but I did end up feeling that her perspective of short recovery time was from her perspective of being the doctor, not the patient.

Also, for about the first 5 days after the operation, I continued to have many of the pre-operative symptoms I had, consisting of pelvic and abdominal pain and nausea. It kind of scared me that maybe my appy wasn't the problem after all! I rationalized my way though it, figuring that the same nerves had been upset having the surgery and I'd probably feel better soon. I was right.

I also had intense cramping when my bowels resumed working and I didn't expect that either.

There is no WAY I would consider going horseback riding at the two week point, which is this Friday! My navel incision isn't close to being healed and I would be concerned the stretching of the abdominal muscles during cantering might reopen the incision. I don't think my doc knows much about horseback riding, because to do it correctly requires a lot of strength in order to synchronize and at times resist the force of the horse's movements. I probably won't ride until after the 6-8 week point, when it's OK to resume heavy lifting, because horseback riding uses the abs in similar ways.

[Rosetta]

Hi
Recently had my ruptured appendix removed a week ago through the wonders of keyhole surgery. Following the surgery have noticed general weakness in right arm and right leg. The arm weakness is less pronounced but can't grip particularly well and if hand held is held straight out the middle finger hangs lower than it used to. Leg weakness is more pronounced and is hard work to actually raise it when lying down. Anybody else experienced anything like this?