Appendicitis

Dear Ask The Doctor: Starting one night ago I started having pain in my stomach. It started out in my upper stomach and I thought it was just gas pain, because I had been slightly constipated. Today, it has continued to bother me. It isn't very bad when I'm just sitting still, but if I move around, especially if I move my stomach around it hurts. If I bend over it hurts. If I press on any part of my stomach it hurts. I have read that appendicitis is usually localized to your lower right side but can be all over. I feel some nausea and am having my acid reflux act up with belching. I do not want to go to the emergency room if it's not anything more than gas pain, but am worried.

Dear Gypsy: Hello, Appendicitis is a medical emergency caused when your appendix becomes inflamed and fills with pus. It also causes pain that typically begins around your navel and then shifts to your lower right abdomen. Appendicitis pain typically increases over a period of 12 to 18 hours and eventually becomes very severe.In my opinion by this time you should have experienced extreme pain that would not let you move around. To rule out it you could try hopping and if the pain increases tremendously and also you present diarrhea or constipation and fever plus vomits, then you should seek immediate medical assistance rule it out definitely. Other possibilities that follow the same pattern are gastritis, Gas or ulcer. If the symptoms persist or increase in severity, a visit to your physician might be mandatory. I suggest you not to take any pain relieving medications which could misdiagnose later.