Lower abdomen heaviness after appendectomy with peritonitis

Hi @pittsteelcity and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I added your discussion to the Digestive Health group as well as the pain group. Fellow members @nick43 @choover22 and @es2000ca have had appendectomies and may be able to share their thoughts about recovery. You may also be interested in this discussion that @shanamarie22 started a while back:
- 3 months after appendectomy https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/3-months-after-appendectomy/

Pittsteelcity, recovery can take longer when the appendix has also burst (peritonitis). It sounds like your surgery was pretty significant. How much activity are you able to do? Do you feel the heaviness only after sitting for long periods of time or short periods too? Do you feel the same sensation when you get up from lying, after sleeping?

Especially after sitting and getting up from bed

@pittsteelcity - I never had an appendectomy, but other procedures. You had a very traumatic event including infection in your abdominal cavity. There will be swelling for a while, also at the appendix site. It will take some time to recover, returning your insides to normal. Does it help to hold the lower abdomen when it happens?

Yes it helps

That’s good. I had similar feeling from a different condition and would sometimes wear a light elastic brace or binder for support. Nothing too tight. Actually, a favorite was the b- band from Targets maternity section!! Just supportive enough without putting pressure on area.

Hello @pittsteelcity

I am sorry to hear about your appendectomy and peritonitis. That is a lot to deal with both physically and emotionally, I'm sure. I have had several surgeries of the upper digestive tract and I know that it took me a long time to recover from each surgery. You do not mention your age, but as we age recovery seems to take longer.

The suggestion of @astaingegerdm is a good one. A supportive garment might help. As she said, just make sure it is not too tight or restrictive.

Have you seen your surgeon for a follow-up appointment yet? Did you mention this problem to him/her? If not, you might contact the surgeon's office (by phone or the patient portal) and seek some advice on this discomfort. I'm sure you are not the only patient to experience this problem.

Thank you very much for everything age is 57 I live overseas in Greece which made my surgery even a greater challenge I had 47had external stiches
Plus internal and they didn't even give me blood thinners. .I ended up getting thrombosis in the right side of the heart. I'm very fortunate just to be alive thanks to negligence.
O

@pittsteelcity I'm so sorry to hear of the complications. I can tell that your recovery will certainly be more challenging. Is the thrombosis cleared up or at least better now?