[Manga] Went to the hospital three times due to severe abdominal pain
Some say that appendicitis is hard to diagnose even for a doctor
A manga about someone's experience of going to the hospital three times for abdominal pain has been shared widely on Twitter. On Friday night, Twitter user Natsuno Mika (@72no3can) fell ill suddenly with severe abdominal pain and vomiting. She was diagnosed with 'Gastroenteritis (stomach flu)' at the hospital and received medication but the pain continued to build throughout the evening. Very worried, she went to the emergency room again. The CT scan showed 'No abnormalities'. Her worried family members took her to a different hospital on Sunday and she was taken in to have emergency surgery...
People who read the manga said they were "just glad she's okay", and stressed the importance of second opinions. Many people shared their own experiences: "That happened to me too, but it took them a really long time to pinpoint the problem," "When I was in my 5th year of elementary school, I tried to endure it and my appendix ended up rupturing."
Natsuno Mika is an illustrator. She also draws manga on Twitter about various subjects. Magmix asked her about the manga.
ー Why did you decide to write this manga about your experience with 'acute appendicitis'?
I was in constant pain, for two whole days I couldn't sleep a wink and I couldn't even drink the oral rehydration solution. I went to the hospital three times in an ambulance. It made me think of a lot of things, so I decided to create a manga in the hopes that I could share those things with others.
ー How did you decide on the composition/art style?
I thought that people wouldn't be able to read it easily if both the content and artwork were serious so I decided to make the drawings soft and gentle.
ー I can empathise with how grateful you are to your parents who came running to help.
I am very grateful to my parents and sister. At first, I didn't want them to worry so I did everything by myself. When I was diagnosed with gastroenteritis on my second visit to the hospital, I couldn't accept it. I said to the doctor I wanted to be hospitalised but was told I'd just have to grin and bear it. I didn't think I would be able to make it home by myself, so I asked my sister who lives a bit closer to me than our parents, for help.
She immediately came running, and then she contacted our mother. Mum barely made the last train, and Dad rushed to us the next day. I could feel the love from my family.
ー I feel that the difficulty of diagnosing appendicitis is a serious issue.
After I posted the manga, around 20 doctors commented on the difficulty of diagnosing appendicitis. Receiving feedback from medical professionals was also a valuable experience for me.
ー I can empathise with how grateful you are to your parents who came running to help.
I am very grateful to my parents and sister. At first, I didn't want them to worry so I did everything by myself. When I was diagnosed with gastroenteritis on my second visit to the hospital, I couldn't accept it. I said to the doctor I wanted to be hospitalised but was told I'd just have to grin and bear it. I didn't think I would be able to make it home by myself, so I asked my sister who lives a bit closer to me than our parents, for help.
She immediately came running, and then she contacted our mother. Mum barely made the last train, and Dad rushed to us the next day. I could feel the love from my family.
ー I feel that the difficulty of diagnosing appendicitis is a serious issue.
After I posted the manga, around 20 doctors commented on the difficulty of diagnosing appendicitis. Receiving feedback from medical professionals was also a valuable experience for me.
「胃腸炎だから我慢するしかないと言われ我慢しまくっていたら盲腸が破裂寸前になっていた話」— 夏野みか🍊 (@72no3can) September 3, 2019
私の最近の話です。今は退院してだいぶ元気です！20代後半の良い大人なのでもう何でも自分一人で出来ると思っていましたが、まだまだ家族の支え無しでは生きていけない事を実感させられました。 pic.twitter.com/gBl5o7tJSx
Source: Yahoo! News Japan
1. [+11035 / -1081]
This is a good learning experience.
This happened to my son when he was 2 years old. He said his stomach hurt in the morning so I took him to the hospital. The doctor told me it was a stomach bug, and they prescribed him stomach medicine. We went back home and I gave him the medicine and monitored his condition until early afternoon. He seemed okay but he also faintly seemed like he was still in pain. In the meantime I read a book called "Common childhood illnesses". In the stomach ache section, there was an illness called Intussusception. Its symptoms made me uneasy. Early in the evening I took him to the biggest hospital in the city. There, I was told once again that it was a stomach bug.
I told the doctor I was worried he had appendicitis or intussusception. I asked for an ultrasound to be done but they said, "He isn't in much pain. His stool isn't bloody. It's not that." Feeling frustrated, I begged for a second opinion. Finally at midnight, after waiting for 6 hours, they checked again, and it was intussusception after all. If I had taken him home and waited for his condition to worsen, his intestines would've become necrotic in 1-2 days, and he would've died. Ten days later, it recurred and he had to be hospitalised.
I learned that you can never trust the words of a doctor.
[+1985 / -17]
Even now that I'm an adult, I've had doctors casually ask me, "Could it all be in your head?"
I pushed for a blood test and it came back with abnormal results ー that's when the doctor finally stopped being dismissive. When I begged for that test to be done, the doctor was like, "All right. If that's what will make you feel better."
When I went to see the doctor, I was already sick and at my limit so I didn't have any more strength or willpower to fight.
Why do we, as patients, have to fight and unnecessarily exhaust ourselves to convince the doctor that we're actually sick?
[+1842 / -16]
There are doctors who say "If the child's mother says 'Something's wrong' do not ever ignore it" but... Thank you for your hard work.
[+1007 / -26]
7 years ago, I had intense pain in my abdomen and was vomiting. I went to a general hospital to see a doctor. They performed a CT scan and said I had constipation.
Laxatives were fed into my intravenous drip and then I was sent home.
I was in so much pain that I went to a different hospital
The doctor on duty took one look and said 'Isn't it appendicitis?" And then I had emergency surgery.
I will remember that misdiagnosis for the rest of my life.
A week ago, an acquaintance of mine went to the hospital for pain in their abdomen.
The doctor said it was gastroenteritis. They went home and their condition deteriorated.
Now they're in the hospital for a ruptured appendix.
Misdiagnoses happen quite often.
Even now that I'm an adult, I've had doctors casually ask me, "Could it all be in your head?"
I pushed for a blood test and it came back with abnormal results ー that's when the doctor finally stopped being dismissive. When I begged for that test to be done, the doctor was like, "All right. If that's what will make you feel better."
When I went to see the doctor, I was already sick and at my limit so I didn't have any more strength or willpower to fight.
Why do we, as patients, have to fight and unnecessarily exhaust ourselves to convince the doctor that we're actually sick?
[+1842 / -16]
There are doctors who say "If the child's mother says 'Something's wrong' do not ever ignore it" but... Thank you for your hard work.
[+1007 / -26]
7 years ago, I had intense pain in my abdomen and was vomiting. I went to a general hospital to see a doctor. They performed a CT scan and said I had constipation.
Laxatives were fed into my intravenous drip and then I was sent home.
I was in so much pain that I went to a different hospital
The doctor on duty took one look and said 'Isn't it appendicitis?" And then I had emergency surgery.
I will remember that misdiagnosis for the rest of my life.
A week ago, an acquaintance of mine went to the hospital for pain in their abdomen.
The doctor said it was gastroenteritis. They went home and their condition deteriorated.
Now they're in the hospital for a ruptured appendix.
Misdiagnoses happen quite often.
2. [+6722 / -538]
When I was in fifth or sixth grade of elementary school, I went to my small local village clinic and the doctor there diagnosed my illness correctly on the first go. He referred me to a clinic that could operate on me straight away and I had the operation on that same day. It depends on the doctor's skill...
By the way, that clinic didn't specialise in internal medicine or surgery, it specialised in pediatric medicine.
3. [+5419 / -408]
After reading this, I have decided that if the pain doesn't feel normal, I will muster up the courage to ask, "Could it be appendicitis?" without caring if I'm wrong.
4. [+2274 / -26]
My senpai's story. When she was in high school, her appendicitis was misdiagnosed as peritonitis. She was hospitalised for a long time and wasn't able to move to the next grade. In the end, she had to drop out. In some cases, a misdiagnosis can change the course of your life.
*This comment was deleted
[+278 / -2]
The same thing happened to my son when he was 10.
He said his stomach hurt and he had a fever but no matter where we went, the doctors said he had a stomach bug. This went on for several days.
At the third clinic we went to, it was finally identified as appendicitis.
He had developed peritonitis as well and had to have an operation immediately.
I felt like I let him down.
The same thing happened to my son when he was 10.
He said his stomach hurt and he had a fever but no matter where we went, the doctors said he had a stomach bug. This went on for several days.
At the third clinic we went to, it was finally identified as appendicitis.
He had developed peritonitis as well and had to have an operation immediately.
I felt like I let him down.
5. [+1907 / -35]
One time, I went to the hospital because I had a fever of over 40°C but they couldn't find the cause. My fever still hadn't gone down so I went to the hospital again the next day. My breathing had turned ragged because of my fever and a nurse came along and said I was exaggerating. The doctor wouldn't tell me what illness I had. He just said I had a fever because my body was trying to kill the bacteria in my body, and sent me away. The next day, I still had a high fever. I didn't know what to do anymore. I called my friend and my friend and my friend's mother came over and took me to the clinic they go to. There, I finally found out what was wrong with me. I had a kidney infection. I was referred to a large hospital and was hospitalised for 6 days. I think if you're not getting better, you should switch hospitals straight away.
6. [+1664 / -25]
If I ever have intense pain in my abdomen, I'll check whether the pain is on the left or right side first and then cross appendicitis off the list of things it could be. Like with this manga artist and also a stage actor some time ago, I'm surprised that doctors don't realise what it is until it gets really bad. Scary.
7. [+1445 / -25]
When I was in elementary school, they told me I had a stomach bug but I couldn't walk and then I vomited. 2 weeks later they X-rayed me and saw my appendix on the verge of rupturing. I still remember my doctor in a panic, writing a letter of reference to a university hospital...
8. [+1337 / -56]
When I was taken to the emergency room for intense abdominal pain, the doctor ordered a blood test straight away and confirmed that I didn't have appendicitis.
For women, there's a possibility that it could be an ectopic pregnancy or ovarian torsion, so the doctor said they had to be very careful.
I hit the jackpot with that doctor.
Sometimes there are orthopedic surgeons on duty in the emergency room and they could diagnose you with something completely wrong, so it's a good idea to see an internal medicine doctor in the daytime the next day.
9. [+1283 / -32]
In contrast, I was in hardly any pain, I had a slight fever and was nauseous and didn't have an appetite for two days in a row. I went to the hospital thinking I had a stomach bug. The 'just in case' tests discovered the early stages of appendicitis.
That doctor who ran 'just in case' tests because he had a feeling it might not be just a stomach bug, had amazing intuition.
0 Comments