Anxiety Disorder: Should I remove my appendix?

Appendicitis, a state of an inflamed appendix, is a medical condition I have always dreaded having. This is largely due to a variety of reasons. Virtually everyone around me has had a history of the condition - my wife when she was in her early teenage years, one of my sisters when she was in her early twenties, my brother in his later twenties; the list goes on and on.

Apart from that, I have heard of cases where appendicitis leads to the rupturing of the appendix itself, leading to more complications and death in most cases. When my brother had the condition about two years ago, I was anxious throughout the surgical removal procedure due to the stories I have heard about rupturing and complications. Fortunately, the structure was successfully removed intact.

A few days ago, I suddenly developed a rather unusual stomach cramp that will not just go away. Of course, that would not be the first time of having stomach trouble. What made it peculiar is the magnitude of the cramp, the duration it lasted and the part of the stomach the cramp seemed to emanate from. After about 48 hours of wriggling in pain, I was almost certain that it is a case of appendicitis due to my previous knowledge of the symptoms associated with the condition.

The conviction came at night and while I was almost tempted to announce to my wife the need to head to the hospital, I reluctantly decided to wait till the day breaks for security reasons. With the news of the ugly events happening around us in recent times, going out at night seems to pose more danger as it does not seem like my case has reached a medical emergency state.

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As they say, a night of good sleep is like a hard reset. It was rather a surprise to see that all the cramps I had been feeling for more than 48 hours disappeared the following morning. The whole event got me thinking if all I had been feeling is just an anxiety disorder. By definition:

Illness anxiety disorder, sometimes called hypochondriasis or health anxiety, is worrying excessively that you are or may become seriously ill. You may have no physical symptoms. Or you may believe that normal body sensations or minor symptoms are signs of severe illness, even though a thorough medical exam doesn't reveal a serious medical condition. ^source

Although the conclusion of anxiety disorder would be flawed in my case going by the definition of the term above (simply because there were no medical tests done), this would not be the first time of having such a feeling. Each time I have an unexplainable stomach cramp (not accompanied by a diarrhea episode), the first thing that comes to my mind is appendicitis. It is fast becoming an obsession, to be honest.

So, I have been thinking, what if I get rid of my appendix once and for all? There are no proven evidence that this organ serves any function in the body system and neither does its removal have any medical consequences. This is one of the reasons evolutionists refer to the human appendix as an example of a vestigial organ.

Although medical research places the age group of those that are most vulnerable to appendicitis to between 10 and 30 (of which I have passed), there have been incidences of the condition being reported in people of older age. I, @motaryo, and @zeedolf recently paid a courtesy visit to someone who just had his appendix successfully removed by surgery (due to appendicitis, of course), a procedure known as appendicectomy or appendectomy. By my estimation, I could be wrong, he should in his late forties or early fifties. His is not the first I have witnessed outside the vulnerable age group.

Instead of waiting and leaving things to chance, prophylactic removal of the organ will outrightly put the chances of having appendicitis to zero, and in my own case, cure the anxiety disorder that seems to be eating me up as it relates to the abnormality. In actual fact, many have been misdiagnosed for appendicitis and got their appendix mistakenly removed in the process. The cost of performing the appendectomy and possible complications aside, at least, all chances of developing appendicitis in the nearest future have been voided due to the misdiagnosis.

However, even if I opt to get my appendix removed without having appendicitis, there is no certainty that any surgeon would take me seriously or be willing to perform the procedure. I also do not know if this would fit the ethics of operation of medical doctors in Nigeria. Unless it has to do with cancer, I am not certain that prophylactic surgery is allowed for any other ailment.

Barring any political or ethical bottleneck, would you do a prophylactic surgery to prevent appendicitis? Your engagement in the comment section would be highly appreciated.

Thank you all for your time.

Further Reading

• Khairy G. (2009). Acute appendicitis: is the removal of a normal appendix still existing and can we reduce its rate?. Saudi journal of gastroenterology: official journal of the Saudi Gastroenterology Association, 15(3), 167–170. https://doi.org/10.4103/1319-3767.51367
• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8095-appendicitis
• https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/appendectomy