Hi there,
I’ve been on the ketogenic diet now for about five months, with great results so far.
I wasn’t looking to lose weight, although I have - more to help alleviate my brain fog,
lethargy, and depression - which it also has!
I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid ten years ago, and had heard an interesting podcast about the HFLC diet being very beneficial in that area, so I’m now experimenting to see what effects this diet has, and curious to see if my upcoming thyroid blood test levels change at all, as a result.
I’m really pleased with the positive effects on my body and mind so far. Although I’m still tweaking my macros to find what works best for me - I already feel this is a lifestyle I could apply indefinitely! The only issue I have at the moment is - occasionally, I get a dull pulsing ache in my lower right abdominal area, which seems to be relieved when I squeeze my hip area. I did wonder if it was anything to do with my appendix - but after researching online, I discovered, if it were appendicitis, I’d be doubled over in agony! Perhaps it’s an allergy? I’m certainly eating more dairy than I ever have done before - I was vegan for seven years, so it’s a bit of a shock to the system devouring all this lovely animal fat/meat etc! Of course, if it persists, I’ll see the doctor about it - but in the meantime, I just wondered if anyone else had had the same problem?
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Looking forward to learning more!
Introduction & occasional discomfort query
Hi Peter. A few anatomical things happening in the right side of the lower abdomen.
An ache is worth getting checked out. Even if it is just a check up and a bunch of baseline blood tests and a urine test.
The ache could be something intestinal. If you have seen where an appendectomy scar is located, it may indicate inflammation in the large intestine, or in the intestinal tract where the small intestine empties into the large intestine. Appendicitis is serious, and yes, in severe cases it is pain that will drop you on the ground. Gut reaction or problem would be most likely from the big diet change.
The spinal cord has some important nerves that run through that part of the abdomen. The pudendal nerve is one. Sometimes a referred ache in that area is related to a back problem. Ever had a sore lower back?
The other common cause of a dull ache can be your urinary system. A dull ache on the right side up under the rib cage may indicate slight kidney swelling. An ache in that appendix region may be a small kidney stone on it’s way down the tube to the bladder. A large kidney stone on the right side tends to create pain in that appendix region, spreading up and down the whole right side, that would once again, put you on the ground. A urine test would show if there is any blood in the urine.
So, I reckon, take it as a signal to get a check up. Runs some tests. Log your improved biomarkers. Question any biomarkers that don’t look right. Get on top of potential serious health problems early. Or, get the good news that it is a minor ache that will pass.
Hi FrankoBear.
Thank you for your reply - loads of great info there!
Interestingly enough, I’ve had back problems for many years (I’m now 41), and in recent years nocturnia, also. Time to get a thorough check up, me thinks!
Thanks again for responding so quickly.
All the best!
You are too old to fit the profile for appendicitis, so if you want the doctor to investigate your appendix, you will have to insist that you are worried about it, and do it hard enough that he/she will investigate just to shut you up. I developed appendicitis at your age, and the surgeon dithered about whether to operate. Fortunately, he called his father in for a consultation, and the father told me that my appendix burst in his hand just as he got it out of me.
For about a year and a half before the final flare-up, I would get occasional pains such as you describe, as well as occasional bouts of unexplained severe indigestion and vomiting. These symptoms never recurred after the appendectomy. As people have posted, the final flare-up was agonizing. It was clear something was dreadfully wrong, and there was no question about needing someone to take me to the emergency room. It took a fair amount of morphine to make the pain bearable.
If you could get any indication of what might be wrong before things get to that point, you would be far ahead of the game.
Thanks Paul.
Sorry to hear that you had to go through all of that - sounds agonising!
I’ll make an appointment with my GP tomorrow, and see what he has to say.
Thanks again, and be well!
Just be aware that if you are in the state I was in for a year or so before the appendectomy, there may be nothing detectable, even during a flare-up. Depending on your doctor, you may or may not be able to get him or her to pay attention. But you can use my story as a reason for your concern.
And yes, the final episode was excruciating, but we have good drugs these days, lol! Once I was on pain-killers, it was okay.
You can also remind the surgeon who examines you that he or she is supposed to be aggressive enough to be removing a few appendixes unnecessarily. If the surgeon who operated on me hadn’t been more aggressive than his son, I would have had to deal with peritonitis, which would have been much less fun. The father didn’t say what it was that actually convinced him to operate, as I recall, just that he was glad he decided to. I was—and am!—very glad, too!
Hi, Just read your post and thought I would share about what happened to me. I’m 51 and had the flu this last feb and never really recovered. I had right side pain off and on and back pain. But sometimes the pain was in other places. My doctor ordered a ct scan and found the appendix was dialated. I was sent to a surgeon and he said the appendix indicated it needed to be taken out. But he though the pain I was having was not all the appendix fault and predicted I would need further follow up after the appendectomy. After her removed my appendix he confirmed that is was inflamed, but also that it was on the back side of my colon, which explained why my symptoms were not like the usual. Also it was called it a sub acute appendicitis, which he said was more of a ongoing situation that the kind that goes bad fast. In other words, like the others had said, see your doctor. A ct scan can help diagnose what is happening. I had ct without contrast. All the best.
Thanks for getting in touch Sara - sorry to hear what you had to go through! I’m awaiting my Dr’s appointment to see what’s what … Be well!