Whatever happened to...........

I have a stomach ulcer ....in fact a have a clutch of six of them ....diagnosed about five years ago . My doctor keeps me outa the hospital with just one pill a day. Sometimes plays up but I stop eating for 24 hours and I’m fine. Sometimes I just eat tinned rice pudding, as it’s the only food I can stomach. I’ve gone from 11.5 stone to 10 stone. Wouldn’t advise an ulcer for weight loss , but I’m happy. They do run in my family ....my dad was invalided out of WW 2 with ulcers and my brother was diagnosed at 15. Must just be a family of worriers.

I spent 2 weeks in hospital after having my Appendix removed in 1963. The same thing is treated by keyhole surgery and if there are no complications you an be discharged the next day. It's not a big deal nowadays.

My fifty year old grandson has un ulcerated bowel. At first they said he would have to have his bowel removed but is on medication which is giving him severe headaches.
After years of throat problems caused by tonsils my helps nineteen year old daughter has at last had a tonsillectomy.
I had my tonsils and adenoids out when I was seven. A routine operation in those days. 1930.p

DH, DD, three nieces and a nephew have had appendectomies, two of which were gangrenous with consequent peritonitis, I’ve certainly heard of them!

My dad had a burst appendix when he was nearly 70. My son and 2 nephews had appendicitis all in their 20s. A friends daughter had it in late teens

No lack of appendectomies here. I had mine out when I was 40yo - even at that age the surgeon said I was too old to have appendicitis! My Dd had hers out a few years ago, aged 25. My mum had hers out when I was about 8yo and both my brothers later on. My youngest Dd gloomily says it's probably just a matter of time before she has to have hers out.

My 80yo friend had an emergency appendectomy last year, although she was very ill indeed with it, spending three weeks in hospital. She had a lot of visits from interested doctors who wanted to see this 80yo wonder patient!

It still happens - my DH had to have his appendix removed 10 years ago when he was 70. Done by keyhole surgery, he hasn't got a scar at all even though it was really serious at the time.

Stomach ulcers would be less known now, because they are caused by a bacteria and can be fixed with antibiotics.

My grandson had his appendix out at 4 years old, my daughter having been told that he was too young for appendicitis.
His was gangrenous too.

My goodness sunnysideup you’ve really been through it! As you say, thank goodness for appendicitis in the first place.

I didn't know that there was an 'age limit' for appendicitis. Every day's a school day!

Ulcers have become less common over the last 50 years because about 50 years ago a doctor discovered that the main cause of the most common type of ulcers are not stress or eating spicy food or any of the other causes suggested, but a bacteria, Helicobacter pylori. It has also been blamed for gastritis.

Once it was known that ulcers were caused by a bacteria, they could quickly be cured by a course of antibiotics so the incidence of chronic ulcers has plummeted.

I think the doctor who discovered this wone a Nobel prize.

My poor niece's appendix perforated. She has such a high pain threshold that at first they didn't think it was that serious as, by the time it gets to that stage, people are usually in agony. Luckily they operated and she was lucky to survive but she had a long recovery time in hospital and then at home. Poor thing was towards the end of the 2nd year of A Levels and had to do the whole second year again.