A reader, Michelle, emailed not long ago wondering what I knew about the appendix. Do we really not need it? Is an appendectomy truly ‘no big deal’?
From Michelle:
With all of your posts on organ removal/alteration lately, I was wondering if you have any thoughts about the appendix. My husband’s appendix just ruptured and had to be removed, taking a bit of his small intestine with it and entailing a 9 day hospital stay and tons of medications. (Not things I like to have in my family’s bodies but when they are lifesaving we are very thankful they are there!) The medical explanation of this phenomenon is that “there’s no cause or explanation; this just happens.” I have a hard time believing this! A body organ explodes and we just say, “Oh well, I guess we don’t need that”?!! Doesn’t make sense; I have a feeling that it may be related to ignoring a damaged gut. Part of this comes from the evolutionary viewpoint which is that people used to need appendices but have evolved past that. I’m sure as a Christian you don’t buy that one either! A couple of years ago I recall Dr. Mercola doing a post that the appendix actually is responsible for producing probiotics; I will go back and research that more and definitely make sure hubby is getting adequate supplementation/ferments. Anyhow, wondering if you have any thoughts on this.
By the way, my naturopath didn’t have any info about the “why” behind appendicitis either, or the effects of not having that organ. He was interested in the study I mentioned about the probiotics, so I will bring him the article for his info next time but he wasn’t able to help out too much in that area. Having said all that, I think it is still an interesting and under-studied area. For example, did traditional people have their appendices rupture? I’m betting not….anyhow, if you want to do a post about it or want any more info from me in terms of what the procedure/hospital stay/medical side of things entailed I’d be happy to oblige. I live in BC Canada so it will be a different experience from the US side.
Here are a couple blurbs I found from the Weston A. Price Foundation:
According to Darwin, the appendix was a useless biological remnant, the remains of a larger structure called the cecum, which was used by now-extinct ancestors for digestion. Researchers have now found that not only does the appendix appear in nature much more frequently than previously acknowledged, but that it actually serves a critical function. According to researchers at Duke University Medical Center, the tiny organ provides a safe haven where good bacteria can hang out until they are needed to repopulate the gut after, for example, a bout of diarrhea (Science Daily, August 21, 2009). The presence of a reservoir of good bacteria provides more proof that homo sapiens lives in symbiotic relationship with gut bacteria. What we’d like to know is what antibiotic use does to the appendix—does it promote appendicitis, or lead to exhaustion through overuse? Source.
One more from the WAPF:
To the left is the cecum, a kind of holding tank, and to the right the bowel. Attached to the cecum is the appendix, once considered a non-functioning or “vestigial” organ but now recognized as serving an important immunological function. The appendix contains a high concentration of lymphoid follicles that produce antibodies to help keep the bacteria of the colon from infecting other areas of the body, such as the small intestine and the bloodstream, particularly in early life. Source.
Interesting, don’t you think?
But having learned all that, I still don’t see how we would have a choice when our appendix has ruptured or is about to, as far as whether or not we should have it removed, do we? Although, I suppose no one has ever delved into how to repair this organ, since the docs all agree that it’s easiest just to remove it.
I can’t wait to hear what you think about all of this in the comments!
A side note on the topic of ‘evolution’:
Believe me, my intent isn’t to open up the huge can of worms that the topic of evolution could bring on. I know there are strong opinions on both sides of this issue, to say the least. I have not researched it at all, so forgive me for sharing my over-simplified thoughts here…
For Christians, many would say that we generally don’t go along with the theory of evolution, because somehow it would imply that we don’t believe God created the world. But years ago, when I first began growing closer to God, I read something in my Life Application Bible, which I delved into deeply at the time (it’s a Protestant bible, even though we’re Catholic). Here’s what it basically said (I’m paraphrasing): While there are major debates on both sides of this issue, and no one can really say for sure where 100% of the truth lies, the bottom line is that God could have created evolution as part of His whole creation plan.
I’m sure many would disagree, but having said all that, I’m hoping we can focus our discussion in the comments on the appendix for the most part and not begin a raging, heated debate on evolution. Thanks!
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{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
if western medicine has all the answers, why don’t they know why something gets inflamed in the body or how to prevent it? I wonder what chinese medicine has to say about inflamed appendix? Probably too much damp or stagnation of qi.
Thanks for posting this Kelly and the interesting info from wapf. Yes, my understanding is that once the appendix has ruptured, there is no choice but to remove it….you will shortly die as the infection spreads throughout the body. So this is a case of prevention! Chinese medicine does rely heavily (sometimes exclusively)on acupuncture along with surgery as anasthetic and to help with recovery. I just wanted to add that our friend who had a smiliar appendix problem in the summer now has a gall bladder infection, and has been told that this organ also needs to be removed, and it is a complication of the appendicitis. So it seems like one of those situations where you get a domino effect.
Yes, it should be removed when it ruptures. My husband’s ruptured when he was a preteen. Peritonitis then set in (mainly b/c the doctors did not believe he was really that sick). He was in major surgery from that whole experience and did actually flat line at one point. He still has been in and out of surgery since then (almost every 4 years) b/c scar tissue develops and blocks the intestines. With nutrition, I am trying to prevent another surgery. The last one was the year we got married (2008). So, it will be 4 years this Easter (for some reason it’s always around that holiday/spring). About two years ago, because of all the surgery, he was diagnosed with an ileus (“Intestinal obstruction is a partial or complete blockage of the bowel that results in the failure of the intestinal contents to pass through”). As long as he eats right, he can get food to push through. I pray for no more surgeries though!
That would be interesting if one day they can repair an inflamed appendix though!
Thanks for this post Kelly! I enjoyed it.
So happy to see this discussion and can’t wait to read the comments that come.
We believe that God is the Creator so there is value in the appendix even if we don’t know what that value is. That is why we were VERY distressed when my husband’s was removed for no reason. He was rushed in for major abdominal surgery one week after his open heart surgery and had that surgeon consulted with the heart surgeon, the surgery would never have taken place. The bottom line is that the stomach surgeon saw that nothing was wrong when he was in there so took my husband’s healthy appendix to give a reason to charging for the surgery.
As I said, I can’t wait to read the comments today.
My friend, Tandy, healed her husband’s appendix with essential oil treatments. I’ll see if I can get her to comment here with the information she has researched on the appendix and what oils she used.
Hi Kelly, even though WAPF put in the Darwin statement I wish you would not have put that in yourself, being a Catholoic. Darwin is about evolution Christianity is not. God did not give us body parts to “just dispose of”. I don’t know anything about the appendix so I can’t comment. Every body part has a function whether we fully understand it or not.
She didn’t put the statement in to endorse evolution, and neither did WAPF. They were stating a viewpoint (which they then went on to dispute, actually). Acknowledging that there are opinions that differ from your own doesn’t diminish your own beliefs. That’s what you do when you research a subject – you research all of the different view points out there and try to figure out what your own thoughts are.
When I worked at the hospital one doctor routinely removed the appendix with every c-section surgery so it would not cause a problem later. I do not know if the person that had the c-section would know if it was removed. It has just been recommended that my son have his wisdom teeth out just because he was that age. I have read in some spots that it is like having a healthy appendix removed in most cases.
There was a time that I accepted that appendixes and gall bladders were expendable organs, but not after seeing several heavily inflamed gall bladders restored to a healthy functioning organ. My DH’s family has a history of gall bladder problems to the point that when anyone is sick (or ornery!) we joke that it’s probably just their “fatty gall bladder” acting up.
My MIL woke one night with what she thought was a heart attack. She passed out from the pain it was so intense. In the ER she was told she had a healthy heart, but had pancreatitis and a gall bladder filled with stones. It was recommended that she have the gall bladder removed immediately. She stayed for 3 days because she was so sick but wouldn’t let them remove it. Our chiropractor/naturopath put her on very high doses of Standard Process AF Betafood as well as some other supplements to target the root of her health issues. Nearly two years later she has a nicely functioning gall bladder. Her last gb ultrasound was very positive and her medical dr. has stopped asking her when she wants to schedule surgery. Btw…no one in the family suffers from chronic gall bladder issues anymore. She had seen several others healed with the supplements our ch/np suggested to them, and even in the midst of a scary experience decided to try this first. I can’t stress enough that there are trained health providers OUTSIDE of the main stream community who often offer better, less invasive treatment options. Conventional med provide great diagnostics, but sometimes their solution to a problem isn’t the best option for the long haul.
The CH/NP has told me of others who have rehabbed chronic appendix problems (NOT ruptured ones) by using specifically targeted supplements, too. Do the research before you agree to remove an organ for chronic issues. Unfortunately, when you are in an acute situation, you may have already run out of options.
@Sharon-
That is ghastly!!!
Btw…Amen to the comments about the inherent value of an organ God placed in our bodies. The psalmist said, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” We might add “mysteriously made” to that as well. Just because we don’t understand its function, doesn’t mean an organ doesn’t serve a purpose. Add appendixes to adenoids and tonsils…doctors once thought those were unnecessary, too! Also…there need be no guilt for those of us who’ve had appendixes or other parts removed. I lost tonsils and adenoids because it was believed that it was the best thing to do. All we can do is move forward and do the best we can with what’s left.
Removing an appendix just because you are already doing another surgery is not accepted practice anymore and has not been done for a long time.
The timeline of when an appendix first acts up to the time it could potentially rupture and cause potentially deadly peritonitis is incredibly short.
While I think seeking out alternative options for other conditions is acceptable…you’ve got a very short timeline with appendicitis.
How does thinking that the appendix is expendable vs. vital ANYTHING to do with evolution? Yes, it may be called a vestigial organ, but perhaps it had a different role than it does now, was larger, etc…the logic here is not sound.
As for evolution, I was under the impression that Catholics were fine with evolution–something called “theistic evolution”–that faith and scientific discovery are not in conflict, per John Paul II. I went to a very conservative Catholic school (overseen by Opus Dei, as a matter of fact) and evolution was NEVER questioned. Even before I went to Catholic school, as an Episcopalian, I was taught that the Genesis story teaches us spiritual truths, not science, but they are not in conflict, seeing as God gives us science to find out the true complexity of Creation.
But anyway, back to the appendix. I still have mine, as well as my gallbladder, tonsils, etc…and I plan on keeping it that way. My husband’s cousin had a horrible cancer that leaped from organ to organ. When they removed her tumor-ridden gallbladder, she went downhill and died within a few months.
I think we have to understand that medical science knows far less than it claims to. Doctors are not gods, and much of what they believe and act on is just not true. The human body is incredibly complex, and science only understands part of how it works, and much of that understanding is faulty, based on old information.
I am convinced that every part in our bodies is there for a purpose, usually more than one, and just because medical science cannot figure it out does not mean it is not there. The appendix has been considered useless for over one hundred years just because Darwin said it was. Now we have discovered that it serves the important purpose described in the post.
It is not natural for an appendix to rupture, and I have not read of this happening with the healthy peoples studied by Dr Weston A Price. For me, I believe a healthy traditional diet will prevent this, as it prevents so many other failures in body functions. I have heard of appendixes rupturing as a result of a powerful blow, but, other than that, nobody seems to have studied the cause.
How would they know? People died suddenly with no determined cause hundreds of years ago…couldn’t some of it have been from a ruptured appendix?
I’ve enjoyed reading the recent posts. Another topic that would be interesting: why are so many children having their adnoids removed?
Jennifer, have you seen this post?
http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2011/05/should-you-have-your-tonsils-and-adenoids-removed.html
How weird – my brother in law is actually at the hospital right now with a ruptured appendix. I don’t know enough about the subject to know anything for sure, but I do believe that each part of our bodies are there for a reason. I don’t know what causes appendicitis, but I do know my brother-in-law has anything but a healthy diet! He and his brothers (excluding my husband, thank goodness) drink energy drinks and soda daily and eat all kinds of yucky food. Makes me feel icky just thinking about it.
I’m currently studying at the School of Natural Healing to become a Master Herbalist. See link for more information on the appendix and what to do if pain starts. The school teaches that constipation is the cause of over 90% of disease. If you eat 3 meals per day, then you should be eliminating 3 times per day.
http://www.herballegacy.com/Appendicitis.html
‘We have taught for many years another valuable aid, and that is that the appendix exudes a small amount of oil, in its healthy operating state, that aids in lubricating the cecum and the ascending colon. This is the only section, the ascending colon, of the large bowel where the food particles must go uphill, and the small amount of lubrication is definitely an advantage when the fecal matter is heavy and lacking adequate moisture to move easily with peristaltic action.’
For reflexology, see chart. The appendix is located on #36.
http://www.ofesite.com/health/reflex/chart/
Here’s another interesting link.
http://www.ultrafitnessdynamics.com/3747/do-we-need-an-appendix/
-Heather
I had chronic appendicitis without knowing it…didn’t know it until it almost ruptured and had to be removed along around six inches of intestine due to scar tissue. Afterwards, my IBS went away completely and I felt soooo much better. Just another viewpoint…
Enjoyed reading these comments. Hoped I could find an answer to my problem.
I just had emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix on New Years Eve. I had been feeling sick for a few months, so bad, I told my husband I thought I must have something seriously wrong. After three days of worsening lower, right, groin pain I realized what it was and went to hospital. Because of rupture, I could not have the laparoscopic surgery and had regular open surgery. I feel like my old, healthy, self again.
I did have a complication of surgery, a cut, damaged or pinched nerve in my left thigh which left me completely numb in this area. My regular MD says it is not uncommon in abdominal operations. (check the internet for numbness in thigh after surgery, see how COMMON it really is!) The surgeon said it is TOTALLY unrelated to the surgery! According to what I have read it very rarely gets better and can get worse. I’m 61 years old and thought appendicitis was a young persons illness. Happy to feel well and thank God for that but wish I could have avoided it somehow.
This is so true. I also have numbness in my thigh since my hip surgery. They said it could or couldn’t get better and was very common. They didn’t say it would get worse though. It improved in that it was my whole thigh in the beginning and now it is the outer side of it. That hasn’t changed in quite sometime so was thinking of looking up natural ways to “recharge” nerves.