When I Thought I Had Food Poisoning… But It Was Actually My Appendix

What I thought was food poisoning turned out to be a serious case of appendicitis. Here’s my day-by-day journey.

We’ve all had those nights where something we ate didn’t sit right. Maybe it’s a bad piece of chicken, a sketchy burger, or in my case — a perfectly normal-looking, perfectly normal-tasting hot dog.

I never imagined that one little hot dog would lead to a five-day rollercoaster that ended in an emergency appendectomy.

At first, I truly believed I had a bad case of food poisoning. Looking back now, the signs were all there that something more serious was going on. My hope in sharing this story is that it helps someone else recognize when it’s time to stop pushing through and seek help sooner.

Here’s what happened — day by day.

Day 1 – When it all began

I woke up at 3 a.m. with a sharp, intense stomach pain. You know that deep, twisting feeling that makes you break out in a sweat immediately?

I got out of bed and went to lie down on the couch. They just seem to be more comforting than a bed, and I didn't want to wake up my husband.

Then the nausea hit. I flew to the bathroom and vomitted up most of my dinner.

At first, I thought, Okay, this is just food poisoning. It’ll pass.

But the next few hours were a blur of pain, vomiting, and chills so bad I had to pile six blankets on top of myself just to stop shaking. Even then, I couldn’t get warm.

Desperate for relief, I tried everything in my “home remedy” arsenal:

Alka-Seltzer to calm the bubbling pain in my stomach.
Pepto-Bismol, which came back up almost immediately.
Charcoal pills, hoping they’d absorb whatever toxin I thought was in my system — but they didn’t stay down either.

At one point, I even tried the classic sick-day combo: ginger ale and crackers. Nope. They didn’t stay down either.

The pain was so overwhelming that I briefly considered going to the hospital, but just the idea of getting dressed and walking to the car felt impossible. Instead I curled up in bed instead, trying to ride it out.

That entire day was nothing but vomiting, sleeping, and shivering under blankets. I barely moved, barely drank water, and could feel my body growing weaker by the hour.

Day 2 – A glimmer of hope

When I woke up the next morning, I wasn’t vomiting anymore, and honestly, that felt like a small miracle.

Finally, I could eat tiny amounts of food without my stomach revolting. I managed a little broth and later, some plain toast.

There was still a heaviness and discomfort in my lower abdomen, but I chalked it up to how hard my body had worked the day before with all that heaving. I figured my muscles were just sore.

My appetite was almost nonexistent, and my energy levels were in the basement, but I felt hopeful.

“This must be the tail end of the food poisoning,” I told myself.

I was convinced that a little rest and hydration would set me straight.

A quick note here for my readers:

This is exactly why tracking symptoms is so important, especially during perimenopause or other stages of transition in your body.

Digestive changes, bloating, abdominal pain, fatigue — these can overlap with so many conditions.

It’s why I created my Menopause Nutrition Audit, a tool to help you see patterns, track changes, and know when something isn’t normal.

If you’ve been dealing with strange symptoms or you’re unsure what’s “just menopause” versus a potential health concern, this audit gives you a clear picture.

Click here to learn more about the audit.

Day 3 – Calm before the storm

Day three was uneventful. The pain was still there, but it wasn’t unbearable. It felt more like an annoying, low-grade stomach ache than anything urgent.

I kept taking it easy, resting, and drinking fluids. I didn’t have much of an appetite and still felt run-down, but there were no major symptoms screaming “hospital.”

Deep down, a little voice was whispering, This isn’t quite normal.

But because I wasn’t throwing up anymore, I ignored it.

Day 4 – Trying to push through

Even though the pain lingered, I decided to push through and live my normal life as much as possible.

I went to work, even though I felt drained.
I took my daughter to skating, because life doesn’t stop when mom’s not feeling great.

But I drew the line at volleyball that evening. There was no way I could jump, run, or dive with that dull ache still in my stomach.

That night, the pain hadn’t gotten better — but it also hadn’t gotten dramatically worse.

I went to bed thinking, I just need a good night’s sleep.

Day 5 – The breaking point

At 3 a.m., I woke up again.

The pain was still there.

And in that moment, I finally admitted to myself:

“This isn’t food poisoning. Something is wrong.”

I grabbed my phone and booked an urgent care appointment for 9:20 a.m., relieved to finally have a plan.

The urgent care visit

Dr. Roberts was fantastic. He did a thorough abdominal exam, asking me questions about my symptoms and how they’d changed over the last few days.

Then he said something that stuck with me:

“We need to rule out appendicitis.”

He ordered a CT scan. I had messaged an employee to see if she could come in but no response yet. As I hadn't had breakfast yet, I headed to McDonald's and ordered what I would later be embarrassed to tell the staff at the hospital I'd eaten, a McMuffin and Hashbrown. I headed to work.

Work dilemma

I went into work while waiting for my employee Madison to answer if she could cover my shift.

When I couldn’t reach her, I remembered something I’d always told my employees:

“No job is worth your health.”

Taking my own advice, I closed the store, posted a sign, and headed to Boundary Trails Hospital, eating the McDonald's meal as I drove.

At the hospital

The intake process was surprisingly fast — at first:

They checked my blood pressure multiple times.
I answered what felt like endless questions, repeated by different staff.
They inserted an IV to prep for the contrast dye used in the CT scan.

Then came the waiting game.

Hours passed before they finally took me for the scan.

The tech warned me that the contrast dye would make it feel like I was peeing myself.

It didn’t.

Instead, it felt like someone had applied super-heated lubricant to my nether regions — an absolutely bizarre sensation I’ll never forget!

The diagnosis

After more waiting in the hallway, a doctor finally approached me with the results:

“You have appendicitis. We need to get you into surgery today.”

Suddenly, everything made sense — the pain, the weird pattern of symptoms, why it never fully went away.

Because I had eaten breakfast at 10 a.m., I had to wait six hours before surgery. This is to reduce the risk of complications with anesthesia.

So, I sat there, processing everything, feeling a mix of fear and relief:

Fear because surgery isn’t exactly on anyone’s to-do list.
Relief because there was finally an answer and a solution.

Surgery prep

When they finally wheeled me into the operating room, I was surprised by how cold and busy it was.

The team quickly got to work, covering me with heavenly heated blankets that felt amazing after days of chills.

They placed an oxygen mask over my face to hydrate my lungs before the anesthesia kicked in.

And then… lights out.

I remember having a strange dream, but by the time I woke up, it was gone — like sand slipping through my fingers.

Waking up and heading home

When I came to, my throat was raspy from the breathing tube, just like the anesthesiologist had warned me.

But the very first thought that crossed my mind?

“I’m starving.”

They brought me digestive cookies and orange juice, which doesn't sound great, but in that moment was.

By 7 p.m., I was discharged and finally headed home — sore, tired, but incredibly grateful to be on the other side of this ordeal.

What I learned from this experience

Looking back, there were so many lessons packed into those five days.

Here are my biggest takeaways:

Listen to your body.
- If something feels “off,” don’t ignore it.
- Food poisoning usually improves within 24-48 hours. If it doesn’t, it might be something more serious.
Don’t push through pain.
- I went to work, I ran errands, I kept going when I should have been resting.
- My body was giving me clear signals, and I kept brushing them off.
Your health comes first. Always.
- Closing the store was hard, but absolutely necessary.
- Jobs, tasks, and to-do lists can wait — your health can’t.
Trust the experts.
- I’m so grateful to Dr. Roberts, Dr. Chernos and the hospital team for taking my symptoms seriously and acting quickly.

This whole ordeal reminded me why I’m so passionate about helping women track their health and symptoms.

In perimenopause, it’s easy to dismiss bloating, fatigue, or abdominal discomfort as “just hormones” or “just stress.”

My Menopause Nutrition Audit helps you sort through the noise so you can spot red flags and get help sooner if needed.

Check out the audit here and start taking charge of your health.

Final thoughts

I went into this thinking it was a simple case of food poisoning.

It turned out to be something much more serious.

If you take nothing else from my story, remember this:

Your body is wise. It speaks to you in symptoms, whispers, and sometimes shouts. Listen to it.

Don’t second-guess yourself or wait too long to seek help.

You know yourself better than anyone else.

And if you’ve been feeling off, unsure what’s normal, or struggling with changes in digestion, weight, or energy during perimenopause, my Menopause Nutrition Audit is the perfect place to start.

It will help you understand what your body is really telling you — and what to do next.

Click here to learn more and take action today.

I’m beyond grateful to have caught this in time — and I hope sharing my journey helps someone else do the same.

Susie Friesen

Healthy Body Coaching

Categories: : Health