I did.
Back when I was a kid, in the late 1800‘s, before they know what they know know about the benefits of retaining the appendix if they possibly can as compared to removing it if there is lower abdominal pain.
I awoke one night at the start of 8th grade with excruciating abdominal pain. It was unlike any pain I’ve felt before, and I’m fairly convinced it was in part stress-induced (school was intensely stressful for me).
Next thing I knew, I was in the hospital, being given some intense narcotics, then put to sleep, then waking who-knows-when to promptly vomit (“that wasn’t supposed to happen!” the nurse said) and then about a week’s recovery in the hospital.
Once thought to be a “vestigial organ,” an organ left over from evolution that serves no purpose in our bodies, we have since discovered that it appears to be the bacterial “feed” for our colon when our intestines run low on the healthy bacteria we depend upon for much of our immune system; our sort of septic tank that requires treatment from time to time to assist with maintenance.
What I discovered the hard way, was that if the removed appendix is not made up for…by helping the colon repopulate the healthy bacterial colonies that it and you depend upon for optimal health…one can suffer all sorts of consequences, some of which can be severe and even life-long.
We do this mainly via probiotic supplements, which can be very effective at accomplishing our goal. Perhaps factor some of the new “prebiotics” in, which can be found in a variety of sources, and we’re relatively assured of having an immune system that is intact and functioning the way it needs to.