It was a lot of information - so I didn't put that out there. I absolutely understand your thinking. I will try to consider that when I make statements in the future. I don't mean to offend you. If it helps, all this was as an expat in S. Korea. I'm gonna provide a little information since you work with this kind of thing.
I could've/should've also said this surgeon had previously said he would take out my appendix.
But I informed him two other doctors, an imaging one and an ER doctor stated (3 years prior) my appendix didn't exist with absolute certainty from MRI/Ultrasound/X-ray - they called it IBS. (Three different people said I had appendicitis - one recommended me to the hospital for imaging)
Status: appendicitis -> no appendix
(Year 2 -3) I dealt with pain via antibiotics, Surgeon offers to take out my appendix "hey itis a one incision laproscopic surgery" without even touching me - I say no appendix - they do a colonoscopy/endoscopy.
Status: no appendix (?)
(Year 4) My GP had me on various antibiotics for a month. It got worse, so I went to the same surgeon. He ordered more imaging via CT again, and an ENT doctor informed me in a very rude manner that I had an appendix and to just take medicine. They sent me home.
Status: Have appendix
2 months later, I start having the same pain. I let it go on for about a month, and it starts to get progressively worse. I feel pain running down to my thigh and radiating in my back, in addition to that RLQ pain. At this point, I know that Chronic appendicitis is a debated topic and has been misdiagnosed before via medical journals.
Now with the idea that I /have an appendix/ the same ENT doctor basically tells me I'm a baby and it's just a spasm. My translator helps me get permission to consult the surgeon.
At this point, none of these men have touched me again or asked for any details about my symptoms.
When I get to the surgeon, he simply declares, "You don't have an appendix. Or I can't see it." and "Take medicine- go home"
Baffled - I informed him that the Rude doctor in the other room just said I had one. Since I was aggressive he decided to talk to Rude doctor. He came back saying they couldn't agree. Incidentally, my translator experienced a case where appendicitis was not visible on imaging, so he argued on my behalf.
(I do not like hospitals - ESPECIALLY IVs in any shape or form, when I went to the fancy ER, they let my blood run up the IV tube, then let my own blood splatter on my bag in front of the other people in the waiting room - so I'd be bananas to push for surgery for nothing)
Surgeon: "What if you don't have one?"
Me: "How about exploratory surgery? If I don't have one, it's not your fault!"
Then after listening to my translator - he agreed.
I hadn't been able to eat for the past 24 hrs. I was in pain. I was delirious.
They took me right away and about an hour or so later had my tiny-ass about to burst appendix out. Everytime I saw that surgeon, he was apoligetic to me. That said, I wasn't taken seriously despite all of the knowledge and experiences we had combined.