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Spleen removal

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marie50788
marie50788

Hello, I've been dealing with severe abdominal pain for almost a year. They finally figured out that I have a large cyst on my spleen that is pressing on my stomach. They said I can either take my spleen out or leave it as they are not 100% sure that this is causing my pain. I am a teacher so I am constantly around germs. How much more susceptible to sickness are you without a spleen? I don't know whether to take it out and resolve my pain or leave it and deal with the pain to reduce getting sick. Anyone get sick very often after spleen removal?

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1 Reply

  • Wheelo
    Wheelo marie50788

    Posted

    Hi Marie, that's definitely a tough call you face. I had my spleen removed in 1998 - 20 years this year. Mine was as a result of a sports injury. In those 20 years apart from time off for a couple of unrelated surgeries, I have probably missed less than 10 days in work. I do eat well, take antibiotics daily and get all the vaccinations I can (sepsis, Pneumococcal, hepatitis, flu). It has its downsides, mainly regular abdominal pain and tiredness, but if I was to put a label on it, I would say life impacting, rather than life changing. I have read on this forum of people who suffer ongoing ill health so I'm not saying it cant be a problem, but for me I feel I have a health management partnership with my GP and he has worked with me over the years to keep on top of things.

    I cant really comment on the added complication of working with kids.

    Best of Luck with whichever option you choose

    Dave  

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