A 49-year-old man is crediting an unusual source — artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok — with saving his life after it correctly identified his severe abdominal pain as a near-ruptured appendix, a diagnosis an ER (Emergency room) doctor had initially dismissed as simple acid reflux. The Redditor, posting under the name Tykjen, shared his harrowing experience, and explained how Grok’s diagnosis ‘saved his life. Also read | Woman credits ChatGPT for saving her life after asking a question ‘just for fun’

He titled his December 4 Reddit post: ‘How a late-night conversation with Grok got me to demand the CT scan that saved my life from a ruptured appendix’. In it, he described experiencing ‘constant, razor-blade-level pain in my stomach’ for 24 hours; despite the extreme discomfort, he noted the absence of typical dramatic symptoms like fever or blood.

‘Doctor gave me acid blocker and sent me home’

Tykjen said, “I’m 49. 2025 has been the best year of my life… until two nights ago. For 24 straight hours I had constant, razor-blade-level pain in my stomach. Couldn’t lie flat, could only get minor relief sitting on the floor with knees to chest. No fever, no blood, nothing dramatic on the outside.”

Describing his severe symptoms to Grok, Tykjen shared he was immediately warned about a serious condition. He explained, “Went to the ER once, doctor pressed my belly, said it was soft, gave me Somac (acid blocker) and sent me home. Pain never dropped below an 8/10. Came home, opened a year-long chat I have with Grok, described everything. Grok immediately flagged perforated ulcer or atypical appendicitis, told me the exact red-flag pattern I was describing, and basically said, ‘Go back right now and ask for a CT’.”

‘Appendix was inflamed and close to rupturing’

Armed with Grok’s reasoning, Tykjen returned to the ER. This time, he was insistent, presenting the symptoms and the suggested diagnosis directly to the hospital staff: “I copied the symptoms and the reasoning, walked back to the ER, told them: ‘This is what I’m experiencing, this is why I think it’s serious, I want a CT’. They did it.”

The subsequent CT scan confirmed Grok’s suspicion: his appendix was severely inflamed and dangerously close to rupturing, a life-threatening emergency. Tykjen was rushed into a six-hour laparoscopic surgery.

He said, “Appendix was inflamed and close to rupturing. Six-hour laparoscopic surgery later, it’s out. Pain is 100 percent gone. I woke up laughing about anaesthesia. I’m alive and healed because an AI recognised the pattern when the first exam missed it, and because I had the exact words to make them take me seriously the second time.”

‘Please don’t wait’

He urged others in similar situations to be proactive: “If you’re reading this while curled up in pain, googling symptoms at 3 am, and someone already sent you home once, please don’t wait.”

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