posted
i awoke around 2.30 am last night feeling lousy. at around 6 am i started vomiting really violently. i only barf about once every 3 years. so i got sick 3 times, very much the kind with serious retching. needless to say, right away every cell in my body hurt.
right now, about 10 hours later, no more barfing but still have a fever of 102 (went down). i ache all over.
i cannot even think of food. couldn't hold down water all day. now i am sipping a santa cruz organics ginger ale, bit by bit. there is no way i could take abx/probiotics, supplements today!
i don't know if it is the flu, or a reaction to some crabmeat i ate last night. or maybe the fact that the foosball table at my parent's house (visited for xmas) had a few mouse turds on it?
anyway- how much am i in trouble if i don't take the abx or probiotics for 2 days? i have lyme, babesia, myco pnuemoniae, and a while ago tested "very low positive" for rmsf.
i figured if it was bad crab claws, others would have gotten sick, or the mega abx i am on would have killed the food buggers.
thanks in advance
-------------------- do your best to educate the rest because 9 out of 10 doctors don't know jack about tick borne illnesses Posts: 437 | From shawangunk mountains, ny | Registered: May 2008
| IP: Logged |
Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829
posted
YULK!!!
Sorry you are going through this. I got food poisoning by eating a fried hard crab once.
I picked the crab out of the basket that had just come off the boat.. KNOWING it was alive and fresh.. so when I started getting violently sick.. just like you describe... I couldn't figure it out.
Turns out they left the batter (made with eggs) on the window sill, in the sun. I found out later it had been there all day.
And do not take anything on that tummy unless you have to.
Give it a rest.
If you get worse, of course go to the doctor. And unless you are sure it is the flu... go to the doctors.
If you got salmonella.. it should be treated even though the literature (ducks) say it doesn't need to be treated.
Untreated salmonella can become systemic and cause long term arthritic problems.
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
-
Probiotics should be helpful and soothing.
Food poisoning is often overlooked and, now, it also appears to be much more complex than previously thought.
This may require specific and serious treatment. You should probably see a doctor and get tested as soon as possible. If some food poisonings are not addressed, it can develop into a chronic illness, much like lyme.
First, though, it may be best to call your LLMD.
You may need different meds from what you are taking. And, if others did not get ill, that does not rule out Food Poisoning as their immune systems may be stronger. If you have any bit of the food or wrappers left (or in the trash), take it in for testing.
The fridge, counter tops and anything that came in contact with the food or containers should be adequately cleaned. Extra care with hand-washing is advised.
A small amount of L-Glutamate can help soothe the lining of the stomach. A gruel from Slippery Elm can help, too.
Licorice extract (if you do not have high blood pressure) can also really help the stomach lining. A safe kind for those with high blood pressure is DGL - often in a chewable tablet.
LONG-TERM ILLS TIED TO BAD FOOD - Symptoms May Arise Years After Poisoning
- By Annys Shin, Washington Post Staff Writer --Tuesday, September 2, 2008; HE01
Excerpts:
* Over the past decade, as medical experts have sought out the source of certain chronic illnesses, they have increasingly found links to episodes of food poisoning, sometimes many years beforehand, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
* "What the classical medical literature says and what we've seen is not the same," said Donna Rosenbaum, executive director of Safe Tables Our Priority, or STOP, a nonprofit that represents people who have suffered serious food-borne illness.
* There may be a way to prevent the worst HUS cases and their consequences. Doctors in Washington state have found that it is important to hydrate a patient if they even suspect an E. coli infection. Doing so helps reduce the extent of injury to the kidneys.
- FULL ARTICLE:
Over the past five years, Sarah Pierce has suffered repeated kidney failure, spent three years on dialysis, had the plasma in her blood replaced twice, and lost a fiance, friends and a job -- all because of something she ate.
Pierce, now 30, was infected with a toxic strain of bacteria, E. coli O157:H7, that can be spread through undercooked meat or raw produce.
Today, she has a healthy kidney donated by her brother, a full-time job and a husband. But the medicines she takes to keep her body from rejecting her replacement kidney carry a high risk of causing birth defects, so she has ruled out pregnancy.
"I would have liked to have had children," she said. Pierce belongs to a small subset of people who develop long-term health problems from food poisoning. Their ranks are growing.
Over the past decade, as medical experts have sought out the source of certain chronic illnesses, they have increasingly found links to episodes of food poisoning, sometimes many years beforehand, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Campylobacter, a bacterium associated with raw chicken, is now recognized as a leading cause of the sudden acute paralysis known as Guillain-Barr� syndrome.
Certain strains of salmonella, the bacterium involved in the recent outbreak in Mexican raw jalape�o and serrano peppers, can cause arthritis.
And E. coli O157:H7, a strain of an otherwise harmless bacterium that lives in animal intestines, can release toxins that cause hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a kidney disorder that in 25 to 50 percent of cases leads to kidney failure, high blood pressure and other problems as much as 10 years later.
This list is just the beginning of the many health problems some people are now attributing to food-borne infections.
"What the classical medical literature says and what we've seen is not the same," said Donna Rosenbaum, executive director of Safe Tables Our Priority, or STOP, a nonprofit that represents people who have suffered serious food-borne illness.
The CDC estimates there are 76 million cases of food-borne disease in the United States annually.
The vast majority of people experience it only as an unpleasant bout of diarrhea or abdominal pain, though an estimated 5,000 to 9,000 Americans die each year from food poisoning.
A handful of pathogens are responsible for more than 90 percent of those fatalities: salmonella, listeria, toxoplasma, noroviruses, campylobacter and E. coli.
Those most susceptible to infection are small children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems.
Until recently, doctors were focused on the acute phase of food-borne infections, but since the 1990s, there has been "a more gradual recognition that some of the pathogens do have long-term [effects]," said Marguerite Neill, an infectious-disease specialist who teaches at Brown University.
"We're already on the right track in terms of [saying] food-borne illness is more than diarrhea and may end up with long-term [illnesses]." Some doctors are now wondering, for example, whether food-borne infections trigger irritable bowel syndrome and colitis, said Andrew Pavia, an infectious-disease expert at the University of Utah.
However, long-term health effects of food-borne infections are hard to study, for a variety of reasons. First, it is tough to prove a link between some of these illnesses and later chronic conditions such as arthritis.
Second, despite annual outbreaks across the nation, the subject hasn't attracted much public attention or funding, Neill said. Also, federal health-care privacy laws make it difficult for researchers to approach anyone who is not in their direct care.
To get around the last of these problems, STOP is setting up a national registry of victims of food-borne disease who would be willing to participate in longitudinal studies.
The registry could help researchers determine, for instance, how frequently food-borne infection leads to chronic health problems and what role factors such as genetics play in who develops them.
A Case Study
Researchers and clinicians face unique challenges when studying the long-term effects of HUS. The first outbreak associated with E. coli in the United States was in the 1980s.
Many of the earliest victims are only now entering their childbearing years.
Also, the number of HUS cases is small. Only about 5 to 10 percent of the 73,000 people each year who get sick from E. coli develop HUS.
The impact of HUS, however, is great. In the acute phase, microscopic blood clots may form in the kidney, leading to kidney failure, Neill said.
Sometimes the kidney can be rescued with temporary dialysis. Less commonly, these blood clots form in organs such as the brain and cause stroke or seizure. There may be permanent damage to the kidney.
According to a long-term study of 157 HUS victims co-written by Pavia in 1994, more than half developed kidney problems seven or more years after the initial illness.
These people face a lifetime of medical treatment. "Anyone with HUS will be monitored for the rest of their lives. If the acute course was severe enough, the risk of long-term kidney complications, including end-stage renal disease and kidney transplant, is quite high.
The future medical cost alone can then be in the millions," said William Marler, a Seattle lawyer who sues retailers and food companies on behalf of food poisoning victims.
That is the scenario Elizabeth Armstrong faces. Her two daughters got sick after eating bagged baby spinach in 2006. Her older daughter, Isabella, who was 4 at the time, survived with no apparent health problems.
But her younger daughter, Ashley, who was 2 at the time, developed HUS. She has only 10 percent kidney function and will likely need more than one kidney transplant in her lifetime, including one before she is an adult.
Also, when she becomes an adult, Ashley may face the same dilemma that Sarah Pierce did: deciding whether bearing a child is worth the risk.
There may be a way to prevent the worst HUS cases and their consequences.
Doctors in Washington state have found that it is important to hydrate a patient if they even suspect an E. coli infection. Doing so helps reduce the extent of injury to the kidneys.
More research needs to be done to identify other effective interventions, said Phillip Tarr, an HUS expert at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
FOOD POISONING: WHEN TO SEEK HELP (No author listed. Assume writers to be staff of Washington Post.)
Tuesday, September 2, 2008; HE03
Of the estimated 76 million cases of food-borne disease the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates occur each year in the United States, the majority cause symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting for just a day or two.
The CDC recommends consulting your doctor if diarrhea is accompanied by:
� high fever (temperature over 101.5);
� blood in the stools;
� prolonged vomiting that prevents keeping liquids down; or
� signs of dehydration, including a decrease in urination, a dry mouth and throat, and dizziness when standing up.
A doctor should also be called if the diarrheal illness lasts more than three days.
Food poisoning cannot always be avoided. Tainted food does not always smell or taste bad. However, the CDC lists a few precautions people can take to reduce the risk:
Cook: Meat and eggs need to be cooked thoroughly. Ground beef should reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Eggs should be cooked until the yolk is firm.
Separate: Avoid cross-contamination by washing hands, utensils and cutting boards after they have been in contact with raw meat or poultry and before they touch another food. Chill: Refrigerate leftovers promptly.
Clean: Wash your hands before preparing food. Rinse fresh fruit and vegetables in running tap water to remove dirt. Discard the outer leaves of a head of lettuce or cabbage. Avoid leaving cut produce at room temperature for many hours.
Report: Notify your local health department about suspected cases of food-borne illness. Scientists use this information to control the spread of illness and learn how to prevent outbreaks in the future.
-==
[ 27. December 2008, 09:11 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
david1097
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3662
posted
A few days off is not an issue with Lyme or babesia.
Posts: 1184 | From north america | Registered: Feb 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
my hubby has also been sick the last 2 days..he vomits a few times then just can't eat or feel like eating...i think it may be from his meds...he did this last month when he started the 3rd abx...can't think of the name right now ...so i told him to stop them for a few days...so far today he didn't get sick..anyone else get sick from abx? ...if he is no better tomorrow i'll call the dr...oh here is what he is on..he has been on flagyl 500 2x and deflucan 100 1x last month dr added doryx 100 2x...anyone been on these 3 at the sme time? just seems funny the since the 3rd he got sick...with all the abx he has been on he never got like this....
-------------------- madgen Posts: 342 | From newjersey | Registered: Oct 2007
| IP: Logged |
david1097
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3662
posted
Doxy is very rough on the stomach. It has been reported to result in projectile vomitting in some...
Try stopping the doxy first and then the others one at a time to figure out which one it is. Yuor Dr will precribe a substitute once he knows the ne that is a problem.
For the Doxy, I found that drinking something like a milk shake made it more tolerable (but also reduces the drug effectiveness).
Posts: 1184 | From north america | Registered: Feb 2003
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
-
For the Rx/stomach issue: What about oatmeal? Or lentil soup?
It's the calcium in the diary that messes with the absorbability of the medicine.
posted
that funny the other day he did have a little milk shake...thanks..i'll have him try the others without the doryx...i went to wawa and got one for me and he said did you get that for me!!! so i gave it to him...thought it was ok...
-------------------- madgen Posts: 342 | From newjersey | Registered: Oct 2007
| IP: Logged |
luvs2ride
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8090
posted
NYJohn,
Sooo sorry you are sick.
I'm thinking that a drug reaction would clear up once you vomit out the drug. The fact you have a high fever makes me rule out the meds as the source.
Keep drinking the ginger ale and water if at all possible so you stay hydrated.
Go to a doctor. Keebler's posts are frightening and better safe than sorry.
Someone else said the probiotics would help. I think that makes a lot of sense.
Food poisoning passes in 24 hrs. I can't recall ever having a fever with food poisoning, but maybe I have simply forgotten.
Please don't try to just tough this out.
Luvs
-------------------- When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, there will be Peace. Posts: 3038 | From america | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
thanks for the replies it is/wasn't a drug reaction (i have been on biaxin, probenecid, mepron, plaquenil, and omnicef for over 7 mos now with no real issues as far as i know). no booze.
i am feeling a bunch better this morning. sweated all night in my sleep after putting on lots of fleece and getting under thick comfortors. slept for almost 11 hours.
my fiancee says that the last time i barfed was after eating soft shelled crab in 2005. two days ago, i had a crab cake (gluten free) for breakfast, another with lunch, a slice of prime rib for lunch (i rarely eat beef), and for dinner, some veggies and taters with a crab cake, crab claws, and shrimp. so maybe that is it. at home i eat primarily vegan and lots of raw. at my parents for the holidays, i ate more rich food than i usually do. esp the crab!
anyhow= this morning i ate a mug of aka miso with some brown rice spaghetti noodles and it went down ok. fever of 102 is gone, back to my usual low temps.
i *think* it was/is a stomach virus i got from one of the gas station bathrooms i visited while traveling for the holidays??? that is my hope at least.
-------------------- do your best to educate the rest because 9 out of 10 doctors don't know jack about tick borne illnesses Posts: 437 | From shawangunk mountains, ny | Registered: May 2008
| IP: Logged |
luvs2ride
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8090
posted
glad to hear you are better!
-------------------- When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, there will be Peace. Posts: 3038 | From america | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
jamescase20
Unregistered
posted
I been drinking river water for 15 yrs now and had no idea but the water reports show that tiny cyst in the water after treatment still there....0035
Sure enough...in the dead of winter..when the water in rivers is most at risk due to low levels I got really horrible symtoms thought it was flu...it kept repeating over and over...and my animals where vomiting too...finally I dumped the water....dewormed everyone and sure enough...within 5 mins not kidding..of taking fenbenazole I felt LESS cramping. Crazy...disappointing water supply.
Never again will I trust river water.
IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic