# recovery after food poisoning or stomach flu



## AngelaSW (Aug 22, 2003)

I have a question for you all. Is it harder for us to recover from food poisoning and/or stomach flu? I had turkey meat at a friends' house for Christmas Eve and took some leftover turkey slices home with me. I believe I got food poisoning from the turkey because it had been left out too long without refrigeration. A few hours after eating I felt terribly sick with waves of hot flashes, nausea, chills and tingly feeling all over my body plus dizziness and really loose stool; I didn't sleep much for two nights. I am slowly getting better and still have a wave of nausea coming on once in a while. I felt so bad at times that I just wanted to curl up in a corner and die







. For some reason I feel like my IBS problems have contributed to the lengthy process of getting well again... am I just imagining things? Your comments and/or experiences are appreciated.Hope you all had a great Christmas!Blessings,







Angela


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## jbaybeebird (Dec 4, 2002)

i think you're absolutely right. I had the stomach flu one time, vomiting, diarrhea and fever. It took most people 2 days to get over, it took me 2 weeks. I finally stopped diarrhea after 4 days of it and fever, but my body and stomach were not back to normal for 2 weeks.


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## domangue (Dec 18, 2003)

I had food poisoning in May, and after that experience, I hope statitistically it only happens to a person once in a lifetime. It was one of the most horrible experiences I've ever had. I ended up in the emergency room, where I was given IV fluids for dehydration. It took me at least a full week to recover. I've never had a stomach virus that took that much energy and life out of me.


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## smrtaske (Dec 29, 2003)

New here and question.... I think I have IBS-D, thinking after reading posts I need to make an appt. with my Dr to make sure, anyway, Christmas day I had a problem. It wasn't my normal loose BM though. Not much cramping and (I know this is gross) but it smelled worse than usual (like a skunk) and was a green color. Later that evening the normal started with the cramping but then it BURNED! And ever since then I've felt nauseous. Could this just be a bug? or something more serious? Just in my head worrying about eating anything because I don't want to burn like that again? HELP THanks


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## BackFire44 (Nov 19, 2003)

You should definitely see a doctor. If the burning feeling was just because you had been going to the bathroom too much that day, then I wouldn't worry about it. However, if it was just spur of the moment burning when you were going to the bathroom, you should definitely check it out. Not sure if that fits IBS symptoms, but there are lots of things it could be. The fact that you may not want to eat again soon tells me that it burned really bad. If you can't get an appointment with the doctor today or tomorrow, you might want to get checked out at a clinic or hospital -- especially if there are any other symptoms like fever or nausea. Hope you feel better! What a bad time of the year to get sick!


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## kate072666 (Oct 1, 2002)

Hello, my name is Kathyrn. I had a bad experience on Christmas too. Woke up feeling fine, went to my father in laws house for Christmas "dinner" that morning...ate...amost immediately starting having a horrible stomach ache...not like any other and then came the big D...which I went about 5-6 times there...then left to go to my mom's house and went 3 more times there...fell asleep and missed out on all the fun...woke up feeling horrible...nauseaus...and the works...weak and headache...more D. It lasted for 2 full days and only until today have I not had D. Who knows what it was. Maybe a bug...probably since so many people have been so sick....just figures that it would be me







Hope everyone else is better now that the holidays are over. So I know how you all feel and you are not alone in this mess. It helps to know that you are not the only one in this bad situation. Kathryn


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## blonde21 (May 13, 2000)

I've had food poisioning twice this year. I know it was from the food I ate becase eveyone else who ate it was sick too. Just a few days ago I got food poisiong from movie theater popcorn. My Cousin and I went to see the last Lord of the Rings flick and we both shared a bag of popcorn. At about 4:30 in the morning I woke up in a sweat and was really hot. I also had stomach cramps, so I took a Pepcid and then pooped twice (at first it was hard and them pure D) I went back to bed at 6 AM and when I woke up at noon I had two more BM's throughout the day but they were hard again. My cousin called me and said she woke up about the same time with the same symptoms, except she had the D in later on in the morning. I think the severity it depends on the type of bacteria you pick up.


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## AngelaSW (Aug 22, 2003)

Thanks everyone for your replies. Even though none of us wishes this on anybody else, it's a real comfort to know we are not alone in this. I have had my first experience with food poisoning in Germany, that's where I was born and raised, when my boyfriend and I had a frozen fish dinner. We were sick for a couple of weeks then. It was definitely the worst I have ever come across







. But you are right, not all food poisonings are the same in severity. I was the only one who had gotten a "care package" of turkey Christmas Eve, and I know now that the turkey slices I got should have been refrigerated at a much earlier time. And of course, turkey is something I can definitely eat with IBS, so I had some once I got home and also put some of it in my chicken noodle soup the next day, thinking I just had an IBS flare-up first. After the 2nd helping I knew better







. Thank God, I feel better today, I only got nauseaus twice and my appetite is returning. I am still staying with lots of liquids, plain french bread, and some chicken rice soup. Hey, I am feeling better just in time to get back to work tomorrow







.Thanks again for your comments. Happy New Year and Good Health to all







, just in case I don't have a chance to post again in the next couple of days.







Angela


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

As a chef, I have been exposed to some minor food poisonings quite a few times over the years.If you are recovering, it would be a good thing to take probiotics.


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## blonde21 (May 13, 2000)

Eric, What is a Probiotic??? When should they be taken, where do you get them, and what do they do?? (I gessing they are the opposite of an ANTI-biotic)


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Blonde, yu get get them just about everywhere really.However, there are many kinds and its good to do a little research on them and what they can and can't do. They have studied them in IBS and some have shown benefit, while others have not. However after food poinsoning they cmight help the immune system cells in the gut.Understanding Probiotics http://www.endonurse.com/articles/3a1feat1.html


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## tezbear (Aug 11, 2000)

Eric is right. Probiotics are good for diarrhea and replacing the good bacteria you lose when you are sick w/ diarrhea, etc. I have been taking for years and believe they are also the reason my IBS has improved almost 100%. I was also sick w/ either food poisoning or gastroenteritis after xmas and was down for 2-3 days. No vomiting just woken w/ terrible diarrhea like water, terrible stabbing stomach cramps, nausea, chills and fever. lasted for about 12 hrs but felt weak for 2 more days. Anyway, started taking the probiotics again once I felt better and the runny "D" stopped. I always take on a regular basis and really believe that the Probiotics are the reason that I haven't gotten a stomach flu like this in about 8-10 years. My system probably just got run down. Probiotics are supposed to help boost your immunue system so you don't always catch those stomach bugs, also good for travelling. How can you tell the diff. between food poisoning and stomach flu anyway? Anyone know,,,same symptoms?


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## erin5983 (Mar 25, 2003)

LaurieLou, I had the same experience as you. After ending up in the hospital, I felt like #### for the next week or so. It took me at least a week to recover, and I'm still getting over the last of the stomach weakness. Give yourself time and eat a BLAND diet...I messed up on that


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