Food poisoning or what the hell is going on?

On Thursday (day 1), I ate some seriously sketchy food—a meat pastry—and by Friday (day 2), I was so wiped out that I crawled home and slept for about 14 hours straight. It felt weird, almost like having a fever or something... but whatever.

I felt slightly better on Saturday, but then my habit of running trail routes interrupted things, so once I got back, I just collapsed into bed again. Not to mention this constant headache.

The actual food poisoning symptoms really kicked in on Sunday (day 3). I was dealing with such watery diarrhea that I had to hit the bathroom about 10 times a day. I think you can imagine how bad it is when I tell you that my backside is absolutely stinging right now... probably from all the toilet paper, since the burning didn't start until after the seventh or eighth trip.

Day 4, today. I finally thought it was over and I was feeling way better. So far, I've only had to run to the bathroom 3 times, maybe one more late tonight... 🙂
I've tried eating dark chocolate. I've had sour cream. I've tried dry foods and even some hard-boiled eggs. I've tried everything, but my stool is still incredibly liquid, and I keep getting these intestinal cramps that last about a minute and end with bloating and gas moving through me.

The problem is, this timing couldn't be worse. My exams are coming up fast, and between the headache, I can't focus, and with these stomach cramps, I'd much rather just lie down and rest than study the citric acid cycle...
So, if there's a medical pro in here, please look at these symptoms and tell me what this could be, how to get rid of it ASAP, and how the hell to stop this burning sensation down there. 🙂

Salmonella.
Look, I know activated charcoal can help when you're dealing with acute food poisoning, but at this stage? Honestly, I think you're gonna have to go see a doctor.

Given everything you've been eating, it's a miracle you're still standing!😲
Man, after pushing yourself to the absolute limit, instead of sticking to tea, bottled water, crackers, and toast, you just went ham on eggs and heavy cream... it's gross...
You really should have asked your mother what she fed you back when you were a baby dealing with diarrhea!!!

It was useless having a Mayo clinic every hundred yards—basically free insurance—or having a hospital straight out of Star Trek in every neighborhood whenever our healthcare system failed us through sheer incompetence... 😈

And now, here you are, hitting the road early in the morning to head to the doctor and provide a stool sample for testing...

What kind of biochemistry course are you taking? Surely not one at a medical school?!?

If it is, God help us all :ziba :

As for that itching, just use wet wipes and some Neven Ciganović ointment... ccccc....

It’s totally possible you just nuked your worms too. If you already had them, they’re probably bolting for the exit right now, which would definitely explain why everything feels so damn itchy and uncomfortable.😉

Walter Myers4, yeah, probably Salmonella. I looked up the symptoms and they match perfectly. They say it lasts about 4 to 6 days, so it should clear up by Wednesday at the latest 😈

nimbleskipper13, please, don't be such a know-it-all. I'm a med student, almost graduated... hehehe 😉 😉 😉

I had some toast. With a homemade sausage. 😢 As far as I know, you take Bioactive LGG for stuff like this, and my mom recommended it too, so I took some.

And it's not an itch around the anus, it's more like burning, damn it, just pure burning. 😢
What's Neven's ointment? You mean Neven Ciganović? 🙂

You're a real piece of work... consider this karma catching up to you. 😈 😈 😈

Choke on your own filth, you little jerk... sorry, just a total loser :2up:

Just another paid-off karmic debt, Nevenko 😂 😂 😂

Feels more like Shigella or maybe C. perfringens to me (especially since you had meat); okay, the symptoms kicked in a bit late, but there’s no vomiting.
Definitely sounds like bacillary dysentery; cramps, diarrhea, tenesmus, gas...

Doesn't Shigella cause bloody stools? And C. Perfringens is what leads to gas gangrene, right? 😲

Arthur Barnes said:Doesn't Shigella cause bloody stools too? And isn't C. Perfringens what triggers gas gangrene? 😲

Okay, come on... just admit you're actually studying for a microbiology exam and this is just your way of testing yourself! 😁

Your microbe knowledge is a little shaky. C. perfringens type C is what causes food poisoning...
Yeah, dysentery can definitely cause bloody diarrhea. I only mentioned it because my symptoms are screaming Shigella. That's it. Plus, it's linked to being a carrier. If some guy was a carrier and didn't wash his hands after using the restroom, man, you're in trouble...😲

Bradley Davis33 said:Alright... come on, just admit it. You're actually studying for your microbiology exam, aren't you? This is just your way of testing yourself.😁

Nope. I already aced my micro exam back in my first semester with an A. Now I'm just curious which one of those little monsters actually got me...😠

What antibiotic should I use against them? Tetracycline? 🙂 😁

Look, if you take Amoxicillin for something like Shigella... you might end up dealing with some nasty yeast infection or some other fungal crap instead.😍

The whole foundation of treatment is just replacing all those fluids and electrolytes you're losing through your stool—whether that’s via oral rehydration in milder cases, or more often, through IV drips.
You can use a mix of saline and sodium bicarbonate at a 2:1 ratio for as long as the patient needs rehydrating. Or, you could go with a combo of saline and a 1/6 molar sodium lactate solution in that same ratio.
It is absolutely vital to give lactate or bicarbonate to fight off acidosis, which happens because you're losing bicarbonate through your gut.
Fluid replacement basically breaks down into two stages: the rehydration phase and the maintenance phase.
During rehydration, you're trying to fix the deficit that's already there using IV fluids. You have to dump large amounts of fluid in fast—like a liter every 15 minutes—until you can actually feel a decent pulse at the wrist. After that, you slow it down a bit, maybe a liter every 30 to 45 minutes. Sometimes you have to pump in over 5 liters just to get someone back to baseline.
Then comes the maintenance phase, where you try to replace whatever loss is happening from ongoing diarrhea after the initial rehydration is done. In a hospital setting, they use something called a cholera bed to measure exactly how much fluid is being lost so they can replace it. If you're doing it orally, you need to hit a ratio of 1.5 to 1—meaning for every liter lost, you gotta drink 1.5 liters.
For cholera patients, tetracyclines at 500 mg four times a day for the first three days help cut down the duration of the diarrhea and the amount of stool, plus it shortens how long the pathogen stays in your system.

Most of the time, dealing with Salmonella just comes down to staying hydrated and sticking to a strict diet.
Using antibiotics is actually a bad move here. If you throw them at an acute infection, you’re looking at a serious risk of triggering a Herxheimer reaction from all that endotoxin release. Plus, giving them to carriers is proven to just drag out the shedding process—or worse, you wreck the gut flora and end up reigniting the whole damn infection anyway.

Bradley Davis33 said:The microbes are fighting back... you shouldn't have celebrated them too much!

Self-treating isn't going to work here. I need to see a doctor tomorrow.
And for the butt soreness, just use some almond ointment.

Like I told that Mexican woman 🙂, I'm gonna hop in the shower and crash. Hopefully this roast settles by tomorrow, and the diarrhea slows down since I'm sticking strictly to dry toast from now on 🙂

I already grabbed a stool sample. It’s going to the lab for testing tomorrow—my mom works at a lab, so we have sterile vials and everything right here at home. Then I'll know exactly which little monster is attacking me. 😠

Also, what does this diet actually involve? What am I allowed to eat besides soup and dry toast?

poor little guy 😘

Look, you nailed everything else, but you missed the most critical part—where on earth did you find that breakfast burrito? 😁

Keith James812 said:Poor little guy...😘

Otherwise, you hit the nail on the head, just missed the most important part—where did you find that killer breakfast burrito? 😁

In... in... in... Lekenik...🙏 🙏 🙏

Look, whenever you're dealing with any kind of nasty diarrhea or food poisoning, activated charcoal is an absolute lifesaver. You can grab it easily in powder or pill form at places like CVS or Walgreens. It basically acts like a vacuum, soaking up all those toxins, viruses, and whatever other crap is messing up your gut. I’m telling you, do yourself a favor and pick some up.👍

Arthur Barnes said:In... in... in... Sisak 🙏 🙏 🙏

Honestly, it wouldn't be the worst idea to send someone out to... you know... Sisak 🙏 just to grab some samples and get things moving...

Keith James812 said:Honestly, it wouldn't be the worst idea to send someone down to... uh... Lekenik🙏 just to grab some samples and get things moving...

It’s the truth! They should sue them and demand compensation—at least five grand. Damn them, seriously, if they can't even kill off those bacteria in a damn microwave...😠