Thursday, August 23, 2012

An ER Experience!

After a week at home with unhealthy conditions due to coughing from allergic asthma, I instantly saw myself at the Emergency Room of a hospital at 1:30am. It was an unpleasant experience of food poisoning. I was alone in my house in the city, just arrived from a long weekend in the province and i suddenly cooked the 'fresh mushrooms' i still have in the refrigerator. I checked it, smelled it and cooked it well before having dinner. I didn't notice any unusual signs or symptoms of toxins, despite a few days in the refrigerator. That was the most telling experience i had and gave me the best of lessons. It didn't even taste any bit of difference than my usual taste for mushrooms. Then  three hours after eating dinner, i throw up and down, although i only had slight pain in the stomach. I thought i had exhausted all the intake for dinner, as well as my two tablets for the cough. It was my first time to experience something like that, and I got scared! So I packed some personal things hurriedly and decided to go to a hospital. Even if it is not safe anymore at that time after midnight, I asked the security guard of the buildings to call me a taxi. And there I went, I experienced the ER for the first time. 

After a series of tests, and some electrolytes to replace what i lost, it was already morning and I was already instructed to go home. If i hadn't been scared, I would already be okay in the house. The body's defensive cleansing already was enough for me to get well. I have already thrown out the toxins i ingested. So at 8:00  in the morning, I was back home, but I was so tired and exhausted from non-sleeping. So i slept the whole morning, but i lost my appetite. That could be another safety mechanism of the body after such an ordeal. And personally, i had the greatest lessons of my life! I hope not to do that again. 

very tall coconuts dominate this skyline

a palm's tiny nuts

29 comments:

  1. I'm sorry to hear about your ER experience, although I'm glad you are now better. Such an experience would certainly make me wary of eating mushrooms.

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    1. Yes George, it certainly make wary and I might not eat mushrooms again most especially some are already in the supermarket ref for already a few days! Scary! George, you should see my waterfalls in my other blog, you will smile at it.

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  2. Oh, mushroom food poisoning.... sorry to hear that. As long as the defense mechanism function well, plus immediate treatment, we should be alright....... The palm tiny nuts look very much a troubled intestine!!.... get well quick Andrea.

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    1. Yes Bangchik, good to point the semblance of the tiny nuts. Maybe that's the subconscious' way of expression, but i didn't consciously notice that. I love how you put it that way! And why of all photos did i chose that to accompany my post!!!

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  3. Dear friend,
    I am so glad you survived that experience. I'm always scared about mushrooms. They are some of my favorite things to eat and yet.....there is that whole toxin poisoning bit. Glad you are better and getting some rest. Not fun at all. I had hoped you would show a picture of the mushrooms you threw up:)

    I had food poisoning on a birding mission and I was sick for 3 days! Not fun at all. Get better and drink plenty of liquids.

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    1. Friend Kreesh, thanks for the concern. I am not a person who will eat a mushroom species I am not familiar with, but this one was in the ref, and half of which i already ate previously. It hits home and am still suffering from the consequences. I don't know if the medicines are not compatible with me because it's 3rd day already and i suffered from uncomfortable tummy and damp sweating. I wonder why?

      I can't show the mushroom photos, they are all gone!

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  4. How terrible for you. I've only experienced food poisoning once in my life and I remember how awful it was. Glad to hear you're on the way to recovery now. I think I'd be very careful eating mushrooms that were a few days old from now on.

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    1. Thank you very much Bernie, I actually posted this even if it's not really that nice, because I want my blogging friends who will see this to take precautions. I thought I am already so fussy with food, but it hit me too!

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  5. Take care, Andrea. Sometimes it takes awhile to recuperate from food poisoning. I had a bout several years ago and lost a good deal of weight - my appetite was nonexistent for several weeks. I remember sipping ginger ale over ice was the only thing that tasted good.

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    1. Thank you Barb for that suggestion, i will try fresh ginger here! I intended to work today when my tummy rambled, so i just forego the plan. Now at least i can blog! Thanks also for the visit.

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  6. I too would have been scared. Hope you are on the mend.

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    1. Yes Donna I am mending though a bit slowly. thanks so much!

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  7. Oh Sweet Andrea, I am so very very sorry... Hope your appetite returns quickly... You NEED to eat in order to get your energy back.... God Bless You.. You are in my prayers.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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    1. I appreciate that Betsy, I am so glad we have 3 day-weekend again now. I have been absent for sometime now! Yes I am eating, but this morning the food seemed to hurt my tummy again.

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  8. Food poisoning is horrible and does take some time to recover from. I hope you are well and truely on the mend. As you said, it is often hard to know just be the sught or even smell whether a food is safe.

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    1. Thanks Missy, now I am maybe scared to buy those mushroom packs in the refrigerators of the supermarket. They might look okay but might already be there for sometime. I didn't know that mushrooms produce toxins while in storage.

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  9. Hope you are getting better from the food poisoning.
    I love eating mushrooms but never knew that it can cause such a problem as what you mentioned.
    Chances are it might got mixed with some poisonous ones or perhaps fungus or bacteria might got into the mushroom.

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    1. No James, i searched after the episode. Some mushrooms produce toxins in storage, and toxins are secondary metabolites which normally are hazardous to human health.

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  10. Take care Andrea and give you body and mind time to recover, put it all down to experience and drink plenty of ginger tea and look after YourSelf

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    1. Thank you so much Klara, i appreciate this. My series of mishaps started with an overfatigue, then allergic asthma set in, then by the food poisoning. I hope i will be able to get the meanings of all of this. Antibiotics already cured the infection in cough but the allergic phlegm is still there. I am really drinking our local ginger tea boiled from fresh roots, we call it "salabat". Best regards.

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  11. I'm sorry to hear that you had to make a trip to the ER. I'm sure you are on the mend now. Take care of yourself!

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    1. Thanks Linda, I hope to recover my strength soonest. My other blogger friends who experienced it said it somehow takes a while. I guess the toxins are not fully expelled by the vomiting and diarrhea.

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  12. Oh, my! I hope you are feeling much better by now. The senna I have is senna hebecarpa.

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    1. Hi Sue, thanks so much for the concern. So the senna is a genius and it is not what i thought is Casia alata, though they look similar.

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  13. Oh no, you must have been so frightened. I'm glad you've been able to get some rest and hopefully you're feeling better. So sorry to hear you weren't well.

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    1. Yes Cat i was scared, most especially because i was alone in the condo unit. So even at the unholy hour i went to the hospital and have myself admitted at the ER. Thank you very much for the concern. I am feeling okay now, and already nursing the more difficult condition to get rid off, the allergic asthma.

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  14. Andrea my dear, I'm so sorry to hear about the food poisoning and ER experience. Glad you are much better now. I shudder to think of this as I had such an experience before after eating some hawker food. I had severe stomach pain, vomiting and couldn't get up from bed. Oh yeah about the mushrooms, I have a packet of fresh mushrooms in my fridge. Now I think I'd better cook it soon!

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    1. Yes you should or if it has already been there for a number of days, it is better to throw it even if it still looks fresh. Mine was the Japanese brown oyster mushrooms. Now i am afraid to buy those at the supermarket because i don't know how many days they've been there. It is better to be sure than sorry!

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  15. How amazing it was your first time. having asthma as a child I found myself there often and then when I had migraines and didn't know it...it is not a pleasant experience but when we are that sick we welcome the care...so glad you are feeling better...those palm nuts are so interesting.

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