I’m assuming you have all heard in the news about the Romaine lettuce e-coli outbreak. There have been a number of cases in many states and recently a death in California. My husband kept cautioning me on eating romaine lettuce but I just passed him over as being paranoid. I love lettuce on my burgers, eating lettuce wraps, and I’ve been trying to eat healthier. So I didn’t think twice about what lettuce I was eating.
On April 6th I started getting cramps, my stomach started hurting all over, my lower back hurt, my stomach felt bloated and heavy, and I was very nauseous. In the beginning I tried to ignore it, hoping it would just go away. After about two weeks I decided I must have developed an ulcer, especially when my stool turned black (which my doctor told me is actually blood in it). I have been really stressed; we are trying to get approved for a home loan, I’m trying to find a job, and we were heading to Disneyland very soon. I find traveling with three kids stressful but we have never traveled by plane with all three of them. The day we arrived in Disneyland I started to feel better. My stomach wasn’t hurting and I wasn’t cramping as much. I was still a little nauseous but that to faded. We had a wonderful time in Disneyland.
However, our last day in Disneyland it all started to come back. Once we arrived back home I called and scheduled an appointment with my doctor. She said that I was showing all the same symptoms as the other people with the romaine lettuce e-coli. I was shocked to hear that, I thought it couldn’t happen to me. I had a few questions and one of them was, “If I shared a bag salad with others, why didn’t they get sick too?” Her answer was that not every piece is infected. If I did get it from a bag salad, only a few pieces could have been infected with e-coli and I was the unlucky one to get those pieces. Another question I had was, “why did i feel better in Disneyland and then get worse again?” She thinks that i was getting better but then i over did it in Disneyland and it came back.
My doctor prescribed a medication for my camps and my nausea. She also prescribed lots of rest and a bland diet. My husband really stepped up and took care of our kids so I could get lots of rest. It has taken about another week but I am finally starting to feel like myself. After my visit to the doctors, I went home and did my own research. One site I found very informative was Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They regularly update the site to give the most recent information that is reported to them.
I shared my story because I do not want anyone to ignore this situation like I did. This is not to be taken lightly. I did and after my experience fighting e-coli, I’m just thankful I was not hospitalized. Please be cautious of what you and your family eats.
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