Food poisoning (from Whole Foods)

As a note to self, I'm just recovering from a nasty case of food poisoning.

It all started with some gurgling in my stomach on August 12, 2012, so I tried to eat light that day, though I did exercise pretty hard.

On Monday morning I knew something was very wrong, and by that afternoon I was full blown sick. I quit eating that day, and didn't eat again until I had three saltine crackers on Thursday.

Monday evening, Tuesday, and Wednesday were as bad as you can imagine; I didn't move from one room to another without a barf bag at my side. Since I couldn't keep enough fluids down, by Thursday evening I was nine pounds lighter than I was on Sunday evening, and I was in the hospital suffering from dehydration. They refilled me with two IV bags, started me on some Cipro, and gave me injections for stomach cramps and nausea.

I left the hospital after 2am on Friday, and after going back to sleep, I ate a little bit of cantaloupe and some peach slices, but my stomach wasn't processing much, so I didn't eat much. Fortunately the medicine the doctors gave me for nausea (generic version of Zofran) and stomach cramps (generic version of Levsin) was working, so I had that relief, especially later in the day.

On Saturday I ate the rest of the fruit, had five to ten crackers, and a few Twizzler slices late in the evening. My stomach was still processing slowly, so I was still limited. (When I say it wasn't processing, it was like the food was hitting the stomach and just staying there. The stomach was full, and a little distended. It was uncomfortable to move, and very uncomfortable to lay down.)

On Sunday I was finally able to eat normal food, but still not too much. I had more fruit, some yogurt, an English Muffin with butter and jelly, half a can of chicken and rice soup, and two Oreo cookies.

I can't be 100% positive what caused this, but since I normally live on cereal and protein shakes, and don't eat out much, I very strongly suspect it was either the chicken salad or cucumber salad that I got from Whole Foods. That meal ended up costing me a week's worth of work, and a hospital bill that will probably approach $1,000, maybe more. Needless to say, it will be a long time before I step into a Whole Foods store again.