Am I in the clear?

April 6, 2014 4:22 PM

Late Friday/early Saturday I was up at midnight being sick to my stomach (the #2 way). After that I took some Rx anti-nausea meds and tried to go back to sleep. At around 5 am I threw up (which, as an emetephobic is a huge, scary deal for me). So at 5am I took a Xanax, 2 Pepto pills and another anti nausea pill). I slept on and off (only waking up when my boyfriend gave me sips of water).

At 10pm on Saturday I woke up and took another Xanax, 1 Pepto pill and another Rx anti nausea pill. I slept until 10am today, Sunday.
I have had no meds since 10pm Saturday night. I ate one plain, toasted bagel. I was starving 2 hours later and ate a baked potato and 3/4 of a small vanilla frosty.
I am hungry now (7:15pm Sunday) - and my tummy is grumbly. I am all paranoid that I may still be sick... I have done nothing but pee since 10 am today.
What do you think? Am I in the clear? Do I still need to be worried that I'm going to go to bed and wake up sick? :(

posted by sleepykitties to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

Best answer: In my experience hunger is a great sign that you are over or mostly over a gastro-intestinal illness. Eat! Your body needs calories after not getting enough while you were sick. Just stick to something on the mild side - Chipotle or a milkshake probably not your best options right now.

Feel better!
posted by schroedingersgirl at 4:25 PM on April 6, 2014 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Yep, hunger is a good sign! Just stick to bland stuff for a day or two: toast or saltines, broths not heavy soups, no hot peppers or spicy foods. Just take it easy, and maybe lay off so many different meds: give your tummy a chance to rest!
posted by easily confused at 4:38 PM on April 6, 2014 [3 favorites]

Best answer: The guidelines for introducing foods after a gastrointestinal illness basically say once you've eaten something and it hasn't come back up by a half hour later, you're probably okay.

Since you had a baked potato and some Frosty seven hours ago and you kept it down, I'd venture to say that you're good to go. But keep it simple. No fried or fatty or spicy foods just yet.
posted by cooker girl at 4:40 PM on April 6, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I always find that when food goes down and stays down, you're pretty good to go. I tend to avoid spicy or heavy foods after I've been sick, but there's no medical knowledge behind that, just what I find keeps my stomach happy.
posted by xingcat at 4:45 PM on April 6, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: You could always stick to the BRAT diet + Pedialyte for a few days -- that's

Bananas
Rice
Apple sauce
Toast.
posted by spunweb at 5:49 PM on April 6, 2014 [5 favorites]

So in my very limited experience, sometimes, your body really needs to get rid of something. When you take pepto or other anti-nauseas, it *ahem* ... redirects. But the effects of the pepto mean that redirect may be delayed by a few days.

I've only known this to happen once (to a friend of course) but something to bear in mind. Stick with saltines and other light fare for a few days. And hydrate.
posted by bunderful at 5:57 PM on April 6, 2014

Best answer: The most common reason for people to have nausea, vomiting and diarrhea is gastroenteritis (i.e. food poisoning). It's generally not the sort of thing that waxes and wanes - you usually feel awful while it's going on, and then it goes away. So yes, it is likely that you are all clear.

Like several of the folks above, I wouldn't recommend heavy foods until you're feeling all better. A small vanilla Frosty has 5 grams saturated fat, 8 grams of fat. Assuming you ate that baked potato with some typical baked potato toppings, that was probably a very heavy meal. I typically advise my patients to start with clear liquids like broth, Gatorade, then go to BRAT diet type foods (bland, low fat) and work up to regular foods. Hope you're feeling back to normal soon.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 7:42 PM on April 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Oh, poor sleepykitties! As an emetephobe, I really feel for you. Yuck.

I've been lucky to not have to endure a bad bout of food poisoning or tummy flu for a while, but in my experience once you start feeling like you're getting better, you probably are getting better. Starving is also a very good sign. People in the grips of full-on food poisoning usually aren't starving! I'd say the odds of a full relapse are slim.

In a way I almost envy you for having puked. (ALMOST.) I got horribly sick when I was young and spent a whole year nauseated, never puking. Puking became a really big, scary thing for me, and I haven't puked since. Sometimes I feel like I should make myself puke, just to get it over with. So, now you've survived to tell the tale. Congrats!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 9:43 PM on April 6, 2014 [2 favorites]

(The only disadvantage of the BRAT diet is that it is, by design, constipating. So don't stay on it too long.)
posted by gingerest at 11:14 PM on April 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you all for your answers! :)
I had some white rice and chicken broth for dinner and headed to bed with no meds and slept through the night without issue!
Ursula Hitler: That must have been horrible :( I held it back for hours and finally my body was like "nope! sorry, it's happening whether you like it or not!".
I'm off to have some plain waffles with no syrup on them and maybe some yogurt for breakfast.
Thanks again!
posted by sleepykitties at 5:35 AM on April 7, 2014

I'd be more concerned, now that you're feeling better - with giving it to somebody else. Sanitize yo'self! ; )
posted by bitterkitten at 9:11 AM on April 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Luckily enough for the public at large, I work from home :)
posted by sleepykitties at 3:29 PM on April 8, 2014 [1 favorite]