Just ate week old cooked lamb chops, am paranoid I'll get sick

May 29, 2024 5:48 AM

I just ate a week old cooked lamb chops that my Mum gave me. They looked and smelled OK, but when I was eating them something tasted slightly off. It might have been the rice that was given to me.

I heated everything in the microwave for 4 minutes.

The reason I ate it is because a week ago, my Mum dropped some food off at mine. I'm at home as I'm studying for my exam in a week.

One of my housemates is ALWAYS watching TV in the living area (incl. kitchen) and it would be rude to cook my food and not sit with her whilst I eat it.

But due to my social anxiety and because I don't want to get into an hour long conversation that will distract me, I just avoid the area. This has meant not eating my Mums food, as I'll just buy a sandwich and eat it in my room whilst studying.

I've been meaning to come down at like 11pm at night when I know no one is around and eat then at the end of a late night study session, but I've just been too tired and fallen asleep.

Now I feel insanely guilty and that's why I kinda made myself eat the lamb chops and rice. I already had to throw away a bit of a chicken curry and some other stuff, which I feel terrible about (can you guess that I'm South Asian?)

Anyway, there's two questions here. A) do you think I'll get sick and b) do you think me not eating food in my fridge due to avoiding housemates is extreme (take into account I need to be focusing on studying)

posted by Sunflower88 to Food & Drink (21 answers total)

Very hard to tell if you'll get sick; this is definitely in the range of things I would eat, though.

However, I do think it is extreme to be avoiding your roommates to the extent that you're disrupting your own life, especially because you're doing it to avoid the possibility that you might be seen as rude to leave a hypothetical hour-long conversation that you you're worried you could be roped into. That's... a lot of things that might happen, but they're also all things that can be easily avoided or communicated about. I seem to remember that you've asked a lot of questions that revolve around anxiety - is that something that you see in yourself, and is it something you've been able to get support for?
posted by sagc at 6:00 AM on May 29 [14 favorites]

A) do you think I'll get sick

Probably not!

b) do you think me not eating food in my fridge due to avoiding housemates is extreme (take into account I need to be focusing on studying)

Yes. You could have just said, "Hey, I need to study, so I'll be eating in my room. Let's catch up later!"
posted by AndrewInDC at 6:01 AM on May 29 [7 favorites]

I would consider a week to be borderline, but I have eaten stuff that old before. Lamb can taste a bit "off" regardless, so here's hoping you will be OK!

Would your housemate really be offended if you greeted them pleasantly, heated your food, then took it back to your room, maybe saying something like, "back to the grind!"?
posted by LadyOscar at 6:02 AM on May 29 [4 favorites]

I'm very cavalier about this kind of thing, and have never had a problem. I'm not sure I'd have eaten that, I'm a little more concerned about the rice. I have eaten similar stuff in the past and been fine, on many occasions. But for the record, a week is definitely outside the official conservative safety standards for leftovers.

I think you'll probably be ok. Try not to overthink it. Just go about your normal business and maybe don't stray too far from a restroom in case you do start to have vomiting or diarrhea. Those are the most common symptoms of food-borne illness, and for most situations like this, it's not very serious, just unpleasant. If you make it to 24 hours after ingestion, you're probably clear. I know it's difficult, but don't beat yourself up about it, that will just make you feel worse. Good luck, and please update us!
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:03 AM on May 29 [1 favorite]

b worries me much more than a. Being this avoidant in a sphere this close to home (I mean you are literally in your home) is going to have knock-on effects that will way outlast any food poisoning you might get from this meal.
posted by eirias at 6:17 AM on May 29 [9 favorites]

One of my housemates is ALWAYS watching TV in the living area (incl. kitchen) and it would be rude to cook my food and not sit with her whilst I eat it.

I challenge this assertion. I'm pretty sure you're not in the US/Canada so there may be cultural factors I don't understand at work here, but in my culture it would be 100% normal to say "can't talk tonight, gotta get back to work." I did it when I had roommates, people have done it to me as my roommate, we're all still at least acquaintances many years later.

And I ate 2 week old pork bao last week and I'm still here.

Do you have a therapist? Therapy + talking about if anti-anxiety meds are right for you seems like a good next step because your series of questions lately just radiates extreme, probably-unnecessary anxiety.
posted by Alterscape at 6:21 AM on May 29 [7 favorites]

Response by poster: Sorry just to add, it would seem weird to heat a curry with rice on a plate and go and eat it in my room when they know I've been studying for hours anyway.

Realistically I would sit with them but probably only for the length of time it takes to eat the food and then I would go.

I'm in group therapy and taking antidepressants for social anxiety. This avoidance has been ongoing and its not pleasant to live like this in your own home.
posted by Sunflower88 at 6:32 AM on May 29 [1 favorite]

it would be rude to cook my food and not sit with her whilst I eat it

it would seem weird to heat a curry with rice on a plate and go and eat it in my room when they know I've been studying for hours anyway.

I am sure that being in therapy for social anxiety this is something you already know intellectually, but let me assure you: this is untrue and your brain is lying to you.

You are 100% allowed to live the life you want and need to within your own home.

Everything else is noise. I hope your tummy is okay.
posted by phunniemee at 6:44 AM on May 29 [32 favorites]

Three days is my limit with any food in the refrigerator. Also, go eat in your kitchen. Don't worry so much about what another person thinks.
posted by Czjewel at 6:49 AM on May 29 [1 favorite]

Sorry just to add, it would seem weird to heat a curry with rice on a plate and go and eat it in my room when they know I've been studying for hours anyway.

Even if it *would* seem weird to take a plate in your room and eat it (which is debatable)... it's OK to be weird! It's OK if your flatmates think you're weird! A lot of us are weird little guys.

Also no, you probably won't get sick, but yeah you might. You'll know soon!
posted by mskyle at 6:53 AM on May 29 [7 favorites]

Week old lamb chops are probably fine if refrigerated. Week old rice is probably not great. You'll almost certainly be fine, with a likely outcome being a case of the runs.

You're allowed to use common space respectfully. If your roommate strikes up a conversation and you're not in the mood, chat for 5 minutes and say "I promised myself I would do xyz, so I need to do that. Let's do abc once these exams are done!" Whether or not you actually plan to do abc is besides the point. Stop letting your roommates rule your house.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 7:13 AM on May 29 [2 favorites]

it would seem weird to heat a curry with rice on a plate and go and eat it in my room when they know I've been studying for hours anyway.

As a share-house veteran I can assure you that I have had multiple housemates do exactly that, consistently, and never once did I think it was weird.

As far as I'm concerned, the only unacceptable share-house behaviour is consistently creating mess and filth in shared spaces and expecting "somebody else" to clean it up. People who consistently leave shared spaces slightly cleaner on exit than on entry make great housemates regardless of personal quirks.

A) do you think I'll get sick

I think any nausea and/or diarrhoea you experience is more likely to come from worrying yourself sick than any microbial cause.

b) do you think me not eating food in my fridge due to avoiding housemates is extreme

Yes unless the housemates in question are genuinely horrible people.
posted by flabdablet at 7:31 AM on May 29 [5 favorites]

One of my housemates is ALWAYS watching TV in the living area (incl. kitchen) and it would be rude to cook my food and not sit with her whilst I eat it.

I used to have really bad social anxiety so I understand why you feel this way. I think you should consider that thinking your housemate would find your behavior rude is an assumption you're making. Maybe she truly does not care at all where you eat. Maybe she likes when you eat with her and feels a little disappointed when you don't and then goes back to TV and doesn't think about it again. Maybe she likes sitting with you but feels a little relieved when you go back to your room because she loves being alone. It's really hard to know exactly what people think unless they tell you.

If I were in your situation I might ask her about it directly if I were feeling a lot of anxiety about it, but I might also take the opportunity to practice feeling okay with not knowing how someone feels and not changing my behavior based on my guesses and assumptions. Being anxious about a person or situation doesn't mean you have to change how you act if you don't want to. You can think "Oh no, my housemate probably thinks I'm being so rude right now" while you greet her warmly and go back to your room to eat.

Have you brought up how you feel about your housemates in group therapy? It might be worth talking about there so you can get some support with this. You deserve to feel safe and comfortable in your own home.

Also regarding the lamb chops, I noticed you've made other posts about your worries about illness. It sounds like it stresses you out a lot. I think you should talk to someone about this too if you can.
posted by birthday cake at 7:41 AM on May 29 [5 favorites]

I get stressed out about potential food poisoning, too, so I totally get that anxiety. If I were in your position I'd be drinking a lot of water and maybe kombucha if you like it. Just to hydrate and get some probiotics in your system (good to do in any case, also good as prevention for a potential dehydration event). I would also get some anti-nausea meds--again, just good to have on hand for whatever! And you'd be glad to have them if you do start feeling sick.

As for the housemate thing, it's totally reasonable not to be socially available all the time (or even some of the time). In similar situations I've gone in to make food in a common area and pre-empted any long conversation with bringing some study/reading material and saying something like "how's it going? yeah great, I'm just going to read a bit," and then "ok seeya later" when you're done. You have a right to be in these common spaces and you wouldn't be rude to do your own thing while someone is also in them.
posted by knotty knots at 7:59 AM on May 29

I have had so many housemates over the course of my life, and microwaving food and taking it into your bedroom to eat = very normal. Some people are social eaters, some people prefer to eat privately while watching TV on their laptop or whatever. I never thought much about which category different housemates fell into.
posted by coffeecat at 8:30 AM on May 29 [5 favorites]

"can't chat, studying" is the perfect excuse not to hang with your housemates
posted by BungaDunga at 8:43 AM on May 29 [1 favorite]

I would be more wary of the week old rice than I would of the week old cooked lamb. In future, I'd toss out rice after a couple of days, and don't eat it if you can't remember how old it is. It doesn't take much to prepare fresh rice.

But! Even if you do get sick, it will be totally manageable and you will be fine. And I say this as an emetophobe who has lain awake at night pondering very similar questions to this. I've learned that even if the worst happens, it's never the actual worst, you know?

Keep up with your studying and try to be more gentle with yourself! You'll be fine.
posted by fight or flight at 1:37 PM on May 29 [4 favorites]

Sorry just to add, it would seem weird to heat a curry with rice on a plate and go and eat it in my room when they know I've been studying for hours anyway.

It...wouldn't, though?

Look I recognize that my perspective is US-centric but at least in my experience, this is literally on the top ten list of Most Normal Not Weird Things Basically Everyone Does At Some Point. Like, I did this yesterday. It even has a name, Sad Desk [Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner].

I know you can't reason your way out of unreasonable anxiety, but sometimes it can be helpful to correct the narratives that you're using to explain/support your discomfort. Instead of "oh I can't eat the food because I don't want to get locked in conversation with my housemate and they will think it's weird if I take the food to my room" it's "I feel uncomfortable, but everything I am doing is completely fine and usual to do, I just feel uncomfortable anyway, and that's all right."
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 3:07 PM on May 29

So anyway my answer to A is "maybe? but probably not" and to B is "absolutely, very extreme, and worth a lot more effort and attention than A."
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 3:09 PM on May 29

I hope your tummy is okay.

Just here to point out again that it’s worth learning to sit with discomfort:

- it’s okay to feel weird about heating leftovers and eating in your room or eating briefly in common areas and do it anyway
- it’s okay to feel sad you wasted food and throw it out anyway
- it’s okay to worry about having eaten old food but you can’t really change that you did
- you don’t need to crowdsource who is Okay and Not Okay with eating in your bedroom - if you need to eat in your bedroom just go for it

Your feelings of emotional discomfort will not hurt you. It’s okay to say to yourself “this makes me feel anxious” and still do the thing.
posted by warriorqueen at 3:54 PM on May 29 [9 favorites]

Content warning: Discussion of decomposition

Manky meat is seldom going to cause problems. While there is no denying that you can get food poisoning from gone mutton, the world is full of popular recipes on the best ways to cook manky meat. If it's already cooked the traditional way to deal with it is to mute the flavour with curry or chili. If it's still raw the traditional way to deal with it is to dredge the meat in vinegar, to kill the bacteria, and to scrub it to remove any slime.

There are a lot of animals that frequently eat manky meat. They often leave the greater part of a carcass until decay makes it easier for them to get through the hide. Crocodiles stash the creatures that the drag under water and drown, until their corpses have softened and rotted enough to be easy to tear apart. Our ancestors used to hang meat until it was gamy - they would hang it long enough that the tissue softened from decomposition. Of course some of them did get food poisoning, no doubt about that, but they still preferred to hang it until it was well hung and you knew it from the smell and the taste. They wouldn't have kept doing that if it was making them sick most of the time. The raw meat you buy at the grocery store is usually at least two weeks from the day it was slaughtered. Gourmands prefer their steak to be aged until it starts to turn brown to get the maximum flavour. People who have never eaten meat from a freshly killed animal are frequently surprised to discover that compared to what they have been buying at a supermarket the meat is relatively tasteless. Manky meat has been a part of the human diet for many, many centuries. It would not have been if it tended to give us diarrhea.

Your stomach is full of very strong acids, not merely to help turn food you eat into a nutritionally accessible slurry, but also to kill the bacteria that you inadvertently ingest; you ingest a lot more bacteria than you probably realise.

Anything could happen, but my feeling here is that the odds of your getting food poisoning are much lower than you think.
posted by Jane the Brown at 7:25 AM on May 30