26 hours, post-exposure... Feeling sick

[aurora0917]

26 hours ago, I ate food prepared by someone with the stomach flu. I didn't learn this fact til after eating it. Right now my stomach is cramping up and my digestive system is experiencing excruciating stabbing pains. My thoughts are haunting me that I am getting sick right now. I am typing from my cell, sitting in the bathroom in case this could be it . I get it that nobody like feeling sick, but I honestly can't deal with this right now. My insides feel all twisted and my stomach is killing me. I cannot handle this I am terrified. I feel sick right nnow and can't tell if it's severe IBS/panic or if it's me getting sick. This really sucks - I feel like I am falling apart: both physically due to my churning, painful insides, and mentally due to the terror, dread, and fear I will V... And as an emet, there's no way to possibly prepare myself to experience V other than freaking out and feeling like I'm going to die

I really need help and someone to talk to, I have nowhere else to turn to other than this site. I feel like I am about to die

[scaredsick]

How are you feeling now?? It really could just be your anxiety because you ate the food. You have probably been super stressed since you ate it and that. An wreak havoc on your digestive tract. Seriously after just having noro, let me tell you that you don't question whether you have it or not...you know! So I think if you are questioning it it's most likely anxiety. Can you take a walk or a warm bath or shower? That may help you feel better!

[aurora0917]

How are you feeling now?? It really could just be your anxiety because you ate the food. You have probably been super stressed since you ate it and that. An wreak havoc on your digestive tract. Seriously after just having noro, let me tell you that you don't question whether you have it or not...you know! So I think if you are questioning it it's most likely anxiety. Can you take a walk or a warm bath or shower? That may help you feel better!

Good point. I had noro 2 yrs ago, and given how deeply sick one feels with actual noro, being able to type or "question" oneself being ill is out of the question. The "attack" has passed now, but I'm still feeling mild to moderate nausea most likely attributable to my anxiety levels due to the scare. Thank you for responding, however. Sorry to hear you had gotten noro, but at least you can say you've lived through it! And since u got it so recently, you probably don't have to worry about getting it again for a while

[out_of_order]

It most likely is because you've worked yourself up so much "waiting" for "it" to happen for a whole 26 hours, and if you have IBS then all that stress can trigger an attack. I agree with scaredsick, when you have a stomach virus, you KNOW, there's no questioning what it is. I know it's almost impossible to do when you know you've been exposed but can you try to do things to bring your anxiety level down? Like slow breathing, muscle relaxation exercises, distractions like watching a good movie or reading a good book? If you can bring your stress down, your body will feel better and then hopefully your mind will follow and everything will calm down. Keep reminding yourself that just because the food was prepared by someone who was sick does NOT mean you're for sure going to get sick. Try to focus on that instead.

Has anyone else who ate the food gotten sick? If nobody else did, there's a really good chance you won't either.

[aurora0917]

It most likely is because you've worked yourself up so much "waiting" for "it" to happen for a whole 26 hours, and if you have IBS then all that stress can trigger an attack. I agree with scaredsick, when you have a stomach virus, you KNOW, there's no questioning what it is. I know it's almost impossible to do when you know you've been exposed but can you try to do things to bring your anxiety level down? Like slow breathing, muscle relaxation exercises, distractions like watching a good movie or reading a good book? If you can bring your stress down, your body will feel better and then hopefully your mind will follow and everything will calm down. Keep reminding yourself that just because the food was prepared by someone who was sick does NOT mean you're for sure going to get sick. Try to focus on that instead.

Has anyone else who ate the food gotten sick? If nobody else did, there's a really good chance you won't either.

Thank you, I really appreciate the advice. Part of my irrational mind always assumes the worst case scenario whenever there's been an exposure scare. I've been feeling stressed/nauseaous due to anxiety ever since the event... but here I am, and it's been 50 hours since I ate the contaminated food, and "it" hasn't happened (yet). I'm hoping to make it through the day, and then the "count the hour" trauma will finally take a few steps back. Until then, I will take your advice and distract myself as best I can.