Dreading Thanksgiving. Any Advice?

[*mandi*]

IS anyone else dreading Thanksgiving tomorrow? I really dread the holidays from my anxiety and emet. First of all, I have to go to my grandmas alone, without my b/f...I hate being without him. I feel like hes my safe zone. Im afraid to eat anything...Afraid of food poisoning...or if I eat too much it will make me sick. Ir if I even eat all, I might get sick b.c. I have so much anxiety it makes me nauseas. Not only that...Someone else is going to have to take me back home....and I kno ill get stuck in the backseat, which makes me sick. Im so nervous and I shouldnt be! ITs my family...ya know?


Is anyone else this panicked about thanksgiving? How can I get through it and be able to eat? Any advice?

[liriodendron]

Participate in the cooking and meal preparation. That's what I'll be
doing. Of course 10 years of studying food safety comes in handy but it
drives everyone nuts. At least you'll know that the food is safe to eat.

[swiftette]

I used to feel the same way about Holidays when I was younger. If you're nervous about food poisoning-try to get the peice of turkey just under the skin, on the breast-it will be cooked the best.Make sure the turkey was stuffed this morning-or skipit. No egg nog(unless it's store bought) and no cider(unless it is pasturized). Eat light-pace yourself. Have a few bites and rest a few minutes, and so on. And try to keep up conversation-it will calm your nerves.Try to relax and have a good time.I don't know anyone who has ever gotten ill from Thanksgiving dinner. Just summertime barbecues-and thats probably from food being left in the sun to long.

[chicajojobe]

Your risk of food poisoning really depends on how good a cooks the people who are making dinner are.

I suppose I'm lucky in that department because the only people cooking
this year are my mom and myself. I'm of course the anal emet who will
cook pieces of chicken for 40 minutes so I feel safe eating what I've
prepared, and my mom studied food safety in college and has never made
anyone sick with her cooking.



Really there aren't a lot of risky foods at thanksgiving:

If you're having turkey it should be fine as long as it was cooked
today and was done completely, and I'm sure you know what undercooked
poultry looks like so you should be able to tell that.



Any vegtable or starchy dishes like sweet potatoes should be no
problem. If they're made in a casserol then they might be a little more
risky since they're probably made with something like eggs or mayonaise
but as long as they are still hot when they're served even those should
not be a problem.



Any fruit should be just fine. I'm sure there's never been a case of someone getting food poisoning from cranberry sauce. [img]smileys/smilies_02.gif[/img]



Use good judgement on the desserts. Fruit pies or pecan pies should be
fine. Pumpkin pie can be a problem if it's left out too long. If you
spend the day there and see a pumpkin pie that sits out on the table
all day and then is lukewarm by the time dinner rolls aroun, you might
want to skip it, but if it's chilled in the frigde of served still hot
from the oven it should be okay. Cheesecake should be chilled
thoroghly. I don't know if there's any chance you're having this
dessert, but I'm mentioning it because I made a pumpkin cheesecake for
our Thanksgiving dinner. It's chilling in the fridge downstairs and it
is beautiful. I'm so proud. [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img]



When it comes to drinks, again, use good judgment. No cider unless it's
pasturized. I always refuse to drink any drinks that have raw egg in
them like eggnog or Irish cream. Eventhough everyone tells me there's
enough alcohol in them to kill all bacteria. Really I can even see the
logic behind that since they've only got like one egg and lots of
alcohol, but I still don't drink them.



The only other thing that I can think of that might cause food
poisoning is stuffing. If it's put into the turkey while hot it can be
a breeding ground for bacteria. I didn't even know that until just
recently, but either way I never ate stuffing because I don't like it.
I don't think my mom is even going to make it this year because I have
PCOS and my dad has type 2 daibetes, so we're both big on save carbs
where ever possible so that we can have dessert. If the stuffing is put
in cold, it should be okay but I don't suppose you have anyway of
knowing the temperature of it. Really if it worries you, you probably
should skip it. I mean you aren't missing a lot by not eating stuffing
right?





About worrying about getting sick from eating too much. Just eat
however much you feel comfortable eating. If you feel better eating a
little more sparingly then people usually do on Thanksgiving, go for
it. It's your life, so it doesn't matter what other people think. And
about the ride back, you may want to request that you sit in the front
and be sure to tell the driver that it's because you get sick in the
back. No one is going to want to have to clean the remains of a
Thanksgiving dinner out of the back of their car, so if you explain to
them why you want sit in the front there's a good chance they'll let
you.

[hollyjean]

If you really like stuffing and dont want to risk it as above, why not cook it seperate from the turkey. Dont stuff the turkey, prepare the stuffing and cook it in a seperate roasting tin, or you can even cook it in a frying pan.

[tayda]

You'll be alright! I was cooking last night and just finishing up tonight. Mostly veggie dishes.. aside from the turkey... actually they are al veggie dishes that have been cooked.


I agree with others. Help in the cooking preparations.. or bring something of your own.. if that will help you feel better/safer





happy thanksgiving!

[madisonsmom]

Dont let this phobia ruin your Thanksgiving.


I cook myself. I never stuff my turkey and always cook it until it THOROUGHLY!


My turkey smells SO yummy.


Have a great day! Please enjoy yourself and take one minute at a time. Dont worry![img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]

[bexcelica]

im getting worried about someone having a sv* now. i wasnt worried until its time to go. and im supposed to go to the city (nyc) t see boyfriend after, that scares me even more...

[gubba]

I always hate the holidays since SV's seem so much more common at this time of year and you are shut in a house with more people and they all tend to talk about how sick someone they know has been and then i always wonder what the co-worker or friend had. Then I know that that person has been exposed to it too and then I start my freaking out and then that ruins the entire holiday. right now, I am getting ready to make the pumpkin pie to take to my moms and dads for tonight. My mom is a nut about overcooking things and I would swear she was an EMET, but she claims she is not and she really doesn't freak out like us, but she never V*'s and she keeps her kitchen spotless. She totally understands when I pitch things that are perfectly fine but I am scared that they are spoiled.


I don't like to freak out over the holidays, but I do!!! No reason for it since nothing ever happens and all is fine...just stress!!!

[*mandi*]

Thanks everyone. I amleaving soon to go to my grandmas. I gues im not really afraid of food poisoning anymore. Im just afraid that I will start to feel sick. And ill start to panic. b.c. the only place I feel comfortable with when I feel sick and panic is in my own home. I hate this. Im all shakey...I feel nauseas...my stomach hurts and I feel a bout of D* coming I hate anxiety and I had being an emet I just hope all goes well. Im afraid Ill end up wanting to turn around and go back to bed!

[gubba]

You will do fine!! I hope youhave fun and always remember that once we METS get somewhere and we are involved in chatting etc...we tend to be fine until we get home and then we panic again about being s* at night.


HAVE FUN AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

[*mandi*]

Well I got through it ok! Thanks everyone for trying to help!

[mjewell]

Hi Mandi! I just wanted to chime in because I get the same anxiety sickness as you about the same things!! (Also my name is Mandee


I started taking Lexapro several months ago which helped a lot with my daily anxiety about things like eating out, but it seems to be wearing off. We had Thanksgiving at my husband's aunt's house. I usually do great until after I eat, then I am afraid I will feel sick and then I'm afraid I will be sick in the car and then I get anxious, etc etc. So anyway, I kinda felt like that at Thanksgiving the other night. I felt ok until right after dinner, then I always feel trapped because its not like you can eat and run, and I was kinda full, so I didn't have the safety of an empty stomach, and I was starting to get a headache from the wine. Ugh!


I took 4 Xanax throughout the course of the night and had d* 3 times in their bathroom!! This doesn't usually happen to me but I have been really anxious last few days. Anyway, just wanted you to know I can relate!!

[liriodendron]

Don't foget any food could potentially lead to foodborne illness if
cross-contamination is involved. So if you're still looking for advice
now that the holiday is long gone, I'd say for next year, keep the raw
turkey at the bottom of the fridge. That way if juices from it were to
leak out, it doesn't get into anything else. Same thing goes for
utencils. You don't want to use the same utencils from handling raw
foods with cooked foods and things like that. They're easy mistakes to
make.