MrSheepish asked: Warning: this is a bit gross, but I would greatly appreciate any advice.
First the background. I have had some weird health problems during the last week. A week ago I came down with a minor cold that I quickly got over, so I think this is unrelated. Then on Wednesday night, three days ago, I got what felt like some minor food poisoning. Maybe I did not wash my cutting board thoroughly enough after slicing meat? I woke up and felt feverish, nauseous, dizzy, and had minor diarrhea. I couldn’t eat much of anything that day, so I had a small sandwich and that was it. Friday I felt almost entirely better, so I did my usual routine, ate almost like normal, and thought I had seen the end of it. Unfortunately I woke up in the middle of the night with severe diarrhea. No blood, but it seemed like all the water I had drunk all day came out explosively. Any extra water I drank after came out as well quite quickly. I have spent the last day eating nothing, just sipping small quantities of H2O with a few runs to the bathroom. The dizziness and nausea are mostly gone, but I do have stomach cramps. I really don’t know what I have. Maybe salmonella?
Normally I would just schedule an appointment to go in and see the doctor to find out what is wrong with me. Unfortunately, it’s the weekend and I’m in Europe with an American health insurance plan that will only cover half of my expenses out of the nation. On Monday I fly back to the US, and arrive after two full days of traveling (a pretty ridiculous combination of flights). If I want to see a doctor before I fly I have to go to an emergency room and pay a lot of money I am sure … a bit of a hardship for a student like me. I want to just wait it out and go into the doctor on Wednesday in the US if it hasn’t cleared up by then. I have anti-diarrhea medicine I bought that should hopefully make the plane flights tolerable. But if I wait that long then I won’t be seeing a doctor for at least five full days from the start of my condition. Can anyone advise me on whether this could be a dangerously long wait? I am a generally healthy male in my late 20s (despite what’s been going on this week). The only potentially complicating factor, I think, is that I have an on-and-off history of somewhat minor irritable bowel syndrome. Some doctors ran some tests on me for this several years ago and made that diagnosis. I’m trying to hang on to my money, but I don’t know how serious I should treat this. If I might have something that could cause my organs to start failing after a week then I would much rather pay the emergency room bill. I just ate some chicken broth and rice, my first food for 24 hours. I’ll see how I react to that. Thanks all, and may your holidays be healthier than mine!
Florence
