Salmonella watch

ALERT:

Salmonella cases reported and confirmed in Minnesota are up to 8, with 10 cases in Wisconsin. Keep in mind that not everyone who becomes ill has a stool specimen tested and thus may not be included in the count. The Dakotas are still salmonella-free.

Carry on with your weekend.

Mystery solved

This map reflects the number of salmonella stpaul cases nationwide. I am one of the "Minnesota 2"

I had a long conversation with the Department of Health last night. It seems my case is a part of the big "Salmonella saintpaul" outbreak that has been on the news nationwide. (The "saintpaul" part is just what they named this particular strain of salmonella, it has nothing to do with location.)

It seems there have been a number of Minnesota cases recently, all coming from a Roseville restaurant that I ate at on June 16th (not Cafe Latte like I thought!). It seems to be coming from tainted tomatoes...or at least some sort of produce we ("the infected" ones) all had in our meals. I knew I should have had that tuna melt like Joel did (he did not get sick)!

So mystery solved. I never want to have that nasty little bug again. And while I will continue eating out, I think this summer I'll be taking a pass on any dishes with raw tomatoes.

And I have...

Salmonellosis.

The word came back late Thursday afternoon. Salmonellosis is caused from the bacteria called salmonella. That could have came from tainted tomatoes, someone not washing their hands, bad meat...We may never know.

The treatment is antibiotics (which last night didn't seem to be doing the trick yet). I'm hoping another day of treatment and I'll be able to eat a bit more normally.

But it's a relief to know what the heck I've got.

Quick update

I went to the doctor yesterday...her guess is that I have picked up some sort of parasite or something from some contaminated produce/water...Unfortunately, we won't know until lab results come back...which I'm hoping will be by Friday. They can't treat me until they know what it is exactly. For now, the only thing I can really take is immodium...which is holding the diarrhea at bay (it seems). Still can't really eat and my stomach hurts.

This has been a really long week.

But hey, how about those Twins!

Losing weight the hard way

I feel slightly better today, but still not good enough to go to work or really eat anything. I tried to get into my doctor's today, but they couldn't squeeze me in till tomorrow.

I'm getting a little bored with laying in bed and watching t.v, but really couldn't muster up the energy to make it over to my studio (3 flights of stairs). Really, without getting too detailed, I still need to be very close to a restroom. Enough said.

But Joel, being a good sport, took me out for a little bit late this afternoon. It was the first time I had left the apartment since Friday afternoon. That wouldn't bother me so much if it was raining or the dead of winter. I'm bummed I totally missed a weekend of wonderful weather.

I decided I might as well grab some good from my recent "diet" and drop in for a quick WW weigh-in. Haven't written much about it here, but I've been plugging right along. And yes, I lost 3.4 lbs in 10 days, for a total of (drum roll, please) 21.4 lbs! I know I may put a little of that back on (temporarily) when I start eating again, but it was still quite a pick-me-up.

Then we simply stopped at Target to pick up some essentials and search for some food I might find appealing. Man, if I could bottle what I've got (minus the misery) as an appetite suppressant, I'd make millions! Nothing looked very good at all. Hopefully this will all be over soon, because it's really no fun to not enjoy your food at all.

Mack truck headed my way

I am laying low. Feeling like a mack truck hit me. Thursday night Joel and I went for a lovely walk, came home and when I got out of my recliner I could tell something was wrong. I'm not sure what's going on...it's an odd combination of symptoms...body aches that are horrid, alternating between fever/chills, thee worst headache, no appetite to speak of (it seems like food in the cereal category are all I can stomach), and then some, well, let's just say what I do manage to eat, doesn't stay with me long. This is sucking big time.

As promised, pictures!

Ana's new kitten, "Honeykins", just 10 weeks old.

Peonies.

More peonies.

My kitty, Squeakers, resting on the recliner with me.

The new couch.

And the recliners.