Mid-morning I polished off the grapes I just bought yesterday(!). At least this time I washed them.
Since I still have some remnants of the Panamanian flu Iām trying to figure out what exactly made me sick. Someone left a comment saying I should start washing my fruit. That reminded me that I ate grapes in Panama without washing them. (I also drank the water which all the books and locals said was completely safe.)
I like to pride myself on having a stomach that I compare to an iron cauldronā¦ Example: In college after I was completely vegan for over 6 months I fell off the wagon and had a burger from WhataBurger (a greasy chain). No stomach issues at all 
<- Iāve went veg on and off for the last 10 years and never had an issue going from greens to meats.
But, this Panamanian parasite killed my belly! I still donāt feel completely back to normal and have periodic headaches and upper stomach pain. Itās very light now, so Iām hoping it will be completely gone soon.
Luckily (???) my hunger hasnāt went away this entire time! I ate the last of my fancy dinner leftovers (only tofu left), pumped up with veggies and cashews.
I specifically didnāt add rice to that bowl because I wanted cereal on the side x2 (or 3)ā¦
I know my eats arenāt the most appealing today, so let me share the cutest thingā¦
Yesterday Ben was on the phone and I was blogging when I glanced over and saw this:
Vegas curled up on his lap with his furry little paws around Ben. I die.
That is some major bromance.
I never wash any of my fruit or veggies. And thats basically all i eat. I havent died yet haha.
Hope you feel better soon, because sickness sucks.
Was also just going to suggest giardia: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001333/
He’s hugging him, so cute! I want a cat that does that.
ooosh. Is it giardia? it’s RAMPANT in Latin America right now. I feel so bad for you. Feel better, Monica.
Melissa suggested that too and I kinda think it is giardia. I feel like I’m getting better though, not sure if I should still go to the doctor.
Were you taking Doxycycline as your anti-malarial? If so, that drug almost killed me while I was in Africa. Literally. I became so dehydrated that my husband started having to look into actually using our medical airlift insurance. I couldn’t even keep down fluids for over 5 days. Lost 15 pounds. Wheeee! Glad you’re on the mend:)
Yep, I’m on doxy still. Were you just having bad side effects?
You could say that – sickest I’ve ever been in my life. Needed to be hospitalized, but I was in rural Africa. Yeah… However, it does sound to me that you are having a bad (yet milder) reaction to doxy. It makes a lot of people hella sick! I’m lucky enough to be in the 1% that are straight up allergic. My husband, who is not allergic, had a similar long term reaction to you.
At least you have a good excuse for your stomach woes. I am feeling similar and I haven’t been outside of Salt Lake City for months… Hope you feel better asap!
Feel better š
I had some stomach issues when I went to Spain in 2009. Again, all the guidebooks said it was okay to drink the tap water so that’s what I had been doing. Looking back, I think it was maybe just different minerals concentrations that my stomach just wasn’t used to. Once I switched to bottled water, I felt fine.
So stinkin’ cute!!
I felt sick like that after I went to the Dominican. I agree with the girl above about the water or local food- it likely isn’t bad, just different. My doc said at the time to stick with BRAT – bananas, rice, applesauce and toast – for a while. It helped me out, even if it is a bit boring.
Thy is the cutest picture!!:-)cc
coulda been something in the water…you never know…when we went to Cancun and Travis got sick, I had the exact same things and I didn’t get sick…it was his first time to Mexico though, and i’ve been at least 5-6 times before…and they said Cancun water was just fine too because it was a newer city…I think anywhere outside of your home water source could potentially be sketchy only because it is foreign to you as a traveler…not necessarily because the source itself is sketchy…does that make sense? hmmmm
Oy, still not feeling well? Geez that is one heck of a bug you caught! I almost never wash grapes before eating them, too..unless I deliberately take a bunch and put them in a bowl. But let’s be real–most people (or at least I) just grab them off the stems here & there and pop em in my mouth!
I do love me some dirty grapes. Completely understand where you’re coming from.
Awww, that picture of Ben and Vegas is adorable! Wicked bromance indeed. š
Aww, that Ben/Vegas picture is adorable!
You so make me crave grapes, especially the green ones. They’re my favorite fruit, but I can’t eat them because my husband is allergic and will even get a reaction if I just give him a kiss after eating them. What we won’t do for love, right?
I didn’t know people could be allergic to grapes! Don’t worry, I eat enough for the both of you…
Awwww kitty cuddles š