Dodgy stomach after meal with prawns at restaurant

[Bellyrub1980]

I'm 14 weeks.

Last night we went for a meal at a restaurant. I have a real thing for fish and seafood at the moment and chose a prawn starter, salmon fish cakes and banoffee pie.

I normally avoid prawns unless I've cooked them but asked if they would arrive hot and she reassured me. And, to be completely honest, I've started to relax a bit about fish and prawns in general, maybe because I've eaten them at home a few times and have got a bit more confident.

Just woken up with what feels like a gripey stomach. No nausea, no diarrhoea, no fever. Just an achy tummy, and I'm a bit farty (sorry).

Normally I'd just ignore it... But I keep thinking about those prawns.... What a STUPID thing to order! What was I thinking??! I'm now NOT totally convinced they were piping hot when they arrived and they were clearly those pre-cooked ones. I'm just so angry with myself!

Just as I started to relax generally about the pregnancy at 14 weeks after being paranoid about EVERYTHING (and we've literally just told everyone) I go and do something that could potentially harm my baby!!

Does anyone know how quickly the symptoms of listeria can develop?

Okay so I've read something on the internet that listeria symptoms can take 3 weeks to 2 months to develop.... Oh Christ!!

Right without sounding harsh - you may develop listeria, I can't say you won't for definite but teh chances are you won't, and I can't definitely say this level of worry won't do you any good!

Try to get some sleep...

Rhonda, I've now resorted to distraction therapy. I really can't sleep for analysing every stomach symptom. So trying to divert my mind.

One thing is for sure... I'm staying well away from any kind of seafood from now on. It's not worth the potential (even if very small) risk.

I'm drinking tons of water now, under the naive belief that it might 'flush it out my system'. Obviously that's impossible. But it's giving me something to do.

I'm such an idiot.

No you aren't, you're a worried mother to be, we have all been there.

The risk is minimal but it's not worth this worry. I promise!

Thanks, I guess there's nothing I can do about it now anyway. Provided the next 2 months go by without developing listeria that is!

Just asked my DP (who just happened to wake up, I didn't wake him) and he said he is pretty certain the prawns came out steaming hot and not to worry. He's now snoring again.

Bellyrub, I've lost count of the times I've had a dodgy stomach during my pregnancy (have one now), and I'm now 35 weeks. I would ask your GP for advice if your symptoms continue; they may want to run tests for things others than listeria, and it may put your mind more at ease than we can. But try not to worry in the meantime and just keep your fluids up.

Prawns really are nothing to worry about. If you had food provisioning you'd seriously know about it. More likely to be a touch of wind!

Lucy is right, prawns are not such an issue as they aren't filter feeders in quite the same way as mussels etc. Also if they were the pre-cooked kind, they will definitely have been frozen which actually helps kill off any potential parasites. I really wouldn't worry

The fact that you are gassy may mean it is just wind. I suffered horrendous wind with dc#2.

I don't know much about Listeria, so can't help you there, but the other posters seem to know their stuff ;)

I've had slightly upset stomach a number of times after eating something I felt might be a bit 'dodgy' - I think it might be psychosomatic! Prawns are one of those things we associate with food poisoning etc but actually a lot of listeria cases are connected to 'innocent' seeming foods like salads and fruit. Not suggesting for one minute you stop eating fruit and veg, just that listeria poisoning is rare and hard to predict where you might pick it up from.

I've been stupidly anxious exactly the same as you (I cried over an undercooked sausage!), but I think over time you do start to relax a bit more. It's normal to freak out but you'll be fine, it's practically guaranteed. Even if you did have food poisoning, chances are it wouldn't be listeria anyway.

I do fancy a banoffee pie now though...

If it helps you to feel better, in Spain they don't advise you to avoid any food, just to be "sensible" about alcohol. I gave Spanish friends who were gobmacked at the list of things I wasn't supposed to eat.

Thank you so much for these replies. There really is no end to how neurotic I can be during this pregnancy! Just as I was starting to relax and enjoy it I find something else to worry about!

The gripey tummy hasn't really come to anything. I certainly don't feel feverish or ill, so I'll stop worrying about it now.

I think you're right, my symptoms were probably a bit psychosomatic.

Thanks everyone X x x

Unless you are unable to leave the bathroom for fear of ruining the carpets it's almost certainly not food poisoning.

I think it is a very psychosomatic illness; I have a couple of friends who are paranoid about food and after a dinner out I ALWAYS get a text from them the next morning asking if I have sickness too. I never do, but I do have a sensitive digestive system (even more so now pregnant) and a lot of stuff irritates it a little, so I ignore churning/gripey sensations as long as they are not accompanied by sickness and diarrhoea.

Also any food poisoning that starts within a few hours of eating is unlikely to be harmful, you'll purge the bacteria before it can get in to your system and do any damage. I'd probably see the doctor after just to get checked up but I'd only worry if the symptoms went on for more than 12 hours with no let up. Most food poisoning is very fast and furious as your body knows to just get rid of everything quickly, it's when bacteria gets to hang out for a few days it gets dangerous.

I used to work in the food industry and have a qualification in food hygiene, the only thing I am avoiding is raw oysters and unpasteurised dairy. Everything else from reputable shops/restaurants is very very low risk, and as plateofcrumbs said, recent outbreaks of listeria, salmonella and e-coli have come from innocent looking fruit and vegetables. If you think about it, you have probably eaten runny eggs, soft cheese etc your entire life, and how many times have you had serious, life-endangering food poisoning? Last time I had a night hugging the loo it was because of bacon and potatoes from a market stall (or more likely, the fork/plate I used was contaminated in some way as the food was hot) which is not on the NHS naughty list at all.