zanemay Posted June 19, 2002 Report Share Posted June 19, 2002 It seems so obvious in hindsight -- you shouldn't eat raw looking shellfish in a country like Thailand. But... I was with a group of farang guys and Thai ladies at a hotel for an snooker competition. The Thai ladies were munching on a few things, mostly hot. They had the small clams with the fluted shells which the Brits call cockles. I was really hungry so I ate a few of these at around midnight. At 2:00 AM I began to get some lower GI pain. At 5:00 AM the attack was full blown. Severe abdominal cramps and diarrehea. This was on a new level of pain from the minor amounts we all get when we eat something that doesn't agree with us. Then I turned yellow and got dizzy. The trips to the toilet had not helped and I was getting worse. I remembered reading somewhere that eating shellfish was the biggest risk to life that most normal people have. I called BKK-Pattaya hospital for an ambulance. They arrived in 15 minutes. I was with my really good gf who helped every step of the way. I was admitted, hooked up to an IV bag and injected with antibiotic (?) - something to "kill the germs from the clams" the doctor said. After three or four more long hours I starteed to get better. The gf stayed with me all night and slept in the bed with me when I was able to sleep. She was a trooper! I spent that day and the following night in the hospital taking meds and the condition cleared completely. Unfortunately it was more expensive than I thought it would be - 13,500 baht. Now I am back in the US and will soon begin the process of trying to recover costs from Kaiser. Good luck. They will deduct ambulance co-pay, drug co-pay, this and that and I probably won't get much. I was the only person out of about 6 who got sick. It may have been one bad clam? Oh well...words to the wise. Zane May Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iuytrede Posted June 19, 2002 Report Share Posted June 19, 2002 I eat pretty much everything (I don't mind the rats in Cambo restaurants) but I usually don't eat shells or clams in the third world. Just too risky. Two weeks ago I made an exception: I bought some shellfish at a newly opened Carrefour (in the supermarket, not the foodcourt), they were (supposedly) cooked, and after all Carrefour should maintain a European level of hygiene, right? Wrong! When my teeth hit sand I felt uncomfortable but still ate them (as I said, I eat pretty much everything). Promptly got the shits, didn't get any better for about a week, so I ended up taking antibiotics. No more shellfish! (at least for the time being ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted June 19, 2002 Report Share Posted June 19, 2002 Hi! I love all kinds of seafood and had a similar experience in 1989. I ate a plate of cooked clams at the dirtiest restaurant in Pattaya(closed now). I could hardly eat at all for three weeks and lost 8 kilos, and I'm not very big to begin with. Great scheeme to loose weight , apart from that mostly negative. regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 19, 2002 Report Share Posted June 19, 2002 I'm glad all 3 of you guys lived. Fortunately I don't really like shellfish, but I do go hog-wild for sashimi. Anybody got a horror story for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zanemay Posted June 19, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2002 The surprising thing about whatever they gave me in the hospital: It cured me from the brink of death to completely well in about 24 hours. There was no lingering effect like you get when you let it clear naturally. After a day I had NO more diarrhea. There I was back out on the street again. Shaken but not stirred! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2002 Report Share Posted June 20, 2002 This is off-topic, but I'm curious about the snooker competition you mentioned. Are these regular events and where are they held? Is there some web site or newspaper that lists how to find them? I'm not interested in playing in the competition, but wouldn't mind watching if the players were decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 21, 2002 Report Share Posted June 21, 2002 On a similar, but not entirely related note. My last trip in 2001 I decided to venture down to the foodseller above the Thermae on my last day to get rid of the small change. I sat down to a congeeling red pork curry with two slightly rancid fried eggs. Ok, you might say, bad move, but I was hung over, needed some grease in the old system and was flying out at 12 that day. Anyhow, 2 hours into the flight to the UK, I cramped up and spent the rest of the trip sh*te-ing through the eye of a needle and vomiting too. Worst thing was it put me off my beer for a week, which made the Geordie wedding I was attending a dull affair. I have always eaten from these sorts of places, but I think in hindsight it pays to pay attention to the general state of the offerings. Cheers Jaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 21, 2002 Report Share Posted June 21, 2002 zanemay, thanks for the caution, even my doctor told me to stay away from those things as a precaution, plus a whole list of other goodies, during my business trips to the LOS....but i love eating seafood, including shell fish....everytime i go my cravings weaken.......again thanks for the jolt of reality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zanemay Posted June 21, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2002 Farang Dang, The players aren't decent and even we mind watching. In that particular competition. It is a bit of a closed affair too, so I wouldn't put it on the web. However, there is a regular Monday snooker league. We actually play 8 ball on a snooker table. The competition can be pretty high level and intense. There are only about 20 bars in Pattaya in the league, but if you find one you could easily find a place. The Bunker on Soi Chaiapoon needed players recently. The season is over for now though and will restart in a couple of months. Okay...let's get back to near-death experiences. Zane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 21, 2002 Report Share Posted June 21, 2002 Hi Zanemay, >>>Unfortunately it was more expensive than I thought it would be - 13,500 baht.<<< I'm now looking at an emergency room bill I just received for $3,000 US. I kid you not. I was there for 2.5 hours. And this doesn't include associated doctors bills, or follow up. Lucky you got sick there, and not US. My insurance will pick it up, but man.....something really wrong with that picture. $300 US for over 24 hours is unreal. I've heard people will fly to Bumrungrad (sp?) just to have procedures done there, because of the cost savings. I checked their web site out once, and remembering them doing 3,000 outpatients a day. Mostly US trained doc's, as well. Place must be unreal. A question.....many problems associated with plain fish, as opposed to shellfish, in LOS? DB....because you can smell the freshness instantly with raw fish, I've never heard of someone getting sick from sashimi, although I'm sure it's happened. Shrimp is usually cooked with sushi preparation, although at times it is served raw. Japanese often request raw lobster in restaurants here in Hawaii. But since is it presented 'live' before preparation, is not likely to be tainted. Sushi Bars, here at least, are quite exspensive/upscale, and pride themselves on style of preparation, and freshness. Ahi, or pink snapper (Maguro) is the sashimi of choice here. Can reach $20.00 lb. around Christmas, when it is used in traditional New Years Day celebrations. Should this be in 'Food' ??? HT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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