AW warning, but I am so pissed...

izzetoot · March 2014

I apologize in advance for being an AW, but WTF Wed is about over. If this question is annoying just ignore me, but...

I just got back from dinner with my DH and for dessert we shared a cheese plate. I made sure to ask the server if all the cheeses were pasteurized to which she said yes. While enjoying our cheese, my DH (who is a Chef) pointed out one of the cheeses I had eaten almost all of and said he thought it looked unpasteurized. So, I asked a different server if he knew. He didn't, but went to ask the Chef. While on my way to the ladies room I heard the Chef tell the server that it was indeed unpasteurized. Then when I came out of the ladies room the server just looked at me and smiled, said nothing, probably assuming that I would be pissed, and I am. I have been staying far away from unpasteurized dairy and raw meat/seafood specifically bc I thought of everything to avoid those were the BIG no no's. So of course, I came home and started playing Dr Google and have completely freaked myself out and now want to go in to my OB tmrw and get a blood test for listeria. Am I being way overly dramatic or should I be concerned? I read pregnant women are the most susceptible to bacteria causing illnesses in the 3rd trimester, which I am in, and that listeria can be life threatening to the unborn baby.

Again, sorry if this is a big eye roll, but someone please tell me i'm overreacting, my DH thinks Im being crazy...

elsa1688 · March 2014

Chill. I've eaten so many unpasturized cheeses, pregnant and not, and had never, ever had a problem/issue. Ever. You will be just fine.

cMichelle0423 · March 2014

Every food on the list of "no-no's" to eat while pregnant are indeed okay to eat in moderation. No reason to be this upset. It's literally not even a big deal.

izzetoot · March 2014

Thanks @elsa1688, that helps. Being pissed off and irrational is not a good combo for me. I could kill that server and his stupid little smile...

@Brighteyes112 I thought the same thing, but symptoms don't show up for 2-30days according to WebMD

steprozz · March 2014

I'm not sure how the symptoms of listeria develop but I would call my doctor in the morning and see what they say about the situation. I have eaten all kinds of things during both my pregnancies that you're technically not supposed to eat and so far so good so I would relax and just give a call in the morning it can't hurt to ask.

b48kate · March 2014

First of all, any restaurant server worth their title should know the cheese plate backward and forward (or if they did not then they should have consulted the chef first). Weird to me that a restaurant would be serving unpasteurized product for liability reasons alone...

On the bright side, I am 99.9% sure that you don't have listeria. If you feel sick in the AM call the doctor, but seriously do not stress. People ate unpasteurized for centuries without dropping right and left. Lots of the ladies in here have broken the sacred no-sushi rule and lived to tell the tale.

By all means, be pissed at the crappy service, just don't fret too much about the listeria as long as you have no food poisoning symptoms

izzetoot · March 2014

Thanks ladies, I feel better already:) Somehow my DH telling me Im fine and overreacting only made me more pissed off...

@internationalkate I agree!! Ive been in the hospitality industry my whole life and this is a great place so I totally trusted her. But DH being a Chef, I trust him more, and come to find out it was a local cheese which is why it was unpasteurized (no shipping). Still a MAJOR liability.

JulieSmiles · March 2014

I probably wouldn't call my doctor, but I would call the restaurant and make a complaint. You asked beforehand and the waiter informed you incorrectly. Once you had a concern, you asked again. They still didn't pass on the correct information. I would play it up big and really stress that they put the health of your baby in jeopardy. You are most likely just fine so I wouldn't stress about it.

erind228 · March 2014

I agree, be pissed at the service, but I wouldn't worry too much about listeria. I also probably wouldn't call my OB, but do what you feel comfortable with.

Mztwilson · March 2014

I feel like calling your dr and telling her you ate unpasterized cheese would be like going to urgent care because you came in contact with someone who was sick. Unless you show symptoms there's not much they can do except tell you to call or come back when and if you do start showing symptoms so in that respect I feel like you may be over reacting.

However as far as the restaurant goes you specifically asked if the cheese was pasteurized which your server said it was. He had the opportunity to ask the chef before he served you guys the cheese. I would be IRRATE! There is no excuse as to why the person serving you this food who should know the menu inside and out served you that cheese. I'd call the restaurant and I would raise hell. But that's just me.

Ashes92813 · March 2014

@izzetoot‌, it should be ok. I agree with previous posters that everything in moderation is ok (I do draw the line at raw food or alcohol).

And, I understand that DH telling you that you are fine and that the waiter's snarky attitude made it worse. I hate being told to calm down!

I hope everything is just fine.

brooklyngirl46 · March 2014

I have had that "oh crap" moment, and it upset me too. But I would say to keep an eye out for weird symptoms (like u probably would anyway), and bring it up to the dr at ur next appt if no weird symptoms come up. Like anything else. If u need to call the dr sooner and it makes u feel better than go for it.

katekat8721 · March 2014

JulieSmiles said:

I probably wouldn't call my doctor, but I would call the restaurant and make a complaint. You asked beforehand and the waiter informed you incorrectly. Once you had a concern, you asked again. They still didn't pass on the correct information. I would play it up big and really stress that they put the health of your baby in jeopardy. You are most likely just fine so I wouldn't stress about it.

All of this.

BabyCurtiss2014 · March 2014

Don't worry this applies to third world unpasturized cheeses. Restaurants will not serve contaminated cheese. My preggo friend was in France and ate cheese and had wine and has a perfectly healthy child :-) I ate raw meat by accident and I was mad too, but I didn't get sick so I figured I'm ok and this was pretty low grade meat at some cheapy Mexican restaurant.

FutureMrsW9 · March 2014

I would honestly be more pissed about the less than stellar service, and I would definitely tell the restaurant manager about your experience. I haven't been real strict on the "don't eat" foods, but I have stayed away from unpasteurized cheese and raw fish, so when I'm in restaurants I always ask about their cheeses because I LOOOOVE cheese, it should be it's own food group. Anyway, it's very unusual for a restaurant to serve unpasteurized cheese, but I have come across a few higher end places that do. I always make sure to ask and the wait staff either knows or asks the chef to make sure. On that note, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If it's driving you that crazy and you need peace of mind then I would probably call my doc, but unless you feel sick then I wouldn't worry.

babygabe614 · March 2014

I can't bring much to this conversation that others haven't already said but, having worked in the service industry for 8 years or so I am appalled at your waiter's lack of concern about getting you the right info about something you asked him about specifically. If it were me, the waiter and manager of the establishment would be getting an earful.

abastian00 · March 2014

I would be annoyed if they knew they had given you the wrong information and then purposefully withheld their mistake, but I wouldn't worry about the cheese itself. As my OB likes to tell me, if it took as little as a few bites of unpasturized cheese to harm a pregnancy, there would be way fewer of us on this planet

Read247 · March 2014

A cheese plate isn't usually a "fixed menu item" meaning it can change weekly or even daily. However, if he didn't know he should have asked BEFORE he served it to you. You got shitty service and should tell the manager (and/or chef) about your experience.

As far as listeria. Meh. I wouldn't stress about it. If you need peace of mind call your doc.

rastrau · March 2014

As many PP have mentioned, I wouldn't worry about it. French women have been eating unpasteurized cheeses for years and they still have healthy pregnancies. Even in the US back in the 50's drinking raw milk used to be a fix for morning sickness.

If you get sick I'd call the doc, but don't make yourself sick by worrying too much about it. The odds of getting sick aren't that high to begin with.

However, the irresponsible actions of the server are another story. Boo uninformed server, boo.

izzetoot · March 2014

Thanks ladies! Y'all are so helpful and I just needed someone (other than my DH) to tell me I was over reacting. I am definitely going to call the restaurant and complain. I went to culinary school and worked in kitchens for almost ten years and when my sisters were pregnant and staying away from no-no foods I thought it was ridiculous some of the things they avoided because they were uneducated on why they were safe/unsafe. And now look at me freaking about listeria, I should tell them, they would probably slap me

ElTrain5 · March 2014

Me personally, I'd make one little phone call.

"Hello, (insert restaurant name here)"

"Yes, Hello, I was a customer last night and was waited on by "Bryan". I was served something I specifically asked not to be because of a very serious dietary concern. All I need right now is the best address for my attorney to send correspondence to, do you know the address of your corporate office? Also, my attorney asked me to get Bryan's full last name and spelling, if possible."

Don't say anything else. Just get the info, say thank you, and hang up.

They will probably think you are bullshitting, and you will be, but here is what I would hope would happen: The hostess/manager would tell Bryan what happened, and Bryan would be all like "That stupid bitch...she's not actually going to sue me."....and THEN Bryan would start thinking....and worrying....would you actually sue? Could he really be dragged into court? Could this cost him money?? The restaurant must have a lawyer for this kind of thing right?

Worrying. Wondering. Needlessly. Just like he made you do today and last night.

Turnabout's fair play my dears.

chickpea912 · March 2014

I'm so late to this thread, so I don't know why I'm bothering...

I think we have become so susceptible to fear mongering today. It makes me sad. As someone said earlier, you have a much higher risk of listeria from bagged lettuce than from that (i'm assuming) delicious bit of cheese you ate last night. There is absolutely NO reason to call your doctor or get tested.

MissBHaven1024 · March 2014

At this stage of pregnancy, adhering to that list of "bad" things is unnecessary. If anything were going to happen, you'd simply get sick. It would have no effect to baby's growth and development at this point, because all the babies are just fattening up now.

Don't drive yourself crazy with it. I'm confident that you are fine.

Pepper6 · March 2014

Ditto PPs about not worrying about the listeria risk at all.

I would make a complaint with the restaurant though because it's very unprofessional and dangerous for the server to give false information on their food products. I mean, what if someone with a severe peanut allergy asked if something was fried in peanut oil, and this server never actually checked and told him no and he had a major allergic reaction? The management needs to be informed that their servers are giving wrong information/not actually verifying with the kitchen staff on food safety questions. You certainly don't have to be a bitch about it (but you can if you want to be), but just enough to let them know they need to train their staff better.

jwarnerb · March 2014

I agree with most of the previous posters re: the food but wanted to add:

Telling me to calm down* right now is the best way to ensure that I will go nuclear all over your ass.

*or "be reasonable"

*or "it's not that bad"

*or "there's no reason to be upset"

*or really anything that I don't want to hear.

JulieSmiles · March 2014

MissBHaven1024 said:

At this stage of pregnancy, adhering to that list of "bad" things is unnecessary. If anything were going to happen, you'd simply get sick. It would have no effect to baby's growth and development at this point, because all the babies are just fattening up now. Don't drive yourself crazy with it. I'm confident that you are fine.

That was my thought exactly! My good friend actually did get listeria when she was like 39 weeks pregnant. She was really sick, but her baby was just fine.

celticbiohazard · March 2014

Everyone's addressed the listeria/poopypants waiter very well already, so I will just add: no worries about the overreacting. NOTHING can make me overreact like my husband telling me I'm overreacting.

izzetoot · March 2014

jwarnerb said:

I agree with most of the previous posters re: the food but wanted to add:

Telling me to calm down* right now is the best way to ensure that I will go nuclear all over your ass.
*or "be reasonable"
*or "it's not that bad"
*or "there's no reason to be upset"
*or really anything that I don't want to hear.

Thank you! I was sooooo pissed last night and DH was trying to talk me down the whole way home. Then when I got on the bump to ask you ladies he went to bed and said 'I guess you don't need me for anything' I read him my post this morning and we laughed about it, but last night id a killed a bitch!

lest12 · March 2014

So... as a spin-off... if you ate one if those bad things and did get sick, how sick would you have to be to be concerned?

Sorry, I don't want to hijack the thread. But I ate cold cuts today and got really sick after. I posted in the symptoms thread but it was so close to this topic I was wondering if you guys had any thoughts.

lest12 · March 2014

@kaysa2 Terrible explosive poo... now stomach cramps and a little nausea

No blood in poop though.

ElTrain5 · March 2014

@lest12 sorry you're feeling crappy (no pun intended). If you have diarrhea for more than two or three days or can't keep fluids down for more than 24 hours I'd call you doc to see if they'd like you to get hooked up to IV fluids. I know they can test a stool sample for food poisoning, but they typically need something solid, so if you're just squirty at the moment that might not be possible. I'm pretty sure even if it is food poisoning there's probably a lot of other (albeit not pleasant) bacteria that are the more likely culplrits than listeria, so try not to worry. But can't hurt to give the doctor a ring just to be safe. Feel better!

lest12 · March 2014

@ElTrain5‌ - Thank you! I'm going to see how I do tonight. If I can't hold down fluids by tomorrow, I'll probably call the Dr. (So I don't have to worry or go to urgent care over the weekend should it not improve).

Whatever it is - gross!

H&H2014 · March 2014

I'm sure you've realized by now that you're fine. I can empathize with how angry you felt though, I got served a mojito instead of my mocktail at the most expensive restaurant in town and I was IRATE.. Of course I noticed it immediately after I took a sip. I was with my inlaws and didn't want to throw a public fit but I seriously wanted that guy fired for being a complete idiot. They serve those two drinks in two distinctly different glasses (the mojito in a small tin cup, so I really couldn't see all what was in there). He should have known.

/rant

It fires me up just thinking about it again. LOL.

lest12 · March 2014

Thanks @kaysa2 & @ugabamafans!

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