Food Poisoning at Panda Express
September 12th, 2007
I recently had a 3 day bout with food poisoning. I had lot of different things that day, but I’m pretty sure it was from Panda Express. It was certainly the sketchiest thing I ate. Now that I’ve moved to Back Bay I’m pretty close to the Prudential Center, so my girlfriend and went to try out the pru food court. It was near closing time, and every place was starting to clean up. I got orange chicken from Panda Express and my girlfriend got something from another place. It’s the only meal we got from separate places that day.
The next day I woke up with a pain in my stomach that got really bad as the day went along. I felt like I was dying, I can’t remember a worse experience in my life. Unfortunately I couldn’t go to the emergency room since my new insurance hadn’t kicked in yet. My girlfriend took me to get some medicine and after lots of water, motrin and heating pads I was finally able to get some sleep. When I woke up, the pain had subsided a little bit. I repeated the process a couple of times and I’m completely fine now.
The experience has me thinking a lot about my health. I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t like seeing a doctor, and I’ve never been really really sick. I didn’t have insurance for a while and I didn’t really do anything about it. When something that you take for granted fails everything else goes to hell. I’m very lucky that I didn’t have something serious, but one shouldn’t have to be worried about money during sickness.
So lessons learned:
- Never go to a food court near closing time
- Never eat from Panda Express… ever
- Don’t play games with insurance.
Or wait, what the hell, maybe I should move to one of the MANY COUNTRIES that have universal health care.
the girlfriend
September 12th, 2007 at 12:56 am
and Benadryl. It pretty much knocked you out for six hours.
Simon
September 12th, 2007 at 4:59 am
You hear about the American system all the time and the movie Sicko has certainly raised the profile, but when you see it in black and white “I had incredible pain but couldn’t go to ER as I didn’t have insurance” it makes me really happy I live in Australia.
Shannon Young
March 19th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
I just had the SAME THING HAPPEN TO ME!! It was the worst sickness I have ever felt. Here is the only difference. My husband and I both ate the Orange Chix. He ate white rice and I had the fried and chow mein mix. When I began to vomit it was soooo violent. I believe it was Salmonila poisoning.(weak stomach? stop reading here) The scrambled eggs weren’t even broken down at ALL after almost twenty-four hours and was being violently forced out of my nose. Out the other end was WHOLE peas and carrot SQUARES. My husband would ask “Is there anything I can do for you.” My only answer would be “Yes a hole to throw me in and bury me alive.” I meant it, I was sick and I can go to the VA at anytime I would like I just wanted to die.
Michele
April 10th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Shannon, I noticed you posted recently. Wanted to post too–the same thing happened to me last night and I still have symptoms. Last place I ate was Panda Express.
karen engel
July 9th, 2009 at 10:38 am
we ate last night Panda Express at Nat’l airport (DC) and she is violently ill today. Began feeling bad about 1 hour post meal of mandarin chicken but did not get sick until today. rest of family fine. I blame Panda Express
Sean
January 18th, 2010 at 11:05 am
I’m in my third day of food poisoning and I know for sure it was Panda Express. I had a Clif Bar and a Mango tea for breakfast, then for lunch, my wife and I had Panda Express. We picked different items so we could share, though my wife did not try my fried rice. It tasted odd, like leftover rice, which should have been my first clue. I passed the whole meal off as crappy fast food dining and we decided never to eat there again. Then a few hours I started with the same symptoms as Shannon. I just ate some soup, first bit of food since Panada Express and I couldn’t finish the bowl. At least it’s staying down.
ED
March 16th, 2010 at 12:35 am
On Friday March 12th I went to Panda Express on Reed St. in Sacramento. My son ordered Orange Chicken and I ordered Manderin Chicken. The lady said I would have to wait about 2 minutes more for the Mandarin Chicken to be ready. It didnt seem like two minutes later but she gave us our food. Later that night I started to feel sick. I was getting a lot of sharp pains in my stomach. My son was ok so it had to be that the Manderin Chicken was not ready when she gave it to me. I was in serious pain all night. Finally, around 6 am I couldnt take it anymore and went to go to the bathroom and threw up a a lot. I broke out in a sweat, my bones ached and I had the shivers. I eventually fell a sleep only to wake up a few hours later with all the same symptoms. Some times they would fade away but if I moved a certain way the pain would come back. It hurt so bad I was on floor just crawling around. I didnt have any throw up left. Good thing my 10 year old son was with me to help me out. I finally feel better a few days later but from my stomach all the way to my throat is sore and hurts if I laugh or cough. I will never eat at Panda Express again!
SK
June 28th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
Oh.. I ate at Panda Express last night. And it was really bad, I ate Kung Pao and Pepper Chicken. After 2 hours I had some stomach pain then Midnight started throwing up at least 6 times. I would not want to eat there again. I am pretty sure it is the chicken I ate.
Please watch out!!!
LV
September 13th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
September 10th, 2010 Noon
OMG…I had lunch at the Panda Express and that evening I started feeling very bloated. I began feeling strong stomach cramps and was not able to eat anything for two days!
I will never eat at Panda Express again!
p colombia
October 10th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
I just had 1 day of solid vomiting and trips to the toilet after eating panda express at the Orlando Florida airport. I was able to see what I ate for the second time as it came back out undigested…
Rose
February 6th, 2011 at 12:00 am
My husband and i went to Panda express in Trumbull last night and we are SO SICK !!!
If i do not get better in a few hours i am gonna go to the ER !
VERY SICK
Damn food !
NEVER AGAIN
dauntlesslover
March 24th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
I am sad that I will never eat at Panda Express again. I ordered a panda bowl with orange chicken, steamed veggies and chow mien at 5:30 from the Panda Express in Covina on Badillo St. Two hours later, I had terrible stomach cramps and nausea. By 9:30 I was vomiting non-stop until 5 in the morning. I had a fever, chills and my body ached. In the morning, I was literally peeing out of my butt diarrhea. Even after vomiting and dry heaving all night, my stomach still was killing me the next day, and I was dehydrated and nauseous. It is day two, and I am finally starting to feel better. Never eat Panda Express!!!
Tracy
March 30th, 2011 at 6:04 pm
The food is alright at Panda, if you’re looking for a quick and a fairly priced meal. One always has to be careful whenever going out to eat, anywhere. Food poisoning can really lay one up for a while.
Leanne
March 31st, 2011 at 10:22 pm
Im not sure about your conclusions: dont go late to foodcourts, and panda express… lol
BUT, i do agree that you have to get insurance to protect yourself from some unpredictable trouble!
haha
thanks
leanne
my blog:Luminess Air Makeup
Steve
April 6th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Well unfortunately it happens in all sorts of restaurants, I think you are right, not going right at closing time would help ;0)
Just as well you were not pregnant as this can have damaging effects from what I hear and there is no way a restaurant will be taking any blame in such a situation.
Im sure you are feeling better now though ;0)
Steve
My blog: gatwick hotel and parking
Paul
April 7th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
“When something that you take for granted fails everything else goes to hell.”
True… it’s hard to remember (because of the cost) that insurance is just that… to insure you when you really need it so you can be taken care of. Expensive, but worth it.
As an example… last year, my daughter had a HUGE surgery for a very rare condition… all of the tests and surgery cost over $60,000, and she *had* to have it. So in the end I’m very glad I had health insurance!
Jamal Stephens
April 8th, 2011 at 1:37 am
Yikes! I’ve never had food poisoning (knock wood!) but I’ve had friends who have also described it as feeling like they were going to die.
And yes, here in Canada, you wouldn’t think twice about going to the doctor if you felt deathly ill.
Lauren
April 11th, 2011 at 7:58 pm
One protection against food poisoning is to become a vegetarian.
Elliot
April 14th, 2011 at 1:38 am
Even if you did go to the emergency room, what options would they have if you were suffering from food poisoning? Would they pump your stomach? If so, wouldn’t that be something you could try to accomplish on your own?
Nicolas
April 14th, 2011 at 7:14 pm
Stories like this make me wary of food courts, and yet I continue to eat at them. I’m not sure what the statistics are, but sometimes I do feel like I’m rolling the dice when I bite the bullet and bite the chicken.
Albert
April 15th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
I know what you mean about how awful food poisoning feels. You described it the same way I felt, and the way friends of mine have felt — it does feel like dying. That’s why kitchen negligence is abhorrent.
Daniel Go
April 18th, 2011 at 10:00 pm
@Albert:
there are other food poisons that were not awful at all, yet still deadly.
Daniel
Daniel Go
April 19th, 2011 at 2:36 am
Potassium Cyanide killed a lot here in our place. It’s a natural poison that everyone should be careful about.
Daniel
Shisha guy
website: Hookahset.com
Jen Hopkins
April 28th, 2011 at 5:40 am
“Never go to a food court near closing time”
I agree with this. Though I never experienced having food poisoning, I have worked in a fast food restaurant before and I know what are the conditions of the food that they serve near closing time. It is always best that you eat in fast foods during lunch time or after a few hours after they have opened,
Jen Hopkins
My last blog post: Alfani Shoes for men
Kent Ryan
May 2nd, 2011 at 6:46 am
“Never go to a food court near closing time”
Me too, I would agree to this.. It would also matter on the place and the kind of environment..
You don’t know what is happening when its closed..
Great post.. Thanks
Gemma
May 6th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
“Never go to a food court”
Okay, maybe I wouldn’t go that far, but I would say that food at a court is less regulated than fast food at restaurants.
Morris B.
May 11th, 2011 at 11:01 pm
I always thought the “gourmet” adjective was tongue-in-cheek…
Mary
September 19th, 2011 at 11:21 pm
Today is monday 9/19/2011 My Daughter teen and 3 year old ate at 230 ish Panda Express in Highland, Indianna. We had half chow mein and fried rice orange chicken I had chicken/ green bean / chicken and mushrooms. we had a order of crab ragoon shared all went thru drive thru home in 10 min. ate drank pepsi, None of us can finish it all started to feel bad, picked through food looking at it, put rest in garbage $22.00 bucks worth. about 20 min to half hour went by if that and same feeling of everyone else such intense cramps me, my teen, and then toddler started with same my teen in bathroom with pain in stomach my baby filled her pull up with water runny crap, I was so sick thank god I had a pad on due to PMS (LOL) really not funny i could not make it up stairs to bath room all the way it came out like water on pad the worst stomach pain Ive ever had it took me 40 years id say now and i yes shit my pantys a bit before i hit the pot. OMG DONT EAT PANDA EXPRESS they poison the food or something had to be setting out old food from the morning before lunch. the egg in the rice or raw chicken just sick sick sick all 3 of us right after we ate. It could of not been any thing else because i didnt eat nothing a coffee in morning 1 piece toast. my poor kids sick with cramps watery shit…. Never will we eat there again. I had a friend take back receiet to get money back… still feel ill tonight..Dont Eat there IN. Highland, 46311 store awfull. drinking lots of water to flush food poison out. Baby as well she said her tummy hurt she just had a few bites all 3 of us. Deff. Panda Express had Bad food saved the food out in garage fridge in case we become worse … will take to ER if we continue to feel ill. stay away if you dont want cramps with water shit coming out……
Leave a Reply