[Mike NoLomotil]

Good/Bad Morning to the Board....and apologies to 2 or 3 questions I have not answered yet, but in case you have not heard (I must have been under a rock all weekend with the babies party) that SLIM FAST RECALL is no joke and I am in the first-hand position of being seriously hacked-off about it.Apparently over the weekend or Friday or something, I NOW know, the SOB'S at Slim Fast made a half-hearted effort to notify You And I (John Q. and Betty B. Public) of a RECALL of several lots of CAPPUCCINO DELIGHT, STRWABERRIES AND CREAM and one of the Chocloate flavors of their disgusting 11 oz canned diet drinks.I don't know how many people missed it, but if anyone on the Board has a wife, husband child, relative or friend using SLIM FAST call them NOW and tell them DO NOT DRINK IT!-----------------I got home from my meeting in Miami about 9:00 pm last night and FrankenMommy was sick as the proverbial junkyard dog...nausea, vomiting, and a good simulation of IBS-D obviously on the way. I come in the door and there sits the baby and my stepson eating some spaghetti the kid cooked for their dinner and FrankenMommy is in her bathroom making ungodly noises!So my question is, of course, what gives? I have a cell phone...but apparently she was too sick to give the kids the number to call me!------------------SO I am quickly thinking what manner of food poisoning is this and John David (S.Son) says "Does this have anything to do with the ladies I saw on TV on the 6:00 news saying they are going to SUE SLIMFAST for MAKING THEM SICK"? So My uninformed response is HUH?..So the boy escorts me to the trash where there is a can of CAPPUCCINO DELIGHT (!!!) FrankenMommy had for lunch (she keeps that 115 lbs by using this vile concoction instead of lunch each day in perpetuity...and has a cast-iron stomach, you know, so what the hell).SO I am thinking SLIMFAST is a lcoal company so what is this about?I call them up and get this recorded message about how they are "currently cooperating with the FDA in a VOLUNTARY RECALL-their emphasis-of certain SlimFast drinks which MAY be the source of 'some gastric discomfort'. Please listen carefully and compare the lot numbers on your SLIMFAST drinks to this list-which the voice reads- AND RETURN THEM PROMPTLY FOR A FULL REFUND."Now there is a quick way to get rid of the evidence of whatever the hell it is that is apparently turning peoples gutz inside out all over America.NOW I am posting this and going to find their corporate office, which is somewhere in this town, because of what happens next.----------------------------PS DID I MENTION TELL YOUR PEOPLE NOT TO DRINK THE SLIMFAST UNLESS YOU WANT A SIGMO PREP?----------------------------Bottom line I call and call to get a live person, who condescendingly agrees to TAKE MY STATEMENT like I am the person who is being interviewed here...so I explain that my wife is undergoing spontanoeus human explosion, and the lot number on the can of C-DELIGHT is DIFFERENT than the so-called voluntary-reCAll lot numbers so they have a BIGGER PROBLEM they should know about AND I want to know WHAT IS IN THE CAN THAT IS MAKING HER SICK>>>>>SO DOES SHE NEED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL....TELL ME...DID YOU JUST PUT IN SO MUCH GUAR GUM THAT IT MAKES PEOPLE PUKE OR IS THE CAN FULL OF STAPHYLOCCAL CONTAMINATION OR WHAT...Stonewall. What big stones that takes. STonewalling!"They have not told us...only that a slight error in production may have caused some of the product to be improperly produced".YEAH HOW IMPROPER? INGREDIENTS OR POISONOUS BUGS OR URANIUM OR WHAT? PLEASE ADVISE?"The chances of something serious, Mr. NoLomotil, are very slim. Some people are reporting a bit of nausea, or vomiting or a little diarrhea..."MAYBE YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO BRING YOU OVER SOME TO DRINK, AND YOU DECIDE HOW MUCH VOMITING IS JUST A BIT AND NOT SERIOUS?"Would you like me to have a Company representative Call you, Mr. NoLomotil?"HOW ABOUT WAKING HIM UP NOW!"Well, someone will call you in a few days. In the meantime if you wiLL take any unopened cans to the point Of purchse we are giving FULL REFUNDS."Oh yeah, thats a good Idea."Sure Mr. Sirhan, here's your gun back"I think I will just put this can in a plastic bag and hold onto it for a few days...just in case nobody wants to tell anybody what is in there.-----------------SO, please excuse me while I get in the car, drive over to the SlimFast office, and in my best Sam Kinneson imitation advise them:WE DON'T WANT NO STINKING REFUNDS!!!! WHAT WE NEED IS STOMACH PUMPS YOU FREAKING MORONS!!!----------------------Oh, yes, did I neglect to mention? DO NOT DRINK THE SLIMFAST!----------------------What pigs.MNL

 

[JeanG]

Hi Mike:Check out this post I did in the Meeting Place Aug. 3. It's from safetyalerts.com, and has information on which cans are being recalled, numbers etc. safetyalerts.com is a great site. They track all the recalls in the US and you can sign up to be emailed alerts from them. You can pick what type you want -- you don't need to get everything. http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum3/HTML/005753.html JeanG[This message has been edited by JeanG (edited 08-08-2000).]

 

[MartyG]

I have noticed from your previous posts that you are more than very aware of what we put into our mouths and journeys through the system. I don't drink Slim-Fast, but I do drink a beverage called Balanced. The reason for this is besides IBS-D I also suffer from hypothyroid for which I take Armour, which assists in producing looser bowels. Ahh, the wonders of aging. Anyway, I have gone from 115# in Feb. '99 to 102# now. Now I will say that I have also changed my diet to a macrobiotic one and am also dealing with the recent death of my Dad (when I didn't eat for several days). It seems my metabolism is somewhat speeded up due to the thyroid meds. (plus a super anxious personality)and I cannot seem to put any weight back on. I am 5'2" and would like to put 5#'s back on, hence why I am drinking the Balanced drink. Do you, with you knowledge of diets, have any suggestions for what I might incorporate into a limited diet. I am completely vegan, hardly any fat, no caffine, no sugar. Any ideas?

 

[Cindy Pooh]

Mike.....how horrible for your poor wife

Is she better this morning? I hope you can get satisfactory answers from "the morons", but it's been my experience that they blow you off and give you coupons for free products (as if she wants a few more cans of toxic sh*t).....I'd be more than pissed and would probably show-up at the offices and demand an explanation......Seems like nothings safe anymore.....Sorry you and your wife had to go through this!!! Let us know how she is!

 

[JeanG]

Oops, sorry, I forgot to ask about your wife. I'm under the weather myself today and my brain is on 1/2 mode.How is she feeling now? Is the nausea & D over with? Maybe if she's still feeling bad you should call her doc, or take her to the ER. Keep us posted.JeanG

 

[Guest]

Mike,Geez, you'd think that the company would want to help you. Gives new meaning to the words SLIM FAST.I hope your wife is feeling better. Let us know, and thanks for the warning.Peace,Karly

 

[Guest]

Oh Mike, the bad luck streak continues...How is FrankenMommy....no more visits to the emergency room I hope?

 

[Mike NoLomotil]

Hi. Talk about SLIM answers and FAST to get you off the phone...!!! Well, like someone said this morning when they heard my wife is ill from a can of that brew "Uh Oh, They just p---ed off the wrong person".Well, just to reinforce how things work in the "food biz", I could not go yell at their PO Box this AM (the only mailing address they give out). I did later find the office address down on 777 Flagler Drive...(it should be 666). That location is kind of a hassle to get to...so I thought I'd try the local FDA office and speak to the Foodborne Illnesses Branch...that was 10:00 am, and again at 11:00 am voice mail...no response. It's 4:00 here now.No response to another request for an answer from the company, so I called every TV station in town and spoke with the News desks, just to see if any of the press releases included factual information about what was wrong that as making people sick...they all got the same thing: platitudes. And the recall listings on all the sites (thanks Jean for the URL you posted)including their own, DO NOT INCLUDE this lot number on this nasty little can of something here. Now that means there is a bigger problem.One local network affiliate station, though, is more like a dog-with-a-rag-in-its-mouth about stuff like this (every market has one), so their investigative reporter said she was a little puzzled by their 'explanation' too, and was also concerned that this was from another lot number than the ones recalled. Which is kind of Point B. Point A is that the press release is BS ("makes the product taste bad"-yeah, coming back up...and "may cause minor stomach upset"...uh, how many times do you have to vomit, or how many hours of intestinal cramping is considered"minor" on their planet?)I guess working with food borne problems and people who suffer with them, and knowing the hidden-agendas of manufacturers regarding processed stuff and how they view customers, makes me even more reactive with something like this.It's curious as to the timing...just last night while FrankenMom was home guzzling the chemical flush, I was with Dr. Pardell and Dr. Pasula, and couple other folks down in Miami, and Pardell was having an outright RANT. It started over a dietician who put fructose into a patient's rotation diet as a sweetener, which triggered a long extemporaneous speech about fructose metabolism and the evil byproducts thereof, and a long discussion went on about the problems they (the "preventive medicine" doctors) are getting so sick of seeing in patients because of the garbage in the foods foisted on the public. And what is there in my own house? I can tell you the rest is going down the drain. I think Mrs. NL now sees it is not worth the risk for a lousy 5 pounds anymore.But I am really frosted about this one...They get away with putting enough garbage in our foods, without getting away with outright acutely poisoniong people and then brushing those people off...what arrogance.-----------JEAN MARTY CINDY KARLY AND CRISSY:Thanks for the input and the inquiry...you are right poor FrankenMommy has been through the mill this past week or two! I just got back from checking on her and she just has the abdminal cramps now, so whatever the contaminant is she is clearing it...so I told her its a good excuse to stay in bed and let JD watch the baby!JEAN: You are right about deciding what to do..(??!!)...Especially when it means dragging a baby along. It was a judgement call about the ER, but a)it is only about 1.5 miles away from home if she had showed any sudden signs of staph food poisoning...but at least,

the symptoms were not that violent; it did/does look like some excess of one of the grosser ingredients of SF which is a GI irritant...like the potassium phosphate...or a more minor bacterial contaminent...but not such a strong endotoxin as staph. Plus the office is less than 10 minutes from the house,too. She did not want to go back to the ER again (between gagging it was like..."Oh the baby will have nightmares again, and I don't want people to see me like this." --what, you are supposed to wait until you look better before you go to the er?---"Lets just wait. I feel much better now OWWWWWWW MAYBE NOT..."ugh...you know the cycle...But since she kept getting a little better by the hour we just sort of kept the $1,000 ER visit on stand-by).------------------------------------So, I just sent Slim Fast an e-mail again suggesting they return my inquiries with some concrete explanation. Since they are not letting me or the TV stations know what the problem is, maybe we should just get a camera crew and swing-by the office, down there on 777 Flagler "High-Rent" Drive, Palm Beach Fl. in the A.M. and chat a little? Since I know some of the local newspaper folks I will probably just give them a jingle, too, before I go today...you know..just in case its a slow-day in the newsroom. I can almost hear them salivating over this kind of stuff.------------------------MARTY------------------------Hmmm.....Balanced....I do not have a can of that one handy, but I have to go get a 'scrip filled after work and I will take a look at the ingredients (unless someone has some handy and can post it please). We have alot of packages lying about so questions can be answered but that one is not here. I am sure they have it in the Eckerds in my neighborhood....they are loaded with all the liquid supplements.Your thoughts on your weight situation are intuitively probable...but there are a lot of variables to consider. The IBS-D is ongoing so unless that has changed would not in and of itself cause a sudden weight change. But you have the stress of the death of your father (I am sorry to hear...I remember losing my dad about 3 years back...it took months for the effect to subside) plus you have changed diet to macrobiotic (which is either a substantial change if you were lacto-ovo veg. before, or dramatic change if you were a carnivore)...so a flip-answer or idea is not possible.What I could do if you want for the heck of it, and it might be helpful, is get a dietary intake analysis done. I have an intake analysis program in one of my old PC's left from when our beta-site was operating(unless somebody pirated it...I will check and see)which can give us a snapshot of your nutritional intake profile, and how it compares to a generally-accepted profile (we can calculate your caloric intake, fat carbo and protein intake, vitamin and mineral intake and how each of these compares to predictive values...it is sometimes instructive of how well, or not well, your food intake is matched to a general bodily-need profile). It might give some insight if there was a simple caloric and/or essential nutritional imbalance.What I need you to do is keep a food intake log for 5 days. Make up a breakfast lunch dinner snack and liquid intake record every day for five days. WHAT you ate (if processed the brand name) and the PORTIONS ( teaspoons tablespoons ounces pounds tons...some real measure...we can convert back and forth). when it is done e-mail it to me and I will have someone input the data and generate a report and see what you are ingesting...if I do not find the program I will tell you where yo can either get a cheap copy yourself or check and see if one of the dieticisn ripped me off,,,,uh,,,,,borrowed it and has it in their computer at one of their offices. Let me check that can of stuff as well and think a little bit.But really, if I can find the program I will be glad to run the intake analysis and see what it says. Start keeping a log right away if you want to do it.have you discussed the weight loss with your doctor or dietician? What was the response?CU LATERMNL

 

[Guest]

Mike, Hope your wife is much better. I'll NEVER buy Slim Fast again. It never worked for me anyway and I thought it tasted like c--p, especially for being SO expensive. Good luck to you both and thanks for the warning!!!! Cindy (in Arvada)

 

[Epona]

Hey Mike NoLomotil! Thank you for warning us about this!! Hope your wife is feeling better!

 

[zigmissus]

Today at Cosco I saw several people loading jumbo packs of Slim-Fast into their carts and wondered if the recall was still on. Poor Frankenmommy! May I suggest that she see a doctor and have some testing done to possibly confirm the culprit? This would constitute proof of illness should there be a class action lawsuit or settlement at some point. I find it disturbing that the company won't reveal what caused the contamination--it could be anything. Given the severity of your wife's symptoms, I'm wondering about Listeria. Not to sound like a raving conspiracy theorist, but this reeks of a coverup. Maybe they should change the name of the product to SLIME-Fast.

 

[Guest]

I find it unconscionable that the company is recalling the product, but won't say why. What kind of corporate bulls**t is that? Go get 'em MNL! Take no prisoners!------------------Never give up! Never surrender!

 

[MartyG]

Mike:Thanks for your response. I will begin to keep a log. I know I don't eat alot of food and believe I don't take in enough calories to put weight back on. I have discussed the weight losss with my doctor and he is aware of the diet changes and of the recent death of my father and how that has affected me. I am also so sensitive to medications. Years ago a gyn gave me progesterone caps (natural) and I immediately lost 3-4#'s and fell asleep after each pill.Anyway, I do know that the Armour plays some part in the looser bowel problem. I do not get "real" D, unless I eat something, like a bag of potato chips with 10Grams of fat that the next morning will evacuate quite quickly. I have been a lact0-ovo veg since 1978, and the change to macro began in earnest in March '2000, when I dropped about 4#'s. I also dropped weight last year when the thyroid was diagnosed and began meds. Everything was fine, weight stable, than I had weight loss with macro, then my Dad was killed while crossing the street and I feel so much stress (I am seeing a therapist) that sometimes I feel like I will explode and fly around the room like a ballon with the air all let out. When I eat, I can feel churning and have such a tightness in my stomach most of the time. I can sometimes feel the contractions and my bowel will move 2-3 times a day, but I do not really have much D. Armour, as I said, before have made the bowels somewhat looser. My nerves are so much on edge. I don't have much of an appetite, but eat because I must. I've had IBS since '60's....off and on....seasonal, but was doing really well until the 1999 when I took antibiotics and had D for a month, and then the thyroid was diagnosed and then.....Sorry for going on an on. I will start today to try and figure out how much I eat. Thanks again.Marty

 

[Mike NoLomotil]

SLIME-FAST! Now THATS a beauty. FYI the PCP yesteray concurred with the wait-and-see since it did not look infective but chemical...for which the Diff could be real real costly...there are specific ingredients that are in this liquid delight which are implicatable as GI irritants in excessive concentration, but fishing them out of her bodily fluids can be difficult. But on the upside, if need be and if this stonewalling continues (STILL NO RESPONSE from them OR the FDA officer overseeing the recall..which is of course still on but still restricted to the posted lot numbers which do not include the one that made FM sick) we are keeping the remains in safe-keeping in case we want to run down to the Univ. of Miami laboratories and try to call in a few favors to get "instrumentation time" on the equipment they have at the med school we do not have here. I guess since the bodies are not dropping dead it is considered "minor".UPDATE on FM:she was still having belly aches last night (working its way back out of the GI tract)...should be about right to get rid of it today. I think I will skip the stool sample...-----------------MARTY:Good morning. I found the software last night so if you will keep a log and send it to me (5 days) I will punch it in and see what we see regarding your intake analysis.ALSO somebody rally rampaged through the liquid supplement aisle, or they are just not stocling it but i could not find a can of the stuff you are ingesting. Would you, when you get a chance, write the labe down (contents) exactly as printed and either post it or send it to me? I would like tio see what is in it. I am drawing a blank.LaterMNLOH PS:".... I've had IBS since '60's....off and on....seasonal, but was doing really well until the 1999 when I took antibiotics and had D for a month..."What antibiotics and for what? What was the dose and regimen (how much how long, remember?)[This message has been edited by Mike NoLomotil (edited 08-09-2000).]

 

[MartyG]

BalancedFiltered WaterSoy complex (soybeans, isolated soy protionMalted ceral SolidsDehydrated cane juiceExpreller Pressed Canola OilNatural VanillaOat FiberGuar GumXanthan GumSea SaltSodium CitratePotassium CitrateSoy LecithinMagnesium ChlorateSodium AscorbateDicalcium PhosphateFerric OrthophosphateVitamin e acetateniacinamicezinc citratemanganese sulfatecalcium panthothenatecopper gluconateVitamin A palmitatepyridoxine hydrochloridethiamine hydrochlorideriboflavinchromium citratefolic acidsodium molybdatebiotinpotassium iodidesodium selenitevitamin kvitamin d3vitamin B12Thisis usually found in a health food store, not a drug store. Also was given 500mg (2x day)of Ceftin for a sinus infection. After 3rd dose noticed looser bowels...started yogurt and probiotics. After 3 days...stopped medication. Took probiotics for about a month, along with slippery elm, and other herbal teas, blander diet...kinda of under control after about a month. Consulted with a nurtitionist and she said I was doing everything that I could to take care of it.

 

[Mike NoLomotil]

MARTY:Thanks for posting the info. I am on my way out to a safe lunch...I will look this over when I get back.Yeah, I have not used this prep or had a pt. report using it so let me see whats in 'er. How does it come? 11 oz 12 oz 16oz and does it have a Nutritional Label on it for the caloric content fat carbo etc?MNL

 

[luckylou]

Mike, thank's for this most interesting and enlightening post. Could I please ask what you meant by staph food poisining? I contracted food poisining 5 years ago, wish I had stool samples taken at that time. I would recommend they be done for anyone who gets food poisining. If done soon enough, I beleive they can tell what type of poisin you have contracted. I will never know if I had the stool samples done 5 years ago if I would still be suffering with IBS D. Was 100% fine before the episode, been IBS D ever since. Thank's for any info Mike.

 

[Marier]

Poor Frankenmommy has been thru the wringer lately. Take care of her, Mike! And thanks for the Slim Fast warning. I haven't heard about it up here in Chicago.

 

[JeanG]

Hi lou:Check out this article from the Merck Manual. The URL is: http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section3/chapter28/28c.htm Staphylococcal Food Poisoning An acute syndrome of vomiting and diarrhea caused by eating food contaminated by staphylococcal enterotoxin. Etiology and Pathophysiology Symptoms of staphylococcal food poisoning are caused by staphylococcal enterotoxin, not by staphylococcus itself. It is a common cause of food poisoning, and the potential for outbreaks is high when food handlers with skin infections contaminate foods left at room temperature. Custards, cream-filled pastry, milk, processed meat, and fish provide media where coagulase-positive staphylococci grow and produce enterotoxin. Symptoms and Signs Onset is usually abrupt. Symptoms--characteristically severe nausea and vomiting--begin 2 to 8 h after eating food containing the toxin. Other symptoms may include abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and occasionally, headache and fever. Because the toxin does not cause mucosal ulceration, the diarrhea is usually nonbloody. Acid-base imbalance, prostration, and shock may ensue in severe cases. The attack is brief, often lasting < 12 h, and recovery is usually complete. Rare deaths occur as a result of fluid and metabolic stresses, especially among very young or old or chronically ill patients. Diagnosis, Prophylaxis, and Treatment Diagnosis relies on recognizing the clinical syndrome. Usually, several persons are similarly affected, constituting a point source outbreak. Diagnostic confirmation, although rarely required, entails isolating coagulase-positive staphylococci from the suspected food. Gram stain of specimens of vomitus may show staphylococci. Careful food preparation is essential for prevention. Persons with furunculosis or impetigo should not prepare food until their lesions have healed. Treatment is described under General Principles of Treatment, above. Rapid IV replacement of electrolytes and fluids often brings dramatic relief.

 

[MartyG]

Mike:11 fl oz.calories 230total 3gsaturated fat 0.5gcholesterol 0mgsodium 220mgpotassium 360mgtotal carbohydrate 35gdietary fiber 3gsugars 19gprotein 15galso vitamins and minerals listed...called Hi Protein (natural) Balanced 99% fat free (like I need that)2000 American Natural SnacksDistributed by: American Natural SnacksP.O. Box 1067, St. Augustine, FL 32085-1067You are so nice to take this interest and try and help me out. I really appreciate any input, and I have started the diary.