In a bizarre incident, a Redditor shared their experience of believing they had rabieswhich led to anxiety issues. However, after a doctor’s examination, it was confirmed that there was no rabies. The Redditor explained in their post that after having chicken for dinner, they started experiencing symptoms that led them to believe they had rabies, even though doctors said they had no such condition and were simply manifesting it.
The post began with the user writing, “I think I have rabies,” and mentioned that their sister had recently adopted a stray cat that had been bitten by dogs and was unvaccinated. The post explained, “We had chicken for dinner, and my sister left some for me to eat in the morning on the dining table. It was partially eaten, so I thought my sister had eaten it and I ate it. My sister denied this and suspected that the new cat might have eaten it. We have four cats, so we weren’t entirely sure if the unvaccinated cat ate it. Anyway, I didn’t think much of it since my friend told me rabies is usually spread through bites, not by eating.”
The post continued, explaining that around January 3, they started experiencing a slight headache, which was their first suspicion that they might have rabies. The post read, “In anxiety, I got vaccinated on January 5, 10 days after the possible exposure. On January 6, I was on my way back to college from home when I fainted while standing in the metro. I hadn’t eaten or slept that morning, so maybe that’s why.”
On January 7, they started feeling some numbness in their leg. The post mentioned, “Though my leg had been operated on before and had numbness, this felt way more numb. During class, I had extreme nausea and anxiety about rabies. From this point, things started getting serious. They took me to the hospital, but the doctor said I had anxiety and was manifesting the symptoms. My muscles were twitching so much, and my body felt a little cold. I had no fever, though.”
The post further shared that from January 7 to 11, they made repeated visits to the doctor and discovered they had low levels of vitamins (B, D), which were injected into them. The doctors kept assuring them that it was just anxiety and they did not have rabies. The post read, “On January 12, I started feeling a tight sensation in my throat, as if something was blocking inside. I immediately rushed to my hometown and got hospitalized. The doctors did an endoscopy on my throat and found a hernia in my stomach and esophagus, along with swelling in my throat. They suspect the hernia might be causing acid to go up the food pipe, leading to the issue in my throat.”
The post continued, “Up until now, all doctors have denied the possibility of rabies, instead attributing it to other conditions.”
The post ended with, “Right now (January 17), I’m feeling slight pain in my throat when dry swallowing or drinking water. I’m extremely anxious and scared. Doctors keep telling me it’s just coincidences causing these symptoms, and I’ve Googled too much, so I’m starting to manifest them. But these feelings seem way too real.”
The Redditor added, “I haven’t had a fever once, by the way, and after January 13, my twitching reduced. I’m in extreme despair and don’t know how to cope with it. The throat pain has made it even worse. The cat was vaccinated a few days after my exposure, and she’s perfectly fine right now.”
