"I think my roommate may be poisoning me."

I am a 25f and I live in Seattle. I just moved here a few months ago from NYC because of my dream job and I was so excited. I work as a data analyst and I make a very comfortable living. It felt like my life was finally all starting to fall into place. The only thing I needed was a place to live.

I took to Facebook because I figured that might be the best place to find a roommate. I found this girl, let’s call her Kate (26f), and she seemed perfect. She said that her and her boyfriend (29m) were in a two bedroom apartment that was very spacious, in a great location, and we’re looking for someone to rent the room.

She said she was a 7th grade English teacher and her boyfriend was a physical therapist. All her interests and hobbies seemed to align perfectly with mine, so I agreed to live with them. I moved in one month after initially finding each other and everything started off great! Kate and I were friendly and had good conversations when we would interact.

One day, however, I get home and she seemed to be in a very bad mood. I asked her about it and she ignored me and walked into her room. I didn’t think anything of it, but then I receive a text from her that read “I know you want to sleep with my boyfriend.” And that’s all she wrote.

I was very confused because that was completely untrue. I have been cheated on in the past and know how devastating it is so I would never want to inflict that pain onto someone else. There were more text exchanged and everything seemed to be good, but when I saw her in person she continued to act weird, but I brushed it off.

The next day, however, she began to act very nice and sweet, even offering me a smoothie because she knew I was too busy in the mornings to make breakfast. I accepted and went about my day.

The smoothies continued every morning and I just thought she was being nice. Now, I am experiencing some symptoms and I’m a bit scared. My hair has started to fall out and my hormones have been all over the place. I have developed some weird stomach issues and I get headaches all the time now. This is all new to me.

It may be that the move and all this change is effecting my health, but it does seem to have started around when the smoothies did. I don’t know how to catch her and see if I’m right and I don’t want to seem rude and stop accepting the smoothies if I’m wrong. I don’t know what to do. I need some advice.

This is what top commenters had to say:

butterfly-garden said:

Please see a doctor ASAP!!! Take the smoothie with you. Or, go to the hospital. Again, take the smoothie with you. Please do this NOW, not later. In all seriousness, the hair loss is concerning. Hair loss accompanied by the other symptoms you're describing all point to heavy metal poisoning. I'd rather read an update from you than hear about you on one of my true crime podcasts.

OP responded:

Wow, I didn’t realize that they would be able to test it at the hospital. That is 100% what I will do. I also do not want to be on a true crime podcast. Thank you very much! This is beyond helpful for me.

RynnReeve said:

Hair loss is the real deal. Yes, all those things could easily be stress, but the fact that the symptoms started after you were through the more stressful parts of moving, like finding a place and actually moving, as opposed to now months later.

But seriously hair loss could signify some real shit going on. Please do what others have suggested. Take a smoothie with you to urgent care and get checked. Even if it is ‘just stress’ you may still be able to get some help. If nothing else, it’ll be peace of mind.

OP responded:

I completely agree. I will definitely be getting the smoothie tested. Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it all.

[deleted] said:

Don't drink the smoothie, just make it to go, and said you will drink on the way and instead take it to hospital and give it to them. Girl good luck

And [deleted] said:

Go to Harborview stat they are one of the best hospitals in Seattle where they can test for heavy metal poisoning, it sounds like she is dosing you with thallium by the way you describe your symptoms, and if it is proven you are being poisoned don't hesitate to go to Seattle PD and have her thrown in jail, if you are looking to save money on rent and don't mind a bit of a commute come down here to Tacoma.

She later shared this devastating update:

Thank you to all that have expressed concerns for me and my safety. I really appreciate all the advice I received as well. I want to keep this brief as this experience has been traumatic. I took the advice to go to the hospital and did just that. I went to the hospital the day after posting and brought along the smoothie.

They told me that they were unable to test the smoothie at this time, but they did give me a blood test as everything would still show up there. This would also indicate what is happening in my body and why I might be experiencing these symptoms.

To make a long story short, turns out my roommate was adding some sort of creatine or protein powder into the smoothies because she wanted me to bulk up so I was no longer seen as desirable to her boyfriend (I told her about what happened at the hospital and she told me everything).

That is what was causing my headaches, stomach issues, and potentially the hair loss because I’m apparently allergic to it. So, technically she was not poisoning me, just trying to make me bulky. This, however, is not the traumatic part.

While the doctors were giving me all the blood tests, they found that I have leukemia. This news has been hard for me to deal with. Now, because of my new circumstances, I will be moving back home to be around family as I go through treatment.

No, this was not at all how I expected this to turn out, but maybe in a way it’s a good thing. I’m not really sure, but I know I am going to be ok in the end. Thank you to everyone again for the support and concern for my well-being.

Commenters offered advice and support:

DobbyFreeElf35 said:

Wtf. I'm so sorry. Your roommate might not have been trying to poison you but it was definitely still making you sick, good thing you got tested though because you might never have known otherwise that you have leukemia until it was too late. Jesus.

sarahbekett said:

Oh my god this is not the update I was expecting at all but I’m so glad you followed up for your health, even though it turned into an entirely different health issue in the end.

The roommate is still a piece of shit for trying to make you “undesirable” but for your sake I’m at least somewhat glad it all happened because it meant you got those tests done, although mentally the idea of your roommate poisoning you would have been traumatic and probably much more so than you having other symptoms and getting yourself tested.

Thank you for the update. I’m so sorry to hear of your diagnosis and I wish you well with your treatment.

And Larkiepie said:

Uh no dude that’s still poisoning you. Putting a substance you do not know what it is in your smoothie is poisoning.

Good luck, OP!