Day 40 - Fighting Illness in my Cave World

Hello Paleo friends.  Well, it has happened.  Despite my best efforts, my body has succumbed to the wonderful yellow film of pollen covering our vehicles and porch and ground in central Texas...ah, lovely allergies.  I awoke yesterday morning with horrible ear pain.  I fought it with Advil all day long to no avail.

Now, here is the wierd part.  I normally have HORRIBLE seasonal allergies this time of year.  I walk around in a continual state of sniffles, coughing, and clutching a handful of tissues all day long.  However this year I really haven't felt bad.  There has been a noticeable lack of sniffles and coughing and all of those related things that come along with seasonal allergies.  I have attributed this to my new found paleo lifestyle.  Inflammation all over my body has been so dramatically reduced...from the disappearance of my plantar fasciitis to the absence of neck aches and pains after a long day of teaching.  This year...not much of anything...until this ear thing left me feeling like I had a butcher knife stuck in my head all night last night.

So, lucky thing is I had already planned on taking a day off today (long story, I had to help close on a house that my parents have purchased and I am the power of attorney...unfortunately we don't live in caves anymore!) and so I was able to call my physician and schedule an appointment.  The pain was so bad this morning, I took 4 Advil to cut it.

When my doctor came in (note, this is my primary care physician...NOT my diabetes doctor who recommended the Paleo diet to me in the first place), he asked me what was wrong and went through the routine...you know what I'm talking about.  Temperature check, blood pressure, felt my glands, looked in my ears, throat, etc, etc, etc....(and I closed my eyes when they weighed me...keeping my vow to not look at a scale except once a month!)

Now, here comes the strange part...I do NOT have an ear infection.  My ear looks perfectly normal.  Seriously, at this point I am beginning to think brain tumor.  What else would cause this pain?  But really...do brain tumors just appear overnight?  Not a doctor...but I am guessing the answer to that is a big "NO".

Doctor then tells me that he thinks I have a sinus infection and that the pressure from my sinuses is pushing from the inside and causing my pain.  But, here is the part he cannot figure out...I seem to have an absence of nasal congestion and drainage.  Everything looks swollen and red like it normally would with an infection...but he cannot figure out why I have no...well, let's just say it....mucus.  All I can think of is the lack of dairy and grains in my diet has greatly reduced this ummmmm.....aspect of my body chemistry.

So, I have my prescription for antibiotics and I am still doubling up the Advil and I hope to feel better soon.  I know our Paleo ancestors got sick...so, it's not like I was expecting perfect health from here on out...but I can't help but think...I wonder if they ever had to blow their noses?

Ha!