So I’ve noticed more and more that when I get sick I get a flare up. I knew this before but it’s changed a bit.
I used to get sick every single time I flew. It would be a fever and it would last about two days. Sometimes it would evolve into bronchitis. Literally every time I flew. It happened to dad too. We’d travel, be in bed for 2 days with a fever, and then be fine. So I started wearing masks on planes and boom, problem solved. It was hard to believe because I thought there was a period of time after you catch something where you don’t show symptoms, and I’d literally be sick as soon as I left the plane (basically). But the mask thing worked.
When I went super low carb I thought I was invincible and didn’t wear a mask on a plane to Europe. I had the fever by the time I got to Prague. It evolved into bronchitis over the next three weeks.
Anyway, now that I’m only eating beef, salt, and water. I feel invincible yet again. So I stopped wearing a mask. Because I don’t learn apparently, and masks are annoying. When I went to Hawaii in May I had diarrhea for about 5 days after the plane ride. I thought it was because of the beef there (I bought beef from Costco). Now I’m not so sure… I’ll have to test out Costco beef again. I think it’s from the plane ride. I just got back from a family vacation and the same thing has happened. Scarlett caught something too this time which is how I realized what was going on. It looks like that fever I used to get after planes has changed into something else. It’s pretty minor, mostly just diarrhea and an overall icky feeling. I’m getting better now but here’s what happens when I catch a cold or get a flu:
- diarrhea for about 5 days (or other flu/cold symptoms)
- my skin breaks out (I have a breakout on my chin and chest and shoulders right now)
- arthritic flare up (my right elbow is killing me and my right big toe is swollen, and I can feel it in my right pinky) this NEVER happens unless I eat something wrong or I’m sick.
- body odour (I never have body odour unless I eat something wrong or I catch something)
- minor mood dip and minor lower back pain (these symptoms never show up separated)
- overall restless feeling
- Brain fog
I hardly ever get sick on this diet. I used to be sick all the time. I basically had bronchitis most of the time. I’m hardly ever sick and now when I’m sick I can barely tell. But I do get autoimmune symptoms when it happens. And if I’m in a plane, I never get away with it without catching something. How strange is that? Also pretty gross. Anyway, it’s a not a big deal, I’m fine. I’ve been sauna-ing it out. But if you start getting symptoms after a plane ride, same. A medical mask seems to solve it for me.
I’m going to LA next week and I’ll wear a mask and see if it happens again.
Have you ever gotten a reaction from airbourne gluten flour? like when you were in a store where there was also a bakery or when you were in a house where someone was baking with flour?
is this a cause of concern or are these amounts negligible?
fabian/flo I realize you’re dealing with depression and OCD and you have my sympathies. You also may not want to hear this, but these comment threads are for discussion, so I’m going to say it and hope it helps you: perhaps in addition to changing your diet, you could take one crucial step to easing your constant stress and obsession with the tiniest little particles in the world (unless you want to live in a bubble and not risk exposure at all). Anyone who knows someone with OCD realizes that there are different stages: the obsessive thoughts, the obsessive behaviors, the obsessive talking about your fears and concerns, so I’m wondering if you could refrain from the constant repetitive questions when a compulsive thought comes up. It would be a healthy step toward learning to control it. Just one tiny baby step. You’ll likely still have the urge to ask Mikhaila these obsessive questions over and over again, but if you stop yourself before you actually ask the questions and stick to just ‘thinking’ those thoughts, it may lead to quicker healing. I keep reading articles that refer to stress levels as equally important as sleep and diet, so I hope you’ll consider this aspect of your healing journey as well. Good luck to you and I really hope you can take this vital step.
Thx, i just want to make sure i never get a reaction again, it’s extremely stressful to be on guard all the time because a tiny amount of anything could potentially put me back into nightmare depression for a month, i want to make sure i have all the info on how to prevent this from happening.
The flare ups must be due to the systemic inflammation from your body trying to fight off the cold/virus. Obviously mood issues and auto-immune diseases are largely caused by inflammation, so it makes sense that these issues would be triggered when there’s inflammation present in your body for any reason, whether it be due to a virus or food sensitivities. I never get sick since I started taking kratom, and I don’t get cold sores anymore either. I used to always get them at least several times a year, usually when I was run down or sleep deprived. Now I never even get them when I’m sleep deprived and I used to ALWAYS get them when I was sleep deprived. So you should look into trying kratom! I’m curious if kratom would work for you, or if kratom itself would trigger a flare up due to it being a type of plant matter, and it seems that you can’t tolerate any type of plant matter.
My daughter is type one diabetic. I was watching you dad on YouTube and he said you had posted something on this. Please let me know where I could find this.
Just got back from Italy to Toronto Wednesday night and was in horrible shape within hours of landing. Now I got razor sharp pain when I cough. So yes I believe you!
I travel frequently for work, and used to always get sick. That didn’t go over well with the family. Started wearing a mask on flights and haven’t been sick since. It’s the lack of humidity in the cabin at altitude. The cabin air gets super dry, and your nasal mucosal system (a first line of immune defense) shuts down. Combine with recycled air and close proximity to 100+ passengers, and it quickly becomes a Petri dish inside the plane.
As for masks, my recommendation: icanbreathe.com
Discrete, stylish, carbon filter, and used by the US Cycling team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Be safe & Well.
May I also suggest that you take off your shoes and sock and place your foot on the metal stanchion of the seat in front of you. That should connect you to the ground of the plane, and allow you to be unaffected by any wireless signals bouncing around inside that metal tube we call an airplane.
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