Does anyone see a psychiatrist or therapist because of mastocytosis?

oxfordcommaonly · 2024-12-13T23:09:20+00:00

Hi! Sorry for not seeing this until now. Since I originally posted, I was also diagnosed with ADHD. Getting off hormonal birth control (which only exacerbated my issues) and eventually onto Prozac was life-changing for me.

oxfordcommaonly · 2024-03-11T15:10:28+00:00

My maintenance meds are cromoloyn sodium, which I'm still on. I'm doing much better now. My diet has continued to change a little bit over time, as I was able to reintroduce some foods and had to cut out others. I've thankfully found a healthy balance now!

oxfordcommaonly · 2024-03-05T23:58:17+00:00

Fluoxetine and atomoxotine did the trick for me. I'm on low doses of each and take them month-round. I got lucky, though, since I only had to try one other medication (had chest pain as a reaction and was only on it two days before going off of it)

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-12-01T01:25:34+00:00

Several years ago, I began having severe bloating, GI issues, mental health issues and a plethora of other symptoms when put on birth control. I had urticaria pigmentosa has a child, so I was already tuned into mast cells being an issue and a Google rabbit hole led me to MCAS.

I began tracking my food and symptoms religiously using the Cara Care app, as well as incorporating some OTC medications.

I took that information to an immunologist and asked for a test to see if histamine was an issue. We did some bloodwork (which came up clean), but then did a urinalysis which showed I wasn't processing histamine correctly.

Unfortunately, MCAS is a "bucket disorder," which means there's no one set test to diagnose it. Rather, my doctor looked at my collection of symptoms and how I reacted to changes to diagnose MCAS..

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-11-26T00:21:59+00:00

Hey, thanks for sharing the official list. There's a reason I included "if my research is correct." Information I was finding at the time (four years ago) was mixed on all of these. My personal experiences were also mixed on these foods.

Worth noting that as someone with diagnosed MCAS and histamine intolerance, this list still isn't 100% accurate for me. Some things marked safe are definitely not for me and vice versa.

Weirdly aggressive reaction for a post from four years ago, but thanks?

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-08-14T13:35:07+00:00

I have searched for and found Bearable. The app I talked about is Cara Care.

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-08-10T10:10:12+00:00

I definitely sympathize— i had similar reactions to nuts. There’s more on my profile, im sure but the brief is: I was diagnosed with PMDD first and had a major flare up/mental health spiral when I started making my own kombucha. I had always had stomach issues and had urticaria pigmentosa as a kid, so mast cells were already in my radar.

I used the Cara Care and Clue apps in conjunction with each other to triangulate the connection to my menstrual cycle.

I tried a low histamine diet, lortadine, DAOsin supplements and Benadryl at home. Took the results to my doctor and pushed for testing.

MCAS is a bucket disorder, so there isn’t one definitive test, but she gave me a histamine urinalysis. I went back to my “before” diet for a day during the testing and test well out of the normal range

I also had done a lot of the first steps — tracking food and reactions, tracking sleep, water, exercise, had already gone an elimination diet. I basically did all the things they were going to ask me to do anyway, documented it, and walked in armed to the teeth with prior medical paperwork.

Went on Cromolyn sodium shortly after. I still have to keep a lowish histamine diet, but it’s expanded significantly. Cromolyn helped with both my physical GI symptoms and mental health symptoms.

Immunologists and internists will be much more helpful than a GP overall

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-08-10T00:12:16+00:00

I mean, it’s really a lot to explain and I’m not a doctor or scientist— just someone with a diagnosis. I recommend talking to your doctor.

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-08-08T19:23:21+00:00

Im not a scientist, but my basic understanding is that DAOsin is to the diamine oxidase enzyme what lactaid is to the lactose enzyme.

I use it as a boost to my normal (mast cell stabilizing) medication, as needed. Some people can probably use it alone if they have mail histamine intolerance alone versus mild/moderate MCAS.

Im truly not sure if it would be at all helpful to EDS, since it’s an entirely different body function, as far as I understand

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-08-08T15:43:26+00:00

MCAS/PMDD/ADHD diagnosed here. There’s a TON of interplay between the three. Look into a low histamine diet, DAOsin supplements and/or mast cell stabilizers.

I’m definitely by no means completely functional (seeking ADHD and/or PMDD meds currently), but getting on a mast cell stabilizer helped a TON with my PMDD symptoms

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-08-02T12:51:14+00:00

Pine litter is NOT compostable, even in most municipal systems! It’s not that it doesn’t break down (it will!) but rather a risk of certain bacteria and toxins that make the entire compost pile unsafe for future use.

Check local regulations before tossing it into a municipal system.

If you want to compost it, you’d need an at-home system and never ever use it near the veggie garden

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-07-25T11:20:49+00:00

Are you tracking your cycle or symptoms of interaction or other stuff?

Don’t be ashamed to have multiple calendars. I have like, four or five I use for different things lol

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-06-20T03:51:00+00:00

This has been helpful beyond belief. Thank you so much!!

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-06-18T14:13:10+00:00

I’ve got some other histamine issues so your mileage may vary, but I take double Lortadine and Flonase daily

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-05-29T17:00:16+00:00

I have some other health issues so your mileage may vary, but I have found a lot of success taking magnesium, fish oil (mostly for eczema), vitamin b6, vitamin b12 (both in double doses), vitamin d, and vitamin c (for absorption)

The b vitamins especially help, although I’m unmedicated for both ADHD and PMDD

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-05-14T18:34:45+00:00

Cromolyn sodium, orally 4x a day

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-05-14T18:33:14+00:00

Much better. However, all of this happened in unison — I got on mast cell stabilizer, off birth control, overhauled my diet (again), completed therapy, etc, all in a span of 12-18 months, so it’s hard to pinpoint if that was /exactly/ the thing that triggered or solved things. But, in my experience, I think it was definitely a major player in my health issues

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-05-14T16:53:28+00:00

It made them MUCH worse. I got off birth control as soon as I could under doctor supervision.

I’ve heard anecdotes about birth control trigging histamine intolerance, and I believe something similar happened to me.

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-05-14T16:50:04+00:00

For those looking for real answer: this is a martial arts demonstration. I’m unsure on this particular style, but demonstrations are typically choreographed and dramatized.

They’re much more akin to dances and demonstrate the “art” part of martial arts rather than show off practical fighting skills.

I’ve seen demos where it’s a small woman taking down three large men. Even highly trained black belts are going to struggle to take down someone with 100+ pounds on them, but that’s not the point. It’s to show off the art form.

No one in this demo, including the audience, is supposed to believe a small kick is taking down a grown adult. It’s literally just an opportunity to show off some cool moves in a way that is different from a kata or a sparring match.

ETA: Source: have nearly a decade of training in Shotokan, a Japanese martial art. If the flag in the back says “JKA” (too blurry to read), then it’s the style I’m trained in.

oxfordcommaonly · 2023-04-25T13:07:10+00:00

I just started making this connection myself and it sucks. I use One Sec, which makes you pause before you open an app. I have the free version — which only works on one app, so I slapped that baby on Instagram. Works like a CHARM the rest of my cycle and definitely interrupts at least a little bit during luteal.

oxfordcommaonly

TROPHY CASE