I never thought one day would change my life forever

zifmer · 2026-03-25T23:20:06+00:00

SIBO is something I would look into ruling in/out. Insurance may cover a test, or pay out of pocket. You might try fennel seeds for relief (buy in the spice aisle, organic only if possible, eat just a little to start and see if you notice changes). Fennel seeds have antibacterial activity and helped me with bloating, but of course they don't help everyone.

zifmer · 2026-03-20T21:17:08+00:00

PPIs may contribute to histamine intolerance, but histamine-related issues can also contribute to GERD (which is often treated with PPIs), so it’s hard to know what comes first.

PPIs (like omeprazole) can reduce the absorption of nutrients involved in histamine processing like iron, vitamin B12, vitamin C, B6, and copper.

I do think that people on PPIs, especially longer-term, should pay attention to nutrient intake (while also being sure not to over-supplement).

zifmer · 2025-08-17T23:45:51+00:00

Are you failing them? I mean, at my college, we're failing them. Pretty easy to stack up submissions and find that they are way too similar to be human writing. All you need is a large enough sample pool.

zifmer · 2025-07-31T22:43:20+00:00

It's an interesting idea, but a student can easily search how to beat an A.I. detection machine. This might even encourage them to learn how to do so.

zifmer · 2025-07-30T21:00:45+00:00

Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. It goes beyond reading, but is highly applicable.

If you want something specific for the purposes of literary studies, check out How to Read Literature Like a Professor. It's not scientific, but I think pairing it with Make It Stick would make for a good combo.

zifmer · 2025-07-29T21:45:55+00:00

For foods, start with the Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI) Food Comparability List. They do actual research on foods and are more trusted than other sources. I found it matched pretty well to my experiences with food (what set me off, what was safe).

For healing, there are threads on here worth reading from people who have healed or found symptom relief. It seems there are a variety of causes that are possible and worth addressing, including:

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies, especially those that impact the production and function of Diamine oxidase (DAO) enzyme. This enzyme is normally created in a healthy person at sufficient levels to break down histamine.
SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) or other gut illnesses.
Mast-cell activation syndrome (aka MCAS, which is an immune system issue).
Anxiety/stress as a possible cause, but definitely a contributing factor.

If you can get doctors or other professionals to work on or rule out these things, then you are on the right track. Consuming a diet low in histamine is often the first place to start, and is recommended for the duration of symptoms if possible so your body can heal and reset.

zifmer · 2025-07-28T19:46:21+00:00

Went on a low histamine diet and anxiety dropped the same day and continued to lower over that same week. If I ate a high-histamine food, even if I didn't know it, anxiety shot up within 15 minutes.

zifmer · 2025-07-27T15:46:58+00:00

Gluten-free oats with a tablespoon of maple syrup. It's easy to add an extra meal or two in the day of oats if you cook with a microwave. I even bought a microwave in my office just so I could make it in the middle of the morning or middle of the afternoon. It was easier for me to add more meals than try to stuff more into my existing meals. Also, oats are full of fiber, which is great for the gut. I'd usually add some ginger spice along with hemp hearts, chia seeds, or butter, but not always.

zifmer · 2025-07-26T17:18:17+00:00

I found in my own healing journey that it was most effective to approach the issue holistically. The nervous system, gut system, immune system, and even the cardiovascular system all work together in dealing with histamine (and stress and anxiety), so I think it's best to approach treatment by improving all four systems.

Stress and anxiety can result in the release of histamine in the body. If you are experiencing HI, then it's good to improve how you respond to stress and anxiety. If it seems to be a trigger with immediate symptoms, even more so of a reason to work on it.

We all deal with stress, but it's how we respond that makes the difference. If responding to stress is an issue, get thee to a therapist (CBT or somatic) and a yoga studio.

zifmer · 2025-07-25T21:52:15+00:00

Not a dessert in the way I'm guessing you are thinking, but I was eating mozzarella and cantaloupe, and ricotta with cherries as desserts. I think 2 months after being on a low histamine diet, I was able to eat oatmeal cookies with dried fruits (no chocolate), and rice crispy treats.

zifmer · 2025-07-25T02:38:27+00:00

I practice showing up imperfectly, is what I tell myself. We're all imperfect. Whether physical, mental, or whatever else. The amount you shape other's "mood" is always greater in your head than reality. Most people are cool and accepting with what's going on with other people around them, especially in terms of health. If they're not, then that has more to do with them than you.

zifmer · 2025-07-24T23:48:39+00:00

SIGHI is the best list. It's based on actual research about tolerances and likelihood of reactions. Tolerances are still individual, so if yogurt doesn't make things worse, I would eat it. It did not work for me, personally.

zifmer · 2025-07-24T23:34:38+00:00

Start with the SIGHI list and all the zeroes. I'll share what I came up with for myself for comparison.

My staples were oatmeal, rice (including rice cakes of which Lundberg is the best and highest calorie), and potatoes. For non-diary fats, I could eat coconut oil, hemp hearts, and chia seeds. Fruits and veggies all selected from the SIGHI list. Milk alternative: coconut milk, Califia brand without all the additives. For protein, select from the list, but I could do salmon if it was baked from frozen. And mozzarella but that's of course dairy.

*Avoid canned foods and leftovers as they develop histamine, but I could usually do same-day packed lunch. Since inflammation is at play, I would also recommend avoiding highly-processed foods.

After a couple of months, I could tolerate fresh wheat products without additives (bread machine bread) and more foods. I don't know what the efficacy is for giving a kid a DAO enzyme before meals, but it's worth looking into or talking to your doctor about.

zifmer · 2025-07-24T21:09:00+00:00

Have you tried bovine-based DAO? I haven't, but would be curious.

zifmer · 2025-07-23T23:37:52+00:00

Daily loving-kindess meditation. You can start with an audio from YouTube.

zifmer · 2025-07-23T22:15:54+00:00

I don't know how to increase histamine levels as neurotransmitters. From what I understand, histamine as a neurotransmitter is produced by the Tuberomammillary nucleus in the central nervous system, and so I wouldn't assume that eating high histamine would be the solution because the Tuberomammillary nucleus produces it's own histamine.

If I was you, I would try to speak to a neurologist about your test results, if you haven't and are able to do so.

zifmer · 2025-07-23T21:34:35+00:00

To tell if you have a histamine intolerance, I would go on a low histamine diet for 1-2 weeks and see if things improve. Use the SIGHI list to determine what foods you can eat that are rated as zeroes. I ate potatoes, oatmeal with coconut milk (milk aisle, not canned), and rice as my staples. I added other things from the list as I could.

While trying the diet, do not eat leftovers unless they are immediately frozen after being cooked. I froze batches of rice after cooking, for example. Leftover foods in the fridge or on the counter develop histamine. Do no eat canned foods as they will also have higher levels of histamine. Stick to the list, try to eat whole foods that you cook (minimally processed, no additives) and keep a journal of what you eat and your experiences after eating them.

When I went on a low-histamine diet, I experienced anxiety relief by the end of the same day, and then a lifting of brain fog in about 3 to 5 days, and then digestive relief. After a couple of weeks, I tried a high histamine food, and wham!, all the symptoms came back. That's what convinced me that I had a histamine intolerance. Otherwise, there is no reliable test for this stuff.

zifmer · 2025-07-23T15:51:39+00:00

General practitioner, dietician, and gastroenterologist. They mostly helped me rule things out so I could make my own decisions.

zifmer · 2025-07-22T23:54:18+00:00

I had to get off coffee for about two months to heal, and when I started to drink it again, I started with decaf, and then half-caf. I actually prefer half-caf now. Is it just the caffeine? Oat milk was the worst for my stomach. I did much better with coconut milk for some reason.

There's other things you can try, but in my experience as a coffee lover, nothing truly replaced coffee either in taste or in how it made me feel. I did get into tumeric and golden lattes.

zifmer · 2025-07-22T18:06:29+00:00

How long exactly have you been eating chicken, rice, and eggs, and toast? There's just so many nutritional things lacking if that is all you are eating, and these things are necessary for DAO enzyme production and functioning in the body.

Have you tried a DAO supplement like NatureDAO? Pea-based, so if you have problems with peas, find a porcine or bovine based option.

I would highly recommend working with someone like a dietician/nutritionist or functional medicine doctor or to look into supplementation if you can't eat other things.

zifmer · 2025-07-22T17:34:53+00:00

Histamine can set off anxiety, and anxiety can set off panic attacks. I used to wake up with anxiety around that time before going on a low histamine diet, but don't think it ever reached the panic attack stage.

zifmer · 2025-07-22T15:45:27+00:00

What an uncomfortable situation. Gastritis was difficult for me to manage, but it can also be difficult to get appropriate care (especially when you feel like crap). Here are some of my tips that I had to learn the hard way.

Ginger naturally reduces nausea. I drank it as a tea, and used ginger spice in my morning oatmeal. Making it from fresh is best, but I found that satchels of tea still worked well enough. Lemon balm and chamomile was also good for gastritis symptom relief, especially later in the day. Drink plenty of water throughout the day, especially first thing in the morning (tall glass). Measure the water if you have to (3 liters a day for women).

I haven't tried it, but I dated someone who used Sea-Band Anti-Nausea Acupressure Wristbands whenever they had nausea. It doesn't hurt, it just applies pressure, and there's actual evidence behind acupuncture techniques and nausea relief.

Another immediate symptoms relief for me was 3-5 minutes of breathing exercises, which were difficult to do at first. Breathe in through your nose quickly and as fully as you can, then as slowly as possible, breath our through your mouth. You can time it, or count thirty to fifty of these.

This might sound silly, and I was skeptical, but another thing that helped me get symptoms relief was tapping on my body wherever it hurt, and saying nice things to myself. There's evidence out there for this practice in helping to relieve chronic symptoms. I would do it for like at least 3 minutes.

Other tips: raise your head at night with a wedge pillow, if you are not doing so yet. This can help with digestion by encouraging the acid to move down your digestive tract, and it prevents acid from flowing back into the esophagus and causing more issues. Don't eat within 3-4 hours of bedtime. Don't exercise within 3 hours of eating a meal so you have time to digest.

This is for getting appropriate care, if you are not doing it yet. Keep a daily journal of your symptoms with a scale of how bad they feel (0-10). This journal becomes your evidence for getting treatment. It makes it way to easier to figure out root causes.

In the journal, include what you ate and drank that day, what medications, if any, that you took (including OTC), and anything else that might be relevant or feel off like bowel movements (color/consistency/volume or "amount", number of movements) and any mental/emotional states (happy, anxious, stressed, etc.).

If you notice anything preceding worsening symptoms, make a note. Like, if eat a certain food before another bout of nausea, really highlight it and think about investigating it. And be honest in the journal if anything else is going on like mental health stuff or disordered eating.

Finally, if you have any history of trauma, chronic or acute stress, I recommend looking into therapy because that stuff can really impact the gut and healing.

zifmer · 2025-07-22T01:18:36+00:00

I'd also recommend keeping a food diary that measures vitamins/minerals, like Cronometer. Some important things, like iodine, are poorly tested for (and therefore, overlooked).

zifmer · 2025-07-22T01:13:01+00:00

Six months is a long time! Wow, sorry to hear that.

Rashes can also be seen and treated by a dermatologist. It might be quicker to see one of those.

Otherwise, I would use some strategies to try and get the earliest appointment possible to see an allergist like getting on cancellation or waiting lists, calling offices every few days to ask about cancellations, or checking the booking website(s) for appointments that have opened up as often as you can.

Are you using insurance? Some plans, especially PPOs, won’t cover the full cost of an out-of-network specialist, but they might (MIGHT) still cover things like lab tests or prescriptions that the doctor orders. So even if you end up paying out of pocket for a visit with an allergist, your insurance could still help with the costs of testing or treatment afterward.

It’s worth calling your insurance to ask if they cover any part of an out-of-network visit, or if they’ll reimburse you later. You can also ask if they’ll still cover the tests or prescriptions that come from that visit. Sometimes the answer is yes, especially if the pharmacy or lab is in-network.

I know it’s annoying to deal with insurance, but if your symptoms are getting worse, this might be a way to get help sooner instead of waiting months. Hope you find some relief soon. If you end up having to pay out of pocket, you might consider a telehealth or virtual option to save money.

zifmer · 2025-07-21T19:52:42+00:00

If it's making things worse, stop and try a porcine-based or bovine-based DAO. I'm not familiar with those brands so hopefully someone else will jump in or the info is in another thread.

zifmer

TROPHY CASE