I went out with a lovely friend of mine last night and she expressed something interesting to me while we were catching up- she had begun experiencing these weird panic attacks for the past few months.
Being that panic attacks were/are one of my WORST symptoms throughout mold and co. (and I have never been anxious like that in my life before,) my ears perked up immediately. She told me about them, and gave me a few hints about when they happened or what conditions she was in before they happened, ... and I (accidentally -probably kind of rude oops sorry!,) cut her off and finished describing what the rest of the panic attack might have been like symptomatically and also how it ended up resolving.
She looked astonished that I understood (boy, do I get that feeling!) and I told her it probably had to do with Histamines. I asked about her menstrual cycles symptoms also, and noted that as long as I had known her she'd always had some traits that I recognized as part of histamine related stuff. There were a few other factors as well that helped point the gauge toward histamines, but I won't share those as they are personal ones.
We talked in person for a bit about what the hell histamine is, what it does in your body,
what types of things you'd notice if you are dealing with histamine excesses, and ways you can work on lowering your "histamine bucket". I imagine that it was a fucking insane amount of information to bombard someone with over the course of an hour, but I promised to help walk her through her journey.
Moving through mold and co. and gaining so much general medical knowledge has left me absolutely BURNING desire to help other people obtain optimal health and understand their body's communication (symptoms) better, and to guide them toward natural things they can do to help themselves. I have seen how far I have come with education and treatment... and I want it for EVERYONE. No one deserves to be hooked on medications as Band-Aids for life, being unaware about what they actually can do to heal. We all deserve to live our best life for this one life we have.
Anyhow, this morning I promised her that I would get back to her about histamines and some easy things she could trial at home and see if she noticed any improvements. If she did, it would point at histamine issues for sure and she could begin helping herself away from them.
I'm not sharing her name or any info about her but I am sending on my end of the conversation with some solid links for anyone interested in learning about histamine.
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Hey girl- I am finishing my morning helping rounds and wanted to get you started right away on working on curbing (those symptoms) you mentioned last night because I know they fucking suck. I'm sending over some links to you so you can read them and I am hoping that they are useful for you on your journey to optimal health I think what you in particular are experiencing is mostly stress- related histamine issues which I can talk to you about more in detail in person if you want, but there could also be other environmental, or internal body factors impacting you that we just don't know about yet.
I get the feeling though that your histamine issues should be something you can easily crack and start to reverse with some natural supports and lifestyle tweaks to help reduce stress for yourself. https://drbeckycampbell.com/can-histamine-intolerance-cause-anxiety/ Can Histamine Intolerance Cause Anxiety? - Dr Becky Campbell The stress-histamine connection is explain^ here a bit https://www.factvsfitness.com/blogs/news/histamine-intolerance-stress Histamine and Stress: Why Stress is Toxic for Histamine Symptoms Another good stress- histamine source A couple other of links to just give you an idea of more info about histamine intolerance:
https://integrative-medicine.ca/when-excess-histamine-feels-like-a-panic-attack/
When Excess Histamine Feels Like a Panic Attack - Markham Integrative Medicine
https://www.thesustainabletrainingmethod.com/tstm-blog/2019/7/26/why-high-performers-can-have-a-high-histamine-type-personality#:~:text=It's%20when%20their%20histamine%20levels,that%20leads%20to%20allergy%20symptoms.
Why High Performers Can Have a High Histamine Type Personality — The Sustainable Training Method
You do not need to go to the following level of altering your diet at all, because your generic symptoms as far as you have told me don't seem to be profoundly affecting many aspects of your life at this point, but this is a chart I used when considering what to eat on a low histamine diet: https://www.mastzellaktivierung.info/downloads/foodlist/21_FoodList_EN_alphabetic_withCateg.pdf mastzellaktivierung.info If you scroll through it, it will tell you the highest histamine foods.
You may want to do an experiment and stay away from just the highest histamine foods, or histamine releasing foods for 1 month.
You'll notice if you feel better or not.
I would also rec. trying some natural supplements and recording any and all things you notice when you take them over the next month.
I bet that if you do makes these investments in yourself you'll notice a difference in your next period, and also lessen the worst symptoms overall that you have.
Here is my go to list of natural supplements I try and use consistently for MCAS/histamine issues. They've been lifesaving for me. https://hoffmancentre.com/natural-treatments-for-mcas/ Natural Treatments for Mast Cell Activation Syndrome Specifically I have tried and found that for me, the natural "A" team list works best.
I do not take Resveratrol though because I was reading about it possibly having blood thinning effects and I haven't consulted my dr about my blood coagulation due to co-conditions yet.
These natural supports are all really safe to use, but just in case -since we are all bio-individual-, anything you choose to add should be added in 2 or 3 day at a time intervals and you should record any effects positive, negative or none to be sure you don't react to anything. Generally you won't, but just in case, be smart. Also instead of green tea -which is caffeinated- I just buy L-Theanine. The dose is higher on the website for L-Theanine, I buy and use a lower dosage and only take it if i am feeling particularly tense or stressed (once a day.) It's enough to work for me Listed is also: Diamine oxidase enzymes
(DAO) – 2 capsules with each meal is a recommendation to take if you want to continue to eat higher histamine foods or histamine-releasing foods. I don't take these anymore because I couldn't justify buying them just so I could eat higher histamine, we have enough medicines we actually need to buy already. But they were super helpful when I was eating higher histamine before If you are experiencing real distress in the later evening, keep in mind that there is a histamine dump in your body at night time/over night. You could also try taking a Claritin around 7 or 8 pm and it may help block some of the excess histamine that gets dumped at night. If you are taking any prescription drugs the natural supports can interact with them, so don't start with those if you are taking medication now. Just start with the dietary changes.
What ever you end u doing be sure to make changes one at a time and make plenty of notes about how you are responding to what you are changing. Looking back at these notes will be where you find clues and keys about what works for you, and will help you communicate better to your doctor about what is going on with your body.
Consult your doctor about any changes that you want to make or any new supplements you want to trial.
I know that this is much information to start off with, but I just want to help you out, friend Let me know if you have any questions. <3
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I'm sharing because I know this information can be helpful to you too.
I am reminding you all that I am not a doctor and this in not medical advice. I hope that you have a medical provider that respects you, listens to you, and works in partnership with you to help you find your best health.
This shared information comes from both my experiences, and valid sources online.
You should consult with your doctor about your health and changes you want to try to resolve health issues.
Keep Going, Don't Give Up.
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