I don’t have the energy to engage directly with the post involved (because yikes) so I’m going to make my own post clarifying something:
It’s histamine, not histamines.
I know it might be confusing because there are different types of antihistamines, but that plural refers to how the drugs interact with the receptors in the body, not the chemical itself.
Different antihistamines target different receptors in the body to address specific issues. So, for example, Zyrtec targets h1 receptors which primarily mediate allergic reactions related to the respiratory system, while h2 blockers, like Pepcid, target the receptors in the GI tract. When combined, people are finding they can help alleviate PMDD which is great.
There is not, however a different histamine that affects your sinuses and another that affects your gut. It’s all just one chemical, but it can be picked up by different pathways in the body, hence why we have h1 and h2 blockers. (We also have h3 and h4 receptors and probably more I’m forgetting about right now that can be targeted by different medications. Neat!)
Similar to how the body has different histamine receptors, MCAS is not exclusively a histamine issue. It can be the main issue for many people, but it is rarely the sole issue.
There are hundreds of chemical compounds contained in a single mast cell and when those cells degranulate, it’s the equivalent of taking a Molotov cocktail to the immune system. Histamine is merely one of them.
Telling someone with MCAS they must have something else because eating low histamine isn’t helping them, is not only arrogant, it is shockingly ignorant and frankly fucking insulting.
People with this disorder know more than you.
And hey, maybe you’ll find out you also have this disorder and that histamine is often just the tip of a terrifyingly under researched iceberg. I hope for your sake you don’t. I’m so sincere about that.
