Waking up with both eyes swollen shut looking like you just stepped out of a boxing ring is not the way I'd prefer to wake up, then again, does anybody? But, yes, that is how it all started for me almost a year ago.
Immediately thinking it was something I had used topically, such as makeup or creams etc. I was on the case to determine to find out which chemical was the culprit. After three months of ridding myself of products one by one until I was down to nothing but wearing mascara, my eyes were still swelling once a week. I later found out that these were not welts/welting that I originally thought but angioedema (swelling of the eyes/face). The most odd part of this mystery was that once the swelling would go down my skin around my eyes and lid were left extremely dry and peeling. Once the peeling went away well WHOOP there it would go again! Swell, swell, swell week after week.
You're probably asking at this point why did this crazy ass not go to the doctors? Well for those that know me (and most don't, I have no social life) would know that I dislike doctors because all they want to do is throw drugs at you and in a case like this, their drug of choice was Prednisone. So yes, like everyone else I continued to hit the internet HARD and realized that what I was suffering from was Histamine Intolerance! Yes! I thought finally an answer to this 5 months of suffering! Looking back I ate ALL the high histamine foods on a daily basis Avocado, Spinach, Pumpkin, cinnamon etc. it was no wonder I was swelling weekly. Now, the fun part was finding a low histamine diet. That's a freakin' joy in itself, every single list of low histamine foods contradicted the last. Bananas? No, no bananas, wait, yes, yes this list said I could have bananas. Eventually I just accepted that bananas were no longer in my future including protein shakes after the gym.
For those of you saying what the hell is histamine intolerance? Here's a text book answer:
Histamine intolerance: histamine incompatibility. The
histamine taken in with food cannot be degraded due to the absence or
reduction of the activity of the histamine-degrading enzyme diamine
oxidase (DAO). The symptoms are a joy and eerily are identical to that of a Candida Albican over growth. (We will go over that in a later post).
Symptoms: Hives, itching, skin rashes, migraines/headaches, constipation, fatigue, foggy thinking (hello this is a big one for me, wait what was I saying?), menstrual problems, high sex drive (this works to the advantage of my husband so apparently he's fine with my condition), peeing alot, panic attacks, angioedema (swelling of the face/eyes), hearing your pulse in your head when laying your head down on the pillow at night, total forgetfulness (I never can remember where I park my car) and here's the kicker Schizophrenia! Yes you can become schizo!
All in all, this condition is serious business and is NOT fun! You literally can become afraid to eat and even feel as though you could die if you accidentally ate something you weren't supposed to! Today my eyes swell up next time I could go into anaphylatic shock!
My goal with this blog is to help others to first identify their condition and also provide information on supplements, diet and research regarding this condition. I will even share some low histamine recipes for you to enjoy and bring life back into eating again. I will also be discussing why you have this condition and what caused it and how to help fix it. Histamine Intolerance is a secondary condition not the initial problem.
I just found your blog and read the first post. I will continue to read this over the next few weeks until I finally get my allergy test. Doctors think I'm crazy, I'm pretty sure my husband is at the point of saying I'm crazy, but I'm not. Something is wrong and through all of my health research over the last few months, I finally decided to look into histamine issues, not even thinking this was a thing. Most people take allergy meds and are fine, but for some reason, I didn't have that result. I feel like it just made me sick. Anyway, I appreciate that you put your story out there, and apparently plenty of free, helpful information. I'm looking forward to learning and healing. Fingers crossed I can sleep tonight and not have heart palpitations and vibrations (I know, I haven't seen any body report that symptom) throughout my body.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog! I hope you'll find it helpful and healing! You're not crazy it's actually quite normal to have the heart palpitations as well as the vibrations. I used to feel them in my lower abdomen. I also would hear my pulse in my ear when I would lay my head on my pillow at night. I hope you will read my blog in its entirety including my most recent post which is pretty insightful as to what initially causes the permeation in the gut lining. I have and will continue to make my information free, as I do know there is one person out there that charges for her "info" and cookbooks, which by the way are useless because the ingredients you cannot obtain in your average grocery store or Healthfood store they are items you would find "abroad" absolutely arrogant and ridiculous of her to sell this cookbook. I myself bought into it and ended up getting my money back after having a bit of a "tiff" with her on emails. I think it's ridiculous for anyone to charge others to help them get better. She's not a certified "anything" and I think it's unethical for her to charge for "consults" I would hope you don't fall for anyone charging you for information. If you ever have any questions please do not hesitate to email me directly. I wish you much health and healing!
DeleteI get those "vibrations" too!
DeleteThank you so much! I just saw this response. I thought I would get a notification sent to my email or something, but hadn't so I figured I'd check back on the page. I wasn't sure how often you respond. Again, thank you. In advance, I apologize for this super long comment, but now that I know you read them, I am probably gonna be commenting a lot. And it's been quite informative to read people's responses and questions, so I'll probably keep contacting you this way… so it can help others possibly. : )
ReplyDeleteIt's Thursday night and I first came across your post last Friday. Let me tell you, it's been a rough week. I found out very quickly from the research I did that day, before I came across your page, that there were certain foods that could increase the amount of histamine in your body. This new found knowledge was at first very exciting because I figured I'd just eat as little as I could for the next week and my cup would be less full, hence I would feel better. OMG, I think I almost killed myself. I have a very healthy appetite so going from several meals a day, to not even a full meal, damn near ended me back in the emergency room. It was really stupid. SMH, really dumb. Anyway, I decided today that I would get back on the ol' eating several times a day meal plan so hopefully I can feel better soon. Of course I'll stay away from the high histamine foods. Since additives, spices, chemicals, etc… were also mentioned in some articles I read, I only used salt on my food, and stopped taking my vitamins. Stopped taking vitamins? Dumb move #2. Yes because the Vitamin C I had been taking actually contain citrus, and dyes!!! So I was like no way, done with this. Then I was taking fish oil, but since I had tuna the night before and almost all of my organs came out of my asshole, I figured I really was allergic to fish. This has been something I've wondered since I was a child. I got very ill after a Red Lobster dinner with the fam, so I steered clear of seafood for years. Finally a few years ago, in my early 30s, I knew incorporating it in to my diet would be healthy, so started to buy some from the freezer section. Never felt ill after so thought I'd outgrown the seafood allergy. But the tuna made it all very clear I should refrain from getting my Omegas from that source. Anyway, so I thought, if I can't have fish, then I can't have fish oil either. Question to you… is that true? I've been taking fish oil for a few months now, after this illness started in August 2015, and I didn't get that run to the bathroom feeling after swallowing them so may be oil is fine? The vitamin I buy is from a functional medicine dr. that sells his products online. May be they get the oil from the fish rather quickly, so histamine doesn't have time to increase. I don't know, what do you think about fish oil?
(I wrote too much… had to post these separately, but it's just a continuation.) As the week progressed I came across your vitamin post and so finally tonight I had my husband take me to Vitamin Shoppe to get B and C vitamins. I was taking a B complex and felt pretty good, but ran out of the dr. brand one so purchased a different, cheaper brand. The ingredient list also said some things I thought I better stay away from, so that's why I haven't had any of my regular supplements this week. I've felt so horrible this week that I can't drive without the air on full blast, take my dog on a walk, or even shower. No seriously, shower!!! I got in the other day and felt terrible after so laid in bed all day. I think not eating well instigated that. I've also read that people with histamine intolerance have issues with temperature. A hot shower would obviously not be super smart. I was an athlete in high school and I remember I'd throw up a lot and my face would get bright tomato red. I just always thought I needed to get in better shape. Apparently not right? I bet the stress of the activity was pumping out the histamine and my body couldn't handle it. Those two things would also happen when I'd drink. Oh high school was a bunch of fun. Me puking on the court and at parties. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I believe I know who you're referring to about cookbooks and such. I'll be sure not to purchase anything from her. : ) There is a lot of stuff online about this, your blog being incredibly helpful. I did have my husband order a book for me from Amazon and it was pretty much all of the stuff I'd already read online, but it was all just in physical form. Lots of recipes in there too, but a ton of them have eggs included. I know the yolk is supposed to be okay, but my October "episode" happened after I made sunny side up eggs. So ever since then, I've been scared to eat eggs. Can't wait to see if my allergy tests will even show that I have any actual allergies, or if I'm just sensitive to certain foods.
Wow...Dani....I know exactly which website you are talking about. Charging for cookbook and all that stuff. She tells you just enough to confuse you. Glad you got your money back. I'm starting from the beginning and reading all your posts. Then I will be asking some questions. Wow....I just want to be normal again. And have a glass of wine!!!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had found your site before paying up for that other site that charges $45 for a workshop where she basically just repeats everything she's already written on her blog. I bought one book too and although not terrible, I have yet to use one recipe. In total $60 down the drain :( I sometimes struggle just to make rent but of course I have an expensive body lol now I'm just being more cautious about what I purchase to help myself. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for not charging for info and also knowing that you cured yourself in a reasonable amount of time gives me hope.
ReplyDeleteYes I know exactly who you're talking about I had a run in with her via email needless to say I got my money back for her elaborate far fetched ingredients of a cookbook! Lol. That was like 5 years ago or so, I'm surprised she's still trying to sell it. Anyhow I'm glad you're here and reading up on my journey of hell that I went through. There is hope and you will get better!! If you have any questions feel free to email me , it's free 😉.
DeleteI just found your blog today and feel so relieved! The allergist refused to believe alcohol was causing my eyes to swell, hives, itching, some INTENSE stomach issues, etc. I kept research and realized THIS is what I have! I will read all your entries and learn, learn, learn! Please tell me I can eventually have a glass of wine or a cocktail. At this point, I am a mess with only one drink. The kicker, and when I knew this was happening....I was SOOOOO sick on monday after having one drink Sunday night. I suffered for hours (at work! gross!) and took a benedryl. Lo and behold....within 30 minutes I felt normal again! Thank you so much for your blog! I feel such a sense of relief!
ReplyDeleteIf you're going to drink take a Zyrtec beforehand stay away from Benedryl it actually contains sodium benzoate which is a histamine liberator (you'll learn about this in my blog ). Thank you for visiting and I hope you find relief soon. It took a good while to get this way so it'll take awhile to get better just stick with it!
DeleteThank you! Ordered the zyrtec along with all the other supplements you have suggested. :) I am frustrated, angry, and feeling like a bratty kid, but I will fix this and lead a "normal" eating life again soon I hope. All the conflicting information is frustrating! Can I eat a damn avocado?? LOL I downloaded the german yes and no no list and will just use that for now. Thank you!!!
DeleteGood luck Monica I wish you much health! If you have any other questions along the way feel free to ask😊
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