Why Do Antihistamines Help Us? What Does That Mean About My Pots

[jrlehnardt]

Can anyone tell me why when i take benadryl it really helps me and calms my anxious, heart pounding fidgity feeling? I have had pots for 6 years also have eds, not sure if that is my cause or if there is another cause as well as mine started after a surgery. My pots for 4 years was where normal heart rate lying down and about 150s upon standing, have never fainted, always cold, headaches, lightheadedness. The last 2 years I have had excessive sweating, still cold hands and feet but flushing in my face and upper trunk, really high levels of norepinephrine, anxiety episodes (not really anxiety though). I don't know what type I have or what other problems disorders I may have. I was just dx in this last year trying to get in with Dr Goodman for more testing to try to find out, but since i don't understand a lot of the medical terms, does it seem like there is a mast cell problem possibly or what does it mean with norepinephrine and why would a anti histamine like benadryl help with my symptoms of pots? And is there something else that works better, I have heard of histamine nlockers but don't know much? I am not really being treated right now as they have tried a couple beta blocker and florinef and they have not worked?

[issie]

There seems to be a connection between us with EDS, POTS and MCAD. There is a paper written on it - but, I'm not good at posting those things - maybe, someone else will. It does sound like you fit into that catagory. I also have the high noriepi levels and that puts me into the HyperPOTS catagory. I also have higher bp's. If you have MCAD - betas are contraindicated for us as it will trigger a mast cell flare. You're starting to figure things out - pretty well for this to be only your 20th post. You probably are going to learn a whole lot in the next year and have more things figured out. Something to look into.

[jrlehnardt]

Yes I have read that paper unfortunately I don't understand what it really means as there are too many big words I don't understand yet,lol. Not sure if I have hyper or not since the first 4 years were nothing like the last 2. I have had high BP in the last few months but it is also normal or a little low all in the same day. Ido think there may be some mast cell thing with me but it could also be other auto immune thing I guess as well, i know I don't have the skin problems like the skin mast cell disease. I am hoping for Dr Goodman to help me out with doing tests and labs. It is weird that by accident I found the at benadryl helps calm my body. I had been sick with a cold for weeks and had taken every type of cold emdicine and nothing helped with any of my symptoms and i wasn't sleeping well so my hubby went to the gas station and got a generic sleep aid which helped my "cold" and cleared me up within 30 mins of taking it and it calmed my anxiety episodes. Well after thinking that was strange that a sleep aid would do that as others haven't before I looked at the ingredient and it was benadryl. But glad I found it as it helps calm me down even though it really doesn't help with sleep, lol.

[issie]

Well, that's a good thing. Glad you found a solution to some of your problems. That's how it goes sometimes. We take something for something else and it helps in different ways. I know, I was told I could take anti-histamines throughout the day - if I was really having issues. But, most of them make me really sleepy and I can't function. So, I try to only use them at night.

Issie

[~elizabeth~]

I've been taking piriton for years when I had feelings of being highly adrenalised, it was the only thing that stopped the violent diarrhoea/shivering fits/racing pulse. I now find out that piriton/chlorphenamine inhibits norepinephrine uptake in addition to having a sedative effect, maybe benadryl has similar properties. I've never found any other AHs had the slightest effect on me at all, so I guess the benefit I've been having from piriton was largely from the SNRI effect.

[JenJen]

When i first described my symptoms of racing heart, and agitated body feeling to a dr, they prescribed visteril which is an antihistamine. It's a first line treatment for anxiety (or even that anxiety like body feeling/reaction). A lot of people try things like that before they start benzos or SSRI/SNRI's. My best friend refers to benedryl as "mother's little helper." I had to stop taking benedry and visteril because it gave me arrhythmias. I found every alternative totally intolerable, except for homeopathics and warm cow's milk. Oh,and believe it or not, celery juice puts me right out. My sister makes this sleep juice form 2 sticks of celery, an orange and a few strawberries for her children. It works on me too

[jackiemxoxo]

one possibility is that the antihistamines are stopping your bodies reaction to producing histamines which is causing a reaction. The production of histamines could be caused by an allergy which is exacerbating your pots symptoms. You should tell your doctors how benadryl helps your pots symptoms and get their opinion on the matter. Some people use zyrtec and xyzal but these seem to make my tachycardia worse. I think the fact that your reacting to benadryl is an important finding though.

[DoozlyGirl]

I agree that you may want to look into a mast cells connection to your episodes. I never connected all this until recently, and in 3 months have learned so much and even thorugh I still have issues, I have a much better idea of why my body is doing all this wierd stuff.

In the past two weeks there have been some interesting posts on mast cell disorders that you may want to check out. Mast cells play an important role in the immune system and as others have stated can play havoc when they degranulate or dump their chemicals into the body, namely Histamine, but there can be hundreds of chemcials dumped. These chemicals can induce imflammation, cause pain, HR and BP issues, flushing, vomiting, "D", syncope, etc. There is a relatively newer disorder called mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) which is linked to people with autonomic issues and connective tissue disorders. There is quite a bit of research that makes several researchers believe that misbehavin' mast cells are at the root of numerous chronic illnesses, POTS being at the top of the list. If antihistamines make your autonomic symptoms better, this is a big sign that histamine is likely involved as a cause of your reactions and should prompt your doc to pursue this as a cause of your autonomic dysfunction.

Good Luck! There are several of us on here that have already been diagnosed with MCAS, so all you have to do is ask, and we can point you to other mast cell resources.

Lyn

[ramakentesh]

Another possibility is that some antihistamines act as sedatives or have direct effects on sympathetic outflow.

[janiedelite]

I think that benadryl has occasionally helped me because it blunts the sympathetic outflow as Rama mentioned. I've tried taking other h1's and even in combo with h2 blockers I don't get any relief from my symptoms. But benadryl helps with the burning, flushing, nausea, etc. However, it only helps if I don't use it chronically or else it's beneficial effects wear off and I actually start feeling worse.

[sweetfeather]

Benadryl raises DAO so it is an anti-histamine PLUS it increases the enzyme which helps break down histamine. Double duty! I personally save Benadryl for emergencies or an occasional flare in symptoms because I have many drug allergies and I don't want to increase my risk of developing an allergy to it by taking it every day.

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http://www.ajcn.org/.../85/5/1185.full

"Most antihistamines have no influence on DAO activity, although inhibition of DAO by cimetidine (Tagamet) and dihydralazine and increased activity by diphenhydramine (Benadryl) have been observed."

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http://www.examiner.com/holistic-health-in-phoenix/food-allergies-may-be-simply-a-dao-deficiency

"Diamine oxidase, DAO, is essentially an enzyme that breaks down histamine in histamine rich-foods. DAO is produced in the small intestine. When found in lowered amounts, patients can experience allergic reactions to foods rich in histamine or red wine. In a study conducted of 45 patients with a known history of sensitivity to foods and wine, this study group was put on a histamine-food-free diet which eliminates, cheese, fish, hard cured sausages, pickled cabbage and alcoholic beverages. After four weeks on the diet, 33 out of 45 patients improved. Eight had total remission. In 12 out of 45 patients, there were no changes in symptoms.

Some women note a remission of their allergic symptoms during pregnancy. This is possibly because, during pregnancy, the histamine degrading enzyme, diamine oxidase, is usually produced in high amounts. In fact, levels are known to be approximately 500 times higher in pregnancy."

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What about Tagamet (cimetidine)?????

Tagamet inhibits DAO... so while it is an anti-histamine... it also lowers the enzyme which helps break down histamine. Hmmm.

What about taking Tagamet (cimetidine) and Claritin (Loratadine) together? Tagamet lowers DAO and it can increase the adverse effects of Claritin.

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http://www.livestrong.com/article/422960-loratadine-glucose/

"Loratadine Side Effects

Even though loratadine is not supposed to cross into the brain, the drug may cause some drowsiness. According to loratadine's prescribing information, symptoms of overdose include tachycardia, headache and somnolence. The most common side effects are dry mouth, fatigue and allergic reactions such as rash, gastric disturbances and nausea. You should avoid drinking alcohol while taking loratadine due to alcohol's sedative effects. People taking cimetidine (Tagamet), ketoconazole, quinidine, fluconazole and fluoxetine should exercise caution when taking loratadine, because these drugs can increase the adverse effects of loratadine. Additionally, breastfeeding women and children less than 2 years of age should not take Loratadine."