Food allergies symptoms - Possible MCAD/MCAS?

[dizzytizzy]

I know several people here have MCAD/MCAS and histamine issues. Wondering what your symptoms typically are and what foods or things in general you react to?

A few weeks ago after eating homemade guacamole for dinner, my throat and ears got very itchy and my nose became congested/runny within about 15 minutes of eating it. It felt like my hay fever allergies initially, but the response came on so strong that I was actually afraid it was going to keep going and turn into a full-on anaphylactic issue. So I quit eating it and the symptoms mostly subsided within an hour or so. I did end up waking with tachycardia that night though.

Tonight, I got intense lower abdominal stomach cramps within about 30 minutes of eating dinner (no guac though!). I ended up spending an hour in the bathroom, initially cramping and constipated and then cramping and diarrhea. During the time in the bathroom, my throat became incredibly itchy and sore (like strep throat sore level), my ears itched, and the congestion/runny nose and coughing started up. This reminded me that I've had similar experiences in the past, usually in the middle of the night with constipation/diarrhea and these similar allergy type symptoms. I had dismissed them as they only happened occasionally. 

Does this sound like a food reaction or possible MCAD issue? 

[Kalah]

Avocados are pretty high in histamine, so if you are having mast cell activation that could definitely be a trigger.  Do you have allergies?  I have oral allergy symdrome so I react to avocado even though my true allergy is to birch.  But the symptoms you're describing definitely sound like a possible mast cell reaction.  Look into the stages of anaphylaxis.   It's important to remember that you can have levels of anaphylaxis WITHOUT going into shock or respirtory arrest.  Those of us with Mast Cell often experience anaphylactic type episodes so those symtoms are very common.  But Mast Cell degranulation can almost literally cause any symptom in any system. 

[dizzytizzy]

@Kalah: Thanks for weighing in. I was still having lots of throat clearing, congestion, and some itchy throat when I went to bed last night. This morning at 6:30am I got up to use the restroom. Laid back down and felt like I couldn't breathe. I broke out in a sweat and felt very dizzy/lightheaded. Laid back down and put an ice pack on my chest and just tried to focus on breathing in and out, but scared me and my husband tremendously. Subsided after about 10 minutes, though I'm still feeling some SOB today. 

I'll look up the stages of anaphylaxis. 

[dizzytizzy]

Oh, forgot to add. Was allergic to milk as a child, seemed to grow out of it. Eliminated gluten and dairy back in 2009 due to significant digestive issues and noticed improvement, but was never officially tested for those allergies. Used to get very itchy mouth every time I ate watermelon, but haven't noticed that as bad lately. Have hay fever and animal hair allergies (short hair dogs okay, long hair anything isn't), but no other allergies diagnosed.

My PCP recently suggested I get MRT LEAP testing done, but it's out of pocket from what I understand and not sure we can swing it right now. 

[dizzytizzy]

Quick update for those who may be reading: Am being referred to an allergist/immunologist for screening for allergies as well as possible MCAS. If anyone has any insights into what I should make sure they test, I'm all ears

[Weary]

I also have an appt with allergist/immunologist to ask to be evaluated for MCAS. it's tricky since unless there's a glaring increase in serum tryptase, many will just dismiss the whole thing.

I also appeared to be allergic to milk as a young child with chronic diarrhea for 4 years then grew out if it (apparntly not uncommon) , but developed what appears to be a milk allergy (not lactose) a few years back and when i reluctantly gave up all diary, the worst of the GI symptoms improved. HOwever, i seem to ge more and more food allergies (e.g. all things coconut).

in addition, I have been very senstive to aged foods for years ever since i first got sick. I had deduced it was tyramines (soy sauce would near kill me), but wonder now if was also or even instead (but don't think so) histamines all along. Perhaps involved, since apparntl when as  kid i would eat a tomato my lips would swll up. They thought "allergy to tomato" but apparentl a histamine/mast cell issue can do that as well.

i've also had dermatographia since age 11

do you react also to bannana and/or latex? if i'm remembering correctly, those plus avocado may cross react, but its been a while since i looked it at. i used to eat avocodo fine- then one day it caused severe reflex and can't eat anymore. Bannnas give me heart palpitations.

i also somtimes get the throat swelliing thing, and sometimes severe itching with a variety of foods and chemicals

at least your reaction occurre d withink 15 minutes. that will mean both they can test for IgE and docs will believe you. My dairy allergy symptoms often don't show up until the evening. some people so oh, so that's an IgG reaction, but I actually do not think so. One theory i've got is i'm having an IgE reaction to some peptide and it takes a few hours before my body breaks it down to that peptide. Another reason i think that is that its not just cow dairy for me its also: goat, sheep, bufallo, and camel. includes butter by the way. Can you eat butter?

between the "allergies" to milk and coconut and the tyramine/shistamine reactions to aged foods including nuts, lentils etc., i am running out of stuff to eat. some of the tyrmamine/histamine reactions raise my bp and controbute to hypertensive crisis.

i've tried thinking about what else might make me so intolerant of so many things - list does not seeem very long- mast cell issues, MCSD, adrenal issues  - any others?

any changes to bp with the foods? one thing doesn't make sense for me is my bp does not go down even though sometimes i think i've had anaplyatic type responses

how do you do with h1 blockers and/or h2 blockers? H1 blockers make my bp and palpitations worse - so  for me not consisitent with mast cell. On the other hand, I think H2 blockers help tremendously - but give me a stomach ache not to mention rebo0und so am trying not to take them.

I lood forward to hearing your expeirences at allergist. my appt isn't until sept - they were secheuding like 4 months out for new patients.

[Pistol]

Hi @Weary - I just wanted to let you know that my daughter has been allergic to milk protein since birth. She developed severe upper respiratory symptoms as infant fron it and now has allergic asthma. She was tested during tonsillectomy for allergies. Her allergist says that the allergy is to a certain protein found in milk and that this protein brakes down when the milk gets processed ( as in cheese, yoghurt etc). She is allowed 1 glass of milk every 4 days but she can have those other dairy products. She does a lot better since she takes singulair and follows these restrictions. Also - the allergist recommends for any one with food allergies to avoid eating too many potatoes and tomatoes - only every 4 days. 

[Weary]

hi pistol - thanks. I don't want to hijack this thread but curious about the potatos and tomatos; i have been unable to eat potatos since early childhood since cause GI issues (and tomatos the hives). Alas for me, it's the breakdown product of the protein, or appears to be, so i cannot have cheeae, butter, yogurt, etc - all of them do the same thing   How is your daughter with camel milk? there are so man different proteins in milk on can be allergic to; often one develops an allerg to more than one of the proteins with time.

[Pistol]

Oh my @Weary - if I could find camel milk she would absolutely gobble it down since she LOVES camels! -- She seems to tolerate other milk products but does not like them. I do not remember why no potatoes or tomatoes but there was an explanation. Maybe I can find smething on the internet - if not I will ask my daughters doc to refresh my memory. I will let you know by PM.   

[Weary]

ok thanks. and camel milk is postively delicious.

[dizzytizzy]

@Weary: The long waits for appts are terrible! I don't have mine scheduled yet - trying to get the allergist's office to actually call me back 😫 No reactions to banana or latex that I'm aware of.  I actually eat one banana each day to help keep up my potassium.

I've not noticed any changes in BP when having a reaction. When I had the avocado reaction, my HR was at least 12+ beats higher than usual when I laid down that night (a few hours after eating it), so I figured something was going on. 

Not sure about the butter. I haven't tried gluten/dairy in about 9 years since I cut them out. I was having terrible stomach issues at the time - extreme bloating, sulfur burps, vomiting, diarrhea. Once the vomiting started, it wouldn't stop. I'd have to go the ER to get meds to calm it down. Haven't had these types of issues since cutting out gluten/dairy. 

So far I've only tried an H1 blocker - Zyrtec 10mg. They have me trialing it now. What's weird (and a may start a post about this) is it seems like I've had an increase in allergy type symptoms since starting it. Like I'm congested during the day, itchy/sore throat, mucus, etc. 

[dizzytizzy]

@Pistol: That's interesting about the tomatoes/potatoes. I consume those every day - usually via roasted potatoes and V8 juice - in an attempt to keep my potassium up and the V8 helps with the sodium side of things. I sure hope I'm not reacting to those. The EP told me to eat a high potassium diet and those are some of the easiest items to eat for me. 

[Pistol]

I think it may be due to high histamine release? 

[WinterSown]

This is a list of foods that are high in histamines.
http://www.histamineintolerance.org.uk/about/the-food-diary/the-food-list/

 

[DizzyPopcorn]

Does allergies automatically equals an MCAS diagnosis? Or you need to have severe symptoms following the consumption of a certain item?

[Pistol]

@whoami - allergies do not equal MCAS. Here is a link explaining MCAS:

https://www.mastcellaction.org/about-mcas