Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
Good observation. Neither Claritin, nor diamine oxidase, (the active ingredient in Histame), should cause drowsiness, either. The theory behind the use of Histame, is that people with mast cell issues seem to have lost some or most of their ability to eliminate histamine from the body, (presumably due to a deficiency of diamine oxidase enzyme), and so histamine tends to build up to levels at which it causes allergy symptoms.Garina wrote:Claritin does not increase my BP like Benadryl and some of the others.
This hasn't necessarily been documented by specific research, but I'm going to take a wild guess, and say that the reason why we have a diamine oxidase, (DAO), deficiency, is probably due to the fact that enteritis, (inflammation), due to MC, causes a loss of the ability to produce adequate amounts of DAO enzyme, just as enteritis causes a loss of the ability to produce adequate amounts of various other enzymes used by the digestive system, (such as lactase, and various other enzymes needed to split sugars).
Like most enzymes used by the digestive system, DAO is produced in the brush border region of the small intestine, and as the inflammation increases, the ability to produce adequate amounts of certain enzymes is attenuated in sequential order. The first enzyme to be lost is lactase, (which is why almost everyone becomes lactose intolerant when they develop MC), and after the enteritis is past, normal lactase production is the last type of enzyme production to be restored. I've forgotten the order in which the other enzymes are lost, but they have a specific order, and when production is resumed, it occurs in reverse order. Anyway, that's presumably why so many of us have mast cell issues when our MC is active.
I would assume that in most cases, most of the enzyme production capability will be restored as the gut heals, following remission, but, of course, some permanent loss is always possible, because not all small intestinal damage heals, and this becomes an increasing problem, with increasing age - young people always heal faster, and more completely. Therefore, hopefully, most of us will leave most of our mast cell issues behind, (along with all sorts of other symptoms), as the damage to our gut heals. Of course, that may not be true for someone diagnosed with ME, because I'm not sure whether inadequate DAO production is the primary cause of ME. Maybe Mary Beth or Julie might know.
Well, mastocytic enterocolitis can be diagnosed by the use of a special stain for preparing the slides for examination under the microscope. Most pathology departments haven't stocked it in the past, so if the GI doc requests the use of the stain, it often has to be ordered, before the analysis can be done. The special stain simply makes it much easier for the mast cells to be seen, under the microscope, so that they can be more accurately counted. Existing biopsy slides can usually be restained, and reexamined, in order to save having to undergo another colonoscopy, in order to collect biopsy samples.Garina wrote:I do have a question for you. How do you even know you have a Mast Cell issue? No one ever mentioned that to me and hadn't even heard of it until I came on this site.
ME is very rare, though, and most of us who have mast cell issues, have normal numbers of mast cells in our intestines. In that situation, the only way to determine a sensitivity to histamine-rich foods, or foods that trigger the degranulation of mast cells, is to look for classic allergy symptoms, following meals, or exercise, or exposure to the sun, etc., or whatever else might be triggering the symptoms in any individual case. If any of the common allergy symptoms exist, (itchy skin, rash, hives, wheezing, watery eyes, runny nose, analyxis, etc.), and they tend to show up after eating, or exercising, being exposed to the sun, etc., and no other "normal" allergy trigger is obvious, (such as pollen, mold, animal dander, etc.), then a connection should be suspected. If the symptoms show up soon after a meal, for example, try taking a type H1 antihistamine before eating, (or Histame, soon after eating), and if the antihistamine eliminates or reduces the symptoms, then a mast cell issue is indicated.
This is a relatively new discovery, (within the past few years), and so very few GI specialists are even aware of it, let alone able to associate it with MC. Unfortunately, most allergy specialists are not accustomed to dealing with GI issues, so this is not exactly part of their normal field of study, either, but at least they should be well acquainted with the effects of mast cell activation on the skin and respiratory system.
Tex
