Hey everyone, I know that, of course, the main thing you’ll all be wondering is how I’m doing now. In general, I don’t discuss my specific symptoms in a lot of detail — even if it’s to share positive news about how they’re improving! That’s because I want to keep my site compatible with neural retraining. However, I DO want to share my story, and … Continue reading How am I doing now?
Hey everyone, I shared my story recently in an online support group, and someone asked what my advice is to start getting an MCAS diagnosis. In recent posts, I’ve told the story of how I got my diagnosis, despite the fact that I didn’t technically meet all of the official diagnostic criteria. Here’s my advice for others beginning to chart a course through the medical … Continue reading How to get an MCAS diagnosis
I am so incredibly fortunate to have found an amazing team of medical professionals to help me on this journey. When I’m trying to tackle a problem, I tackle it from all angles. That’s why, when I was first diagnosed, I reached out to get a wide range of perspectives to help me through. First, I found Dr. Jonathan Bayuk. He was the keynote speaker … Continue reading My treatment team
Hey everyone, I thought it might be helpful to start chronicling some of my moments of success. Like, times I was able to do (or eat!) something that once seemed impossible. If you’re new to my blog, I was diagnosed with mast cell activation syndrome in 2018 by a few doctors, including Dr. Maria Castells. Dr. Castells, and others, told me it was possible for … Continue reading A mast cell moment of success (sweet potatoes!)
Hey everyone, So this post is the product of way more time spent researching that I’d intended! A few months ago I started noticing my dishwasher was leaving residue on everything. At first, I thought it was purely a chemical sensitivity reaction to the detergent, as the very first thing I noticed was that my throat would start hurting anytime I ate or drank anything. … Continue reading Dishwasher hacks for multiple chemical sensitivity
Hey everyone, I just had a check-in with my nurse practitioner/friend Erin, and she brought up something that of course makes total sense, but I hadn’t thought of… Staying hydrated helps keep your mast cells calm I try to always phrase things in a positive way on this blog, to keep it compatible with neural retraining. However, if we really think of it on the … Continue reading Why staying hydrated helps keep your mast cells calm
Hey everyone, In my last post, I talked about how mast cell disorders can actually get better, and some of the ways in which this can happen. In this post, I wanted to go more into detail on one of those ways– and that has to do with mast cells’ inflammatory activity. In her interview with Yasmina, Dr. Castells explains how lifestyle changes, can help to … Continue reading How mast cell issues can get better, Part 2: Reducing inflammatory activity
As both of my doctors, Dr. Castells and Dr. Bayuk, told me — the nervous system and the immune system are incredibly intertwined. In fact, some researchers don’t really consider them to be separate at all– instead, they are part of the same system. It sounds so hard to believe, but both of my doctors have seen people make incredible recoveries — and now I’m about … Continue reading How mast cell issues can get better, Part 3: Changing the brain
Hey everyone, So, in a nutshell, this is really the main post of “what I wish someone had told me.” If you have mast cell issues, it doesn’t necessarily have to be as bad as you may think it is at first. I do want to be sensitive in writing this post as I know there are different types of mast cell issues, each with … Continue reading How mast cell issues can get better over time
Hey everyone, Just stumbled upon an answer today that explains a lot. I developed mast cell activation syndrome in fall 2018. One of the things that impede my recovery, even after my initial mast-cell flare, was extreme fatigue and sluggishness. One of those causes turned out to be that my ferritin stores were very low. (Ferritin represents the level of iron you have stored in … Continue reading Can mast cell issues cause low iron? (Yes).
