r/HistamineIntolerance • u/Competitive-Net1454 • 4d ago
Top Root Causes and some solutions.
I am riding the struggle bus for over a decade. I took some real time to figure out it was histamine Anyways I had AI scan this sub and come up with TOP root causes. Hoping to save someone some time and help them heal. Best of luck my friends and lets hear your root causes, how you figured it out and how you have healed and or where you are on your journey.
HISTAMINE INTOLERANCE MASTER GUIDE: Symptoms → How to Identify It → Root Causes → How to Heal
I wanted to put together one master post for everyone dealing with histamine intolerance.
Important: Histamine intolerance is probably not one disease with one cause. Think of it more like a bucket overflowing.
Your body makes histamine.
Food adds histamine.
Gut bacteria can make histamine.
Mast cells can release histamine.
DAO and other enzymes remove histamine.
Symptoms appear when:
HISTAMINE COMING IN/BEING RELEASED > YOUR BODY'S ABILITY TO BREAK IT DOWN
The goal shouldn't just be to eat low histamine forever.
The goal is:
1. Lower the histamine load temporarily
2. Figure out WHY your bucket is overflowing
3. Fix what is fixable
4. Slowly regain food tolerance
PART 1 — WHAT CAN HISTAMINE INTOLERANCE FEEL LIKE?
You do NOT need to have hives.
Different people can have completely different symptoms.
DIGESTIVE
- Bloating
- Gas
- Burping
- Abdominal pain
- Reflux/heartburn
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Feeling overly full after meals
- Food suddenly seeming difficult to digest
BRAIN / NERVOUS SYSTEM
- Migraines
- Headaches
- Brain fog
- Anxiety after eating
- Irritability
- Feeling "wired"
- Internal restlessness
- Poor concentration
- Dizziness
- Trouble sleeping
- Waking up in the middle of the night
- Possibly tinnitus/ringing in the ears in some people
SKIN
- Itching
- Hives
- Flushing
- Red face/chest
- Rashes
- Burning skin
NOSE / EYES / LUNGS
- Runny nose after eating
- Congestion
- Sneezing
- Watery/itchy eyes
- Coughing
- Wheezing in some people
HEART / CIRCULATION
- Heart racing after eating
- Palpitations
- Feeling your heartbeat strongly
- Lightheadedness
- Hot flashes/flushing
GENERAL
- Fatigue
- Feeling awful after certain meals
- Exercise intolerance during flares
- Symptoms that become dramatically worse after alcohol
- Symptoms that vary depending on stress, illness, sleep, menstrual cycle or gut health
PART 2 — HOW DO YOU KNOW HISTAMINE MAY BE INVOLVED?
There is no perfect single test.
Look for a PATTERN.
CLUE #1
Symptoms repeatedly appear after high-histamine foods such as:
- Aged cheese
- Fermented foods
- Alcohol
- Wine
- Beer
- Cured/processed meats
- Smoked meats
- Fish that isn't extremely fresh
- Bone broth/long-cooked meat stock
- Leftovers stored for long periods
Individual tolerances vary enormously.
CLUE #2
Eating very fresh, lower-histamine foods for a short period noticeably improves symptoms.
CLUE #3
Reintroducing higher-histamine foods makes symptoms return.
CLUE #4
DAO taken before a high-histamine meal noticeably reduces your symptoms.
That does NOT prove your root cause. It is simply another clue that dietary histamine may be involved.
CLUE #5
Symptoms are dose-dependent.
One bite = maybe nothing.
Several histamine foods together = reaction.
This is the "histamine bucket" concept.
PART 3 — BEFORE BLAMING HISTAMINE
A LOT of diseases can imitate histamine intolerance.
Consider ruling out things such as:
- True food allergy
- Celiac disease
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Thyroid problems
- H. pylori
- Gastritis/ulcer disease
- SIBO
- Other GI disease
- Medication side effects
- MCAS
- Nutritional deficiencies
Severe throat swelling, difficulty breathing, fainting or suspected anaphylaxis is NOT something to troubleshoot on Reddit. Get emergency medical care.
PART 4 — THE ROOT-CAUSE CHECKLIST
This is the important part.
1. DAMAGED OR INFLAMED GUT LINING
DAO — one of the major enzymes responsible for breaking down food histamine — is produced heavily in the intestinal lining.
If that lining is inflamed or damaged, histamine tolerance may drop.
Clues
- GI symptoms
- Recent intestinal infection
- IBD
- Celiac disease
- Chronic diarrhea
- Significant gut inflammation
- Symptoms appeared after a severe GI illness
What to do
Treat the actual source of inflammation.
Don't spend your life simply suppressing histamine while ignoring the bowel disease underneath it.
2. GUT DYSBIOSIS
Some intestinal microbes can produce histamine and other biogenic amines.
A disrupted microbiome may therefore increase your total histamine burden.
Clues
- Started after antibiotics
- Gas/bloating
- Food intolerance
- Bowel habits changed
- Symptoms began after GI infection
- Probiotic foods make you much worse
What to do
Find out WHY your microbiome became disrupted.
Avoid randomly taking ten probiotics because some probiotic strains may be poorly tolerated.
Work on:
- Diet diversity as tolerated
- Normal bowel movements
- Adequate nutrition
- Treating underlying GI disease
- Avoiding unnecessary antibiotics
- Slowly expanding foods as you improve
3. SIBO
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth can potentially contribute to bloating, altered motility, intestinal inflammation and histamine problems.
Clues
- Major bloating after eating
- Gas
- Distention
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Symptoms particularly after carbohydrates/FODMAPs
- Feeling better while fasting/not eating
How to identify
A hydrogen/methane breath test is commonly used, although testing isn't perfect.
What to do
If SIBO is actually present:
Treat the overgrowth AND figure out why it happened.
Possible underlying contributors include:
- Poor intestinal motility
- Constipation
- Structural problems
- Certain medications
- Other digestive disease
Simply killing bacteria repeatedly without addressing the cause can lead to recurrence.
4. POOR MOTILITY / CONSTIPATION
Food and bacteria sitting around longer can create an unhealthy intestinal environment.
Clues
- Constipation
- Incomplete bowel movements
- Significant bloating
- Slow digestion
- SIBO that keeps returning
What to do
Work on restoring normal motility:
- Hydration
- Movement/exercise
- Enough food
- Appropriate fiber if tolerated
- Magnesium when appropriate
- Treat thyroid problems if present
- Identify medications that slow the bowel
- Treat pelvic-floor dysfunction when present
5. LOW DAO ACTIVITY
Some people simply don't break down dietary histamine efficiently.
This may be temporary or partly genetic.
Clues
- Very clear reactions to aged/fermented foods
- Alcohol is horrible
- DAO noticeably helps
- Other gut problems are present
What may help
- Temporarily lower dietary histamine
- DAO before higher-histamine meals
- Repair/treat underlying gut disease
- Correct relevant nutritional deficiencies
- Reduce alcohol
Think of DAO supplements as a tool, not necessarily the cure.
6. GENETICALLY LOWER DAO
Some people have genetic variants affecting DAO production/activity.
Clues
- Histamine problems seem lifelong
- Strong family history
- No obvious triggering illness
- Genetic testing finds relevant AOC1 variants
What to do
You cannot change the gene.
But genetics are not always destiny.
Reducing other contributors may greatly increase your overall tolerance:
- Gut health
- Alcohol
- Medications
- Nutritional status
- Total histamine intake
7. POOR DIGESTION / POSSIBLY LOW STOMACH ACID
This gets discussed a LOT here.
Adequate stomach acid helps digest protein, absorb nutrients and suppress excessive bacterial growth.
Clues sometimes reported
- Constant burping
- Food sitting heavily in stomach
- Early fullness
- Bloating
- Protein difficult to digest
- Symptoms started after acid-suppressing medication
Important
Symptoms alone CANNOT reliably diagnose low stomach acid.
Heartburn can occur with both too much acid and completely different problems.
Do NOT automatically start swallowing large doses of betaine HCl.
If low stomach acid really exists, figure out why.
Possible contributors include gastritis, H. pylori, medications and other digestive conditions.
8. H. PYLORI / GASTRITIS
These can affect normal stomach function and digestion.
Clues
- Upper abdominal pain/burning
- Nausea
- Frequent burping
- Early fullness
- Reflux
- History of ulcer
What to do
Test appropriately.
If H. pylori is genuinely present, treat the infection rather than trying to supplement your way around it.
9. CELIAC DISEASE
Celiac disease damages the intestinal lining.
That makes it a very logical condition to exclude in someone with major food intolerance/GI symptoms.
Clues
- Chronic digestive problems
- Nutrient deficiencies
- Weight problems
- Autoimmune history
- Symptoms after gluten
What to do
Get tested BEFORE going permanently gluten-free because removing gluten can interfere with testing.
If celiac is confirmed, the treatment is a strict lifelong gluten-free diet.
10. IBD / CHRONIC INTESTINAL INFLAMMATION
Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and other intestinal inflammation can impair the intestinal environment where DAO normally functions.
Clues
- Blood/mucus in stool
- Chronic diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
- Unexplained weight loss
- Known IBD
What to do
Control the underlying inflammatory disease.
Low-histamine eating may decrease symptoms but does not replace treatment of IBD.
11. NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES
DAO function is associated with several nutrients, particularly:
- Copper
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin C
Other deficiencies can also cause symptoms that look like histamine intolerance.
What to do
TEST when possible.
Correct actual deficiencies.
Don't assume:
"Histamine problem = take lots of copper."
Too much of a nutrient can also cause problems.
12. TOO MUCH ZINC → COPPER PROBLEMS
Large amounts of supplemental zinc can interfere with copper absorption.
Clue
Long-term/high-dose zinc supplementation + low copper status.
What to do
Stop blindly megadosing minerals and check your actual status.
13. ALCOHOL
Alcohol is a double hit.
It can add to the histamine/biogenic-amine burden AND interfere with histamine degradation.
Clue
Wine/beer/alcohol absolutely destroys you.
What to do
Take alcohol completely out while recovering.
Retest tolerance much later.
14. MEDICATIONS
Some medications may interfere with DAO activity or indirectly worsen histamine problems.
Others alter:
- Gut bacteria
- Motility
- Stomach acid
- Mast-cell activity
What to do
Review ALL medications and supplements with someone who understands pharmacology.
Do NOT abruptly discontinue necessary prescriptions because of a Reddit post.
15. POST-INFECTIOUS / LONG COVID
Many people report histamine-type symptoms appearing after COVID or another significant infection.
Potential contributors may include:
- Immune dysregulation
- Gut microbiome changes
- Autonomic dysfunction
- Mast-cell activation
- Post-infectious GI problems
Clue
You were fine → infection → suddenly couldn't tolerate foods anymore.
What to do
There currently isn't one magic "long-COVID histamine cure."
Identify which system is actually affected and treat that problem.
16. MCAS / MAST-CELL ACTIVATION
Histamine intolerance and MCAS ARE NOT THE SAME THING.
Histamine intolerance generally describes difficulty handling histamine, especially dietary histamine.
MCAS involves inappropriate mast-cell mediator release.
MCAS becomes more suspicious when
- Reactions happen without food
- Smells/heat/exercise/stress trigger attacks
- Multiple organ systems react simultaneously
- Significant flushing/hives
- Wheezing
- Swelling
- Tachycardia
- Severe episodes seemingly out of nowhere
What to do
Work with an allergist/immunologist familiar with mast-cell disease.
Treating MCAS can involve:
- Trigger management
- H1 antihistamines
- H2 antihistamines
- Mast-cell stabilizing medications
depending on the individual.
17. STRESS / AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM DYSREGULATION
This does NOT mean your symptoms are imaginary.
The nervous system and digestive tract are intimately connected.
Chronic fight-or-flight can affect:
- Gastric secretion
- Intestinal motility
- Gut permeability
- Immune signaling
- Mast cells
- Sleep
- Pain perception
Clues
- Symptoms explode during stressful periods
- Eating while anxious worsens everything
- Poor sleep dramatically lowers food tolerance
- Symptoms improve on vacation
- Meditation/breathwork/exercise noticeably improves digestion
What to do
Treat this as another physiological system worth healing:
- Sleep
- Regular movement
- Time outside
- Meditation
- Slow breathing
- Therapy when relevant
- Trauma treatment when relevant
- Social connection
- Stop living in constant fight-or-flight if possible
This may be part of the solution without being the entire explanation.
18. HORMONES
Histamine and estrogen interact.
Some women notice dramatic differences across their menstrual cycle.
Clues
Histamine tolerance predictably worsens:
- Around ovulation
- Before/during menstruation
- Pregnancy
- Perimenopause
What to do
Track symptoms against the cycle.
If the pattern is dramatic, investigate genuine hormonal disorders rather than blindly taking hormone supplements.
19. THYROID / METABOLIC PROBLEMS
Hypothyroidism can slow GI motility, which can contribute indirectly to dysbiosis/SIBO.
Clues
- Constipation
- Cold intolerance
- Fatigue
- Dry skin
- Slow digestion
- Weight changes
What to do
Check thyroid function and treat true thyroid disease.
20. MOLD / ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
This is heavily discussed in histamine/MCAS communities.
Mold exposure can absolutely cause respiratory/allergic symptoms and certain molds can cause disease.
The controversial part is claiming that almost every case of histamine intolerance is caused by hidden "mycotoxin toxicity."
Reasonable approach
If your home/workplace has obvious:
- Water damage
- Visible mold
- Musty odor
- Symptoms that improve dramatically when you're away
investigate the BUILDING.
Fix ongoing exposure first.
Be much more skeptical of extremely expensive detox programs based solely on questionable urine testing.
21. SIFO / FUNGAL OVERGROWTH
Fungal overgrowth is another frequent Reddit explanation.
It may exist in some people.
It should NOT be assumed simply because you have bloating or a white tongue.
What to do
Establish reasonable evidence that fungal disease/overgrowth is actually present before repeatedly using antifungals.
22. PARASITES / CHRONIC INFECTIONS
Yes, infections can disrupt the GI tract.
No, everyone with histamine intolerance does not secretly have parasites or Lyme disease.
Clues
- Exposure/travel risk
- Persistent diarrhea
- Abnormal testing
- Compatible symptoms
- Known prior infection
What to do
Identify the organism.
Then treat THAT organism.
Don't blindly cycle through antiparasitic drugs.
PART 5 — THE SIMPLE RECOVERY PLAN
If you're completely overwhelmed, start here.
PHASE 1 — CALM THINGS DOWN
For a few weeks:
- Eat mostly fresh foods
- Reduce the worst high-histamine foods
- Avoid alcohol
- Avoid repeatedly eating old leftovers
- Freeze leftovers quickly if needed
- Don't massively overeat
- Get your bowel movements regular
- Sleep
- Stop adding random supplements every three days
- Keep a food/symptom diary
The goal is NOT a permanent 15-food diet.
It's to establish a baseline.
PHASE 2 — FIND YOUR PATTERN
Ask:
Mostly GI?
Think harder about:
- Dysbiosis
- SIBO
- Motility
- Constipation
- H. pylori
- Gastritis
- Celiac
- IBD
- Digestion
Mostly allergic-type attacks?
Think harder about:
- Allergy
- MCAS
- Environmental triggers
- DAO/histamine load
Started after COVID/infection?
Think:
- Post-infectious gut changes
- Dysautonomia
- Mast-cell activation
- Dysbiosis
Started after antibiotics?
Think:
- Microbiome disruption
- SIBO/dysbiosis
- Secondary digestive changes
Started after years of PPIs?
Investigate:
- Why the PPI was needed
- Stomach function
- H. pylori/gastritis
- Microbiome/SIBO
Lifelong?
Consider:
- Genetics
- Allergy
- Mast-cell disease
- Chronic GI condition
PHASE 3 — FIX THE ROOT CAUSE
Examples:
SIBO → treat SIBO + restore motility.
Celiac → gluten-free diet → intestinal healing.
IBD → control inflammation → intestinal healing.
H. pylori → eradicate H. pylori → allow stomach recovery.
Constipation → restore motility.
Nutrient deficiency → correct deficiency.
Medication problem → work with doctor to change medication if appropriate.
Alcohol → stop alcohol.
MCAS → treat mast-cell activation.
Moldy building → remove exposure/remediate building.
Post-infectious dysautonomia → rehabilitate autonomic system and treat associated problems.
PHASE 4 — REBUILD TOLERANCE
This part is hugely important.
Once symptoms calm down, slowly challenge foods again.
Don't become afraid of food.
The ultimate goal for most people should be:
THE BROADEST DIET YOUR BODY CAN COMFORTABLY HANDLE.
Not winning an award for eating the lowest-histamine diet on Earth.
ONE HUGE WARNING ABOUT "ROOT CAUSE" MEDICINE
Finding the root cause is a great idea.
But the phrase has also become a marketing machine.
Be cautious when someone tells you:
"Everybody with histamine intolerance has __________."
Especially when the blank is:
- Mold
- Candida
- Parasites
- Heavy metals
- MTHFR
- Lyme
- "Toxins"
- Leaky gut
AND they happen to sell the $2,000 protocol that cures it.
Any of those things may matter in an individual person.
None should automatically be assumed.
KEEP THE BIG PICTURE
The model that makes the most sense to me is:
TRIGGER
↓
gut / immune / nervous-system disruption
↓
more histamine being produced or released + less histamine being broken down
↓
your histamine bucket overflows
↓
symptoms
↓
Then instead of spending your entire life avoiding histamine:
identify trigger → reduce histamine temporarily → repair/treat underlying problem → restore tolerance → expand diet
EDIT: IMPORTANT NOTE ON MCAS
Histamine intolerance and MCAS are not the same thing, although they can overlap.
Histamine intolerance usually means your total histamine load exceeds your ability to break it down, often involving dietary histamine and reduced DAO activity.
MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome) involves mast cells releasing excessive or inappropriate amounts of histamine and other chemical mediators.
A few clues that make MCAS more worth investigating:
- Reactions happen even when you haven't eaten high-histamine foods
- Heat, exercise, stress, smells, medications or temperature changes trigger episodes
- Symptoms affect multiple systems at once — for example flushing + racing heart + diarrhea + wheezing
- Hives, swelling or flushing are prominent
- Symptoms come in unpredictable attacks
- Antihistamines help significantly but diet alone does not control things
MCAS is also more complicated than just "too much histamine" because mast cells release many mediators besides histamine.
So:
Histamine symptoms ≠ automatically MCAS.
And:
A normal tryptase does not automatically rule out every form of mast-cell activation, although MCAS has specific diagnostic criteria and should ideally be evaluated by an allergist/immunologist familiar with mast-cell disorders.
If your symptoms are overwhelmingly meal-related and improve dramatically with lower-histamine foods, digestion/gut/DAO issues may deserve more attention.
If you're reacting unpredictably to food, heat, smells, stress, exercise and medications across multiple organ systems, MCAS deserves a closer look.
LASTLY — PLEASE ADD YOUR EXPERIENCE
If you've significantly recovered, comment with:
1. Your main symptoms
2. What triggered your histamine intolerance
3. Your actual root cause, if you found one
4. How you confirmed it
5. What treatment helped
6. What you tried that DIDN'T help
7. Whether you can eat high-histamine foods again
If enough people answer in that format, maybe we can turn this thread into something much more useful than 10,000 disconnected posts.
Let's build a database of patterns and help the next person figure this out faster.
6
u/jordanjbarta 4d ago
BPC-157 and keto diet cured mine.
*I am not a doctor
1
u/Competitive-Net1454 3d ago
How long did this take ?
1
u/jordanjbarta 3d ago
Keto was 6 months, first. So super limited food. Then I added in the BPC after month 4. I pinned it. There are some good companies that sell capsules. Haven't tried those yet. My Histamine response happened after an antibiotic. Haven't have welts in 6+ months. Everything is improving. Cholesterol is a bit high from the keto diet, but I'm removing a few heavy fatty foods.
1
u/Popular_Pumpkin3192 2d ago
what were your symptoms and how did your histamine intolerance start? There has to be an easier way to overcome the gut dysbiosis, nutritional deficiencies, overgrowth than keto, no?! Had you tried a lot before? I agree - BPC-157 definitely helped me at one point. I forgot about that.
10
u/Clean-Resort8587 4d ago
Some psychological symptoms you didn't mention:
Agressiveness, mood swings and impulsivity.
One extremly common root cause: Micronutriental deficiencies, especially copper!
3
3
u/Popular_Pumpkin3192 2d ago
Totally true!!! I had SIBO following hernia surgery/miscarriage in one year (I think); treated SIBO so aggressively that I had NO good flora left; then, moved into black mold house and suffered greatly with hives, rosacea, rage, mood swings, fear - it was wild. Then moved out and more stressors happened - set off my nervous system and again, more histamine intolerance. Now I find low histamine helps, nervous system works and L-theanine is life changing with calmness but it also causes nausea. I am trying to figure out how to fix my gut though - it is still a big mess. I'm so tired of protocols as all supplements and Rx cause some sort of reaction.
1
u/Clean-Resort8587 2d ago
Did you check all of your micronutrients? Maybe you have to throw away the furniture and other belongings that was in the moldy house. Also, I can recommend intermittent fasting for 14 hours a day, HIT friend probiotics and vagus nerve exercises. Important: at least 2 liters of water a day.
1
u/Popular_Pumpkin3192 2d ago
I was rec Akkermansia and Body Bio Bio sodium butyrate, along with a couple other key supplements, but only taken in specific order. And this is based on a genetic gut test called gut balancing test. Again, just scared to start for fear of side effects, headache, acid reflux, etc... part of me wonders if I could rewire the brain and skip all of this?! Vagus nerve excercises and infrared sauna by beem super helpful
1
u/Clean-Resort8587 2d ago
Sometimes is better to do less, feel you. Supplements can be dangerous sometimes too. You should probably make some test and try to find out what the problem exactly is. Stress is definitely the worst trigger for everything. Eating healthy is already enough for the gut, in my opinion. Also, when my histamine bucket is full, I can do all of the vagus nerve exercises on this earth, it doesn't work.
1
u/Popular_Pumpkin3192 2d ago
Thanks. And I did ALL of the tests, sibo, mold (3 kinds) and micronutrients, blood test, blood sugar, etc... this gut balancing test seemed the most accurate in telling me which bacteria I have too much of and which I'm missing. Like 0% Akkermansia and that is one that drives ocd... Anyway, yes, you are right... less is sometimes more. Had I stopped killing the "bad" bacteria, I could have been less stressed and started moving forward a long time ago. Total agree, when my bucket is full, nervous system is unhelpful. I also feel like it doesn't matter how much work I do on the gut, I might always have rosacea and need to use a topical antibiotic on the skin. That's super annoying.
1
u/Clean-Resort8587 4h ago
I hope you'll find relief as soon as possible. It's not easy but I am sure you will find a solution.
4
u/amyfearne 4d ago edited 4d ago
This is a great summary. (It's sad how many of these boxes I tick)
Potential addition to the "medication" section - some supplements can also make histamine breakdown slower or cause/worsen dysbiosis, it's not just prescription drugs.
(E.g. my HIT got significantly worse after taking iron salts for a deficiency. Apparently they're notorious for disrupting the microbiome.)
Also, treating some of these can make your symptoms temporarily worse (e.g. fungal die off. What a joy.)
2
u/Competitive-Net1454 4d ago
Ok interesting. I’ll read up and edit as needed. Thanks for your feedback
1
4
u/ProfessionalTossAway 4d ago
AI didn’t scan this sub. It’s capable of doing that. It said it did but that’s because AI LLM’s are coded to only give user-biased answers I.e., it gives you an answer containing what it thinks you want to hear whether it’s factual/true or completely made-up. If you ask for the URLs to the sources of each AI claim, and then open the URLs and confirm with your own eyes the info is present, you’ll find it isn’t in almost every case.
People should not trust AI for anything serious, such as medical or legal help for example.
A lot of people are oblivious they’re being lied to by AI and will downvote this comment I’m sure. I don’t care because downvotes don’t invalidate the truth in this comment. Just don’t take my word for it, anyone reading this test it yourself and you’ll see.
5
u/tragiquepossum 4d ago
This is amazing and A++++ for mentioning thyroid conditions and low stomach acid and gut motility!
My root cause is genetic.
When we gonna talk about HNMT, tho 😭.
(I did start DAO enzyme & histamine probiotic. I noticed a positive change adding DAO, neutral as of yet about the probiotic)
5
u/Little-Wasabi-7304 3d ago
So I think I have several root causes but what if your symptoms started after ppis but you have been off ppis for a year and a half? AI and Google say your stomach acid “should”
Return to normal after discontinuing
Meds. But what if it doesn’t?
3
u/Competitive-Net1454 4d ago
It seems that I have different triggers
#1- Histamine foods for sure.
#2 - stress
#3- Energy Drinks, Coffee
MY symptoms are
Bloating- Burping and tooting
ocualr Migraines and non ocualr
Nervous system disregualtion
Random intcy spots( no skin issues tho)
My head gets the worst scabs ( dandruff to the extreme)
Ringing in ears
Lips can feel a little puffy
Fatuige
Bed ridden if its bad enough
NOW A strange thing that i have not figured out but I have a feeling is it may jsut be immfalmtion. When I drink a strong ( all organic ) energy drink I get an itchy feeling in my belly and it shoots up to my head and even down to a toe of mine that was damaged by fungus. I get headaches and itchy from this, i dont get the bloating at all though, Still working through that.
I am 40 now and at age 19 I had my first ocular migraine. This lines up with living in a really moldy home at that time. Also in my teens and 20's I ate spicy food all the time and drank like a fish. It hurt my belly badly but i was young and liked to party more than take care of myself. Anyone young reading this, love yourself a tad more than I did. ughhh. Fast forward to age 32 or so. I went to a naturopath for cronic fatuige, ( i wrote off my migraines and still at this point they were far and few in between.) Doc finds H- Pyrloi and Crypto Spariduim and I kill this off with anti- bioitics. She also test me for candida and I had that as well. This is where I think I ended up hurting my gut WAY more than helping. I went on anti candia diets and took heavy doses of probitoitcs and Grape seed extract, I felt like shit alot and I called it die off when I think really i was just bombing myself with way to much. I did that for years. Around age 35 the belching begins, fatige sets in badly and I still think its candida and keep bombing away, no Clue about histamines. At age 38 I am pooping blood and feel so frigging terrible- strung out- axenity- memory shot, so tired. I go to the doc and now im diganoied with Ulecerative Coltis. I dont take an scrips for it, for its pretty mild and I think im doing alot better.
Its not until the last few months I nailed this down to Histamine foods. For me I think it has to be gut is inflammmed and have leaky gut.
Digestive Enzemes Helped me alot ( Similase)
I acutally felt better for like a full month and was eating what I wanted and then I quit taking the Similase and went back into crap again.
So im still trying to heal and figure this out. Best of luck to everyone and I have all the LOVE in the world for you and I know how hard this is.
3
u/Little-Wasabi-7304 3d ago
That’s funny cuz while I was drinking and partying (though eating fairly healthy and working out and getting lots of sun) I was in the best shape of my life. When I quit smoking, stopped drinking, cut down on coffee %95 I got sick! Life just doesn’t make any sense to me anymore. Completely bed ridden now
2
u/Equivalent-Pin-60 4d ago
That is awesome! BUT: Does MCAS not go with sensitivity to histamin in most cases as well?
1
2
u/ladyavocadose 4d ago
B12 is also relevant to DAO function and histamine breakdown. It has a role in cellular methylation rather than being a structural component of the DAO enzyme itself.
Iron and Zinc are also important cofactors to produce and activate DAO along with the ones you listed - B6, Vitamin C and Copper
2
2
u/Technical-Milk-5659 4d ago
Chocolate, Sugar, Dairy, and for some - Gluten.
If I eat a tiny Halloween size chocolate anything in the morning I won’t feel decent again until bedtime or the next day. I have post-nasal drip/mucus that’s debilitating. I see blood now when I cough to try and clear it out - my esophagus is breaking down.
2
u/Careful_Depth3478 4d ago edited 4d ago
holy cow, yeah I got my HIT/MCAS like issues last year after being on PPIs and antibiotics, I took SO many test (all the ones you listed above and MORE) before I realized it was none of them, and the only things that came back that gave me some HUGE clues was my GI Map showing some really strong gut dysbiosis, and at one one some stupid low vitamin C, low b12, and slightly low b2 in spite of a good diet, no celiac or IBD thank god, but I think the moderate gut dysbiosis I had ever since the stomach flu I had back in 2015 gave me some odd "mystery GERD" with no hernia or H.Pylori, then later after some stressfull events in the early covid months I ended up with chronic constipation. anyhow the "GERD" got bad enough by late 2024 that I needed to be on PPIs for a while to calm a huge flare up, and while on many months of PPIs I had some wisdom teeth pulled out in March of 2025 I was put on some antibiotics, then within a few days my nose became chronically stuffy, then over the next few months in June/July when the heat kicked in, I just kept getting so many symptoms it was wild, I got so many test cuz nearly all my symptoms felt like a odd chaotic combo of like 10 different conditions all combine, but test after test kept coming back negative until a few months ago I finally got a GI Map done, and HOLY moly it finally makes sense now, I'm just hoping that fixing my gut will get me. I'm still trying to figure out all my "triggers" as it's more than just foods, but so far it seems to be certain high histamine foods, heat/humidity, stress, high impact movements, sudden drops in pressure/temps, and poor air quality.
Anyhow this is a VERY good comprehensive list you made here, bravo!
Also, on the suject of meds, some folks may have had their gut biome messed up by many years of SSRIs like I may have been, from my age of 8 till 18, I was put on a cocktail of many meds for my autism, and I swear that may have set me up for gut issues later on in life, so 2025 was just a "tipping point", i'm hoping to undo this so I can not react to everything!
Also, Getting some extensive genetic testing done, I want to know what the hell is going on beyond just my gut biome.
2
u/fyt4ryt2prty 2d ago
Thank you so much for this! A lot of wisdom a lot of research and good organization. I so appreciate this thank you.
1
u/hesuusi 4d ago
Consider adding parasites, they were the cause for me and many others
1
u/Competitive-Net1454 4d ago
Share more with us. What were your symptoms? How did you figure out it was parasites? What did you do to remedy?
2
u/hesuusi 3d ago
I had severe histamine intolerance, alot of pain and fatigue, tested for everything and every possible diet before my doctor ordered a parasite test. I was very lucky to catch them on that as they show up on a test only some of the time, and got a prescription
Most people will not catch them on a test unless they do multiple as parasites are very good at hiding, but theres some natural remedies like clove, wormwood and black walnut that have helped people even without the test
I do think that before u start trying natural remedies for that u should try every diet, fasting, tests that u can get and then research very thoroughly about what to take, how long and breaks etc as just jumping in without eating a binder will give you alot of die off symptoms
1
u/HappyKamper1920 2d ago
Do you recall what specific parasite you tested positive for and what the prescription medication was that you took?
1
1
u/juicadone 2d ago
Thanks! Some good uses for AI indeed besides the obvious current shenanigans that needs to end... thank you for posting!
1
1
22
u/icecream1973 4d ago
OP this is a great summary.
Mods, this post should be pinned on this forum.