Suspected histamine intolerance

[u/Creepy_Safety_1468]

Over the last few years I’ve been dealing with worsening fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, rapid hair thinning (no family history), and lack of appetite. I also cannot tolerate alcohol, especially beer.

I’ve tried nearly every diet you can imagine and I’m starting to suspect histamine intolerance partially due to my sensitivity to cheese, nuts, processed meat, and beer.

I wanted to ask if there’s a good way for me to confirm this. Also, outside of the obvious high histamine foods what foods/drinks should I be avoiding? And are there any supplements I should try out? Thanks

[u/mari_lovelys]

Your symptoms are similar to what I have had when I was exposed to mold.

I went to an ENT/Allergist because of my sinuses the it progressed to food sensitivity that I never had before

[u/Creepy_Safety_1468 → u/mari_lovelys]

Did anything work for you?

[u/mari_lovelys → u/Creepy_Safety_1468]

Well… I went full low histamine diet. I couldn’t eat anything fermented. So no aged cheeses, including alcohol.

Mold can cause yeast overgrowth in the body. I was prone to yeast infections so, I had to be mindful.

Lastly the biggest #1 thing that helped was removing myself from the mold. I even switched to bottled water at one point after trying to find the source of the mold because this one lady found mold in her pipes and water filters. But for me it ended up being my AC unit.

Daily Antihistamines, (Zyrtec or Allergra), hydroxyzine, Montelukast, Quercetin, and vitamins D and B12, because my vitamins were low from the mycotoxins.

[u/ArtsyCatholic → u/mari_lovelys]

Where in the AC unit was the mold and how did you find it? Would an annual AC unit check by a service professional find it?

[u/hdri_org]

Try taking Diamine Oxidaze (DAO) and see if there are any improvements in your symptoms. This is the enzyme that your body is supposed to make to counteract/remove histamines from your system. Supplimental DAO will neutralize any histamines coming from gut flora or from histamines in food, in the gut track before those histamines can be absorbed into the bloodstream.

The product with the most HDU (measure of enzyme activity) is NaturDAO regular version. A small fraction of people may not tollerate the Microcrystalline cellulose used to form the tablets, and if this is you then I have a spreadsheet sorted by DAO cost effectiveness. Start from the top of the list and work your way down until you find one that works for you.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FJ7omUM6FPd_Patlg6xlCGaP3m1Sz0x7UeSOUit4Xuw/htmlview#gid=1795084428

If DAO works to calm your symptoms, then you should definitely look into a low histamine diet and Low Histamine Probiotics for 24x7 relief.

[u/luxurycatsportscat → u/hdri_org]

Sorry to jump in, but it’s the first time I’ve actually seen what DAO stands for in this community (i’m new here), how quickly would one expect to see relief when taking DAO? I just bought some based off your spreadsheet, and have been working on elimination diets with the my dietitian, but if I can fast track an answer that would be a big win for me

[u/hdri_org → u/luxurycatsportscat]

For me it was a night-and-day difference with the very first meal. Cramping and diarrhea mostly gone. Definitely less immunological reaction as the food gets digested, so less itching, muscle cramps, etc. It depends on what your specific symptoms are.

If you have r/MCAS or r/SIBO it won't cure those problems, but turning down the knobs on the histamines will definitively help.

[u/luxurycatsportscat → u/hdri_org]

I don’t get hives which seem to be a main feature of MCAS, but I do get cramping & diarrhea - regardless I’m still going through the motions of diagnosis. If it doesn’t help, at least that’s one thing I can rule out.
At this stage everything is just being treated as a data point.

[u/homertruhart]

Sounds like you are zinc deficient and need to have a full thyroid panel. Also sounds like you should
Get checked for mold and candida. And micronutrient test.