Are antihistamines safe to use long term??

[tex]

I know nothing about that quercetin product, but it seems safe, and it should help. When I started itching last time, Allegra did absolutely no good. I tried it for several days, and it stopped my cedar fever symptoms, but it had no effect on the itching. So I stopped taking it and removed every item from my diet that appeared as though it might contain more than the slightest amount of histamine. After 2 or 3 days, the itching slowly faded away.

Tex

[TM]

Firstly I want to thank everyone here who’s help has been invaluable these past years. I haven’t posted in ages but have continued to lurk in the shadows while trying to achieve MC remission and to understand and address mast cell activation syndrome/histamine intolerance.

I’ve been taking DAO fairly regularly since 9/19. It’s definitely helped—particularly with itching, but I’ve also been taking a number of other meds/supplements, so its hard to pinpoint exact cause and effect.

I’ve been taking varying antihistamines since 2014, first generic Claritin and Zantac, and more recently Zyrtec and Pepcid.

In late 2018 my PCP prescribed Cromolyn Sodium (Gastrocrom) for MC and urticaria. It helped noticeably with both. Although my diet was still restricted to just a handful of foods, I’d continued to have flares, WD and all the rest. Gastrocrom reduced the flares, and I actually began to have (mostly) normal bowels. When I started to become constipated, I stopped taking it for awhile and the itching returned with a fury, so I resumed but at a lower dosage.

When I added DAO in 2019 I saw further improvement with skin, congestion and digestive issues, although I continued daily antihistamines. The breakthrough came after I prompted my PCP to prescribe LDN (low dose naltrexone) this past April. It’s helped with virtually all of my autoimmune issues, and has allowed me to expand my diet considerably—provided I continue to avoid gluten, dairy, eggs and soy. For the first time I can eat salads, veggies and fruit, and even eat (small amounts) of peanut butter and other long prohibited foods.

Among its many other benefits LDN has resulted in better sleep, reduced headaches, increased energy and improved outlook and mood. I’ll try to provide more LDN specifics soon on an LDN thread. With the combination of LDN and DAO I’ve virtually eliminated Gastrocrom and Pepcid and reduced Zyrtec by more than half. I heartily recommend both.

I get Umbrellux DAO from Swanson:
https://www.swansonvitamins.com/diem-labs
Without a discount its $100.00 for 120, however I order when Swanson has a promotion and have paid anywhere from $67-$80, although recently its been out of stock a lot, which complicates getting the lowest price.

From their listing:
Diem Labs Umbrellux® DAO² delivers naturally derived diamine oxidase (DAO) in an enteric matrix for release in the small intestine to help your body fight dietary histamines. Supports digestive health and comfort. 10,000 HDU per serving
Ingredients:
Vitamin C (Ascorbyl Palmitate) —10 mg
Catalase —10 mg
DAO2TM Porcine Kidney Protein Extract—4.20 mg
Serving Size: 1 Capsule. Servings Per Container: 120
Other Ingredients: Microcrystalline cellulose (low moisture), clear vegetarian capsule, hypromellose, gellan gum (DRCaps™), silicon dioxide (silica).

Tex, this appears comparable to the Hist Diamine since thats 2 caps-20,000 HDU per serving. Also that one has additional ingredients listed. The Umbrellux has gellan gum, but that doesn’t seem to affect me like guar gum. I generally take 1 cap, but take 2 prior to eating fish or other problematic foods. BTW my PCP actually diagnosed MCAS last year.
Sorry this is so long. Hope it’s helpful.
Teri

[tex]

Teri.

Many thanks for sharing your experiences. That's a very helpful post. Yes, that one does appear to be very similar. I believe Dr Amy Myers sells one that's very similar, also. I have a hunch that supplements of this type are in short supply not only because of the international shipping issues caused by the pandemic, but because more people are beginning to use them. But that's just a guess — I could be completely wrong.

Thanks,

Tex

[crervin]

Tex,

This is great news! I will be anxiously awaiting the banana test. I will order some for myself after you confirm that test works to see how well they work for me. Bananas send me into a full histamine overload.

I believe that chicken might be the culprit to making me itch. I have mostly been eating it over the Christmas holidays, either fresh or frozen. I am staying away for now and will reintroduce it back in to see what happens.

Teri,
Thank you for sharing! As long as I was on zyrtec, I could eat a more variety of foods and felt great. My stools weren't solid, but I only had one a day. It was still loose but my gut was calm. Zyrtec started causing me headaches as it does after I take them for awhile, so that is usually my cue to come off of them. Although this time, the itching became a nightmare. I was still itching a little while taking them.

Many thanks!

[tex]

Well, I made a fatal error in my trial. I'm going to have to start over. Remembering to take the pill seems to be a problem for me. Yesterday, I forgot to take it until just a few seconds before I started eating. That probably still masked most of yesterdays histamines, but not maybe not all of them. Today, I forgot to take the pill until I was about 3/4 of the way through the meal. My bad. Within minutes, I could feel that my right ankle was starting to itch.

That makes me suspect that yesterday's dose may have been slightly compromised, because I started itching too soon for today's meal. I had to be low on my remaining capacity for histamine, meaning that I must have accumulated some histamine from one or both of the previous trial meals. And almost missing the boat completely today, was the straw that broke the camel's back. If I'm going to try to get by on half a dose, I'm probably going to have to get my act together and do everything right, especially taking the capsule at the proper time.

If the itch has settled down by tomorrow, I may try the ripe bananas. But if it hasn't (or if it's worse), I'll have to wait a day or two before resuming the trial.

Tex

[tex]

Update:

In general, the HistaResist appears to work great for me (as long as I remember to take it before I start eating), using only 1 capsule (half-a-dose).

I'm in the middle of a trial with the other brand (Omnivits), but it isn't going as well using only 1 capsule. I'm going to try two capsules, but that will make using it almost 5 times as expensive as using the HistaResist.

We may put all the gory details in an article about histamine issues in the next MCF Newsletter.

Tex

[crervin]

This is very exciting news Tex, especially with my current situation! It seems all meat is causing me to itch currently along with gas pains and D. I have went back to my very basic diet of ground turkey and frozen vegetables without luck. It seems my body is completely unable to control a minute amount of histamines. I really don't want to be a vegetarian, but I may try to eat only vegetables with pinto beans one day to see if the itching persists. While I was on zyrtec, I could eat pintos with no problems at all. This really stinks, but I am completely determined to figure it out!

When my gut calms down a little, I will try HistaResist and let you know how well it works for me.


Thank you so much for this information!

[brandy]

Martha--re: quercetin

I can't speak to whether it stops itching but I've had no problem taking it MCwise.

Our doctor had us take 500 mg 3 x per day for 10 days when we had covid exposure to boost the immune system.

There is a national shortage right now. I just bought some off the Vitamin Shoppe website in the small bottle.

[crervin]

Thank you Brandy for the information. I have gotten better with the itching. In addition to different meats making me itch, I realized I was allergic to my wash detergent and have started using free and clear wash detergent. I am still itching some, but no where near what I was experiencing previously. I keep tweaking my diet in hopes to rid myself of too many histamines. I have yet to try the DAO supplement, but am looking forward to see how well that will work for me.


Take care!

[brandy]

Do you use dryer sheets? Eliminate them if you do.

I've used the free and clear for years.

[Sheila]

I’m back again. Not for MC which is thankfully in remission but for all of the other MC hangers-on that just won’t go away. I acquired Sjögren’s syndrome when MC made its debut. SS seems to make other health issues worse. I knew I had histamine issues 10+ years ago but they have gotten worse and worse over time.

I’m happy to see that DAO seems to help the situation. I just ordered some.

I’ve noticed increasing morning and after lunch nausea as well as increasing bowel issues and occasional D. I also suddenly broke out into eczema Hell, chronic allergic conjunctivitis, itching, sneezing, etc etc. I get monthly allergy shots and they help somewhat. I should have come here first for research!! My diet is already GF and DF and now low histamine and UTI conscious. There’s almost nothing left to eat that actually tastes good.

I just want to say thank you for this posting. It was just what I was looking for.

Sheila W.