Tex, your book is great! I am learning SO much!! In fact, I think I might have found the root cause of my health issues... before MC...which seems to point at histamine. Makes total sense with my experiences. So we'll see. THANK YOU!!
I have two questions:
1- I was wondering what your thoughts were about taking a DAO Enzyme? And if I were to try it, do you recommend a certain brand?
2- I stopped taking Budesonide last Saturday. Was on 3 mg everyday from March through July, then started to tapper due to the nasty side affect of dizziness! I took it slow and went to 1 pill every 5 days. I'm taking Allegra -24 Hour everyday, 1 pill in the morning. How long do I take the Allegra and do I wean off that?
Oh, one more question: I still get occasional dizzy spells, is this due to the Budesonide still in my system? I never had dizzy spells before the steroid.
I have also been making diet changes. I'm determined to get better!
Thank you!
DAO Enzyme?
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Hi,
Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad that the book is providing some insight. Regarding your questions: I have histamine issues myself, but I've never tried taking a DAO supplement, mainly because most of the reports I read from people who have tried them don't seem to contain many success stories. At least they didn't in the past — I haven't checked lately. DAO treatments don't increase DAO reserves, but theoretically at least, they should lower histamine levels if they are used each day.
I'm pretty sure that it's much more effective to prevent high-histamine situations from developing than to try to reduce histamine levels after they occur. In my own case, I'm able to keep my (histamine) symptoms under control by identifying high-histamine sources in my diet, and either avoiding them (as in the case of dehydrated or fermented foods), or limiting the amounts of those foods (as in the case of bananas and almond butter) in my diet. Consequently, I don't know enough about them to recommend a good DAO product. I have a hunch that those products work, but their effectiveness is probably limited, so that they simply cannot overcome really high-histamine levels in the diet.
The "probation period" after ending a budesonide treatment seems to be in the neighborhood of 8 weeks, for most patients. In other words, if one is going to relapse as a consequence of ending the treatment, it's probably going to happen in less than 8 weeks after ending the treatment. After that, we're home free. Most people seem to find it helpful to take an antihistamine for at least 2 or 3 weeks after ending a budesonide treatment. Some may take an antihistamine longer, but there is evidence that antihistamines deplete DAO, so taking them for long-term periods may be counterproductive in the long term (at least in some cases). As far as I'm aware, this effect hasn't been proven by medical research, there is enough epidemiological evidence that some authorities are convinced that it's true.
The dizziness should end in a week or 2 if the budesonide is causing it. The Pepto-Bismol treatment is also a cause of dizziness, in case you have been taking Pepto. Imodium is another possible cause, if you are using that. Dizziness is not a common symptom of Imodium, but it causes dizziness for a few people, including me.
I hope some of this helps.
Tex
Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad that the book is providing some insight. Regarding your questions: I have histamine issues myself, but I've never tried taking a DAO supplement, mainly because most of the reports I read from people who have tried them don't seem to contain many success stories. At least they didn't in the past — I haven't checked lately. DAO treatments don't increase DAO reserves, but theoretically at least, they should lower histamine levels if they are used each day.
I'm pretty sure that it's much more effective to prevent high-histamine situations from developing than to try to reduce histamine levels after they occur. In my own case, I'm able to keep my (histamine) symptoms under control by identifying high-histamine sources in my diet, and either avoiding them (as in the case of dehydrated or fermented foods), or limiting the amounts of those foods (as in the case of bananas and almond butter) in my diet. Consequently, I don't know enough about them to recommend a good DAO product. I have a hunch that those products work, but their effectiveness is probably limited, so that they simply cannot overcome really high-histamine levels in the diet.
The "probation period" after ending a budesonide treatment seems to be in the neighborhood of 8 weeks, for most patients. In other words, if one is going to relapse as a consequence of ending the treatment, it's probably going to happen in less than 8 weeks after ending the treatment. After that, we're home free. Most people seem to find it helpful to take an antihistamine for at least 2 or 3 weeks after ending a budesonide treatment. Some may take an antihistamine longer, but there is evidence that antihistamines deplete DAO, so taking them for long-term periods may be counterproductive in the long term (at least in some cases). As far as I'm aware, this effect hasn't been proven by medical research, there is enough epidemiological evidence that some authorities are convinced that it's true.
The dizziness should end in a week or 2 if the budesonide is causing it. The Pepto-Bismol treatment is also a cause of dizziness, in case you have been taking Pepto. Imodium is another possible cause, if you are using that. Dizziness is not a common symptom of Imodium, but it causes dizziness for a few people, including me.
I hope some of this helps.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.