MCAS, Histamine Intolerance and Chronic Mystery Symptoms
Dr. Diane Mueller ND, DAOM, LAc
Breaking Free from MCAS, Histamine
Intolerance and Chronic Mystery Symptoms
Dr. Diane Mueller ND, DAOM, Lac
MyLymeDoc.com
How I Got Out of Chronic Illness I Thought Was Killing Me
As a child, I struggled with digestive issues that conventional medicine couldn’t relieve. This inspired me to become a naturopathic doctor to find root causes of health conditions. I wanted to truly help people reclaim their vitality.
During medical school, my health unraveled. Intense burning pain radiated through my legs. Brain fog settled in, causing me to forget my own home address at times. Numbness and tingling in my hands forced me to pull my car over, terrified that I would lose control.
Doctors I saw during this frightening time blamed “stress” and “school burnout,” though test results showed abnormalities.
No solutions were offered. I felt dismissed in my fear and anxiety over what was happening in my body. The lack of support from the medical system compelled me to find answers on my own.
Ultimately, I discovered Lyme disease, Bartonella, parasites, and sky-high mycotoxin levels.
Triple antibiotic therapy is a common treatment plan for Lyme, but long-term antibiotic use posed risks.
I committed myself to identifying natural and holistic alternatives that stabilized the microbiome because compromised gut health perpetuates chronic inflammation.
I got out of the disease process by finding ALL of the root causes.
Chapter 2:
Peeling Back the Layers to Reveal the Roots
The origins of various chronic health conditions often have overlapping root causes.
People frequently presume an apparent diagnosis paints the whole picture of the illness, while crucial contributing factors go undetected for years.
We must gently peel back the layers by taking an open-minded approach to fully understand what generated and continues fueling symptoms.
Lyme disease and toxic mold sickness are infamous imposters.
On the surface their signs and symptoms masquerade as numerous other diagnoses. Look deeper when conventional protocols aren’t delivering sustained improvement.
See us for proper Lyme testing rather than only standard assays. Just one piece of information can radically transform understanding of the illness landscape. Most of the time conventional medicine does not run the right tests. You can get started with us here: mylymedoc.com/booking
It’s essential to find expert practitioners able to detect subtle clues through precise interpretation of complex results.
They appreciate that multiple vicious cycles maintain disease states and destabilize the immune system.
Therefore treatment must systematically target the root sources while also providing relief.
We find most people are still suffering because only SOME of the root causes have been found and not all of them.
Chapter 3: Messy Picture
Toxic Mold Exposure Can Activate Chronic Lyme Disease
Toxic mold releases spores and chemicals that wreak havoc on immune function and neurological processes if not promptly removed from the body.
Genetic vulnerabilities determine whether an individual can efficiently detoxify mycotoxins or if dangerous accumulation ensues. At a certain point, the quantity overwhelms natural defenses.
For me, I unknowingly lived in water-damaged buildings with toxic mold infestations during naturopathic school after moving to Portland.
My innate detoxification difficulties allowed significant mycotoxin buildup. Eventually this weakened immune system tipped the scales, offering opportunistic infections like Lyme disease a chance to capitalize on the homeostasis disruption and reactivate from dormancy.
This is something I see in so many people. So many people suffer with their symptoms because only MCAS has been identified. Or only Lyme, or mold or something else. It is only when we see the whole picture and treat everything that we can get well. (remember if you are struggling, we can help: mylymedoc.com/booking)
When toxic mold concentrations become too high, the argument arises of merely being more biologically sensitive to detecting its presence through noticeable smells or symptoms while housemates appear fine.
However, certain genes hamper the ability to mount appropriate immune reactions to mycotoxins. This results in heightened neurological reactivity and volatile sensitivity compared to healthy individuals simply living in the same building.
We must listen to warning signs from our bodies even when not confirmed by conventional measures alone.
Chapter 4: Your Gut and Your Nervous System and Healing
Traumatic life events generate emotional charges that ripple into the physical realm by altering nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, and immune activities.
Eventually perpetual activation of the primal fight-flight response strains the adrenal glands’ capacity to smoothly regulate cortisol. Cumulative effects of stress change brain structure and function.
A mind-body approach can help temper reactions through restorative outlets like prayer, meditation, yoga, nature immersion, counseling, and techniques that engender feelings of safety. Many people know this, but it can be a hard thing to really apply.
In addition, biochemical factors also play a significant role to our nervous system.
Gut microbes act as epicenters that either propagate or reduce inflammation based on their community members.
Healthy flora interact positively with gut-associated immune tissues, decreasing inflammatory signals to the brain.
Part of getting your nervous system calm and sending the signals to repair involves supporting the gut recovery. The gut is also where we break down histamine and supporting gut health is often essential to recovering from MCAS.
Certain infectious agents adversely impact microbiome diversity and intestinal permeability. This enables problematic neuroimmune communication.
Additionally, poor diet and chronic stress deteriorate tight junction vitality. Together these catalysts contribute to amplifying reactivity traits.
Chapter 5: Mast Cell Stabilizing Interventions Ease Symptom Severity
Mast cells are immune first responders that rapidly deploy stored compounds alerting other defenders into action when threats seem apparent.
Many chronic diseases feature mast cell hyperresponsiveness that worsens disease activity and discomfort through release of inflammatory molecules.
Targeting stabilization helps minimize triggers activating these processes. However, many things that are mast cell stabilizers wind up not being able to be tolerated. So what do we do?
Certain nutrients help stabilize membranes around granules holding inflammatory mast cell contents. Bioflavonoids like quercetin, luteolin, and resveratrol perform well due to modulating intracellular signaling pathways.
Magnesium, vitamin C, and omega-3 fatty acids also reinforce membrane integrity. Herbal extracts like boswellia, ginger, and curcumin have stabilizing properties also.
But the biggest things that we have found to make the difference early on in people that are highly sensitive include choline, tudca, myrrh and KPV
Choline, tudca and myrrh will all activate a protein called the MRP2 protein. When this protein is activated, your liver can remove histamine from the body. Without this activation, the liver cannot do its job and histamine recirculates continually, leaving people sicker and sicker.
Chapter 6: Supporting Toxin Elimination Pathways
We coexist amidst a soup of synthetic chemicals, heavy metals, microbes, and mold toxins threatening to overwhelm natural detoxification routes.
Under ordinary circumstances our elegant systems automatically neutralize, metabolize, and excrete hazardous compounds to minimize bioaccumulation. However, chronic exposure paired with nutritional or genetic deficits strains capacity.
Nutrients involved in escorting out toxins frequently become depleted, yet may not show up as clinically deficient on labs.
Replenishing glutathione, vitamin C, B vitamins, zinc, selenium, alpha lipoic acid, and glycine provides cofactors for hundreds of enzymatic detoxification reactions occurring internally. Additional anti-inflammatory and antioxidant support bolsters terrain resilience.
Certain medications and nutraceuticals activate stuck enzymatic steps in metabolic pathways allowing processes to complete.
Beet root juice relaxes blood vessels; dandelion, milk thistle, and working with binders to help grab heavy metals.
But remember to get mold and Lyme toxins out, you will need to make sure you can tolerate the treatment, which often times means working on the MCAS pathways first.
Chapter 7: The Critical Importance of Mitochondrial Function
Mitochondria act as tiny energetic powerhouses inside most cells, especially those with higher energy demands like brain, muscle, liver, and heart.
They metabolically convert nutrients from food into accessible fuel via tightly controlled oxidative reactions.
Oxygen gets consumed and exchanged for molecules conveying electrons across elaborately interconnected electron transport chains culminating in production of our main cellular energy currency called ATP.
This brilliant architecture permits adaptation to varied energy substrate availabilities and needs, however optimal efficiency requires vital membrane integrity and ideal redox signaling.
When we have MCAS, Lyme, Mold and other chronic illnesses, we often times have dysfunctional mitochondria.
Defective mitochondria churn out high quantities of oxidants instead of finishing the full reactions. This reduces cellular capability while simultaneously amplifying inflammation and degeneration.
Ongoing mitochondrial fission and fusion processes attempt to maintain populations. Supporting healthy turnover and biogenesis pathways lead to better function.
Coenzyme q10, pqq, acetyl-l carnitine, d-ribose, and lipoic acid serve as cofactors and precursors.
The biggest take home point here is that there are many processes involved in healing from MCAS, Lyme and Mold. To heal, you need to make sure you have all the root causes found. So many people get poor or inadequate testing done. The first step is to fill in the gaps. We can help! You can find information out about working with our clinic here: MyLymeDoc.com/booking