Mast Cell Disorders Forum

Mast Cell Disorders Forum
http://mastcelldisorders.wallack.us/yabb/YaBB.pl General Mast Cell Disorders Discussion >> General Mast Cell Disorder Discussion >> mcad/anxiety http://mastcelldisorders.wallack.us/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1401771917 Message started by northerndarlene on 06/02/14 at 18:05:17

Title: mcad/anxiety
Post by northerndarlene on 06/02/14 at 18:05:17

do mast cell activation cause anxiety?

Title: Re: mcad/anxiety
Post by LilyBee on 06/02/14 at 23:00:11

Absolutely! When I'm headed for a major episode, I have this sudden feeling of doom kind of anxiety. It scared me for a while because I thought I was going crazy. :) Now, I recognize it as the start of an episode and medicate accordingly. I take Benadryl whenever it happens and I take Klonopin once a day in the evenings.

BTW, I carry liquid Benedryl with me all of the time. If I start to feel the warning signs, I'll do a shot of it right away. Also, I'll take two of the Chromalyn ampules. I find that they help with more than digestive symptoms.

Title: Re: mcad/anxiety
Post by northerndarlene on 06/04/14 at 16:52:14

think i just had a mast cell attack. i was sitting here, and all of a sudden i felt this weird feeling in my body (like a sudden release of some kind of chemical instead my blood stream... not as bad as it usually is though). my airway felt a little constricted, and i went to the bathroom several times. my bp usually runs about 100/60. when i checked my bp it was 120/80. other times my bottom number will drop to 34 or 47 (i was in the er these 2 times). i always feel anxiety when these episodes happen (not mentally induces). i just took 2 benadryl capsules. i just started taking hydroxyzine 10 mg three times a day, and zyrtec twice a day (hope this isn't to much). i did eat spaghetti tonight, wonder if the spaghetti sauce triggered the episode.

Title: Re: mcad/anxiety
Post by lynda51 on 06/04/14 at 18:13:56

Some of the powerful chemicals, called mediators, that are released by the mast cell during degranulation can cause us to feel anxious. We can release things like heparin, norepinephrine, epinephrine, histamine and many more, some of which haven't even been identified. In my experience, many of these chemicals can cause what I call a 'surge' in my system.

Misbehaving mast cells can cause autonomic dysfunction in some of us which can put our body on 'high alert' and cause us to feel panicky, anxious, have tachycardia, elevated BP, as well as other reactions.

This does not mean all those who have mast cell hypersensitivity will experience any or all of the above mentioned symptoms. But some of us do.

northerndarlene, do you have a doctor monitoring the amount of medication you are taking? Do you take an H2 blocker as well?

Spaghetti contains tomatoes. Tomatoes are high is histamine. See the Mastocytosis.ca website for a list of foods that are high in histamine. One of the first things we do is to follow a low histamine diet. This helps reduce many of our reactions.

Also, there may be foods on this list that are 'safe' foods, but will not be safe for you. It's important to keep a journal of foods you eat. It will help you identify 'triggers'. Triggers are anything that 'set off' your mast cells.

Title: Re: mcad/anxiety
Post by LilyBee on 06/08/14 at 13:29:17

I have a very similar process when I'm having a severe episode. And tomato sauce is a big no no for me.