I'm wondering whether fluoxetine could be a trigger. I was on 20mg for maybe 1-2 mos. During that time, I started having intermittent episodes of itching on my neck and under my chin as well as inside my throat and some chest fullness with wheezing that I couldn't find any triggers for.

Then, I bumped up to 30mg. That was on a Fri and for 2 days was DEPRESSED - flat affect, low mood, psychomotor retardation. (I can see why suicide should be a concern when starting a SSRI! I didn't have any suicidal ideation, but can see how someone could.) Then, that went away and by Mon or Tue, I developed a sore throat. By Thur, the add'l sx came on - stuffy nose, sneezing, chest fullness, wheezing, coughing, itching on chin/neck/throat. Fri, I woke up feeling like I had the flu (achy, hot then cold, shivery, etc). I dragged myself out of bed and drank some decaf tea and felt a little better, then took my methylphenidate (my latest med trial for POTS) and felt really good. That dose wore off after 3h45m, so I took another dose and that wore off after 3h45m, so I took another and it didn't ever really seem to kick in. I felt POTSy, but not fluish. I still had the allergy-type sx, though. So, I muddled through the rest of the day, but by 10p I had the flu sx again and felt terrible all night and about half of the next day with these flu+allergy-type sx. Then, the chest congestion started and at first all the phlegm was clear, but then turned yellow. The following Sat, I decreased my fluoxetine to 25mg and then 20mg for four days and eventually tapered completely off.

Currently, I don't have the severity of sx that I did when all this happened a few weeks ago. However, I am still having way increased allergy sx.

I refreshed myself on IgE allergies and understand why this couldn't have been a "true allergic response" as my allergist said. But, does that rule out an anaphylactoid response to it? Could my mast cells (or others?) have been reacting to the fluoxetine at a lower dose, then reacting more at the higher dose? Any ideas?

PamH, thank you so much for your response! I'm sorry to hear that you had that response. But, I really appreciate your sharing it with me!

I'm pretty new to the world of MCA and the reactions that can occur are pretty much blowing my mind right now. I am learning so much each day now (and throughout the day as I ingest various foods/meds!). Thank you, again, for your help!

Welcome to the forum!  It sounds like you're on the right track in figuring things out for yourself.

Some people have reported good luck with Wellbutrin, but I haven't tried it myself.  I was prescribed a low dose of doxepin (Sinequan) when I was first having symptoms.  It's a tricyclic antidepressant and is also both an H1 and H2 antihistamine.  It was the first relief I was able to find.

The truth is that anything can cause a reaction.  Mast cell disorder people have some triggers in common, but we seem also to have a variety of things that set one person off, but not others.  Keeping a symptom and suspected trigger diary can help to sort it out.  As time goes on, you'll learn to be more and more aware of what causes your symptoms.  Remember to keep track, too of anything stressful (good and bad) that occurs in your day, as stress is probably the number one trigger for us.

Taking time out to de-compress each day can make a significant difference, no matter what the diagnosis turns out to be!

Hi,

I have autoimmune chronic urticaria which is considered "secondary mast cell activation disorder".  I have tried fluoxetine and immediately had a reaction.  This was before I knew about MSAD.  I looked this up just now because I remember reading that this causes trouble for people with chronic urticaria.  So if you have MCAD and itchy skin, then don't take this.  Also Wellbutrin was awful.  I've basically tried every anti-depressant because everyone kept saying I must have depression because of how ill and tired I was.  Well guess what;  it's MCAD.  For me, taking the meds religiously (H1, H2 and Singulair) has changed my life.

I believe the noise sensitivity is a MC thing.  I literally wear pink earplugs when sitting in bed on the laptop.  The gardeners, the planes, the kids make me  overstimulated.