For several months I have been waking earlying in the morning between 3-4 with an extremely high heart rate and swelling.  It is as if I am having a reaction to something but I have been alseep.  Usually my heart rate is so fast that I am unable to go back to sleep.  At first I thought I was getting overheated with too many blankets.  So I have been sleeping with fewer blankets and still having this issue.  At this point I am assuming that I am having a rush of histamines.  I don't think this is hormonal because I am not sweaty or having any kind of hot flash.  I take a prescription antihistamine before bed to help but it doesn't seem like anything is helping.  When I woke up this morning, my husband asked how I slept and I turned around and he saw my swollen face and said Ooh...that answered his question.  
I took a Benadryl this morning and it didn't change any thing. It was like throwing a water balloon at a forest fire.  I know nothing about masto and heart rates.  I did call the doctors office, but no return call yet...thought I would ask you guys the experts...

This is what I take:

Cromolyn 4 times a day
Allegra in am
Pepsid ac in am and Pm
Clarinex in Pm
Benedryl when needed
I was started out on Atrax but cant take it any longer because of a reaction.

Does anyone have any advice?

Good tips Deborah,

I am going to try not eating so late. I also think the furnace is an issue for me.
Angelloz

It's the snacking after dinner that is such temptation, don't you think? Stay strong, though, and try not to eat after 6:00 and see how you do! Then let us know so that it this works for you, maybe it will work for others as well.

Wow, this is an extremely interesting discussion. I have been waking up every night between 1-3AM for over a decade and thinking I just had a bad habit (I eat when I wake up).  Now I am wondering if this is a just a histamine release and I am making it worse by eating. I was diagnosed with periodic limb movement disorder as well (a sleep disorder). Does anyone else have this?  Could that be related to histamine?  When I take Atarax for an attack I sleep like a baby all night long. Maybe I should take Atarax every night?

vicmjones wrote on 02/14/13 at 15:18:07:


If Atarax (hydroxyzine) works for you, there's no harm in taking it every night.  It's very important to get enough sleep!

Heather

A lot of masto people secrete more histamine at night, as that is the high point of the circadian cycle for this neurotransmitter.  When histamine goes up, you wake up.  So... we may not get our REM sleep as well (deepest sleep) which might contribute to overall daytime sleepiness! ( I used to work with sleep researchers).

Heather is right on about the Clarinex (son of Claritin).  I quit using it because I had a weird little sleep apnea side effect from it, as I am a lightweight.  I can't tolerate the other anthistamines very well, so proceeded to try various brands of generic Claritin (Loratadine).  My hands down winner was Sam's Club Loratidine.  For some reason, felt the best on that one.  Good news is that it is cheap too!  I take it about 7 pm and it doesn't rev me up too much by the time Igo to sleep around 10 pm.  

Another thing I started to do was take a little bit of cherry juice.  Now this would depend HIGHLY on whether it bothered you or not, so be very cautious about it if juice or fruit sets you off, and ask your doc before you would try it.  Cherries have a little bit of melatonin in them, and I seem to sleep better if I have a little bit before bedtime.  There is only limited studies on it, but it was somewhat helpful in relieving arthritis symptoms for some people and was somewhat anti-inflammatory too.  I use the organic kind though, don't want any extra pesticides coming in the mix..