Hi everyone - I get full body itching that drives me completely crazy if I don’t take an antihistamine every day as well as all my other thyroid meds and vitamins/minerals. I read that taking DAO could help. Does anyone here have any experience of that working and could advise on a good brand and dose?
Many thanks, E
Are you on a low histamine diet? That’s the place to start. Check out the SIGHI website and food lists. DAO supplements are really for taking before meals that you know contain histamine, and it’s pretty expensive so you want to really only use when necessary. The brand I have is called Daosin.
Thanks - yes starting to see may DAO supplements aren't a cure. Have you tried to work out what the cause is and tried to treat that?
Well I do have genetic DAO SNPs but also I am 49 so hormones in flux, oestrogen dominance, Graves since 2012, Pernicious Anaemia since 2006 (so definitely gut dysfunction and low acid), I tested positive for Blasto and fungal overgrowth, my gut bacteria composition is not normal with a lot less beneficial bacteria. Where to even start 😂. I (finally) have a lovely functionally trained Endo who is trying to help with all this, but before you spend even one penny get yourself on a low histamine diet, it is key to controlling the symptoms whilst dealing with the underlying issues. Take a long hard look at the meds and supplements you take, several promote histamine. SIGHI have a list of meds to avoid if possible. Watch out for probiotics, if taking get one that’s histamine issue friendly. Fish oil can be an issue too but I can tolerate the vegan ones which come from algae. I’ve been on a more functional path (alongside essential meds) for many years and nothing has made as much difference to me as the low histamine diet. I was doing paleo or AIP for a long time and this was making me worse because it tends towards high histamine foods. Since being on low histamine all my thyroid antibodies are back in normal range for the first time since I started testing them in 2012, and let me tell you I had a clean sweep of thyroid autoimmunity TRAb, TPOAb and TGAb positivity.
Cutting out the highest histamine foods is really important. It can take 3 weeks to feel the benefit when going low histamine. I am incredibly sensitive to histamine and find many sites online have foods they say are safe that certainly are not for me. If I’m having a particularly bad reaction, taking an H2 blocker such as ranitidine is essential along with an H1 blocker antihistamine. If you’d like it, I will dig out the foods to avoid list the doc gave me and PM it to you, I don’t know if I can post it on here as it has his clinic details. I take Daosin and find them pretty effective but it’s still important to cut out the offending foods because they cause inflammation.
thank you. I'll take a look at lists online - i always really struggled to follow restricted diets tho - currently i just take antihistamines and that seems to mostly keep it under control, but i wanted to know whats causing it and maybe try to address that so im not reliant on antihistamines anymore - why would I develop intolerance to all these foods? can I get back to a place where I can eat them again without getting a reaction? Does anyone know?
First of all do you know it’s from food? Is it always after eating or just all the time? How long has this been going on? Was it a sudden onset? I would definitely go to your GP about this to begin with to rule out other possibilities, there’s loads of reasons. If you’ve done this and checked out fine then it is a case of determining if it’s a specific food, then a case of determining if it happens to be the high histamine foods. The way to do this is with a food diary. You must write everything you’ve eaten or any supplements etc. and note onset of reaction. Is it only skin symptoms you’re getting? *If* it is lack of DAO enzyme in your body there’s many reasons for this, ranging from vitamin & mineral deficiencies, leaky gut, hormonal imbalance etc.
I don't know if its food or not - it's there all the time. If i don't take a antihistamine it's just constant extreme itchiness that is very disruptive. it started about a year and a half ago, when I had a thyroid crash when my medication levels were wrong. my levels are right now though, and its still there, has been ever since.
Dry skin and extreme itchiness are also signs of thyroid levels being wrong can be overmedicated or undermedicated. I have had it both ways.
thanks. I initially thought it might just be a thyroid thing, but because it goes away with antihistamines, i realised its more than that - WHY i have developed it, i don't know..?!?
I had unbearably itchy arms and head before getting on top of B12 issues - injecting weekly.
Liver enzymes can often be raised with Thyroid issues and be an underlying cause - also gluten.
Do you have Hashimotos ?
Yes I do. I just don't know where to start with all this stuff.
With Hashimotos it is often suggested that going completely gluten free is helpful. Gluten is well reported to cause itchy skin. Our skin can also reflect the health of our gut 🤔
would antihistamines help if it was reacting to gluten?
Possibly ... I see allergies and sensitivities as an immune response in the body. Hashimotos is an auto-immune condition.
I have Hashimotos - Crohns and a B12 issue caused by surgery. So not a medic 😎
There are rather a lot of possibilities here. I started low histamine diet but don't think it is considered a good idea long term as you are cutting out healthy food and reducing variety for your microbiome, so started to broaden it out again, just being careful to keep higher histamine raising foods down when my oestrogen is higher for example. Have a look at purehealthclinic.co.uk/?s=h.... I use quercetin when I need some help. The itching could be a food reaction (including gluten) or could be lack of B12. I would also think it worth checking how well your liver and gallbladder are functioning and whether you might have a methylation issue (you need to be methylating well to clear excess histamine). Reacting to increasing numbers of foods seems to be very much part of autoimmunity - loss of oral tolerance, chemical tolerance and self tolerance. Datis Kharrazian is currently promoting a new Immune Tolerance course for September drknews.com/3d-immune-toler... but there is a bit on his website well worth a read now drknews.com/food-sensitivit.... Best of luck
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