Liothyronine and histamine sensitivity

[Zebra5]

Hi everyone.

I am having trouble getting my levo and lio amounts right and will post on that separately to ask advice, please, but I also have another concern which I would very much appreciate your help with. I wondered if anyone could help with regard to what I think is a histamine intolerance/sensitivity which I seem to experience only since taking T4/T3 combination (ie. I did not experience it on levo only).

Since become hypo (autoimmune) in March 2019 I have found it harder to tolerate alcohol (it gives me a headache and I cannot take it so well ) so I have not been drinking much. I do still like a glass of wine or a gin and tonic or brandy but these now generate sneezing, runny nose, and congestion – about half an hour after the first sip, which is most unpleasant and lasts for several hours. I have had this reaction for over a year (since I started self-medicating with UniPharma lio which I bought OTC in Greece) and now also Roma lio (which I have just started this week). I am not blaming the quality of either product as believe them to be of good quality but feel there must be a link. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of this: could it be the lio, or a filler? I have Googled and it seems that you can be short of diamine oxidase (DAO) which is what clears the body of histamines and so the histamine levels can be raised and then you get a reaction (when drinking alcohol, for example, which is high in histamines) and your system is overloaded.

I know this might seems like a trivial problem (I can stop drinking!) but the effect is quite severe and the reason for seeking your advice is that I would like to understand more about what is happening. It does not happen with any other food or drinks but it does concern me that it might develop and so I wanted to explore why. I also don’t want to start taking anti histamines. It could of course be that I haven’t yet got my T4/T3 levels right and that, together with inflammation generally, is why it is proving to be sensitive. It seems it could also be related to vitamins and minerals: B6, C, Zinc, Mg are mentioned in various places but I don’t know what to think. In the meantime, I am on sparkling water ...

Any thoughts? Thank you very much.

[radd]

Zebra5,

I had to stop drinking wine & eating Chinese takeaways because of elevated histamine. The effects were quite profound in that I would wake sneezing loads, several times during the night.

Wine already contains histamine produced by yeast and bacteria during the fermentation process, and tannins & sulphites that people may have further reaction to but the real problem is that alcohol clearance shares the same pathways as histamine.

When DAO synthesizes wine & alcohol its metabolite compete with that of histamines metabolites (I can’t remember the names). This competition results in histamine metabolites building up to inhibit DAO action, and histamine levels raising as a consequence.

Alcohol can also decrease healthy production of DAO in the intestinal mucosa, and even taking additional DAO may not help because it’s a clearance problem as opposed to a direct degradation problem. Hence, when we support better liver function we suffer less hangovers because clearance is improved. Strangely I’m ok with foods known to contain histamine such as cheese and sauerkraut.

Histamine increase with thyroid meds is usually down to a filler, or maybe you were on the threshold and something else you drank/ate/experinced at the same time as starting T3 tipped you over. I wouldn't think that T3 'per se' would instigate extra production of histamine. And once we become histamine intolerant it can be difficult to reduce that immune response. It is very common in Hashi to have high levels of histamine and genetic DAO impairments.

There are also causes that block DAO production such as use of ibuprofen or drinking too much green tea, etc. I wouldn't use anti-histamines long term either because we actually need histamine for stimulating stomach acid, lowers BP and it serves as a neurotransmitter amongst many other uses.

The connection between B6, C, Zinc & Mg and histamine is they are immune modulators, eg reduce/calm inflammation, and are needed for the manufacture of DAO.

[Zebra5 in reply to radd]

Hi radd Thank you very much for taking the time to explain all this to me. You reply is clear and easy to understand - which I appreciate.

I don't seem to react to all other foods high in histamines, either, which I am thankful for - hopefully neither of us will.

I think I will check on vitamin levels again, they are so important, and find something in place of wine!

All the best, and thanks again.

Zebra5