Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[CrispyChick]

Hi scampi

No, I'm not on estrogen at all. To cut a long story short - my estrogen is normal, but because my prog is very very low (as often happens, first in peri) I'm unbalanced so I feel the estrogen surges and become symptomatic.

That's the theory anyway. Common theory in the states avd Europe - not recognised by NHS. Taking progesterone only has been everything but a walk in the park!!! So, I'm currently on 10mg troche and 30mg cream.

I'm under the Marion Gluck clinic, so they prescribe the compounded. However, I've recently switched to buying myself onas progesterone cream. I'm finding it much better to tolerate and I'm getting different reactions, my hunch is I'm absorbing it better. There are a lot of additives in the compounded stuff. Obviously my troche is compounded.

Anyway, that's where I'm at. My contribution to this thread is probably the fact that I can recognise starting low dose prog or changing dose seems to sensitise the estrogen receotors, so you get heightened response to estrogen for a month. During that episode for me, I defo get heightened allergic reactions, so assume that's estrogen increasing histamine.

Where are u at scampi??? Are u not taking anything??? This is such a long journey, isn't it??!

[CrispyChick]

Gilla - forgot to reply. Busy weekend.

So, my prog is very very low. That was my day 21 ratio.

I'm terns of taking the 40mg prog all month... Im obviously not taking 100mg utro in luteal phase like you... If that builds up in the body, you will be taking more than me overall, so it might affect ovulation. All you can do is try.

Or... You could just try the extra 25mg at luteal time... That is how we're meant to take prog. I'm taking it all month as if I break, it breaks the cycle of me trying to dominate the estrogen with prog. I'm only intending to take continuous for a short time.

I'm like you... I have the products now. I just merrily do my own trials. I know MG are happy for me to take continuously and they're also happy with me taking 100mg...so anything under that I'm just trialling myself. X

[Tora]

Hi Gilla,
Sorry to read things are still tough.

I hope you don’t mind me asking if your thyroid has been checked and if you’re monitoring your blood sugar? I assumed both had been investigated as you’re seeing an Allergist but thought I’d ask.

I hope your test results help.

[sweettooth]

Gilla and any other ladies I am sorry to read of your ongoing suffering.
I can only say from my experience that the vaccines and Covid have affected me, they both raise histamine and can affect hormone receptors.
I have now been told I have long covid!  I was fine on my Estrogen til first and only Pfizer jab, the palpitations, rapid heart rate, sweating etc ramped up it was truly awful.  Things were improving and I got covid end of March and it all kicked off again plus the backache and crippling fatigue.
  I just wonder if Covid or jabs have had an impact on some of you ladies regarding histamine issues?
I have started on Quercetin, zinc, vit c, vit d, anti hist x 2 daily and just yesterday began dao.  🤞🤞❤️

[joziel]

Arg, so many of us with this stuff 

I think the covid jabs and covid itself can affect the ovaries, meaning that they can stop working altogether if they were on the edge anyway - so then you get less estrogen. And so some of the symptoms might just be that you need more estrogen again.

I haven't had Covid (to my knowledge!) and I had both my jabs before going onto HRT. About a year before. So no, these symptoms are not associated with that for me.

[Scampidoodle]

Interesting sweet tooth as I was doing ok, but took my eye off the ball eating higher histamine and not recognising the signs then had a cold virus and still didn’t change my ways then got a really bad sore throat virus end of May and this really sent my ‘histamine bucket’ over flowing. I still don’t know if it was covid. But either way viral infections really can affect this.


How long did it take after your first vaccine to start improving (until covid anyway, so very sorry to hear that) x

[Scampidoodle]

Crispy, I’m not on anything now as what I thought was peri was histamine and mast cell issues. I mean I’m likely early peri at 43 but not as far along as I suspected. Oestrogen really tipped me over that initial time.

Felt well for a long time then the aforementioned virus and bad diet made me flare up. Just had new Mirena fitted whjch cured me last time but I’m actually reacting to that this time! Argh!

[Scampidoodle]

Joziel - feel your pain. If your mast cells have been activated it may take a good while to calm down. Tina peers says to try and keep them as calm as possible and they eventually replace themselves. So carry on with the diet but if your ‘bucket’ has overflowed diet won’t fix it alone I don’t think. Or at least you may have many symptoms until the mast cells replace. Don’t give up hope you will get better and be able to eat the stuff you like again! Xx

[joziel]

Thanks Scampi, that gives me hope. How long does it take for mast cells to replace themselves? Is it going to be before my 2 week diet trial is up? 

The thing is, I'm pretty sure that if I stopped HRT today, all this would have gone within a few days - a week max. (Of course I'd then have all my peri symptoms.) I don't know how that fits with it being caused by mast cells....?

Can I ask, how do you know that your estrogen is okay? Did you have it measured? When I first saw a doctor about all this and had my original bloods done (pre-HRT), he said he couldn't test my estrogen because I was on the desogestrel POP which would make the test inaccurate. He did do my FSH, which was still v low (4). Then I saw another GP recently who tut-tutted about this and said that they could have done estrogen then to get an idea, even though I was on desogestrel.     No idea who was right, but it would at least have been interesting to have that as a figure. Even if the estrogen was being suppressed by the desogestrel, it would have shown how much is circulating in my blood and how much my body has access to...

I FEEL like my estrogen is too high now, but my bloods were only 233nmol on the 50 patch. And then I get worried about protecting my bones and osteoporosis. But I can't live how I am - so at some point I'm going to need to drop back on the estrogen if this continues, to the 50 patch. I don't want to try more than one thing at once though, so have to finish this 2 week diet trial first....

[Scampidoodle]

Joziel have your symptoms come on only after you started hrt?

Allegedly cells take 6months to replace themselves but it’s gradual.

[Scampidoodle]

I do think that they could have tested your E on the pop. Your FSH is very low so that’s what they look to.

Have you tried a lower dose of E to try and lower the histamine a little? X

[joziel]

6 months?!!?!? 

Yes, the symptoms (the cardiovascular ones) have all come on since starting HRT in March. I was fine on the little 25 patch, then at 50 I started to get this happening. I was more focussed on my endo symptoms flaring at the time so I just sort of ignored all this as 'settling' and didn't think much of it - until I increased to 75 and everything went totally bonkers with lying awake all night and palps and high blood pressure. I went to A&E the next day (ECG normal) and then I decreased back to 62.5.

I didn't want to go all the way back to 50 because my estrogen was only 233nmol at 50 and also these symptoms at night were still happening at 50 - so it might be the worst of both worlds. Although perhaps it wasn't as bad, I can't remember.

I do have some other things scattered through my life which I think could be relevant: When I went on the combined pill at 21yo, I had the exact same thing happening. I just went and got the POP instead. But - this is something not just related to menopause or recent changes or whatever, it's something ongoing and long-term part of me...(!).

And then things like: I am hypermobile and there's a connection between hypermobility and histamine intolerance apparently, with 80% of people who have histamine intolerance also being hypermobile.

I have mild endo and I think there is supposed to be a possible link between endo and histamine intolerance/MCAS.

And I have a few symptoms from before starting HRT which haven't gone on HRT, and which are potential histamine intolerance symptoms: Joint pain (improved but not gone); and a watery eye and nasal drip, especially after eating (causing a wet cough after eating). I can live with those things though, I just need this stupid nighttime thing to stop 

I don't want to lower the estrogen until I'm done with the 2 week diet trial or I'm not going to know what has worked - and I'm going to end up potentially not eating any of my favourite things much longer if I get confused about what's causing what...  I also want to do a proper 2 week trial so if I see a doctor who wants me to do that, I've already done it and won't be tortured like this again 

[Scampidoodle]

It sounds like a plan to do your two week trial. Dr Peers would plan to take you off hrt or lower the dose, get the Histamine sorted then go back on the lowest possible dose.

But, remember you haven’t even tried antihistamines yet. You could try a supermarket own brand of loratadine for example morning and night and see if that stops the night time and morning stuff.

I also am having the same issues the last 2 days with waking at 4am with chest palps etc. they subside mid morning. My E is rising in this part of my cycle and presume it’s a reaction to that. (And my mast cells are jangled from coil insertion) xx

[Scampidoodle]

I guess even if you’re not eating histamine, your mast cells are active and therefore pumping out histamine regardless so the diet will help but not cure. Maybe try antihistamine after your 2 week trial? Xx

[joziel]

I'm kinda reluctant to use anti-histamines. I know that sounds silly, but they can have other effects/side effects on the microbiome and the stomach and I just don't want to create more problems long-term. Same goes for prescription mast cell stabilisers. But maybe I'm being silly and I just need to do more research.

Everything I read says to do this diet trial and let that be the diagnosis. So if this doesn't work, or even help - I think I have to conclude that the diet is a bit irrelevant for me. It doesn't mean it's not histamine/mast cell, but perhaps it's not gut-based like it is for most cases of this - but estrogen making the mast cells release histamine.

I'm taking vitamin c 4x a day and I've got 2 different brands of quercetin on order - which seem to be taking forever to arrive. I do have some melatonin (bought in US where you can get it over the counter), I don't know if I should try that before bed too...