re: HISTAMINE & MAST CELLS (EL)

[Guest guest]

HI El, and all,

Yes everything I read shows the dermagraphism is definitely a case of an overabundance of Mast cells. For those who don't know what that is, it's a form of hives or uticaria, you can almost write your name on your back (or elsewhere) and it'll almost immediately show up. Just the lightest touch can bring it out.

Some of these ''woo woo'' shows *chuckle* will show it as if a ghost or spirit is writing on someones back. The reason it can go away is because there is no known reason as to a 'trigger' or what sets it off in the first place. It is a genetic mutation of the Mast cells. which causes a protein to be formed incorrectly, it's called KIT. These Mast cells live longer than they should because the mutation prevents KIT from causing normal programmed cell death. (which would norally stop the histamines after they've done their job)

It basically is you being allergic to yourself in a sense but it's not always 'keyed' up either so to speak. And remember I said 'stress' was a key component? Well that alone is enough to trigger it. And perhaps when that lets up, it just goes away again? Just as when I had the severe hives, nothing specifically triggered it, (although as I truly think back it was a stressful time but never put two and two together) it stayed for a month, and a couple of Atarax's completely halted it, BUT..... at any time again it just may pop up again out of the blue. Who knows? Stress????? arghhhhh stay away from me. LOL Yeah right! ha ha

That's the extremely frustrating part of all of this, and as I said most allergy tests will show nothing specific, so don't be surprised if nothing shows up for you. But you still can definitely have this. Just had a thought, <grin> but since we're allergic to ourselves, wonder how they can test that? Inject a bit of 'me' into 'me'. ?? haha

That list I sent on shows just a bump or even pressure can trigger it. I've never been bothered by the hives again, and don't take anything like an antihistamine, heck, till I just did this thorough study I'd have never thought of this as a connection but it (to me) is most definitely tied into the long term vulvar pain with no infections, no other causes, and normally that pain and inflammation should have gone on and healed but it didn't.

No wonder doctors get fed up with us and call it Vulvodynia (painful vulva) basically a symptom and with no known cause. *sigh* but I'm thinking the cause may be right under our noses.

That article that said 53% of women with long time vulvar pain showed on biopsy to have that overabundance of mast cells & histamines and to me is an extremely large amt collectively (I think.) And with any type of friction? HAH, that all made sense too. Yes it's the vaginal pain that's been my biggest problem, NO DOUBT... (tho I'm well now after ten years of hell)

Plus I saw myself all over the place with other symptoms, the histamine headaches as a youngster, the allergies to the Codeine's, ocassional itch or hive on my fingers, or the 'always' huge welts with a simple misquitoe bite. Plus some familial ties, mom extremely sensitive to heat or cold, also gets the hives if she sits on a chair too long (back of her knees) and one brother the same plus he has Asthma (another tie in with too many mast cells and an overproduction of histamine) Thank goodness I don't have that and basically have NO allergies to anything.

So it can be a lot of various things or just one symptom that might show those histamines in overabundance. But who would tie those myriad of things (since they're so sporadic) into continuous vulvar pain? *sigh* but it just makes so much sense to me and no wonder it can take years to diagnose!

BOTTOM LINE AND FACT!

Pain, inflammation, itch = histamines,

long term= overabundance of histamines!

By the way no, I'm not any type of list for Mast cells,(which produce the histamine) sounds interesting. But I need one more list like I need a hole in the head, <grin> But I might have saved myself hundreds of hours of research doing it myself. I doubt it though as I really got into the depth of it since I'm signed up to so many medical journals anyway, and each article convinced me more and more that it certainly fit me and some others as well.

Oh and then what they say about the internal things that can happen really woke me up, even a tie in with Gerd, which I 'thought' I had, Ohhh and Low blood pressure?? another sign for 'some', which I have and always did. Even the fatigue, (of course that's more my nutty life style I think, LOL ) but it certainly hit a lot of other HOT buttons too, for me anyway. And as I said one doesn't need all of those symptoms, but just one and it's enough. It was only when I looked back at my own history I saw the pattern. As I said it's no wonder it can take 10 to 20 years to diagnose.!

As far as the antihistamines eventually not working, I've read that as well, that we can become desensitized to them, and even switching brands or increasing dosages may not help. Though some letters I've received, the gals said they did switch sometimes from an oral to a nasal spray and it worked, one had total relief of her vaginal pain. But it was a secondary accidental finding as it was originally taken for something else. So I sure hope hon what you're taking keeps working for you.

I'm just curious has 'anyone' ever tried the Doxepin cream for the vulvar area? Since that works directly on inhibiting those mast cells from overproducing.

Jeesh, again a long one, sorry, but just my thoughts on it and my $.02 cents worth, *clink *clink* ; )

Hugs to all and a happy fourth!!

Dee~ Dtroll@...