u/Mouthydraws

Allergist put on me 20mg twice a day to see how things went. Saw big improvements in the throat clearing, mucus after meals, and painful hunger, but the side effects made it impossible to continue. I was fatigued, dizzy, I had terrible migraines that my migraine meds couldn’t touch, and my muscles felt weak. I came off the med and still don’t feel great, but I’ve been improving day by day back to baseline. I didn’t get a chance to try any trigger foods while on the famotidine, but I really don’t want to get back on it again. Anyone have similar experiences? Did you ever find an alternative that worked?

PCP sent me to an allergist for a possible MCAS diagnosis a few weeks ago. Allergist put me on famotidine. Suddenly I wasn’t constantly trying to clear a giant ball of mucus out of my throat after meals, the bloating was less severe, and I could eat fresh fruits without also ending up with a throat full of mucus. The painful half-burps (can’t actually burp, RCPD haver) stopped happening, the aches and burning lessened, and life was less painful overall, at least eating wise. Otherwise I was dizzy, had headaches none of my migraine meds could touch, I was fatigued, and my arms and hands felt weak, like they were very mildly asleep. I stopped taking the medication and I’ve felt pretty crappy (it’s only been two days as of now, waiting for the nausea, headaches, and fatigue to subside) and messaged my allergist.

She said the positive experiences with the med indicated I likely had “poorly managed silent reflux,” which my dad also has, along with EOE and a prior schatzki ring (he takes omeprazole). She mentioned there were lifestyle adjustments I could make (although she didn’t mention any specifics since the message was mainly about the medication side effects) and upon reviewing my day to day habits, I can see why. Two large meals a day isn’t ideal as far as I can tell, and then my nightly routine of 2+ bowls of cereal before laying down half an hour later on the worlds oldest and flattest ever pillow probably isn’t helping.

Anyone have any advice for someone newer to this?

Allergist started me on famotidine last week to see how I’d do. Suddenly I wasn’t feeling awful every time I was hungry, I wasn’t completely clogged with mucus after eating, and I had less stomach pain. Only problem was it came with some side effects; headaches, dizziness, anxiety, sleep issues, and muscle weakness in my arms and hands.

I stopped taking it last night, and I’m back to the pain and mucus, but the side effects have mostly disappeared now. Anyone have similar experiences? Did you try another H2 antihistamine? Waiting for a response from my doctor rn

I’ve been having a blast with my new body and lens, but my less than muscular arms make things kind of difficult (working on that). I’ve never really been a “sit and wait” kind of person when doing photography but I’ve been giving it a try and I’ve really enjoyed the results, even just in my backyard. I was thinking about returning the lens given how hard it can be to hold it up, but the photo quality was so good I couldn’t do it. Right now I’m balling myself up on a chair and using my knees and chest as support for the lens but I don’t think that’s feasible long term, especially since I’d like to actually leave my yard. Anyone have some good tripod suggestions? I’m not really looking to shell out another 1000+ dollars right now, but I definitely want something than can support the weight/not be too bulky to handle. I do wildlife photography, mainly birds.

Suspected I’ve had some sort of allergy-related issue for a while. I was put on hydroxyzine (an antihistamine with anti anxiety properties) like 6 or so years ago for anxiety, but just kept taking it once I realized it was helping other things (constant skin itching, facial flushing, seasonal allergies, etc.) and made me feel better. 2024 rolls around and I catch COVID from my sister. The facial flushing gets worse to the point I’d be standing outside in the cold or putting ice packs on my face trying to stop the awful burning. It was being triggered by food now, not just warm/hot water or steam. My mouth would feel funny, then my throat and chest. I’d start coughing, my nose would start running, my eyes would begin to burn and water. It felt like the heat from my face was getting into my eyes. Then it would get harder to breathe, the nausea would set it, and sometimes diarrhea followed. This kills the appetite obviously, and I began cutting out any foods that caused the issue. The main culprit turned out to be reheated foods, specifically pastas, red sauces, and rice, tho sometimes random foods get me as well. A lot of pizza triggered it too (red sauce) which was also very unfortunate.

I didn’t begin suspecting MCAS until things ramped up to a point where I began having to cut out foods. I’ve been putting off getting a diagnosis or really addressing the problem since I can usually just hit the reaction with one of my hydroxyzine pills and clear it up in a few minutes, but my moms been getting nervous about it and wants me to get it checked out. I’d mentioned the symptoms to my doctor a few times but nobody really seemed to care until I offhandedly mentioned the diarrhea symptom. The whole tone of the conversation changed. Suddenly I was out the door with an allergist referral who specialized in mast cell disorders. Is diarrhea the magic word or something?? Is it some secret passcode?? Either way, now I’ve got an appointment.

3/4th of the family has allergy issues. I get hayfever (not anymore thanks to daily hydroxyzine and a mask while outside if it’s polleny), as do my dad and sister. Both of them have asthma, my sister has a whole list of nut allergies and my dad has eosinophilic esophagitis. They’ve said the allergist isn’t pleasant, but I’m not expecting the whole “pricks in the back” thing, especially since I didn’t stop taking my antihistamines.

I’m worried I’m not going to be taken seriously. Even being diagnosed, which is hard enough as is, sometimes isn’t enough to get providers to take me seriously. Get a POTS diagnosis for symptoms I’d been having since I was young? “That’s not a real disorder, just a collection of symptoms.” Get an hEDS diagnosis from a qualified professional who sat down and went through everything for like two hours? “You’re not flexible enough to have that I don’t think that’s right.” I’m not looking for a medal or anything, I’d just like to stop getting hit with bouts of random breathing difficulty and face-on-fire while eating.

I’d be interested to hear about anyone’s appointment experiences here, especially with what to expect regarding allergy testing.

I totally messed up, I didn’t realize I was out of meds. I’ve got exactly one day left, but it’s the weekend. I need my provider to send in the refill request, but they won’t see the message until Monday, and there’s no guarantee they’ll even refill it right away. Is there anything I can do here?? Has anyone ever like, gone to the pharmacy and requested one or two pills?? I can’t go through the withdrawals again, I’m taking care of the house/pets while my family is away; I can’t be out of commission right now. Am I cooked??