Hi! I have pretty much the same going on at the moment and i'm in the UK. I am being tested for Lymes disease and I think it may be a very good idea for you to have these tests too, especially in light of the insect bite theory. Go and read a reliable source on Lyme's and see if it makes sense to you! You will need both the ELISA and Western Blot tests to make a definitive diagnosis - the ELISA alone can throw up false negatives. I am waiting on my results at the moment, which probably take longer for us here than it does where you are. Good luck and I hope you get a diagnosis and start to get well soon! (BTW, i'm taking 4 x 10mg cetirizine at the moment - makes me so tired)!
Im not sure about mastocytosis but i can share that i control my rashes and high histamine from dog and dust allergies by drinking water at the right time. sounds crazy but my flared skin on legs and back was really bad. i read about this on net. 2 glasses first thing when you wake up...a glass half hour before other meals. a glass half hour before bath or shower. a glass after. this is supposed to keep cells hydrated and ease histamine and it works for me. gone from 1 - 2 atarax a day to 2 a week...also cut out red meat and processed foods like ham and. soft drinks are bad too. hope this helps you too x
I am a 33 year old woman, I was diagnosed with dermographia 3 years ago and take a prescription antihistamine every day to help with symptoms. I first had skin problems in 2003, my skin would itch so badly that I would want to peel it off. It stopped for a while and reappeared again and it has been like this for 4 years, the only thing that helps take the edge off it is the antihistamine. I don't have to have scratched my skin for it to mark. My skin just starts prickling (like millions of tiny insects are crawling over it), it feels very prickly and almost like it's burning. What would be the reason for this?
I had dealt with my high histamine levels by taking S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) which is a readily available natural supplement that has a lot of mainstream science behind it. All the articles I read said that it would take 2-3 weeks to see improvement but I noticed it starting within 24 hours. It also helps anxiety.
I forgot I also got the labs back for IgE 109, Hep B neg, Hep C neg, Mono neg, C1 inhibitor 15, Cryoglobulin neg.
Thanks
Thank you for your comment. I have one more question for you. I have the results from the biopsy:
Clinical DX:
Mastocytosis
Gross:
Left Abdomen, 4mm punch biopsy of skin. In toto.
REC/
Microscopic:
Ortho and parakeratosis with serum overlie and excoriated epidermis showing slight spongiosis and acanthosis. The superficial and deep dermis have a wedge-shaped perivascular and interstitial infiltrate of lymphocytes with numerous admixed eosinophils.
Diagnosis:
Skin of left abdomen:
Subacute spongiotic dermatitis with eosinophils, favor arthropod assault, see microscopic description and comment
Comment:
The depth of the dermal infiltrate with numerous eosinophils ands its wedge-shape favor arthropod assault. Systemic hypersensitivity reaction is an additional consideration. Other considerations include allergic contact dermatitis and nummular dermatitis. A tryptase stain with appropriate positive and negative controls showa a slight increase in the number of dermal mast cells. However, the overall pattern of the inflammatory infiltrate favors arthropod assault.
He didn't sound convinced about the bug bite and it doesn't explain the inflammation problems everywhere else. He said between the hematologist, him and my primary (internist) one of them would figure it out. The hematologist is running another PPT as the last showed a 59 but according to the lab shouldn't be above 43. Added another 10 mg of Atarax at lunchtime for a total of 20mg at lunch and a total of 50 mg for the day. I know you said might be an immune system disorder but what tests should I ask them to do to maybe get this figured out? Please help!
Hi,
Mastocytosis comes in three forms. Most cases produce symptoms but do not shorten life expectancy. The three forms are:
Mastocytoma, a benign skin tumor.
Urticaria pigmentosa, small collections of mast cells in the skin that manifest as salmon or brown-colored patches.
Systemic mastocytosis, the collection of mast cells in the skin, lymph nodes, liver, spleen, gastrointestinal tract, and bones.
The cause of mastocytosis is unknown. People with systemic mastocytosis have bone and joint pain. Peptic ulcers are frequent because of the increased stomach acid stimulated by histamine. Many patients with systemic mastocytosis also develop urticaria pigmentosa. These skin lesions itch when stroked and may become fluid-filled.
These symptoms seem to be in line with Mastocytosis.
However if biopsy does not confirm it, then it could be due to an immune system disorder.
ref:http://www.myonlinewellness.com/topic/topic100587133