Histamine Intolerance

I have been struggling with an extremely itchy rash that moves around my torso and legs since July.  My doctor put me on prednisone for 5 days. It went away but came back in a few days with a vengeance. 

My doctor was concerned and thought I should have a biopsy done. He sent me to a dermatologist who couldn't see me until May of 2023. Through a series of events I was able to get into a doctor in the dermatologist office who does surgery and knows about skin conditions.

 He said it was a histamine rash and put me on a 28 day regimen of prednisone and told me to take Zyrtec and Allegra as well as Pepcid which is an antihistamine. The rash subsidided considerably but I could tell it was still there. 

In the mean time I was researching possible causes.  It seemed to be related to what I eat but I couldn't pin down a particular food. I also have other mild allergy symptoms that I ignored because I have always had congestion of some sort. I thought it was genetic.  I came across Histamine Intolerance on the internet.

I was trying to maintain a low histamine diet for about a week before the prednisone would be done. I was concerned about the rash coming back. It is so uncomfortable. 

There is conflicting information about what foods are low histamine.  I found a low histamine food list here:

https://www.histaminintoleranz.ch/downloads/SIGHI-Leaflet_HistamineEliminationDiet.pdf

And a blog that has some great recipes here:

https://www.throughthefibrofog.com

One that I recently tried is Nomato Sauce. Made from carrots and beets.... it amazingly tastes and looks like tomato sauce. 

I have found several low histamine accounts on Instagram and Pinterest.   However many of the recipes aren't low histamine if I am looking at the SIGHI list.

Of course main stream medical practioners are not familiar with Histamine Intolerance.  My doctor was willing to look up a suggested enzyme supplement to take before eating known histamine foods.  It is called diamine oxidase or DAO.  He said if it works he didn't think it would hurt. 

So my saga continues.  I am currently trying to stay with low histamine eating and taking the DAO if I am not sure what is in food while eating away from home. I am also taking  Allegra, Zyrtec and Pepcid daily. I have not had the rash flare up like it did before.  I do still feel some itchiness and think I am keeping it under control to a point. 

In addition to the histamine issue I also am lactose intolerant.  Interesting that both are from enzymes that my body is not producing adequately. 

I am going to try some "gut healing" supplements from a company called Silver Fern Brand.  I will keep you posted on how that turns out. 

 The  reason I wanted to blog about this was my amazement at the Nomato Sauce recipe.  I never thought beets and carrots could tastes like tomatoes! 

After thinking about it I wanted to share my experience because there is not much information out there and it is often conflicting. It seems that each person may react differently to different foods. 

I am cautiously trying some higher histamine foods after taking the DAO enzyme.  I can feel the itchiness level rise sometimes but it hasn't come back with a vengeance.  

I have always enjoyed fermented and pickled food which are very high in histamine. Aged meats and cheeses are a "no".  Beans, boullion broth and some spices are high histamine so my favorite soups are off the list for now. Also food should be frozen or eaten within 24 hours of making it. It has not been easy but neither is having the rash. 

I would love to hear from anyone else who might be going down this same rabbit hole!