bensmith, I'm a cautious person, diagnosis-wise, but I've had a bunch of symptoms (some for decades) that the various specialists I've consulted have been puzzled by. Two have said they simply don't see this in people my age unless there's something serious underlying it (osteoporosis in my mid 30s, and the postural orthostatic and breathlessness upon exertion issues). When I saw the list of typical MCAS symptoms, I realized this was likely my problem, read about the basic protocol, and since I had those things available to me, started it (just over 3 months ago). The "head fog" and sensitivity to temperature fluctuations went away quickly. The sensitivity to sound took a week or two. Then I started tea rich in Luteolin (Mexican oregano and celery seed), and saw other symptoms diminish or vanish after a while. However, if I stress my body beyond the usual, even eating too much in a meal, one or more recur. The good news is that the symptoms tend to go away quickly once I get back to the usual things I do each day.
As to your question, what I think I would do is try to find antihistamines that work for you and take a baby aspirin with each meal (or perhaps two, you just have to "experiment" and see what works for you). You can also try different diets to see if that helps, such as going gluten-free, but I found that over-eating was the major issue (along with citrus foods and citric acid). I thought I had CCI several years ago, and in fact wore a cervical collar for a while, which seemed to help, but the terrible headaches I would get once in a while I haven't experienced since going on my MCAS protocol. I would strongly suggest trying Luteolin or the Mexican oregano and celery seed tea idea, just be careful to buy supplements from a reputable company (there's a Ukranian one that seems like a total scam, for example). Give it several days and see what happens, but you have to keep your lifestyle consistent or else you won't know if it's working or not. I hope it works out for you!
