What is this? Allergic to BULLSHIT

“The term “mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS)” is finding increasing use as a diagnosis for individuals who present with signs and symptoms involving the dermis, gastrointestinal track and cardiovascular system; frequently accompanied by neurologic complaints. Such patients often have undergone multiple extensive medical evaluations by different physicians in varied disciplines without a definitive medical diagnosis until the diagnosis of “MCAS” is applied. However, “MCAS” as a distinct clinical entity has not been generally accepted nor do there exist definitive criteria for diagnosis.”[1]

I’m fast forwarding through years of specialists and stories to get you to this point. This is what it is, well sort of. The best way to explain it, is I’m allergic to everything. Essentially, I’m allergic to bullshit, I’m allergic to your bullshit, my bullshit, environmental bullshit… You get the idea.

Best way to describe it, is like this. Today, I want to expose myself to extreme heat, and then work out, by the time I decide to do anything else, take a cold shower (you’re going to get hives) or eat your favorite high histamine meal, or have a margarita, ( be prepped with your epi pen, you may be welcoming anaphylactic shock into your dinner plans) unless you take all the antihistamines necessary to just walk out into the sun.

A basic sunburn makes my face swell and turn me into a sad attempt at looking like Frankenstein. My eyelids, forehead, skin swelled. For the ones who passed 7th grade science…. remember a cell with a nucleus? Remember our skin cells are made up of 7 layers of skin cells? Imagine all 7 layers of cells, swelling like 10x their size. It felt like my skin was a mask on my face, I could do nothing but ingest more antihistamines to get rid of the swelling. ALLERGIC TO A SUNBURN… I think of all the systemic diseases out there, this is the most bullshit illness to deal with. Happiness can easily get sucked OUT OF EVERYTHING you ever experience or have experienced in your life, with one accidental exposure, or spending one extra ounce of energy where it didn’t count that day.

AND IF YOU ARE STRESSED….. just forget about it that day, you might as well stay at home. Each added on additional stressor from that point will shoot you in the foot for days, you’ll wind up in bed anyway, praying to be able to sleep for the following two to three days to recuperate. In fact, sleep is your friend when you have Mast Cell Activation.

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[1] Akin, Cem et al. “Mast cell activation syndrome: Proposed diagnostic criteria.” The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology vol. 126,6 (2010): 1099-104.e4. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2010.08.035