A 62-Year-Old’s Journey to Manage Histamine Intolerance and Autoimmunity
I had a patient come to me recently, a 62-year-old woman, who was really struggling with persistent hives, histamine reactions, and a long-standing autoimmune skin condition called vitiligo. This poor woman had been dealing with these frustrating symptoms for ages.
When she first came to see me, she had already tried making some dietary changes on her own. I put her on a low-histamine diet, which involved cutting out a number of high-histamine foods like aged cheeses, fermented items, cured meats, and certain fruits and veggies. And you know what? That actually helped reduce her symptoms by around 60%. She also started taking quercetin, which can help stabilize mast cells and histamine release.
But even with those dietary and supplemental interventions, she was still having a lot of problems. So I decided we needed to take a deeper dive to uncover the root causes behind her histamine intolerance and autoimmunity.
I ordered a comprehensive GI-MAP stool test, and let me tell you, the results were really eye-opening. The test showed she had some significant imbalances in her gut microbiome. There were elevated levels of bacteria like Morganella and Citrobacter, which are known to produce excess histamine and contribute to intolerance issues. And it also revealed the presence of problematic bugs like Pseudomonas and Klebsiella, which have been linked to autoimmune conditions.
Seeing those gut dysbiosis findings was crucial – it gave us a much clearer picture of what was driving her stubborn symptoms. The GI-MAP also screened for other common gut imbalances like parasites, candida, and gluten sensitivity, but those didn’t seem to be major factors in her case.
Armed with this detailed stool analysis, we were able to develop a targeted treatment plan to get her gut microbiome back into a healthier state. This includes using some therapeutic herbs and supplements to reduce those problematic bacterial overgrowths. And of course, we’re keeping up with the low-histamine dietary changes and quercetin supplementation that were already providing some relief.
It’s still early days, but I’m hopeful that by addressing the root gut imbalances we identified, we’ll be able to help this patient achieve more lasting improvement in her histamine intolerance and autoimmune vitiligo symptoms. The power of functional medicine testing to uncover and treat the real drivers of complex chronic conditions never ceases to amaze me.
If you’re interested to see what’s lurking in your microbiome and how that might be influencing your health, you can order you own GI-Map test kit here.
Looking for a Functional Medicine practitioner or a Chronic Fatigue Specialist in Adelaide? Contact Elemental Health and Nutrition to help you with your needs. We’re committed to empowering you on your wellness journey. Our holistic approach focuses on integrating nutritional medicine with cutting-edge testing techniques.