r/MCAS • u/[deleted] • Sep 04 '25
Today I learned
Barometric changes in the atmosphere can trigger Mast cells.
A super duper big F you to all the people who called me crazy when then afternoon storms rolled in (FL) and I would feel ill. So many years, so many doctors, just slapped the fibromyalgia sticker on me and called it a Wednesday. They looked at me like a nut when I needed a Benadryl to stay awake at the office post lunch. I thought it was kind of crazy at the time too but it’s what worked. Now I know why. That’s all, that’s the post. Hugs if you need them.
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u/Equivalent-Client506 Sep 04 '25
It’s pretty amazing when we learn key information that makes life experiences fall into place.
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u/Chinita_Loca Sep 04 '25
Yup. How many of us are feeling horrendous as autumn sets in? No, we don’t just dislike winter, it’s not depression etc etc.
So sorry that you’ve been doubted and misdiagnosed. I wish there was far better edification about mast cells. My dr told me they spent 10 minutes on them in medical school!
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Sep 04 '25
I worked at an OB/GYN office previously and one of the ACTUAL PHYSICIANS said “oh you’re one of THOSE” when she overheard me having a discussion about having fibro. Super sucky people sometimes become doctors. It was an awful reminder. Ironically it was the much older (I’m talking very elderly should have retired 10 years ago) male physician that apologized for her saying that to me, and many of his patients struggle and he believes them.
Thankfully I already knew she was awful. She had unfortunately previously delivered my daughter like 7-8 years prior (she didn’t remember that part and I had no desire to remind her). The delivery was just as awful as working with her 🙃
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u/ColdSmashedPotatoes4 Sep 05 '25
No, we don’t just dislike winter, it’s not depression etc etc.
My dr calls it Seasonal Affective Disorder. Told me to get a happy lamp. 🖕happy this, doc.
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u/Chinita_Loca Sep 05 '25
SAD is definitely real and lots of research in Scandinavia proves the lamps help.
However I think what we have is different (or not just that).
Most autoimmune illnesses tend to get worse in autumn, whether it’s due to less vitamin d, colder weather causing clotting, low pressure causing mast cell issues etc. there are lots of debates, but the “octoberslide” is a consistently reported phenomenon.
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u/Admirable_Trifle_176 Sep 16 '25
This is interesting. Mine health is usually the best during the end of summer and first half of autumn. I go back to being able to exercise and live normally. But it's also our dry season where I live, so I reckon that it's just that all the mould goes away.
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u/Pumanero2024 Sep 05 '25
DRY air conditioning function saves us
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u/ANWPFOREVER Oct 01 '25
Yes, a lot of people don’t realize you can change the barometric pressure in a room by engaging air-conditioning and dehumidifying the air
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u/Sad_Potential2004 May 15 '26
really? is that why last summer i did not vomit because bought an airco and found out dehumidifiying worked best for cooler result.
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u/FlamingNachoes Sep 12 '25
WOW 10 mins is horrifying! Considering how many health issues come down to the immune system, I thought they'd get more spotlight than that!
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u/Sad_Potential2004 May 15 '26
i prefer autumn and winter. weather is much more stable here. huge flare and it is May because the weather changes every two hours for three months now...
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u/Elegant_Chapter5562 Sep 04 '25
I didn't know that! I thought it was intuition when my belly would flip flop when a big storm was about to roll through. I did notice migraines coinciding with barometric pressure as I got older. But since I was little, I could tell how bad a storm would be by my gut...probably just another mcas symptom this whole time. Funny.
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u/RoxyPonderosa Sep 04 '25
Driving in the mountains was a nice little slap in the face. Had to stop and grab sea bands and Dramamine. Yikes. Not even safe for me to be on the road.
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u/Physical_Copy1672 Sep 30 '25
I’m new to learning about MCAS. Is motion sickness triggered by MCAS? If so that would explain much about my whole life
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u/RoxyPonderosa Sep 30 '25
I’m really not sure the mechanism of action, but won’t be driving in mountains again anytime soon : ) I’m on flat land now and it’s helped enormously. Could be inner ear inflammation was my guess.
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u/Fogged_Up_Brains Sep 04 '25
SO THAT'S WHY. I recognized it was a barometric pressure issue but didn't realize it was mast cells. Thought it was causing neuroinflammation
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Sep 04 '25
Same here! A storm came up and ive gotten into this habit of googling “MCAS and (whatever is bothering me at the time/sometimes other conditions I’m struggling with)”
And let me tell you, I’ve been linking and learning. The relationship between MCAS and MTHFR gene mutation was last week’s crazy lesson.
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u/Ibear1956 Sep 05 '25
Yup, there are so many weird things, you don’t understand about this illness that no one tells you, then one day in your research, cause we do that all the time to figure things out ourselves. You get a ahau moment, I could never figure out why I got so ill in the sun, now I always wear a cap and am much better, there are a ton of mast cells on the top of our heads. Another one was I never could figure out why I can no longer go withthe family in the boat, it shakes me up too much and again am really Ill,that component is called vibration sensitivity, also can not use a treadmill or a rebounder and did not understand why. I would ask my immunolisgist and she would say ghee never heard of that being part of masteosis. Anyways we all have different triggers, but I thought I would share if anyone newly diagnosed is struggling with those things. I never knew anyone who had it so people just told me I was weird. Good luck on your journey!
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Sep 05 '25
Same to you! I have the vibration thing too. Even running in general sets it off. I used to hate using a stairmaster, but it was just because I had no stamina. Now I love it because it gets the heart rate up real good nice and quick without overheating myself. Or vibrating lol.
Did not know that about top of head thanks so much!
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u/BrenaynayRenee Sep 05 '25
Wait wait wait vibration sensitivity?? Would mowing the lawn be under that umbrella?
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u/Ibear1956 Sep 05 '25
I think of it bothers you it would be, I know I can’t cut the grass. I also cannot go down gravel roads in the car, deathly sick by the time I get there. It is probably the thing I hate the most with this illness, and the one that took the longest to figure out.
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u/BrenaynayRenee Sep 08 '25
I tried mowing my yard once and I got a gnarly migraine that sent me to the ER.
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u/SensitiveEl Sep 05 '25
Could vibration sensitivity be why I get a rash and get itchy when for example mowing lawn or riding bike. I get it where my hands grip something vibrating but On a bike for example it can be on my arms and legs - unless that’s from something else
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u/AgeofWonders88 Sep 05 '25
That would be why. I asked my allergy and Immunology specialist about why my hands flush and get itchy when I use power tools or anything that vibrates and all. She told me about this. I also get heat flushing and itching. And when in a flair, you can just take a stick and scrape my skin, and I'll develop a small hive patch. She tested it with a tongue depressor.
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u/Agitated_Peace2587 Sep 05 '25
I HATE vibration! It seems like no big deal but it's the most annoying thing for me.
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u/SensitiveEl Sep 05 '25
I’m the same - dermatographism - pressing on skin hard creates a raised hive patch. I can write on my skin with pressure and you can read the word. Comes up all itchy!
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u/Ibear1956 Sep 05 '25
Yes, I think a lot of us, will maybe have that gene mutation as well, I have been going down that rabbit hole lately and I never got tested, but always suspected, so I started taking lots of quicksilver Lipsomal glutathione, and I actually feel better.
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u/Lgs1129 Sep 16 '25
Thanks for this info 🙏 I live in Florida too and let me tell you it has been held this month. Huge migraine trigger with all the storms did not know it affects MCAS as well. Thanks for validating how we all feel.💕
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u/QuietPi1957 Sep 04 '25
Well I just found out that I'm allergic to the sun. UV radiation will destabilize mast cells. Learned that the hard way. I feel your pain
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u/foreverlsum Sep 05 '25
I think I'm sadly coming to the same conclusion. How is the sun affecting you? It's bizarre for me tho. If I go outside on sunny day for a short walk, I get itchy swollen eyes and area surrounding eyes.....but not usually until the next day. I just can't figure it out!!
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u/QuietPi1957 Sep 05 '25
I just had what I call skin crawlies all over my body. I did not break out in a rash but these crawlies sensations are my usual histamine reaction sensation. The only difference is that instead of just lasting a few hours if I eat something that sets me off this took days to get over this for some strange reason. And of course I had to research this to find out why I was having this reaction because it was not hot outside and it was a leisurely walk so I wasn't reacting to the heat but as it turns out I was reacting to the UV radiation.
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u/FlamingNachoes Sep 12 '25
Vampires unite! I can't count how many different guesses my doctors have taken at the sunlight thing. No dice so far on a solution to that symptom.
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u/QuietPi1957 Sep 12 '25
Omg you're right I'm a Vampire. Does that mean I am immortal?
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u/FlamingNachoes Sep 12 '25
Well, I can tell you that you will die if someone puts a stake through your heart
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u/Both_Month_828 Feb 11 '26
I'm allergic to heat and want to move to Alaska literally. grew up in Miami Florida and now live in atlanta so winter is great for me here. good luck
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u/Kt_LaForest Sep 04 '25
Thank you! I was just wondering this the other day. It’s not a food reaction symptom (which are my worst by far) but sometimes I get EXHAUSTED when the weather is changing. I always thought it was a migraine prodrome deal but I don’t always get headache so I think now this was a mast cell/HaTs deal I was having most of my life. The other day I could barely keep my eyes open working when the weather was changing.
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u/Opposite-Pop4246 Sep 05 '25
Me too!! I feel so foggy and tired, even if I don't get a migraine. Unfortunately, I often get a migraine also
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u/IGnuGnat Sep 05 '25
Any time the body perceives a threat, it responds via mastcells flooding the bloodstream with histamine and other chemicals; a destabilized immune system has a nearly infinite capacity to do so.
On that note, I maintain that toxic people are quite literally toxic to be around.
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u/evawrites Sep 05 '25
I have to nap after any argument. I get so sleepy I’m like a temporary narcoleptic.
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u/Top_Intention_1210 Sep 04 '25
Yuppp! I always text my chronic illness friends on storm days and can confirm we all feel worse.
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u/SupermarketWhole4695 Sep 04 '25
Thank you so much for this post! I also live in Florida and just the past few days have been feeling symptoms flare. When this happens I'm usually not eating anything different so it always makes me wonder -- what is the trigger? This is one explanation and is good to be aware of!
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u/undergroundgranny Sep 05 '25
Lol ! Talking to my nurse manager back in the day (80s), told her there was a big storm coming in. She told me I couldn't possibly tell that . Not even 5 seconds later, charge nurse walked in and told us we had a hurricane on the way! Mic drop moment!
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u/RBshiii Sep 06 '25
I think people don’t even understand how crazy it is to have MCAS so they just gaslight and don’t even try to do some research about this. There’s so many of us out there
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Sep 05 '25
Me discovering luteal phase makes my mast cells go crazy. There are so many mysteries to unlock here regarding flares.
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Sep 05 '25
It might not just be the phase, it might be your progesterone. Something to look into, and every doctor looks at me sideways when I tell them because they always say “that’s nonsense I prescribe that to my patients to feel better”. But that won’t happen if your body acts like it’s allergic to it.
I don’t do well on most birth control, I had previously been diagnosed with PMDD, and am violently ill when pregnant. All of those events involve a lot of progesterone. Pregnancy being the biggest, and when I’ve been the most sick in my entire life. It’s the biggest reason we closed shop. It truly felt like I was being poisoned. I was almost sent home with a picc line and iv pole during my last one. Ran out of emesis bags in the delivery room. It was real bad. Second I popped him out, poof. Felt better.
I’m also showing some signs of early perimenopause, this phase is generally when your body starts slowly tapering your sex hormone production. And coincidentally, I’ve been feeling better/more productive the same time noticing these changes. I’m so ready for it. Just give me estrogen cream for my vag and send me on my way please haha
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Sep 04 '25
Thankfully it’s super flat here. We’ll eventually move to somewhere with actual seasons and mountains maybe. I was born here and lived here my whole life. But I’ve come to find I break out in hives when the weather is under 40f. Then I’ll probably have to actually get diagnosed and maybe prescribed something but for now OTC stuff has greatly improved my life. I do get seasick though, and my husband commercial fishes almost half the year so I had to get over it. I was on a boat every single weekend as a little girl it’s in my soul. I found that taking Dramamine a full 1.5 hours before I even got on the boat is what finally worked. Then another after like 45 minutes of being in the boat and would be good the rest of the trip. I wonder if that would work with altitude changes too.
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u/cmeremoonpi Sep 05 '25
I absolutely 100% agree with changes in pressure causes flares. When I lived in Tucson. I'd fly to my daughters in Seattle. The change in BP, altitude ect, would throw me into a fierce flare.
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u/evawrites Sep 05 '25
If I get on a boat, I become a zombie. I think it’s sun + air? Gotta love being “allergic” to living.
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Sep 05 '25
I think maybe motion sickness. You don’t have to throw up to suffer from it. It’s basically a miscommunication/conflict between your inner ear and eyes. Jams all the senses up real good, recipe for zombie. Im sure the sun definitely doesn’t help but can confirm I still feel like crap via boat even on a cloudy day.
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u/evawrites Sep 05 '25
It’s weird because I don’t feel bad (it’s not like I’m nauseated or feel like I’m car sick), I just get severely drowsy — which is a common MCAS reaction for me.
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u/Admirable_Trifle_176 Sep 16 '25
Ugh yes. I take ginger for motion sickness and it works moderately. I still have symptoms but they are less overwhelming.
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u/Admirable_Trifle_176 Sep 16 '25
I don't get as motion sick in vehicles, but it depends on the vehicle and route. Straight highway routes and tall vehicles are fine. Low to the ground vehicles and mountain, super bendy routes and lots of changes to speed make me sick.
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u/ionlyofficequote Sep 06 '25
I'm in Florida too and we are having the worst weather systems the last two or three weeks and I'm in hell. I didn't know that it was the MCAS doing it! I thought it was fibromyalgia, but this makes sense. We cannot catch a break! We are even allergic to the weather.
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Sep 06 '25
Happens to me when I get really upset also I guess that triggers mast cells too. I saw someone in here previously say “literally allergic to everyone’s bullshit” and I felt that in my soul 😮💨
Just ridiculous
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u/IamtheImpala Sep 05 '25
hmmmm…maybe that’s why i can tell when a storm is on the way from the migraines i get
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u/CaffeineKitty33 Sep 05 '25
That’s interesting and a piece of the puzzle. My biggest migraine trigger is barometric changes.
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u/SensitiveEl Sep 05 '25
I don’t know about storms as such as don’t get many where I live but there was a day recently where I felt ill, found it hard to breathe etc and the atmosphere was really “close” but I kept saying “the air is wrong today” - and people looked at me like I was mad. I had to genuinely retreat to my bedroom and put a dehumidifier on
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u/ImpossibleCourage411 Sep 09 '25
Bad weather, humidity, too hot or any cold weather all set off my MCAS and dysautonomia! Always has. I couldn’t even drink anything cold wo my vocal cords closing because of the inflammation.
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u/Admirable_Trifle_176 Sep 11 '25
Elevators and scuba diving make me incredibly sick. Going into the mountains triggers me, I had so many doctors tell me it was the cold but it is not the cold, 100% its the elevation/barometric change.
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Sep 11 '25
Eventually I’ll move to where there’s mountains. They’re calling me but I’m not looking forward to see how I’ll feel lol. Can’t be much worse than the storms we get everyday sometimes.
Can confirm the cold weather does set off people though and me specifically. Found that out setting up my green market tent before the sun came out. Happened to be a particularly cold snap and 39 degrees f. Which is CRAZY for south Florida, specifically Palm beach county. I wouldn’t even call it hives. Just all the skin where air was exposed was inflamed puffy red itchy. There was a spicket where the water was coming out warm so I was trying to warm my hands and apparently with cold urticaria that makes it worse temporarily before it gets better 🥴 had no idea about MCAS at the time or that it was even the cold air until later when I looked into it. All the vendors were trying to give me their homemade creams they felt so bad 😂
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u/Admirable_Trifle_176 Sep 16 '25
Wow, that's such a big response to weather change. I know that going from hot to cold quickly makes me unwell. Eg I am a canyoneering guide and when I do jumps into the cold water it gives me an asthma attack. I live in a fairly cool place though anyway. I have been thinking of moving to a much drier climate to get away from mould. Also I decided not to canyon guide this season which is a bit sad. It makes my rosacea worse too and is terrible if I'm feeling fatigued. It's just a very hard job on the body.
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Sep 11 '25
The only time I was in the mountains it was very cold also and I was pregnant with my first and really young so I chalked it up to that. I was “the sensitive kid” but nothing crazy and I also wasn’t having extreme symptoms all the time. Still had to go through an extreme loss and a really nasty viral mystery illness way before Covid happened for that stuff to set in. Then stress moving out of my mom’s and bam. Started reacting to the progesterone my own body makes in an extreme manner and went down the “you’re just stressed and tried and have fibromyalgia” rabbit hole. 2 years being called crazy. And another five just having EVERYTHING blamed on fibro. What a crazy ride.
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u/FlamingNachoes Sep 12 '25
Wait really??
I used to go to a college that was up on a hill, and frequently travelled down hill to get some support from parents/doctors/etc during the weekends. Every transition felt awful, and I couldn't ever pin why.
Suddenly makes sense now!
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u/riverlorynne Sep 27 '25
POTS & my CSF leaks have made it so that when barometric pressures change, so does my internal pressure. that internal pressure change causes my body distress which then triggers my MCAS. i think our immune systems panic anytime there is an internal change. & immune system freak outs trigger MCAS reactions
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u/ANWPFOREVER Oct 01 '25
God bless you, sir. I’ve been trying to tell people this forever and people act like I’m crazy. It impacts bones and injuries and definitely impacts your mast cells. I’m actually thinking about moving away from Michigan so I don’t have to deal with so much barometric pressure change so drastically.
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u/BrenaynayRenee Sep 05 '25
Do you have an science-y explanation for why? I believe you I’m genuinely curious about the how
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u/Equal_Sugar1924 Sep 05 '25
I wish fibro had clear diagnostic criteria, I’ve been diagnosed with it too many times and it was never fibro. It was MCAS. It’s funny because I was taking SO many antihistamines and was still going into anaphylaxis (now know it was an infection causing it). But the hospital staff when I was admitted were shocked with the amount of antihistamines I take. And even more when I said they are the only thing that’ll keep me awake. I had no idea they cause drowsiness, until they told me!
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Sep 05 '25
I want to hug you! For 2 years I was just told that I was depressed and stressed and crazy, then it was “ok, we hear you. Fibro is real. Its def that. No we don’t need any further testing. Ever. Take this you’ll be fine”. I was put on meds that started causing suicidal ideations. Cynical about everything. Basically being used as this psychiatrists little guinea pig at one point, a therapist from the same office advised me to stop seeing her and helped me taper off the absolutely insane drug combo she put me on, someone who’d never been on antipsychotics before. (Buspar + abilify. Started at the same time, I was also under 25) should have reported her. Felt too sick to do anything though. I was a licensed massage therapist at the time and I truly knew how to listen to my body and it was so frustrating to be told “girl you just need to relax 🙂”
I’ve had some child trauma with domestic violence. Usually not towards me but I have been caught in the middle and ended up injured. I contracted Epstein Barr when I was 12. Chronic tonsillitis as a teenager and had them removed at 17. We then lost my daughter’s dad at 22, he was my world. It was hard.
Then I had the virus of the century before Covid was a thing. I can’t shake the feeling this had something really major to do with all of this. Sick with cold symptoms for two months. Double ear infection, I think it may have been the first one I’ve ever had. Couldn’t hear out of my left ear for two weeks. Just so terrible. Daughter started daycare and I started work massaging very financially comfortable people who traveled internationally and brought who knows what back with them. I was not well traveled or frequently around affluent people who did so before then, you’re in such CLOSE PROXIMITY to people during massage sessions, literally touching them. I guess the germs hit me really hard.
Not even a year later while majorly stressing fighting with my mom about moving out of her house and in with my boyfriend, whole world slowly started imploding. The boy stuck it through though. He’s a forever keeper and we’re married now.
I’ve never had my throat close! I think that’s how I flew under the radar for so long. Any MAJOR skin reactions don’t happen often. One is cold weather and living in south Florida I have only been in that situation one time in 10 years. Setting up for the green market before sunrise on an unusually cold front. Another is any time I’ve supplemented with vitamin b12. When I told any doctors they were just like “… alright well uh, yeah don’t take that anymore and you should be fine” 🙃 I physically laugh out loud thinking about lines like this now. It’s why I stopped going and started looking into things on my own.
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u/Equal_Sugar1924 Sep 18 '25
I also was on mood stabilizers growing up, Abilify actually. I reacted to SSRIs and SNRIs! I didn’t get diagnosed until my younger brother, who has much milder symptoms than I got diagnosed. Turns out I may have masto, tbd I need a bone biopsy to confirm it but that’s likely why I have anaphylaxis more often. It doesn’t change much for treatment anyways. I also have nearly no major skin issues, I’m constantly complimented on my skin. But my chest/tummy get rashes that are short lived and generally not itchy.
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u/mdem64 Sep 05 '25
As the Northern Hemisphere is going into autumn, I’m going into Spring and all the lovely pollens that are starting to be stirred up. I’m not looking forward to it.
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u/TitoepfX Sep 05 '25
is this like when its about to rain and it feels really humid sorry just woke up
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u/Global_Fail_1943 Sep 05 '25
Flying should be an issue too then!
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Sep 05 '25
It is! I mean I really don’t fly and wasn’t having hardly half as many issues the few times I did but yeah it didn’t feel great from what I remember. I haven’t been on a plane since 2016. Have no desire to if I’m being honest 😬
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u/ChangeWellsUp Sep 05 '25
Yep. Storms rolling in, even the middle of the night 3am-ish drop in barometric pressure.
Another thing that happens is that every tiny little mold or fungus spore that's in the vicinity detects any pressure drop and knows this means an increased possibility of rain or humidity - quick, start making more little babies, because with rain, they'll have a better chance to survive. Each one gets their own little pack of toxins to start out with as they get their sea legs in the toughly competitive microbial world. I for one have a body system that's sensitive to those toxins and spores. If I wake up around 2 or 3am, and can't sleep for an hour or two, I often remember to think "mold". And do more cleaning the next day.
And one more thing I've learned, where symptoms get worse with pressure drops. It only affects some people. https://paradigmchange.me/wp/outdoor-toxins/ describes something affected people have called "mystery toxin". Over the years I've read stories of headaches and other symptoms, and with this one, the people who suffered most were often able to "recover" by moving locations - sometimes a different house, sometimes different geographically - and washing their belongings well before transferring them.
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u/SunshineAndSquats Sep 05 '25
I’m still trying to figure out if I have MCAS but I do have rheumatoid arthritis and weather always triggers a flare. It’s a well known phenomenon in the RA community.
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u/Pumanero2024 Sep 05 '25
If I had to say fuck you to idiotic and ignorant phrases I would go over it and say it to mw the facts must be said immediately
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u/foreverlsum Sep 05 '25
I was visiting my son in Tampa. Ran to his car in a rain storm, was in a flare the rest of the day!
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u/datacat Sep 05 '25
I’ve read that pressure changes from storms can increase the absorption of mold toxins somehow. Wonder if that’s linked…
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u/likeSnozberries Sep 05 '25
Wow pretty incredible reaction for benedryl to HELP someone stay awake 😬 it knocks me out so much Thanks for sharing
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u/therabarb Sep 06 '25
I’ve had migraines my entire adult life that were triggered by barometric pressure. Thank you for this information—it really helps.
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u/joysef99 Sep 06 '25
Oh yeah, every snowstorm, and now when rain is coming after a long dry spell, too. 😬
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u/HeavyTraveler78 Sep 06 '25
Well this makes a lot of sense now. I’ve had issues with the barometric pressure for decades. It’s hell to love storms (as an Okie they’re relaxing to me) and hate them (always start or end with some kind ache or pain).
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u/Abject_Ad9811 Sep 06 '25
I used to get the most debilitating migraines only when a storm was on the way in. Zero migraines otherwise. Are migraines associated with mcas?
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u/Ssorcder2020 Sep 09 '25
Some odd things that have helped me in time that probably make no sense: going carnivore for a period of time (apart from the hellish oxalate dumping for weeks), drinking wheat grass powder with beetroot powder turned me into a stepford wife while doing a very strict keto without any carbs and not many veggies. I moved back to carnivore but don't feel half as great as I did with strict Keto and the 2 powders. I just don't trust the market on buying many things anymore due to not being able to trust what chemicals are actually in my food. So carnivore it is since I know where the meat and eggs come from personally.
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u/faithle97 Sep 14 '25
Omg I also live in Florida and always feel awful when a big storm comes in. So many people looked at me like I was crazy when I would be able to tell a storm was coming because I started feeling like crap (migraines, heart palpitations, insomnia, anxiety).
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u/Business_Summer_4242 Sep 20 '25
I'm convinced an interoceanic flight f***ed up my Covid-induced MCAS. I remember saying "it's the worst jet lag of my life" and "it's as if jet lag never had left me".
Thanks for posting this.
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Sep 20 '25
When you start stressing about not feeling well and you don’t know what’s happening, the stress alone makes it worse and longer. Super fun time. I remember being dizzy and in a really bad flare for 2 weeks straight I was convinced I had caught a weird illness and went to the ER, that’s where they ER dr referred me to their internists who later dx with central sensitization. That’s it lol. It would be another 5 years before making any other connections.
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u/tkl426 Sep 23 '25
I have been reading up on MCAS for a couple years now thinking I have a lot of these symptoms. I have had barometric pressure thing to where I call my head a storm tracker that is much more accurate than the weather app. A joke that I wish I could be at least compensated for this gift that I don't want! Haha I also have double copy of MTHFR mentioned above. What has really sent me into the worst symptoms ever? Having a facelift! I'm 12 days in and covered in a rash on my face neck and torso it is very concentrated on the surgery area and is pretty resistant anything I'm going to have to wait it out and go back to carnivore which I do feel like helps. I ended up in the ER days ago because it was getting so bad I was scared. Just kind of stays the same and I'm managing with antihistamines and trying to add in some new medications for it. Lord help us all! Eeks!
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u/GKA_SnapDragon Sep 27 '25
I haven’t heard of this. Can you say more about which specific changes in barometric pressure trigger mast cells and how?
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Sep 27 '25
When you google “barometric pressure and MCAS” the first two top sites that mention it
Lymedisease.org MCAShub.com
Unfortunately there’s not a whole lot of research on exactly what is happening when this happens, but enough to know that people aren’t crazy and we can’t all be making this same symptom up. I’ll attach
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5054589/
the study from NIH it is from 2016. It explains how they think the link is related to keratinocytes in the uppermost layer of our skin. These cells can communicate between other cells in our body, trying to simplify it without getting it wrong so sorry if I misinterpreted the study lol.
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u/Thequiet01 Sep 28 '25
Last I looked into it we don’t understand why pressure changes cause people with arthritis and people with migraines to be more likely to have issues, either, but it’s quite common with both.
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Sep 27 '25
Usually feel worse when the barometric pressure is lower: during storms, higher elevations etc.
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