Dr. Aaron Hartman explains mast cell activation syndrome, a condition that mimics 30 to 40 other illnesses and affects 19 percent of people in some populations. Symptoms range from flushing and food reactivity to anaphylaxis. Lab tests are unreliable because markers appear and disappear, so doctors often diagnose by trial with drugs like cromolyn and supplements like quercetin.
Questions this episode answers
Approximately 19% (in Germany).
Approximately 3–5% for POTS; ~10% when including broader dysautonomia forms.
He states 'half of all buildings' have water damage.
23% of the population (as stated).
Book: Uncurable by Dr. Aaron Hartman. URL: UncurableBook.com
Chapters
One form is actually people getting anaphylaxis spontaneously for no reason. You can get GI tract issues, rectal itching, malabsorption, gas bloating, whole bunch of gut problems. You can get stomatitis, mouth issues. You can actually have dental problems. You can get. There's actually certain cancers associated with muscle activation syndrome, different recurrent infections, thing of your bones, hormonal problems, osteoporosis. And there's a list of the 30, 40 plus different parts of your body that can be affected by mast cell activation syndrome. It's a great imitator. This is the last of our five part saga on mystery illnesses. What they are, we've talked about Lyme, we talked about mold, autoimmune issues, dysautonomia. And the last of these mystery illnesses I want to talk about is mast cell activation syndrome. Now, this may be a new term to some people, but it's actually quite common. According to research from Dr. Molderings in Germany, 19% of Germans test positive for this. So what does that mean? That means that it's probably pretty common here in the United States as well. We have a little more diverse population here than in Germany, but point being, northern European descent, you know, 19%, that, that's pretty common. So what does mast cell activation syndrome look like? Some people refer to it as histamine intolerance. Sometimes it can look like flushing. People have issues with food reactivity. They can have sensitivities, multiple chemical sensitivities. It can look like things like fatigue, shortness of breath. One form is actually people getting anaphylaxis spontaneously for no reason. You can get GI tract issues, rectal itching, malabsorption, gas bloating, whole bunch of gut problems. You can get stomatitis, mouth issues, you can actually have dental problems. You can get. There's actually certain cancers associated with muscle activation syndrome, different recurrent infections, thing of your bones, hormonal problems, osteoporosis. And there's a list of 30, 40 plus different parts of your body that can be affected by mast cell activation syndrome. It's a great imitator. So how do you make the diagnosis? Well, one, there's actually some symptom questionnaires we use in our clinic to kind of walk people through to see if they cluster in this area. Again, realize there's a lot of crossover with mast cell and the other mystery illnesses and they can be triggers for muscle activation. So if someone has a lot of the symptoms, you know, doing labs is helpful. But the problem with the doing lab testing. And this, this entity is that, that the labs, the, the markers themselves, some of them live seconds or minutes. And so if the blood isn't processed just the right way, they're not caught just the right time. The testing results will be negative. And you might think someone doesn't have this, but they really do. And unfortunately, when people go to the emergency room, they feel really sick. They tend not to be able to get the testing done the right way because emergency rooms are not familiar with this illness as well. So we tend to do things called therapeutic trials, where if someone's having POTS or dysautonomia and gut issues and reactions, we'll use Cromolyn or H1, H2 blockers, which would be Claritin, Pepcid, using nutritional things, resveratrol, Quercetin. And some people are so bad you actually use biologics, different medications to help block mast cell responses. But the really thing with, currently the way mast cell activation syndrome is dealt with is with these things called therapeutic trials where you list things out. And I have a list we give to patients that, that they walk through. But the point, mast cell activation syndrome is complicated, involves multiple systems, multiple symptoms. Lab testing is not amazing. Even when done the right way. You actually are supposed to do three different lab tests at three different times and you need three times they're negative, which again, it's hard to get people to do that, especially when you need to get off all your medications and supplements that might make you be helping you feel better. Then all the things I mentioned previously, mold, Lyme, autoimmune issues, POTS and dysautonomia, they can all be part of or triggers of mast cell activation syndrome.
Have you ever lost trust in your own body or in the doctors who were supposed to help you heal? It happens to millions of people who are stuck in the cycle of prescriptions, tests, and more questions than answers. That's why Dr. Aaron Hartman wrote his new book, Uncurable. As a physician and a parent, he's lived through the pain of being told there's nothing more we can do. But instead of accepting that, he built a new path, one that combines traditional and functional medicine to uncover what's really driving illness. Uncurable is more than a book. It's a roadmap to help you find the root causes your doctor might have missed, reactivate your body's natural healing systems, and finally believe in what's possible. Again, if you've lost hope or trust in the system, this book will help you take back control. Go to UncurableBook.com and grab your copy along with Dr. Hartman's free resources to help you start your healing journey today.
So if you're having multiple symptoms and multiple systems, your body, you're having these mystery illnesses that no one can quite put their finger on, then you probably should be working with someone who can kind of help you, walk you through these these things that can deal with everything I mentioned. And there's other mystery illnesses that are out there that I haven't gone into, things related to oxalates and yeast overgrowth. The reality is there's a whole ecosystem. Maybe you should make a specialty a mystery illness specialist, which in many ways is kind of what we do because you have to have a whole body system approach. Question I have for you all out there today is has anybody out there been diagnosed with mast cell activation syndrome? Have histamine issues? What was your journey? Typically it takes several different doctors or practitioners to work with before you get the diagnosis. What was your journey? How long did it take for you to get the diagnosis and what did you go through? I think sharing this is helpful because it helps other people see that they're not alone and also gives people information what they need to advocate for and ultimately need to work with a practitioner who's familiar with these different mystery illnesses. I can help walk them through this as well if this information is helpful. Please like Share Subscribe I'd be curious to hear your story if you're one of these mast cell individuals as well. And that ends our 5.5 part series on talking about mystery illnesses. Which one you might have what to think about especially. And the reality is with all of these, they are actually quite common Lyme. I didn't actually talk about this previously, so I guess I'll mention it here since this was one's a little shorter. According to this cdc, there are as many new cases of Lyme disease in our country as cases of breast cancer every year with mold. Half of all buildings have water damage in our country and 23% of the population has the gene that increases their susceptibility to that all immune issues. Maybe 20% of the population has antibodies related to autoimmune issues in certain populations. It's pretty it gets more common as you get older. Pots and dysautonomia. Some of the pots information says maybe 3 to 5% of the population has pots. When you add in dysautonomia in general, like the mildiforms, it's probably close to 10% has some type of dysautonomia and then mast cell activation syndrome from Dr. Moldering's work. Maybe 19% of the population has it. The thing I think it's interesting is the numbers with Lyman mold is they're very similar numbers and so there's a ton of overlap between these five characters don't come alone. They tend to come together. And so then having an ability to address all those is super huge when dealing with a chronic health issue. That again is a mystery type illness. Anyway, if you have a drone mystery else I haven't mentioned, I'd be curious what it is. Put it below. Maybe it's something we're aware of and we could talk about. Maybe it's a new one to us. I'm always open to lear new things. So if you have a mystery illness you've been dealing with and you want to share, I'd love to hear about it. Take care and we'll talk to you soon.
