Tonya
Hello Helen: My symptoms have dramatically reduced in the past two years w/the help of my current meds. It takes a while to get that right combination,but when it does,it is great. I experienced a lot of side effects w/ different meds: hydroxyzine (I'm not sure the name brand) caused me to have severe short-term memory loss and I drove off the road several times while on it. Cimetidine(I think Pepcid) caused me to have large skin patches on my face, etc.,etc. The biggest trigger for most people w/ Masto is STRESS. Not just the bad stuff like work or traffic jams but Good stress like being excited about a trip to the beach. I've learned how to be careful and just be prepared for anything! I've started carrying Albuterol inhaler in case I go into shock and it helps my breathing and usually stops an anaphylactic reaction. I also take the Benadryl just in case. Next year I will be going out of the country to get married and I worry about being sick there or having an attack, so I spoke w/my DR who told me to take an extra dose to build up my immune system since I will be going thru a lot of good and bad stress. Make sure this is okay w/ your DR if you try this. I don't know your age, but I have spoken w/DRs who want to know if I am going to have kids. They believe this can run thru families, so I probably won't to be on the safe side. I don't think there is a lot of info out there about pregnancies and the side effects of the meds we take...or if it is safe for us to stop the meds if we do become pregnant. Just a few thoughts..I don't know if you have any experience w/ this. Talk soon. Thank you and take care and congratulations on finally being diagnosed! It's great to know what it is we have even if it isn't so great!