Antihistamines

[seekingrelief]

why do you think the pepcid has such an impact on fight or flight episodes? thank.

 

Ever since discovering PANDAS and the role of DS's immune system in his behavioral symptomology, we've been on the lookout for various connections. DS has had some eczema since he was an infant, but when his OCD went off the charts back in 2009 (when we discovered the role of PANDAS in his life), his eczema became similarly uncontrollable for the first time, too. It had been virtually non-existant between the ages of 7 and 12, but then at 12, it suddenly bloomed in full force again.

 

We tried every OTC and prescription cream on the market, but patches at his wrists and inside elbows, especially, became very inflamed. When he was at his worst -- hugely dialated pupils, very emotionally fragile, almost any trigger could set him into a near-panic attack -- the eczema bloomed for the first time on new places, like on his fingers, shoulders, his chest, etc.

 

As he began to heal with abx for the PANDAS, his eczema began to ease off, too, and heal some as well. But after a couple of "flare episodes," we came to realize that the flaring of the eczema was a pretty reliable forewarning of a behavioral flare to come . . . increased general anxiety, higher fight/flight tendencies, lower emotional tolerances, etc. Those patterns held true for the next several months, so when we would see the red patches creep in again, we knew his anxiety was soon to increase, as well. And it did, over and over again.

 

Then someone here on the forum suggested Pepcid for the histamine response that can drive conditions like eczema. Not only did it work like a charm on the skin condition, it also reduced the high-anxiety, fight/flight stuff that the eczema flairs portended. We knew that they were connected, but what we didn't know until the Pepcid was that calming one could also calm the other!

 

Why? We think it's about the histamine. Given DS's overall allergic nature (pollen, mold, dust, cat dander, etc.), we know that he's high in histamine in general; the eczema seemed to be more of that histamenic (?) response. If you poke around, you'll find they're currently connecting many mental "conditions" to high brain histamine levels, also: bi-polar, schizophrenia, etc. So, maybe DS's increased anxiety was driven by increases in histamine in his brain and elsewhere, and the Pepcid helped correct that balance?

So glad to hear someone else talk about the connection between eczema flares and PANDAS! When my son is on abx his eczema clears within a few days and then comes back a week or so after stopping the abx. My son also has a ton of allergies (pollen mold, dustmites, grass etc) as well as asthma and eczema. When his skin is good, his PANDAS symptoms are at a minimum. As soon as his skin errupts, his behavior, moodiness, lack of focus etc come on full force. I started using the quercitin last week and it seems to help his allergies though not his eczema. I will try adding the pecid this week and see if that does anything. I feel so bad for him. His arms and legs are covered and even a bit on his face now too.

Edited May 7, 2012 by seekingrelief

[EAMom]

How long does the quercetin take to work? I'm thinking of trying it for my own allergies!

 

I'd have to say that for DS, his response to quercitin wasn't nearly as immediate as LLM experienced. But then, he may have had a much higher histamine level to tackle, too. Although, I do think I experienced some relief more quickly than he did; I just wasn't certain that it wasn't on some level psychosymatic.

 

I would say that within about 2 weeks, DS's allergic-type symptoms -- itchy eyes, stuffy nose, scratchy throat -- had abated significantly.

 

So, between LLM and my DS, your window would appear to be anywhere from immediate to a couple of weeks . . . not bad for a cheap, readily-available, no-side-effect supplement, eh?

 

Good luck!

 

good to know! thanks LLM and MomwithOCDson!