Ham

A disappointing trial

Today I had ham for the first time in about three months. Literally after the first bite, I could feel itchiness creeping down my legs. I ate it anyway - it was delicious. Here's what I've realised: it's not about whether a reaction is minor. Itchy ankles and feet might drive me spare but they aren’t going to kill me. In the past, I would've thought, "I can put up with that for a nice piece of ham”. Unfortunately, I can't anymore. The cumulative effect is the problem. My baseline reactivity is higher now, so even a minor allergic reaction on top of that makes everything worse. When I get exposed, symptoms last longer and hit harder. I needed to asleep soon after and woke up more wheezy than I have in weeks and still have that distinct lingering bad taste in my mouth six hours later.

Here's the thing: the DAO and SCG are pulling my baseline down from a 7 or 8 to around a 4 or 5 - slightly above where it sat my whole life, but manageable. Without treatment, my baseline runs way higher now, whether that's age or something else cranking everything up, I still don't know. I also have a sneaking suspicion that it is not just histamine that is the culprit here which is what the treatment is targeting. With the treatment, I'm closer to what I used to feel like, in some ways even better, closer to levels from when I was younger. This also allows me to trial a few things when I am at this level.

This therapeutic buffer has suppressed and in some cases reversed the severe symptoms that have been progressively worsening over the previous five years.