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Fasting and MCAS

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Posted 9/19/2019 9:19 PM (GMT -5)
Another user in a MCAS thread pointed this link out to me when I mentioned fasting and MCAS https://mastcell360.com/should-you-skip-breakfast-intermittent-fasting-for-mast-cell-activation-syndrome-and-histamine-intolerance/ so I thought I'd start a discussion on it. Has anyone with MCAS used fasting to help?

There are different types of fasts, intermittent being the most popular, where you eat in an 8-hour window or smaller. Then there are extended 24+ hr fasts which are the kind I do once a week. I'm not sure which is more beneficial. Then there's OMAD, one meal a day. I'm not sure how this would work in terms of MCAS because the release of histamine would be pretty dramatic from having a meal consisting of all your daily calories. And then there's dry fasting which is even abstaining from water (so no meds/supplements either). I don't think that's a good idea myself.

Anyway curious to hear others' thoughts/experiences, even if you don't have MCAS
Posted 9/20/2019 3:41 AM (GMT -5)
I have MCAS and do a 16 hour fast 1-2 days a week. I find it hard to get in all my calories so I dont like to do it every day.
I find it perfect the days I have to be at school 08:15 am, so I can sleep longer.

I really like the theory around fasting so I will likely keep doing this for the rest of my life.

I have made amazing progress the last month. I think that is mostly because of Dnrs, but fasting, Quercetin etc have helped also.
Posted 9/20/2019 9:25 AM (GMT -5)
The mere act of eating anything at all releases histamine so it would make sense that to get loads down, fasting would be beneficial. Find what works for you.

I didn't specifically decide to have a daily "fast" but with needing to take Cromolyn before bed on an empty stomach, I try to eat dinner by 5:30 (I sit with my family when they eat later) and then I have nothing until my morning coffee the next day at 6:30, so a decent window with no food.

It has helped for sure.
Posted 9/20/2019 8:54 PM (GMT -5)
I'm going to do a couple more 36hr fasts before I think I settle into just a once a week 24 hr fast (dinner to dinner the next day) because it seems really hard for my body to handle the toxins being released. Around the 35hr mark I almost always throw up. A lot. And I don't get any sleep the night of the fast. I do feel clear the next day but it's just very rough. I would love to adopt a permanent schedule though. I just get hungry. lol

sunny I also have meds I'm supposed to take x hours from food and other medication but I still snack here and there during those windows. I wish I could get my appetite down. SSRIs seemed to help with that but I don't want to be on even more medication.
Posted 9/21/2019 12:55 AM (GMT -5)
I really like it, mixing intermittent fast timeframes of between 16-24hrs, usually 17-20 on average. I'm also doing a lower carbish diet with no grains (no grains is a new implementation, left knee pain disappeared overnight with that change! That surprised me). Otherwise no processed foods and no refined sugars has been a long time part of my eating lifestyle.
Posted 9/21/2019 8:51 PM (GMT -5)
Low carb definitely helps, for better or for worse I think I'll have to be low carb indefinitely/the rest of my life because of inflammation. Can't walk with too many carbs/grains in my system. Around the 20hr mark is when fasting starts to get painful for me. Not sure if I could do it regularly but props to people who do. I like eating breakfast as well as dinner lol. OMAD is probably completely out of the question.
Posted 9/23/2019 8:18 PM (GMT -5)
bump for JovaLyme

I think I'm going to switch to a 24hr schedule 1-2x a week instead. Stopping at lunch one day and continuing the next day with a late lunch. I think us Lymies are really toxic and prolonged fasting can be rough on our bodies.
Posted 9/23/2019 8:27 PM (GMT -5)
I'm trying to fast unsuccessfully ... I want to do a juice fast but am having a hard time with feeling fatigue and fog from 2-5 ish pm. Then I break down and eat. I like to do a juice fast twice a year but can't get it up and running this time .

Wondering if anyone else goes through s mid afternoon slump on your IF fasts?
Posted 9/23/2019 8:36 PM (GMT -5)
Juice fasting isn't ideal for Lyme because it's just straight sugar.

Fasting really hits me around the 18-20 hour mark. Then I get the awful stomach cramps and extreme hunger. So usually in the evenings yeah.
Posted 9/23/2019 9:33 PM (GMT -5)
I do away with most sweet juices. Just greens celery and lemons . I do add about two teaspoons of maple syrup to my other herbal lemon drinks. Two teaspoons to a quart. I'm wondering g if that is too much if it's all I have in one day. If I drink two of those plus my green juice that would make four teaspoons of maple syrup. I sometimes add miso broth also in the beginning.

If I get through day two then I'm usually good.

How much sugar would be too much for ketosis.

Any good website or book recommendations?
Posted 9/24/2019 8:56 PM (GMT -5)
Sugar doesn't matter. You need 30g or less net carbs to achieve ketosis.

JovaLyme, not sure if you saw this yet, but I saw you mention a 7-day water fast to cure Lyme (if I read correctly). I don't think there's any one thing that will cure it and if it did we would all know about it. It will most likely just result in a lot of die-off and make you feel pretty bad.
Posted 9/25/2019 8:35 PM (GMT -5)
Like I said though the thing is if this were the cure most of us would know about it. You can google Lyme + fasting to see people's experiences with it.

I'm on my weekly 36hr fast right now, just hit the halfway mark less than an hour ago. Rough times. Extreme hunger will probably hit in a couple hours. Just hope I get some kind of sleep tonight. Seems to be a problem whenever I fast.
Posted 9/26/2019 8:37 PM (GMT -5)
I've decided to quit the 36hr fasts. They really just make me feel terrible and I don't notice any benefit other than some weight loss. It's too taxing. I literally don't get any sleep on the nights I do it. Might try to incorporate 24hr ones instead. Fasting from lunch to lunch or dinner to dinner. At least I didn't throw up this morning. Lol. I made an effort not to.
Posted 9/27/2019 2:17 AM (GMT -5)
Sleep is so important. When I will try a 24 hour fast I will do it dinner - dinner for that reason.

Im taking a break from fasting this week. It was 3 weeks since I took something that kills, but my body still has more toxins in the system then it can handle.
Sauna seems to make it worse now also, and my sleep has been poor this week.
Posted 9/27/2019 8:35 PM (GMT -5)
I think 20hrs is my max. After the 20hr mark I get painful hunger pangs. I was on a fasting site and they said to ignore those because your stomach is just bored. These fasting groups are somewhat cult like in their mentality. I don't know why they refuse to acknowledge hunger is a very real and expected thing that happens. But I think I'm going to try a couple 20hr fasts a week instead, which adds up to about the same but is much more manageable. Though allegedly autophagy kicks in only at 24hrs. Still think there is a benefit to fasting any amount. If not just to keep from gaining weight which bartonella loves to do to me
Posted 9/27/2019 11:49 PM (GMT -5)

JovaLyme said...
Does Bartonella cause weight gain?

That's strange because the weight is literally falling off me.

I lost weight - rapidly.

I lost 14 lbs in a few weeks.
All my muscle tone was gone.
Prior to that I was in good shape and very toned.
138 to 124 lbs... and I was slim at 138.

Pretty sure My dominant infection is Bartonella.
Posted 9/28/2019 8:40 PM (GMT -5)
It sure makes me gain weight. I think MCAS is the main driving factor behind that but then bartonella is causing the MCAS so it's anyone's guess who's the true puppetmaster
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