MCAS – Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

There are keys to reducing and eliminating symptoms associated with chronic MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome). Reducing and then preventing MCAS and detox reactions is key to making progress with treatment.

Current Medical Misconception of Chronic MCAS with Many Doctors

It was once believed that if one did not present with fever, nausea and an elevated white blood cell count that people did not have an infection. When fever and nausea subside and an elevated white blood cell count returns to normal, infections have been considered to be taken care of. However, people can have positive antibody or PCR test results for all kinds of infections while maintaining a normal white blood cell count without fever and nausea. According to the CDC, diagnostics for infections associated with Lyme disease can present with symptoms resulting from “immune reaction clusters” or mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS).

What is Chronic MCAS?

MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome) are clusters of immune reactions. MCAS may present with clusters of inflammation (pain, headaches, body aches, brain fog), histamine reactions (sinusitis, skin rashes), fatigue and more. MCAS can be present with life threatening symptoms, such as inflammation of the lungs or trachea leading to inability to breath. Severe inflammation of the bowel can lead to bowel obstruction; inflammation of the blood vessels can lead to organ damage, stroke, blindness and many more possibilities. Symptoms associated with MCAS can be acute or chronic, however, with Lyme disease related infections, MCAS many times become chronic.

MCAS can be defined as moderate to severe immune reactions associated with the immune system. One of the jobs of the immune system is to keep unwanted microbes out of the body. Something has to trigger the immune system to present with not only immune reactions, but chronic immune reactions (MCAS); such as infection. When one presents with MCAS or chronic immune reactions, a strong potential for infection should be considered. This generally has to be spelled out for people, many times including doctors of all kinds; due to not paying attention in medical school.

A Current Western Medical Approach to MCAS

In regard to immune reactions, many times, doctors take the approach to suppress the immune system instead of help the immune system do its job. Suppressing the immune system can be helpful, especially in emergent situations, but only for so long. When the immune system is suppressed, pathogens that cause the immune reactions will continue to proliferate to the point where immune suppressants may not continue to provide relief; and if they do, pathogens will continue to do harm and cause degeneration.

In chronic cases, many times immune suppressants cause some relief, but not a lot. People still experience symptoms, flares, fatigue, inability to live like they have, emergent situations and death. Immune suppressants are like a Band-Aid. Like immune suppressants, Band-Aids get old and they stop working. Use the Band-Aid until you figure out how to help the immune system instead of suppress it!

The pathways to chronic immune responses associated with mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) must be understood for people to be able to take the bull by the horns and make consistent improvements.

Causes of MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome) with Lyme Disease

• The presence of a high pathogenic load.
• Excitement of pathogen
  • Foods and supplements that feed pathogens
  • Stress: Mental, physical, mental, emotional, environmental

Practices to Help Prevent or Control MCAS

• Maintaining a strict Lyme disease diet.
• Refraining from the sugars (sugars: sugar, syrups, sucrose, fructose, lactose, alpha-galactose and mucilage).
• Keeping mental, physical, emotional, and environmental stressors under control.
• Assist with detoxification and MTHFR gene mutation.

How long does it take to suppress MCAS Naturally?

• To get out of chronic severe symptoms, it can take anywhere between 1 day to a couple weeks, however one must be impeccable with a Lyme disease diet and keeping immune reactions under control naturally.
• Once mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) is under control, people can make headway with treatment, but they must be careful even with treatment to dose things correctly and to make sure not to use herbs with polysaccharides that feed bugs. Headway generally means the continual decrease in symptoms and noticeable improvement month by month.
• Assist detoxification

What Happens if I Take Herbs or Antibiotics and Do Not Help to Suppress Immune Reactions or MCAS Naturally?

• You likely won’t make improvements or at least rapid improvements without the Lyme disease diet, control of the 5 stressors and assist with detoxification properly.
• Bottom line is, if you feed the bugs, you’ll be chasing your tail with treatment. In fact, many times people feel worse with treatment when they don’t know how to keep immune reactions (MCAS) under control. Detox reactions many times are added to immune reactions or MCAS. When this happens, people many times discontinue treatment.
• When bugs are fed, they will many times proliferate faster than they can be killed and trigger MCAS at the same time.
• The keys to feeling better and make headway month by month is prevent MCAS and detox reactions.

Dietary modifications are essential to reducing MCAS. Consuming foods that excite pathogens (feed bugs), trigger immune responses or MCAS. Mast cell activation syndrome can also be triggered by exercise; as exercise can stir the pathogens around to new areas of the body, thus stimulating immune reactions. Immune responses can be triggered by excess stress or negative emotions. For example, sadness, anger, and or depression can weaken and temporarily suppress the immune system, thus allowing infections to activate, proliferate and get excited. This will then activate an excess immune response or mast cell activation reaction. Foods such as sugars, yeasts, red meat (alpha galactose), dairy (lactose), root veggies (mucilage), certain herbs (polysaccharides and mucilage) may activate MCAS when the pathogenic load is high. That said, a solid Lyme disease diet and a clean, quiet, and sedentary lifestyle is essential for a period of time to bring MCAS under control and to make headway with treatment. This is done by managing stress, incorporating dietary modifications with the Lyme disease diet, exercise modifications and the right treatment. By getting pathogens fatigued by not feeding them, they become still and quiet, which in turn quiets the immune system and is THE BEST WAY TO CONTROL MCAS. This best assures a successful treatment, all the way to remission.

Consider checking out Dr. Lynch’s LLARS Summit for a complete understanding on how to reduce and prevent MCAS and detox reactions. The summit has been recorded and saved.

© Dr. Patrick Lynch, August 2022