Mast cell disease is a blast (I say facetiously). Two days ago I bought a Chicago-style pizza, and since then I’ve had six slices of the pizza. Today, after a second glass of a “Simply Watermelon” drink, I decided to take a break from work. I had been sitting behind the computer and knew I was feeling drowsy, but when I tried to stand up I realized just how bad things were. As I tried to stand up my legs starting shaking as if I barely had enough muscular strength to stand. In fact, I didn’t, so I crawled to the bathroom to take my mast cell “rescue” drugs.
For some reason other people with mast cell disease get itchy and have hives as their first reaction, but my body’s first reaction is often syncopy and pre-syncope — passing out. After I took the rescue drugs I laid down for a while, and eventually felt much better when they kicked in.
