Addressing Pain with MCAS – Pain can be a common symptom of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and many chronic illnesses. In this post, I provide five tips for dealing with pain when you have a chronic illness.
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Who is Betsy Leighton?
I’m a writer, blogger, and healer dedicated to helping individuals reconnect with their innate peace and wholeness by healing nervous system dysregulation. My personal experience with chronic illness called Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) shapes my work, and my content offers tools to empower those with chronic illness to improve their well-being and take charge of their health.
I created the Sacred Self-Healing Method and am a trained and certified Safe and Sound Protocol provider, an author, blogger, and A Course in Miracles Teacher. I hold a Master of Divinity in Spiritual Counseling and am a trained spiritual mentor, with certificates in sound healing, aromatherapy, nutrition, and Sacred Deathcare. I offer a self-study certificate program in the Sacred Self-Healing Method, provide spiritual counseling and coaching, courses, and supported subscriptions for the Safe and Sound Protocol.
What is MCAS?
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) is a chronic condition that affects all organ systems. It can cause severe, disabling symptoms every day, including potentially fatal anaphylaxis.
The common triggers for MCAS are infections, toxic exposures including mold exposure and EMFs, trauma, concussions, and stress.
MCAS often occurs with other chronic conditions like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). Managing MCAS is challenging because many healthcare providers are unaware of it, and diagnostic tests can be unreliable. Treatments include antihistamines and mast cell stabilizers in the form of medications and supplements, along with avoiding triggers. Check out this post on managing MCAS.
1. Addressing Pain with MCAS – Look at your symptom progression
It is tempting to throw pain medications at your pain when it crops up. You want it to go away! But what if you react to pain medications or need to use them sparingly?
Part of dealing with pain is to know your symptom progression and to have a rescue plan in place when you notice you are heading down the symptom progression. When you start noticing symptoms, that is your cue to start your rescue plan medications.
Pain may be a new symptom of your progression, so it is helpful to view it as a symptom to be monitored. Notice when you have this type of pain: What other symptoms are happening at the same time? What new food(s) did I try recently? What environmental triggers have I experienced lately?
So, one component of knowing why you are experiencing pain is to look at the big picture. You may need to put on your detective hat to determine whether there are any correlations. And maybe there aren’t! If you sustained an injury, then the cause isn’t your food or environmental exposure. But knowing that mast cells proliferate wherever there is an injury to the body means that you will likely need to start your rescue plan to address the mast cell activation resulting from the injury.
2. Addressing Pain with MCAS – Tune into your body
Pain can take many forms and arise from a multitude of causes. In addition to looking at your symptom progression, it is helpful to tune in to the type of pain you are experiencing.
Is it a new acute pain from exertion? Then maybe it is an overuse injury. You may want to implement your rescue plan and then use the rest-ice-compression-elevation injury protocol.
Is it skin pain from irritation, abrasion, rash, hives, or a physical injury? Then you may need to use your rescue plan to address mast cell accumulation in your skin while treating the injury itself.
Is it body pain from an old injury? Mast cells will overreact in places where you have experienced an injury in the past.
Is it body pain from a bump, a bruise, muscle pain, or achiness? Then you may need to address the injury and follow up with your rescue plan to address how mast cells are amassing in that area of the body.
Is it a headache? Headaches can occur for many reasons, from atmospheric pressure changes to hormonal fluctuations to environmental exposures to toxins or other triggering agents. Atmospheric pressure also causes pain due to increased (or decreased pressure on the body.
You may need to do some sleuthing to figure out why you have the headache. For instance, has it come on after an emotional upset? A storm, or after you were exposed to an allergen? You may want to begin implementing your rescue plan while you figure it out.
If you still haven’t figured out the cause of your pain, ask yourself:
- Am I under a lot of stress? Or new stress?
- Is someone harming me? (Get help!!)
- Is there something in my life that I am unable to control? (see my post on Boundary Setting Techniques)
- Is my home or work life chaotic?
- Have I experienced a traumatic event in my life? Trauma can resurface at any time, and unless it is addressed, it can lead to debilitating conditions. Trauma indicates to the autonomic nervous system that you are constantly under assault, which causes mast cells to react to the perceived threat (see my post on Vagus Nerve Health).
- Are you a caregiver, or is there someone in your life who is dependent upon you for their survival? (see my post on Caregiver Survival Tips).
- Has something in your work or home environment recently changed? For instance, did you recently install a new wifi router? (see my post on EMFs) Was there a water leak that might have caused mold growth? (see my post on mold toxicity and MCAS) Did you recently install new carpeting, blinds, or paint that could be off-gassing into your living or working environment? (see my post on safe living spaces with MCAS).
- Have you suddenly developed anxiety or depression? New research is seeing connections between mental health and the presence of infections in the body such as long Covid, PANS, PANDAS, and autoimmune encephalitis. See your doctor right away if you have a sudden change in your mental health, if you are feeling like you want to harm yourself or another person, or if you feel hopeless.
3. Addressing Pain with MCAS – Use tools
- Check out this post for tools and products to help with pain.
- Take Epsom salt baths.
- Use red light! Infrared light is beneficial for inflammation, and there are many ways to use it for pain relief.
Like anything new that you try with mast cell activation, start slow and increase gradually. You may need to start with 1 minute of infrared therapy and wait a day or two to make sure you don’t have a reaction. And then increase your use by one minute each day until you feel results. Some people with MCAS may be unable to tolerate infrared light; use caution.
4. Addressing Pain with MCAS – Look at your diet
Inflammatory foods can cause pain and inflammation in your body. Many inflammatory foods are also high in histamine and carbohydrates. Eating according to a lower-histamine Keto diet helps ensure that you keep the inflammatory potential of your food out of the equation. See my post on diet for chronic illness.
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One of the first places I look when I am experiencing a sudden bout of pain or inflammation is my diet. When my bucket is at a reasonable level, I can tolerate a little bit of heavy cream (like once a week), and a little bit of cassava flour (also once a week). If I have been splurging and having these foods more often, I am very likely to have a pain flare-up.
5. Addressing Pain with MCAS – Get help
At any point, as appropriate, see a doctor or another practitioner. Pain is a signal that something is not right. Don’t ignore your pain; address your pain or discomfort by seeing a doctor. Have it looked at by a chiropractor. Get a massage. See a functional medicine practitioner or homeopath, a counselor or therapist. Do physical therapy, or take a home remedy. If you have access to a practitioner who uses the Pain Neutralization Technique. In that case, I highly recommend it for addressing a wide range of body pain, from migraines to back pain to painful menses.
Products for Addressing Pain with MCAS
Here is a partial list of the pain-relieving products that I turn to when I am experiencing pain. See this post for more specific ideas for addressing pain.
- My number one topical pain remedy is Energetix PhytoGel, which contains homeopathic Arnica. It’s easy to apply and helpful for a wide range of pain types, from muscle aches to burns to joint pain. I discuss homeopathy for MCAS and chronic illness in this post.
- My second favorite topical pain remedy is Energetix BioCatalin Lotion. This lotion is beneficial for sciatica, gout, and arthritis.
- My favorite oral pain remedy is Energetix Relief Tone for wounds, bruises, sprains, fractures, and other injuries.
The bucket theory
The bucket theory simplifies understanding symptom reactions with MCAS. Imagine your body as an empty bucket you don’t want to overflow. Reactions to various stimuli fill the histamine bucket at different rates, forming the total histamine level (how full your bucket is). More histamine means more symptoms. By managing triggers, reducing exposures, and taking medications and supplements, you can control your bucket’s level.
Know your typical symptom progression
Understanding your symptom progression during a flare is key to developing your rescue plan. This post discusses how to recognize symptom progression so you can be prepared to address them.
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Want a tool to easily track your symptoms?
Check out these circadian health tools!
I’m an affiliate with Bon Charge, a company that makes tools for circadian health, and you can receive 15% off your order with my coupon code BETSYL.
Bon Charge offers tools such as yellow– and red-tone blue-blocking glasses, red light therapy devices, PEMF mats, infrared saunas, and EMF-blocking products.
Sign up for the SSP!
I’ve found the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) to be the most helpful bottom-up healing strategy if your nervous system has been overloaded with toxic exposures, including mold or non-native EMFs, chronic infections, concussions, stress, or trauma. The SSP is a passive listening therapy that helps heal nervous system dysregulation. Many people with MCAS and other chronic conditions have nervous system dysregulation stemming from infections, toxic exposures, concussions, and trauma. The SSP is an easy-to-use app that lets you listen to specially filtered music for 30 minutes each day as part of a 5-hour cycle. Studies show the SSP has a profound effect on mental health and chronic conditions. Here’s a short podcast describing the Safe and Sound Protocol.
You can sign up for the SSP here!
Heal your mind!
While the SSP is a bottom-up, somatic therapy for healing the nervous system, the Sacred Self-Healing Method I offer is a top-down nervous system-healing modality that focuses on cognition, attention, perception, and emotion, using the mind’s higher functions. The SSP and the Sacred Self-Healing Method complement each other and together produce lasting results. Here’s a short podcast on my self-healing practice.
I provide one-on-one in-person and remote chronic illness and caregiver coaching, as well as Sacred Self-Healing Sessions based on the Sacred Self-Healing Method, a proven, novel co-creative healing modality detailed in my Books.
Order my books!
Here’s a short podcast highlighting my five books.
My latest book, Living In The Light: Healing with Forgiveness, Sound, and Light, is all about the tools that have been most helpful for me to heal: forgiveness, sound, through nervous system retraining using the Safe and Sound Protocol, and light, through entraining my circadian rhythm with the energy of the sun. Living In The Light is available here!
Rocks and Roots chronicles my solo backpacking journey on the Superior Hiking Trail and my efforts to overcome nervous system dysregulation, gut dysbiosis, and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome symptoms to complete the 328-mile hike successfully.
The Sacred Self-Healing Method ebook is available here and in most ebook retailers!
The Sacred Self-Healing Workbook is available for purchase here!
Betsy’s first book, Sacred Self-Healing: Finding Peace Through Forgiveness, is available here
Companion Recordings
The companion audio recordings of chants, guided meditations, and sound healing demonstrations that accompany the Sacred Self-Healing Method are available for free on my YouTube channel here
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Disclaimer
The preceding material does not constitute medical advice. This information is for information purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, cure, or treatment.
