Here’s part two of my exploration of managing blood sugar with 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.

My blood sugar issues

Sometimes, what seems to help can make things worse. I take Hydroxyzine at bedtime to address my worst MCAS symptom, neuropathy, specifically night-predominant, wave-like, trigger-sensitive neuropathic symptoms.

The only medication or supplement I have found to control my neuropathic pain is Hydroxyzine. However, Hydroxyzine is implicated in raising blood glucose because it is believed to impair metabolic function.

In some people, Hydroxyzine (a first-generation H1 antihistamine) can:

• Increase appetite or subtly shift metabolism
• Cause mild next-day sedation → slightly reduced glucose uptake by muscles
• Influence autonomic balance (relevant to MCAS/POTS patterns)

Targeted strategies

I used AI to help me fine-tune managing my blood sugar, and received the following plan:

1. Use post-meal glucose disposal timing

Since you take hydroxyzine at night, the key window is the next morning and after dinner.

• Add 10–15 minutes of very light movement within 20–30 minutes after meals
  • Gentle walking (even indoors)
  • Slow stair climbing
  • Light resistance (bands)

This improves GLUT4-mediated glucose uptake independent of insulin—especially helpful if a medication is slightly impairing insulin sensitivity.

2. Adjust macronutrient order, not just content

Even with low carb intake, sequence matters:

At meals:

1. Protein + fat first
2. Non-starchy vegetables
3. Carbs last

This can significantly reduce postprandial glucose excursions without changing what you eat.

3. Consider a protein-forward evening meal

• Keep dinner lower glycemic than your morning carb serving
• Emphasize:
  • Protein (20–30g minimum)
  • Fat
  • Fiber (from tolerated foods)

This reduces overnight hepatic glucose output, which strongly influences A1C.

4. Add muscle “priming” earlier in the day

Even small amounts of muscle engagement improve glucose handling later.

Try:

• 5–10 minutes of:
  • Bodyweight squats
  • Wall pushups
  • Resistance bands

Late morning or early afternoon is ideal. This builds a glucose sink effect that persists into the evening.

Medication timing or dose nuances

Without removing hydroxyzine, you might ask your clinician about:

• Slight dose reduction (e.g., 50 mg → 25–40 mg) if clinically feasible
• Splitting the dose earlier in the evening
• Occasional rotation with another mast cell stabilizer

Even small changes can reduce metabolic effects.

Prioritize 3 things for improved blood glucose

Here are the top three suggestions for improving blood glucose:

1. Post-meal movement (non-negotiable, short + gentle)
2. Carb sequencing (carbs last)
3. Lower-glycemic, protein-heavy dinner

Those three together often outperform adding more supplements.

Subtle upgrades (high impact for you)

1. “Carbs last” at every meal

Even when carbs are minimal, this reduces glucose spikes significantly.

2. Keep dinner carbs slightly smaller than morning carbs

This helps control fasting glucose, which heavily influences A1C.

3. Make post-meal walking automatic

Think of it as part of the meal—not an optional exercise.

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4. Stay consistent day-to-day

Your system (especially with MCAS) responds best to predictability

What this plan specifically targets

• Hydroxyzine-related sluggish glucose uptake → solved with timing + muscle activation
• Overnight glucose elevation → solved with dinner composition + post-meal walk
• Cortisol-related morning spikes → avoided by delaying carbs

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.

Get my free ebook, symptom log, and meal plan!

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

What do you think?

I’d love to have your reply below!

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.