Hi, my name is Dawnique. I live in New Mexico. I have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. It is thought that I’ve had it for years but I didn’t become very sick with it until December 2020. I was diagnosed with MCAS January 2021.

My worst symptoms are:
Anaphylaxis, dermatographia, swelling, hives, rashes, diarrhea, gi pain, and a wide spread burning sensation.

I manage my mast cell disease by:
Avoiding triggers as best that I can. This can be difficult since I react to foods, smells, heat, weather changes, emotions, and sometimes I’m not sure what has caused it. Since it’s fairly new I’m still learning. Along with avoidance I also take cromolyn, montelukast, zyrtec, pepcid, amitriptyline, azelastine, fluticasone, and for breakthrough symptoms I use hydroxyzine, benadryl and an epi pen.

Mast Cell disease had taught me:
Don’t take your health for granted. I was already dealing with numerous illnesses before my MCAS went into overdrive. But my life was changed drastically so quickly. But it’s shown me that I’m a lot stronger than I realized.