Hi all,

Many thanks for providing such invaluable tips over years of choppy waters. I wanted to share my story. I’ve experienced daily shadows for the last eight months having previously suffered 5-week annual episodes for almost 30 years. Am fearful I’ve become chronic. I began the vitamin D regimen in late 2020 and it works for me. I also follow a low histamine diet (which is ridiculously restrictive but effective) and take antihistamine (loratadine) and mast cell blockers, ketotifen and famotidine. While all this helps prevent full blown attacks, I can’t seem to shake the beast altogether, and the shadows are infuriating.

My diet and mast cell treatment were recommended earlier this year by a brilliant medic - the first I've ever consulted who "joined the dots" in relation to my multiple health conditions (seemingly inexplicable allergies, vitiligo, recurrent UTIs and clusters). He concluded that I have mast cell activation syndrome - I now call him "Sherlock Holmes”! Head of Urogynaecology at a top London hospital, he knew a great deal about the anti-inflammatory properties of vit d and about the impact of histamine on inflammatory conditions. This was an indescribable relief as NONE of the medics I've seen in the past have even wanted to discuss the anti-inflammatory regimen, and clearly know nothing about these things in relation to clusters). However, as I had breast cancer a decade ago and endometrial cancer earlier this year, he has warned me that I'm high risk for osteoporosis and is therefore nervous about my vit d levels rising above 150 nmol/L. At the moment they’re 185 and I think they need to be around 215 to suppress the pain. I’ve also had to ditch the quercetin which, along with the regimen, was reducing my twelve-hour shadows to a 5-second daily twinge. Quercetin is a phytoestrogen so increases my risk of a breast cancer recurrence.

I’d be hugely grateful for any information you can provide re the vit d regimen and osteoporosis risk.

A couple of side notes: I’m getting extremely red eyes mornings and evenings often when an attack is on the way. In the past, I’ve had red veins in my right eye during an attack, but nothing in both eyes. Also, I’ve recently noticed I’m sometimes able to abort the shadows and unblock my nostril by stretching my neck and pulling my shoulders back. I’ve wondered whether this ongoing episode is due to the poor posture I’ve developed while working from home during the pandemic. I’d be interested to know whether many others have become chronic this year.

Any info you can provide will be gratefully received!