My Theory on Benzo withdrawal and connections to MCAS and POTS/DYSAUTOMNIA
« on: April 22, 2021, 11:56:14 am »

[Buddie]

I am putting this here to engage with people and discuss a possible connection to POTS/DYSAUTOMNIA and MCAS(Mast Cell Activation Syndrome) occurring during Benzo withdrawal. As my signature states I was taken off of alot of medications very quickly in a short amount of time. A month after being taken off of these prescribed drugs, I was in a cardiology office having never been diagnosed with a heart condition before, being told that I had POTS/DYSAUTOMNIA. I was given Metoprolol because my heart wasn’t functioning properly, that was end of September 2020. While the Metoprolol did help, I still wasn’t feeling right. I found this site and chalked it all up to withdrawal. After multiple video visits with my PCP and her being very pushy about seeing a GI doctor over some chronic GI issues I was having, I finally gave in. I had an Endoscopy, Colonoscopy, and a plethora of blood and urine tests. Once all tests were finished , it was confirmed and I was diagnosed with MCAS(Mast Cell Activation Syndrome) something I had yet again never had before benzo withdrawal.

I then started noticing posts from other people about POTS/DYSAUTOMNIA and MCAS/HISTAMINE issues. When my brain decides that it wants to work and retain information, I try to find some kind of connection. It is too coincidental for these things to consistently be popping up for this VAST amount of people. This is just MY theory on what’s going on, while I do work in healthcare which is where my interest in connecting the dots comes into play, I AM NOT A DOCTOR NOR DO I CLAIM TO BE ONE. This is just MY theory on what is happening. My degree is in Neurodiagnostics not medical research.

First thing is finding the connection between MCAS and POTS/DYSAUTOMNIA. Here is what I found:
The connection between MCA and POTS…. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15710782/ This study just simply explains that someone diagnosed with POTS should be considered for MCA as well. Relevant but Not very informative. Moving along to the next study https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1566070217303387 , Okay, so scientists recognize that there is some kind of correlation but haven’t found a direct pathway to the connection. Again, relevant but not to informative, if anything only gets you wondering even more. This obviously isn’t the best way to ease the desideratum to my curiosity.

My brain then goes on a crusade of how to figure this out. What causes POTS/DYSAUTOMNIA……… “POTS may begin after an apparent or confirmed viral illness, but it can also appear following surgery and other health events.” https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/postural-orthostatic-tachycardia-syndrome-pots This general information about POTS/DYSAUTOMNIA from Johns Hopkins Implies that STRESS on the body leads to the development of POTS/DYSAUTOMNIA. A light bulb goes off in my brain.

Stress on the body and MCA(Mast Cell Activation). “Mental or emotional stress has been shown to cause mast cell degranulation in several different tissues. Several lines of experimental evidence indicate that stress, working through the sympathetic nervous system, or the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, stimulates peripheral nerves to release neuropeptides that bind to receptors on the mast cells, causing them to degranulate” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16110169/ AAAGGGGHHHHH……. STRESS!!!!!! STRESS on the body is the correlation between POTS/DYSAUTOMINA and MCAS.

Benzo withdrawal……we all know this too well, but for the heck of it.. “when benzodiazepines are withdrawn various neurotransmitter systems go into overdrive due to the lack of inhibitory GABAergic activity. Withdrawal symptoms then emerge as a result and withdrawal effects persist until the nervous system physically reverses the adaptions (physical dependence), which have occurred in the CNS due to the chronic use of benzodiazepines” https://psychology.wikia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_syndrome so……. STRESS!!!!! there it goes popping up again!!!

So STRESS is the connecting factor between Benzo withdrawal, POTS/DYSAUTOMNIA, and MCAS. But how does this correlate to the HISTAMINE intolerance which activates the degranulation in Mast Cells, causing the inflammation in bodily organs and dysfunction of hormones. “Histamine occurs in cells of neuroepithelial and hematopoietic origin and serves distinct functions: gastric acid secretion, immunomodulation, smooth muscle contraction (bronchial), vasodilatation (vascular), as well as epi- and endothelial barrier control. These actions have important implications for gastrointestinal, immune, cardiovascular, and reproductive functions.” https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.00043.2007 .

While there is not one specific article intertwining these physiological, psychological, and immunological bodily Reponses together in the correlation of these diseases, when all of the documentation is put together in one setting there is a direct connection, STRESS. My theory is the the stress on the body incited by the discontinuation of benzodiazepines causes such a massive disruption in the homeostasis of the brain, which ultimately subjects the body to the new onset of these diseases. This is just simply my brain trying to figure out my current situation and diagnoses that I have been given from this experience. Now my brain is currently working on piecing together if I will actually heal from all of this or just simply go into remission. They are two totally different things and have completely separate definitions/meanings. Maybe one day I will have the brain capacity to do the research to try and put my theory on that together. But for now, this is all it can retain.

I encourage all respectful communication on my theory, even constructive criticism. I would love to hear others thoughts on this as well. It is possible I am going in the wrong direction with this and I am open to that discussion as well, as I don’t claim to be the smartest tool in the shed either.

« Last Edit: April 22, 2021, 12:52:22 pm by [Buddie] »