Good question! Bear with me here - I'm quite wordy.
I can't advise you to completely discontinue any medications for conditions involving any type of allergic sensitivities. It would be totally amiss for me to tell a MCAD patient who experiences anaphylaxis to stop taking their medications (if that is the case, do
NOT do it!). How severe are the MCAD symptoms? If we're talking about non-life threatening issues like your dermatographia, there may more flexibility to experiment here.
Regardless, there is no harm in incorporating some emotional work into your current treatment plan, especially for someone who recognizes that they fit the TMS personality profile. After all, it's called the mind-body connection for a reason - the mind affects the body and vice versa. Don't feel bad about staying on your medications for now and working with an understanding doctor over time to see if you can reduce or completely stop them.
You are absolutely correct that fibromyalgia, digestive issues, etc. can be caused by emotions, and
while I'm not a doctor, I am willing to bet that your MCAD has a strong mind-body component based on your history. For what it's worth, I only get noticeable dermatographia, hives, and other MCAD symptoms when I'm stressed out. So does do people like Mariah Carey, which I've noted here:
http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/mariah-careys-stress-related-health-issues.17967/ (Mariah Carey's stress-related health issues)
Ultimately,
it's important to work with doctors who understand that the mind affects the body - you must also recognize this and truly believe it. Nearly everything has a mind-body component. From there, you can monitor your progress. There are some individuals who have seen everything from MCAD, seasonal allergies, herpes outbreaks, severe gout attacks, psoriasis, etc. decrease or go into what appears to be complete remission when they do the emotional work. It depends on the unique individual. And yes, this is possible with real conditions.
As some examples, there are people who have overcome certain allergies (e.g., food, seasonal, etc.) and multiple chemical sensitivity with emotional work, which has been well-documented on TMS Wiki. Herpes is a very real condition with no cure just yet, but I've heard of people who are only vulnerable to outbreaks when they're under extremely intense levels of stress; when they are emotionally balanced, the virus seems to lie dormant with no other major triggers. Some are more prone to getting sick with the flu, strep throat, colds, UTIs, etc. when they're dealing with intense emotions because their immune systems are more sensitive. Someone with two copies of the APOE4 gene is
SIGNIFICANTLY more likely to develop Alzheimer's if they suffer through decades of extreme depression (which is one of the many risk factors for Alzheimer's) than someone with two copies of the APOE2 gene.
I've seen some people
FULLY overcome postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) by taking a TMS approach, while other people with true and more extreme nerve damage may not be able benefit quite as much (my old biofeedback therapist worked with a man who had true nerve damage in his hands from a series of repeated accidents, and breathing exercises did help him reduce his Raynaud's and autonomic overactivity by about 30%!). Even HIV/AIDS patients are more likely to die when they are depressed, because depression further taxes their already compromised immune systems.
Personally, as an Ehlers-Danlos patient, I am predisposed to dysautonomia, mast cell issues, joint pain, etc. That's a real condition. But it is quite clear to me and my doctors that emotional stress triggers severe symptoms for me, such as Raynaud's, blood pooling, horrific nerve pain, nonstop sweating, wrinkled fingertips, dermatographia, negative reactions to numerous chemicals and substances such as alcohol and medications, etc. I strongly believe that because Ehlers-Danlos is a risk factor for an overactive autonomic nervous system, I go into fight-or-flight mode easily, and intense emotional stress causes my body to experience an endless list of bizarre symptoms. If I'm not under emotional stress, I don't have to worry whatsoever about MANY of those symptoms - they simply don't exist or at least super mild when I'm emotionally balanced. When I recovered from several traumatic events, I was able to drink alcohol, experiment with medicinal cannabis, swim in cold water, etc. without months of these symptoms. All that said,
I believe that you would benefit from doing the emotional work, but I want you to be safe and work with a doctor who understands the mind-body connection.
Below is a short expert from great article - you'll notice that it says MCAD may be caused by stress for some people, depending on unique variables and epigenetics:
MCAD & Epigenetics: How Stress Can Trigger Our Mast Cells & Impact Our Immune System
Stress. It is everyone’s enemy. For the average person it can cause tension headaches, fatigue and a bad mood. For those of us with mast cell disease it can trigger a full blown degranulation event which in turn can trigger anaphylaxis or even toxic shock. Stress may even be what triggered us to have mast cell disease to begin with. Stress is something we need to avoid or control in order to better manage our disease and maybe even prevent it from manifesting in our children. But how?
[I think] many of us may have at least one thing in common: a stressful (birth) home life and/or an anxious mother. Maybe an anxious mother who smoked, even? Others may have their disease “turned on” by trauma, stress or environmental factors later – even decades later – which could explain why not all of us were sick from birth.
CONTINUE READING HERE: http://www.mastcelldisease.com/mcad-epigenetics-stress-can-trigger-mast-cells-impact-immune-system/ (MCAD & Epigenetics: How Stress Can Trigger Our Mast Cells & Impact Our Immune System | | MastCellDisease.com)