Hello,
I agree with Pink Lady, having seen many many specialists in the past in an attempt to diagnose my problems, you can't be too careful.
It's important to know something about the person you're seeing like a cv or similar.
I'm not sure if my problem is histamine or not after reading through all these posts but I'll definitely look into the adrenal thing.
Thanks

I don't know his qualifications - I know he's a doctor and refers to himself as an immunologist. He is against lots of what I think is quackery - home allergy tests, bioresonance etc etc. He seems very skilled and trustworthy.

Hi Debbie - I just had to put and shut up with the fasting tests! I have bad low blood sugar too but just about managed (stood outside his office as soon as test was done and stuffed face with rice cakes!). I think the idea of getting them done locally and shipped to him would work though. How far away from London are you?

Hi again Debbie - I like you thought my problems might be adrena but Dirk did a stress test and it was normal. Could I still have a problem with adrenal do you think or is the test definitive?

Does anyone know if you can have low blood sugar even though the home glucose prick tests say you are within normal range? Any ideas (off topic I know).

Dirk Bernhard Budka is not a medical doctor nor does he have a PhD. However, people here have referred to him as Dr Budka and he hasn't corrected them which I think is unfortunate.

Mr Budka has described himself on the Allergy UK forum as a medical practitioner (also here), but that doesn't mean much as in the UK if you are a doctor registered with the GMC then you are a registered medical practitioner. When I contacted the GMC about Mr Budka referring to himself as a medical practitioner they said that as he wasn't on the medical register they couldn't do anything about it, however they would refer my complaint to their intelligence unit. I don't know if anything came of this. Note that it appears that anyone can call themselves a medical practitioner as it is not a restricted title.

Mr Budka used to list his qualifications on his web sites but they don't seem to be there any more. However, you can still find them here and on the same page from Mr Budka himself here.

_________________
MCS + Food intolerance (salicylates, amines, glutamates)
Phospholipid Exchange Therapy helped me a lot

Hi,
I had blood sugar problems alongside some very scary reactions. I used to eat every 2 hours to keep my blood sugar "up". I did a home glucose test through my GP and it was normal. Several fasting blood tests showed normal glucose levels but I was still having problems.
I was magnesium deficient. Since increasing my magnesium intake with supplements, I no longer have blood sugar problems and can go 4-5 hours comfortably in between meals if necessary. I also have less adrenaline problems now. I was releasing lots of adrenaline to bring my histamine levels down...vicious circle!
Dr Carolyn Dean says that magnesium is a requirement for proper blood sugar control and that adrenaline depletes magnesium.
That's my own experience but we're all different. It's worth researching magnesium.
Best wishes.

Thanks for the replies everyone re Dirk Budka's qualifications/experience, really helpful. So he isn't actually a doctor then but a scientist/biocemist?

Hi Doggus - you say you know he's a Dr, can you tell me where you found this out please?

Hi Ataraxy, great links, thank you, it looks like he has science qualifications but practices nutrition?! I'm still confused And yes you're right, this industry isn't regulated in the UK, that's why I think it's very important to check people's qualifications and experience.

DebbieDobs... thanks for suggesting adrenal function, I will look into this a bit more I think.

Best wishes
PinkLady

Hi PinkLady!

Thinking about this a bit more, I see that Dirk Budka is now calling himself a "Senior Biomedical Scientist" on the http://www.immunecliniclondon.com/ web site (just under his photo). Biomedical Scientist is a profession that is regulated by the Health Professions Council so I expect that this would apply to Senior Biomedical Scientists as well. However, when I checked the Biomedical Scientist part of their register I couldn't find Mr Budka there.

It might be worth following this up with the Health Professions Council.

_________________
MCS + Food intolerance (salicylates, amines, glutamates)
Phospholipid Exchange Therapy helped me a lot

WOW - Hilary I think you may have cracked it for me!! My magnesium levels have just been tested and they are just below normal - maybe a supplement will help? Can I ask you - my blood sugar attacks don't really seem to be helped by food weirdly, I just feel terrible all day long - dizzy and brain fogged. I honestly feel like I am going to pass out. My blood pressure and pulse are normal though. All this started two weeks ago a day after I gave up sugar - could there be a connection? I would not have thought sugar withdrawal would last this long? You and I seem to share lots of symptoms - I ahve angioedema coupled with high histamine, eleveated tryptase and low DAO. Also i failed a hydrogen breath test which would indicate SIBO.

Sorry Pink Lady, I do not KNOW Dirk is a doctor, I have no idea why I said that. Brain fog!

I also used to feel awful all day long too which was due to an accumulation of things: low magnesium, high histamine, malabsorption of vits and minerals from SIBO (I had severe bacterial overgrowth according to a breath test), Vit D deficient etc. I've done lots of reading into enzymes too. Apparently bacteria can damage the gut lining and with it the digestive enzymes. Bacteria produce their own destructive enzymes and toxins which can make you feel dreadful. Since taking digestive enzyme supplements, mag and vit D, I've improved further (these have all been approved or recommended by my GP, Consultant and Nutritionist). I've regained the stone in weight I lost and don't have such strong reactions now. However, my diet is boring, bland and limited so I'm still trying to find solutions! It's a long battle but I'm going to win!
Amylase is an anti-histamine along with Magnesium and Vit C so they're helping to some extent but I just live in hope that I'll heal and my DAO will replenish....eventually!
Histamine causes adrenaline to rise, adrenaline depletes magnesium....vicious circle!
Debbie might be able to confirm this but if adrenaline is being released all the time to counteract histamine then the adrenals will be overworked....adrenal fatigue? I definitely had this a couple of years ago when my early morning Cortisol level (blood) was very low and I felt constantly exhausted. Cortisol is a natural antihistamine and my histamine was very high at that time!
Best wishes.

Hi Ataraxy... thank you very much for this, it answers my question perfectly

Hi Doggus - no problem at all!

PinkLady