Beachside Down Regulating

Mastocytosis Flare Recovery Month 9 Day 19

Down Regulating

Mastocytosis is a disease where your body makes too many immune cells called mast cells. Most people  think of disease as a weakened immune system but in this case people have to high of an immune response. Your body thinks everyday benign things are dangerous invaders. Mast cells release a bunch of chemicals and send out the message for reinforcements signaling the body to make even more cells. It is a real war zone on a cellular level. This is a great thing when faced with something like snake bite venom but for people with a mast cell disease too much of a good thing is very bad. Down regulating is a fancy term used by mast cell specialist that simply means the process of allowing your immune system to calm down by avoiding any triggers for a long period of time.  Literally, you are decreasing the number of cells.  Often this process takes many months. This week I am down regulating by just hanging out at the various area beaches. Usually down regulating occurs bed bound or housebound, and basically living in a bubble. I feel so very blessed! Not only am I in a beautiful place but the symptoms are going away so quickly.  Thank you God for this amazing gift!

Day 4 Beach Side

Today we decided to head to Seaside on 30-A. This is such a cute little town. The town square is lined with beautiful little shops and a row of vintage air streams that have been converted to food trucks. We stopped at the famous Meltdown, which reportedly has the best grilled cheese of your life. Brittany can eat some wheat but not much so a grilled cheese was out of the question. Fortunately, we discovered this little gem the day before while exploring 30-A and were prepared with some gluten free bread. They did in fact make her the best grilled cheese sandwich of her life.

   After lunch it was off to the visit some of the unique shops and boutiques before heading to the beach where picturesque cottages line the bluffs overlooking the gulf.

We packed up and went to explore Panama City and stopped off at the quaint little town of Rosemary. It looked a little like a movie set.

We took the afternoon at a leisurely pace and stopped for an impromptu photo shoot. I didn’t bring my “big” camera with me but it is pretty amazing what you can do with an iPhone these days.

Update

• Swelling of the face going down slightly
  
• Increased energy
• Very little pain
• Feeling better overall
• Effects of recent reactions slowly resolving
• Loving not wearing a mask outside
• Spending all day outside… not since May vacation on the beach
• Brain fog lifting
• Redness in face almost all gone