12 Comments
User's avatar
giulia spina's avatar

Interesting and fun as usual! Thank you!!

Jodi Ettenberg's avatar

Thank you for reading!

Ashen's avatar

The piece you’re missing about MCAS and mold is that around 40% of people with Long Covid have MCAS. Covid triggers MCAS. But conspiracy people are not going to acknowledge the cause because then they would have to admit that Covid is not mild.

I had MCAS triggered 20 years ago by EBV. Had no issues with mold before then. I lived in unsafe mold homes in Louisiana. Now as you have experienced the amount of mold prevention I have to do looks unhinged

https://www.forbes.com/sites/drnancydoyle/2022/12/03/what-do-adhd-long-covid-and-ehlers-danlos-have-in-common-meet-the-mast-cell/

Jodi Ettenberg's avatar

Thanks for your comment! I’m not missing anything; my MCAS page talks about mast cell dysfunction following Covid: https://jodiettenberg.com/mast-cells/

Fully agree that people are in denial about the long term impact of Covid, both on body and brain. I’m sorry for what you’re healing with. I got dengue fever in Vietnam, and it led to MCAS and recurring EBV. Wishing you all the best.

Ashen's avatar

Ahhh, sorry! Glad you already know. Dengue is so terrible. I know other people harmed by that too.

Jodi Ettenberg's avatar

Another vascular virus that people don’t take seriously enough 😭 Thank you

Natalie Ward's avatar

I also just read a piece suggesting that it’s the spike protein in Covid that causes it (or the flare up for those already with MCAS) and that that same spike protein is also in the mRNA vaccine and can cause a flare there too. It’s still recommended to get the vaccine and I always do. All the inflammations! Yay! Sigh.

Jodi Ettenberg's avatar

hi Natalie, thank you for reading. I’d say they aren’t directly comparable in that way, from my understanding. While yes The vaccine uses a part of the spike, and in some people that can trigger an immune reaction, it’s not comparable to the impacts from the virus itself which are far worse (in many different studies). I am not sure what you read, but people get MCAS from many other viruses, from flu to dengue (like me), to EBV — if you’re genetically predisposed, it’s the viral infection that can be a problem across the board.

https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2023/07/mrna-vaccine-spike-protein-differs-from-viral-version.html

Natalie Ward's avatar

Oh that’s my bad. I left out the part where it can cause the flare up, not necessarily MCAS itself, though it can. Covid itself can cause MCAS, I mean, not the vaccine.

My brain fog is just fine. Just fiiine.

Jodi Ettenberg's avatar

Hah, I hear you! It’s been A DAY over here as well 🫠

Ashen's avatar

I do have MCAS triggered by EBV 20 years ago. I prefer to get Novavax Covid vaccines because they don’t trigger that MCAS flair for me. Really wish they were easier to find.

Jodi Ettenberg's avatar

Yes, it’s been good to me as well and unfortunately has not been available at all in Canada the last two seasons. Friends in the US have been able to get Nova though. It’s approved here, but no provinces bought any stock :(