Bye-bye tiredness!
Debra Koehler, 54, was plagued by fatigue, fog and unexplained allergy-like symptoms… until she uncovered the sneaky culprit—and easy fixes that restored her energy
The $10 drugstore fix for the “pseudo allergies” exhausting 70 percent of women
There’s no way I’ll be able to go. I thought I’d feel better by now, but I can barely get out of bed,” Debra explained to her husband, Bob. “My nephew was getting married that day, and of course I wanted to be there. But I knew that if I couldn’t get up and get ready, there was no way I’d be able to make the 90-minute drive to the beach house where they were getting married or make it through the reception afterward. Thankfully, my husband understood and I hoped my nephew would too—I felt terrible for missing out on his big day. After I told my husband to have fun, I rolled over and went right back to sleep.
Totally depleted
“That was three years ago, when fatigue ruled my life and I couldn’t figure out why. I had always had a type-A personality and was up for new adventures, but when the exhaustion set in, everything came to a screeching halt.
“I worked as a freelance television producer and frequently traveled to locations all across the country, managed large teams, handled logistics and executed large-scale shoots. But as my tiredness worsened, I had to stop taking on new freelance projects, which seriously impacted me financially.
“When it came to my personal life, I stopped planning events with my family and friends and ended up sitting at home instead. People offered to visit me, but I was so exhausted that I always told them not to come.
“I also had to lean on my husband to do more, like take care of our horses. It had been my lifelong dream to own horses, so I was heartbroken that I couldn’t enjoy time with them.
“The fatigue and brain fog weren’t my only symptoms. I had digestive problems and cold-like symptoms that would lead to sinus infections and cause a serious cough that would linger for months. My doctors thought I had asthma, so when tests came back negative, they didn’t understand why.
“I had a large bag of inhalers and a nebulizer, but I still struggled. One doctor even considered putting me on an oxygen tank. None of my doctors seemed to know what to do—it was so frustrating! I knew there had to be a reason for the fatigue and all my
other symptoms and I was desperate to find out what it was.
An answer at last!
“Since my doctors hadn’t been able to help me, I decided to see a naturopath. She reviewed my symptoms and suggested I might have a histamine intolerance, which meant my body was unable to break down histamine. She explained that this chemical is produced by the body and consumed through foods, and it causes an inflammatory response and allergylike symptoms when levels are high.
“Around this time, I also took a DNA test for health and ancestry and discovered I’m genetically predisposed to low levels of diamine oxidase (DAO), an enzyme that breaks down histamine. The puzzle pieces were starting to fit together!
“My doctor told me to avoid foods high in histamine—including anything fermented—to see if it eased my symptoms. It helped, but I still struggled. So my doctor ran a stool test and diagnosed small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), a condition that triggers gut inflammation. She explained that gut inflammation interferes with DAO production—so it turned out that I had a double whammy of low DAO levels due to genetics and gut inflammation.
“To boost my DAO levels, my doctor prescribed a supplement— Umbrellux DAO—as well as the supplement SAMe, which helps activate DAO-producing genes. I also took B12, which she said is helpful for histamine intolerance. With these remedies, my symptoms eased and my energy steadily improved.
“I worked with a nutritionist to learn to replace foods that triggered my symptoms due to their histamine content, and I eliminated processed foods because they can be high in histamine and trigger gut inflammation. I purchased cookbooks by Yasmina Ykelenstam, founder of Healing Histamine (HealingHistamine.com) so I could learn how to make dishes with anti- inflammatory and antihistamine foods. Plus, I started meditating to relieve stress and heal my gut.
“Now I’m back to doing things I love, like traveling to see family and caring for my horses. When my friend got married last summer, I had fun until the last dance. I finally have my life back and it couldn’t be better!” —as told to Julie Revelant