Tag: digestive enzymes

Diet, Meds & Supplements, Treatment, Triggers

Diamine Oxidase (DAO) is Why I’m Doing Better

Kerrie Smyres

The Amazing Feat of a Normal Life prompted a lot of questions about why I’m feeling so much better. It’s still the digestive enzyme, diamine oxidase (DAO), that I started in January. (To learn more, read The Post I Never Thought I’d Get to Write and follow the links at the end for more details. If you want to try DAO yourself, you can get it through Amazon. Even though it’s called Histamine Block, it isn’t an antihistamine and doesn’t block histamine.)

I continue to follow a restricted diet, though that’s more about wanting to reintroduce foods slowly and methodically rather than any particular food being a problem. As long as I take DAO, I’m doing great with nearly every food I try (even dairy and wheat). I’ve even tried a few high-histamine foods (with a little extra DAO) and have done fine.

The other dietary change is that I’m eating most foods on a rotating schedule, leaving two or three days between each time I eat a particular food. I began this when I developed an intolerance to coconut after eating it multiple times a day for months without a problem. This has been a very effective way to vary my diet.

It’s a slow process, but I’m getting almost complete nutrition from the foods I eat (I’m still a little low on calcium). I eat mostly vegetables, though I have salmon a couple times a week and am currently testing eggs and milk.

That’s it. I’m past the three-month placebo window and continue to feel better than I ever thought possible. I know DAO is an unconventional migraine treatment. I know the science behind it is weak. I also know it’s working better for me than anything else I’ve ever tried.

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