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cesium-sheep · 2 years ago

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mast cells united: a summary of my thoughts

overall, I do not like the author. her scientific communication is very weak, her perseverance on naturopathy ranges from grating to outright concerning, and between the two it drastically weakens the overall quality of this book as a resource. there's also some deeply problematic discussion of autism sprinkled in at random. and no glossary at all which seems like a very strange thing to leave out, especially as terms get defined sporadically in the main body (and more often than not, either repeatedly or not at all). the perseverance on naturopathy in particular never seemed to be mentioned when I heard others talking about it, and it was downplayed in the cover blurb as well, so do be aware of that.

however, there are still chunks of this book that are more helpful than the information presented in never bet against occam, the other Big Book Of MCAS. these two books are likely to be most useful in conjunction with one another, with a strong eye for editorializing this one in particular, much like one is strongly suggested to skip certain episodes of classic TV series for the optimal viewing experience.

I would advise reading never bet against occam first, as it rests largely on a number of case studies that are presented in a manner making it much easier to recognize potential symptoms of mcas and bring it to the table for initial consideration. mast cells united is much less narrative in its presentation of potential symptoms aside from the author's experience described in chapter 1 which is gonna be of highly limited recognition especially as the only one, but provides a greater quantity of condensed and accessible information about things like the mast cell itself and supported treatments that is also several years more up to date than occam, making it less useful for raising initial suspicions but more useful as an information resource in the process of diagnosis and treatment.

when reading mast cells united, I strongly advise skipping the following entirely:

chapter 1

in chapter 4, the section starting with the header "MCAS and the RCCX theory" up until the header "the tryptase conundrum"

chapter 5

in chapter 6, the section starting with the header "the big picture approach" through the end of the chapter

in chapter 7, the section starting with the header "autism spectrum disorders" through the end of the chapter

chapter 8

in chapter 9, the section starting at the beginning of the chapter up until the header "mainstream medications for mcas treatment"

chapter 10 (although the section on pregnancy may have some value)

in chapter 12, the section starting with the header "detoxification" up until the header "exercise and MCAS" - the section starting with the header "neuropsychological treatment approaches" up until the header "strategies for emotional healing" - the section starting with the header "joy vs happiness" up until the header "other strategies to restore [PSNS] dominance"

I did not read chapter 11 for personal reasons but it may be useful to others if approached with due caution.

there are other small sections that irritated or bored me, including elements of ableism and patronization, but this removes the majority of the Complete Trash from the pile, leaving you with mostly beneficial information, which will make it an overall more pleasant and useful experience. there are some sections that include discussion of medical neglect, which I have for the most part left in, for though it can be upsetting it is useful.

the author's resource website is still up under the same name as the book, and it looks like she put out another book in 2021 that is much more explicit in the description about its focus on naturopathy, so I'm gonna just assume that of the two probably just get this one, unless you're into it too. and don't worry, of course she also offers a $300 video course about mold! :|

for more detailed (less organized) thoughts, see my other posts as I read under the tag [mast cells united].

#mast cells united #amber walker #mast cells united: a holistic approach to mast cell activation syndrome #mcas #mcad #mast cell activation syndrome #mastocytosis #trying to make this findable :T #long post

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