Hi, I'm Kimmie Mathis.
I've lived with histamine intolerance and MCAS myself. I know the confusion, the flares, and the doctor visits that go nowhere. That's why I do this work.
My story
My hives first showed up when I was a kid going through puberty. I didn't even know they were hives. The doctor gave me a course of prednisone and they went away. They came back when I was in acupuncture school and really stressed out, and again as I headed into perimenopause. Each time, I did the things I knew to do and got them calmed down within a few weeks.
Then came the fourth flare. I woke up with the backs of my thighs covered in big old welts. I thought, okay, I'll just do my thing. This time it didn't respond.
It got worse and worse. I was covered head to toe and sick to my stomach. I had no appetite. I wasn't sleeping. I was so itchy. Some nights my throat and mouth started to swell, and I was thankful to have an EpiPen. I was taking a lot of Zyrtec and Pepcid AC just to get by.
The symptoms were wild, and I had no clue what was happening. My doctor ran the standard labs: a CBC, vitamin D, thyroid. Everything came back basically fine. No answers.
So I dug deeper. I researched, I tried more things, and with a lot of discipline around my diet, supplements, and stress, it took about four or five months to clear. Along the way I read forums full of people who had suffered for years. Honestly, it blew my mind how few options most people are given.
My background
I hold a master's of acupuncture from the Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture, and I'm nationally certified by the NCBAHM.
To pay my way through acupuncture school, I worked as a CNA in the ICU at Mayo Hospital in Scottsdale. I did that on purpose. I wanted to immerse myself in the Western medicine mindset so I could see and understand both sides of healing, and build compassion for my patients and for Western medicine practitioners, to see where they were coming from. A lot of people in medicine truly want to help.
I also provided long-term care for palliative patients at Hospice of the Valley.
After I graduated from acupuncture school, I ran my own acupuncture practice in Scottsdale, Arizona for 12 years, up until 2021.
I'm also certified in hypnosis, and I completed a separate medical hypnosis class at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) in Tempe, Arizona. I see these practices as a complement to medical care, never a replacement for it.
If you're done being brushed off and want to understand your own body, join our community. Let's connect the dots together.
For educational purposes only, never medical advice. Please always defer and work with your healthcare provider. Read the full disclaimer.