Do you have mystery symptoms that doctors can’t explain? When you go to the doctor, are you told your lab tests are normal and you’re perfectly fine?
Perhaps you have even be told you’re making things up, you need antidepressants, or you simply need to exercise more and lose weight.
It takes the average person about 10 years and visiting around 20 doctors before they are finally diagnosed with autoimmunity.
About three-quarters of autoimmune patients are women. If you look at patients with more than one autoimmune disease, that number goes up to 85 percent.
These numbers do not account for the fact that many cases of autoimmunity go undiagnosed for years or decades.
Do you have mystery symptoms that doctors can’t explain? When you go to the doctor, are you told your lab tests are normal and you’re perfectly fine?
Perhaps you have even be told you’re making things up, you need antidepressants, or you simply need to exercise more and lose weight.
It takes the average person about 10 years and visiting around 20 doctors before they are finally diagnosed with autoimmunity.
About three-quarters of autoimmune patients are women. If you look at patients with more than one autoimmune disease, that number goes up to 85 percent.
These numbers do not account for the fact that many cases of autoimmunity go undiagnosed for years or decades.
1. How do you know if autoimmunity is causing your symptoms?
Autoimmunity happens when the immune system becomes out of balance and begins attacking your own body tissue.
Many factors can contribute to autoimmunity, including genetics, chronic inflammation, food intolerances, undiagnosed chronic infections, pregnancy, gut health issues, and many more.
The symptoms you experience depends on which tissue is being attacked. For instance, autoimmune attacks against the thyroid cause low thyroid symptoms. Autoimmune attacks against the brain cause brain or motor dysfunction, and so on.
Many people have been diagnosed with an autoimmune condition yet have not been told it’s autoimmune. More than 100 autoimmune diseases have been identified so far. The following are among the most common:
- Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Multiple sclerosis
- Celiac disease
- Psoriasis
- Vitiligo
- Lupus
- Type 1 diabetes
- Pernicious anemia
- Graves’ disease
- Myasthenia gravis
- Sjögren syndrome
- Addison’s disease
- Alopecia
Although different autoimmune diseases cause different symptoms, we see most autoimmune patients tend to share similar core symptoms and histories.
For instance, brain fog, fatigue, chronic inflammation, gastrointestinal complaints, multiple food sensitivities, and chemical sensitivities are shared among autoimmune patients.
They may experience poor recovery from exercise or have periods where they “crash” and are unable to function for a short period.
Autoimmune patients also frequently share a history of having seen multiple doctors, had multiple lab tests, tried multiple medications and supplements, and found little relief. They be diagnosed with “idiopathic” or “medically unexplained” symptoms.
1. How do you know if autoimmunity is causing your symptoms?
Autoimmunity happens when the immune system becomes out of balance and begins attacking your own body tissue.
Many factors can contribute to autoimmunity, including genetics, chronic inflammation, food intolerances, undiagnosed chronic infections, pregnancy, gut health issues, and many more.
The symptoms you experience depends on which tissue is being attacked. For instance, autoimmune attacks against the thyroid cause low thyroid symptoms. Autoimmune attacks against the brain cause brain or motor dysfunction, and so on.
Many people have been diagnosed with an autoimmune condition yet have not been told it’s autoimmune. More than 100 autoimmune diseases have been identified so far. The following are among the most common:
- Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Multiple sclerosis
- Celiac disease
- Psoriasis
- Vitiligo
- Lupus
- Type 1 diabetes
- Pernicious anemia
- Graves’ disease
- Myasthenia gravis
- Sjögren syndrome
- Addison’s disease
- Alopecia
Although different autoimmune diseases cause different symptoms, we see most autoimmune patients tend to share similar core symptoms and histories.
For instance, brain fog, fatigue, chronic inflammation, gastrointestinal complaints, multiple food sensitivities, and chemical sensitivities are shared among autoimmune patients.
They may experience poor recovery from exercise or have periods where they “crash” and are unable to function for a short period.
Autoimmune patients also frequently share a history of having seen multiple doctors, had multiple lab tests, tried multiple medications and supplements, and found little relief. They be diagnosed with “idiopathic” or “medically unexplained” symptoms.
The most important thing to realize with autoimmunity is that it is not curable. Instead, the goal is to put autoimmunity into remission so you do not have symptoms and can enjoy life again.
The second most important thing to learn is that if you do not manage your autoimmunity, you may develop multiple autoimmune diseases against different tissues in your body.
In fact, the most common secondary autoimmune disease I see in my Hashimoto’s patients is multiple sclerosis — it’s not uncommon for people to develop autoimmune attacks against their brain and nervous tissue.
I help people manage their autoimmunity by using functional medicine principles I learned from my friend and mentor Dr. Datis Kharrazian, a clinician and Harvard Research Fellow. These are evidence-based protocols based on peer-reviewed research and extensive clinical application.
Why functional medicine? Simply put, because it works. Consider the following foundations of a functional medicine approach to managing autoimmunity:
- Addresses the underlying cause
- Relies on published, peer-reviewed science
- Recognizes all systems of the body are related
- Works to stop progression of chronic disease
- Uses advanced testing
- Reverses problems before they become diseases if it’s not too late
Functional medicine does not:
- Mask symptoms with drugs or surgery first
- Attempt to correct physiologic function first with drugs or surgery
- Specialize in one single organ or system
How I use functional medicine to help you when you have autoimmunity
Unless you address your autoimmunity, your immune system will continue to destroy your tissue and your risk of developing additional autoimmune diseases is increased.
The good news is studies point to a number of nutritional and lifestyle strategies that can help put your autoimmune condition into remission and prevent the development of future autoimmune reactions. These strategies are customized to each person based on their individual triggers and metabolic needs.
Examples of factors that trigger autoimmunity include gut health problems, chronic stress, food intolerances, chemical sensitivities, subtle chronic infections, blood sugar imbalances, and hormonal imbalances.
To help you identify the cause of your symptoms, I use a variety of science-based lab tests, assessments, detailed patient history, and in-office exams to determine where the major areas of dysfunction lie.
I also use autoimmune antibody testing to screen for autoimmunity against various tissues, including brain and nervous tissue.
2. Why it’s vital to use functional medicine to manage your autoimmunity
The most important thing to realize with autoimmunity is that it is not curable. Instead, the goal is to put autoimmunity into remission so you do not have symptoms and can enjoy life again.
The second most important thing to learn is that if you do not manage your autoimmunity, you may develop multiple autoimmune diseases against different tissues in your body.
In fact, the most common secondary autoimmune disease I see in my Hashimoto’s patients is multiple sclerosis — it’s not uncommon for people to develop autoimmune attacks against their brain and nervous tissue.
I help people manage their autoimmunity by using functional medicine principles I learned from my friend and mentor Dr. Datis Kharrazian, a clinician and Harvard Research Fellow. These are evidence-based protocols based on peer-reviewed research and extensive clinical application.
Why functional medicine? Simply put, because it works. Consider the following foundations of a functional medicine approach to managing autoimmunity:
- Addresses the underlying cause
- Relies on published, peer-reviewed science
- Recognizes all systems of the body are related
- Works to stop progression of chronic disease
- Uses advanced testing
- Reverses problems before they become diseases if it’s not too late
Functional medicine does not:
- Mask symptoms with drugs or surgery first
- Attempt to correct physiologic function first with drugs or surgery
- Specialize in one single organ or system
How I use functional medicine to help you when you have Hashimoto’s
Unless you address your autoimmunity, your immune system will continue to destroy your tissue and your risk of developing additional autoimmune diseases is increased.
The good news is studies point to a number of nutritional and lifestyle strategies that can help put your autoimmune condition into remission and prevent the development of future autoimmune reactions. These strategies are customized to each person based on their individual triggers and metabolic needs.
Examples of factors that trigger autoimmunity include gut health problems, chronic stress, food intolerances, chemical sensitivities, subtle chronic infections, blood sugar imbalances, and hormonal imbalances.
To help you identify the cause of your symptoms, I use a variety of science-based lab tests, assessments, detailed patient history, and in-office exams to determine where the major areas of dysfunction lie.
I also use autoimmune antibody testing to screen for autoimmunity against various tissues, including brain and nervous tissue.