What happens when the body starts attacking itself?
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There are over eighty different autoimmune diseases. Because most autoimmune diseases have similar symptoms, it can take medical experts even longer to confirm a diagnosis, and thus, begin treatment. Most autoimmune diseases have several symptoms in common, including:
- Fatigue
- Recurring low-grade fever
- Inflammation
- Muscle aches
- Digestive distress
- Joint pain
- Chronic skin issues
- Swollen glands
- Abdominal pain
Sound familiar?
Autoimmune diseases to be especially frustrating to patients because they their progression requires careful lifestyle and stress management to avoid flares.
Occasionally patients can determine their own triggers but often it becomes difficult to track and manage on their own given the complexity of the condition.
What Causes Autoimmune Conditions?
More often than not, autoimmune diseases don’t randomly pop up one day. They are complex and multifaceted, often clustering with multiple conditions and arising when the “perfect storm” of systemic dysfunction is present.
For example, here are just a few areas which might play a role in someone’s autoimmune condition:
- Reactivated Viral Burden
- Heavy Metal Exposure
- Environmental Toxicants
- GI Infections/Overgrowths
- Myco/Aflatoxin Exposure
- Nutritional Deficiencies
- Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity
- Stealth Infections
As you can see, it’s never a singular issue. Often immune dysfunction starts years before the patients ever experiences symptoms as they’re unaware of the subtle biochemical shifts taking place
In the world of functional medicine, we always seek to address autoimmune conditions with a multilayered approach. Generally, this starts by asking:
“Why is the body is out of balance? What do we need to add or remove to regain balance?”
Medicine typically sees autoimmune conditions as an overactive immune system and looks to suppress over activity before further complications result.
While this approach does work (at least in the short term), functional medicine looks to address the biochemical, environmental, structural, or lifestyle related factors that are driving this condition.
It’s never as simple as one single pathway, mechanism, organism, or pathogen.
The body doesn’t make mistakes – when the warning signs pop up (aka what patients perceive as symptoms), it’s time to start digging.
Patient Reviews
P. McLaughlin
The staff at Functional Health Center helped me get my life back. I couldn’t be more happy with my care and treatment from Dr. Riser and staff, they are caring, kind, and very professional. I was able to get my Hashimoto’s under control and get rid of chronic fatigue, sleep issues, inflammation, and so much more! I am forever grateful!
K. Katz
Dr Riser and team are awesome! It’s only been a short while I’ve been going to the practice. I’ve seen. IG changed in a short amount of time. I’ve been dealing with autoimmune for a very long time and this is the first time I get real answers and the root to my symptoms.
J. Barker
Come to this practice , but only if you want a super thorough deep dive into your health and what is happening to cause all those symptoms you may be struggling with. They provide answers and solutions and a clear path back to ideal health. I’m a fan 🙂