Woman victoriously walks outside, happy about successful treatment of autoimmune disease.

Can Autoimmune Diseases Be Cured?

As many as 24 million people living in the U.S. have autoimmune disease, which makes it one of the most common health issues in the nation.

However, they can be really hard to diagnose because early signs are often non-specific and symptoms can vary a lot from person to person.

Autoimmune diseases generally can’t be cured, but they can be treated. Here’s some advice from Tri-Cities Functional Medicine in Tennessee.

Let’s start with what an autoimmune disease is.

They occur when your body’s immune system malfunctions and can’t distinguish between its own cells and harmful foreign cells. It starts attacking itself, with some very serious consequences.

It can cause symptoms such as:

  • Chronic pain
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Digestive disorders
  • Stubborn weight
  • Swollen and painful joints
  • Hormone fluctuations
  • Irritated skin
  • Brain fog, and
  • Depression

There are more than 80 different types of autoimmune diseases that attack different parts of the body – such as Type 1 diabetes, which attacks the pancreas; rheumatoid arthritis, which attacks the joints; or psoriasis, which attacks the skin.

So what can be done to treat an autoimmune disease?

The conventional approach is generally with immunosuppressant drugs, which can cause very serious side effects. It also means you’ll need to rely on medication for the rest of your life.

Functional medicine, on the other hand, starts by looking for genetic and lifestyle factors that trigger your body’s response. By pinpointing the cause, your doctor can work with you to reduce your exposure and heal the existing damage.

This usually starts with a thorough physical exam, an in-depth questionnaire, and comprehensive medical testing to figure out what’s going on.

No system in your body functions alone. That’s why it’s so important to treat autoimmune disease with a holistic approach, instead of just trying to mask individual symptoms as they arise.

Click the link below if you want to start healing.

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