Autoimmune Disease

What is Auto Immune Disease

Boxing glove suggesting the autoimmune diseases we treat naturally at lifeworks.

Autoimmune disease is triggered when the body’s immune system literally starts attacking itself. The immune system exists to protect the body from what it sees as “foreign invaders” such as bacteria and viruses. In order to do this, the immune system must be able to differentiate between self and non-self. When it fails to do this, it starts attacking healthy cells in the body because it thinks they are harmful and this sets an autoimmune response in motion.

What Causes Autoimmune Disease

When a cell looks like a cell should, the immune system can recognize it as “safe” and will leave it alone. However, if a cell changes its shape and becomes unrecognizable, that’s when the immune system starts an all-out attack, seeing it as a threat to the body. Many things can cause a cell’s shape to change including exposure to toxins, drug use, smoking and gluten.

What are Autoimmune Diseases

Many people ask “what is an autoimmune disease?” because few people are told by their practitioner “you have an autoimmune disease, now here’s what you do.” Much more common is the diagnosis of the condition which has been caused by the autoimmunity, so they may be told “you have Crohn’s, Graves’ disease, or MS” and the fact that their condition falls in the autoimmune category may never be mentioned or explained.

Common autoimmune diseases include autoimmune hepatitis, Alopecia areata, thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s and Graves’ disease), Guillain-Barre syndrome, Inflammatory bowel disease, (Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis) Psoriasis and Rheumatoid arthritis.

How to Diagnose Autoimmune Disease

In conventional medicine, patients will usually undergo a series of tests to determine if they have an autoimmune disorder. Tests ordered may include:

  • Antinuclear antibody tests
  • Autoantibody tests
  • CBC
  • Comprehensive metabolic panel
  • C-reactive protein (CRP)
  • Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
  • Urinalysis

At LifeWorks Wellness Center, when a patient presents with symptoms which may be linked to autoimmunity, a functional evaluation will be performed by the practitioner, to help to determine whether autoimmune disease is the cause.

Autoimmune Disease Treatment

In conventional medicine, many autoimmune diseases are treated with immunosuppressive medication to suppress the immune system. However, in doing so the patient can run a high risk of infection because the immune system can’t fight back, and so the body becomes vulnerable. Other treatments may include supplementation to replace a substance that the body lacks, such as thyroid hormone, vitamin B12, or insulin. A blood transfusion may be ordered if blood is affected and physical therapy may be required if the bones, joints, or muscles are affected.

At LifeWorks Wellness Center, the first step in treating autoimmune diseases is to immunize the patient to their own blood. In this a simple, effective procedure where a small amount of a patient’s blood is taken and mixed with a homeopathic remedy. This combination is then delivered back into the patient. This has the effect of re-programming the patient’s immune system and in many cases, begins the process of improving their symptoms toward recovery.

Florida’s Top Autoimmune Disease Clinic

LifeWorks Wellness Center is considered by many to be Florida’s top autoimmune disease clinic and patients travel from all over the country to seek treatment. That is because the autoimmune disease treatment at this Tampa Bay clinic exceeds anything available to them where they live.

We have offered autoimmune disease treatment to many patients to help them regain their health and we would love to help you, too. To become a patient, or for more information, feel free to call our New Patient Coordinator at (727) 466-6789 or simply submit an online web inquiry with your request.

Helpful Autoimmune Disease Resources

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