How We Work to Resolve Autoimmune Disorders
Autoimmune Disorders Are on the Rise
Autoimmune disease is a disorder in which your body’s immune system fails to properly function – often resulting in your immune system attacking healthy cells within your body.
Our society is experiencing a sharp increase in the number of men, women and children who suffer from some form of autoimmune disease. In fact, the current estimate is that 50 million Americans suffer from some form of autoimmune disorder.
The National Institute of Health acknowledges the existence of at least 80-90 autoimmune diseases. You are probably familiar with several of these disorders. Some which include:
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Lupus
- Crohn’s
- Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
- Graves’ disease
More recently, some researchers have extended the notion that autism may have an autoimmune origin, due to production of auto-antibodies to neural proteins (Abou-Donia, 2020). Additionally, evidence is steadily growing that reveals autoimmunity as a risk factor for developing COPD (Hemminki, Liu, Ji, Sundquist, & Sundquist, 2011) and peripheral neuropathy (Soliven, 2014). The chronic joint pain and organ dysfunction experienced by those suffering from persistent Lyme disease has also been connected with autoimmunity (Singh & Girschick, 2004).
Inflammation, Autoimmune Disorders & Regenerative Medicine
Regardless of the disease or condition, all of these have one thing in common – inflammation. High levels of inflammatory cytokines (small proteins released by cells that influence how cells “talk to” one another) are present in the above conditions, causing robust inflammation and immune system dysfunction.
Certain types of regenerative medicine can have dramatic effects as they restore cells to their normal function by increasing the regulation of the immune system.
Regenerative medicine therapies can suppress inflammatory cytokine responses, increase blood flow, and ease off overactive immunity with capabilities that allow the therapies not to be rejected by the body. The effects of timeworn and deficient immune cells that have “sat down and done nothing” are curtailed by a new message communicating youthfulness, as hyper-immunity is interrupted.
How We Help
Functional medicine offers a new, non-conventional, and EFFECTIVE solution to the growing autoimmunity pandemic.
In dealing with autoimmunity, we work with you to locate the underlying cause or trigger for your pain. We don’t give you pain medication to deal with the tack you sat on, we locate and remove the tack.
When it comes to autoimmune disease triggers, there are so many possible elements that could be causing your symptoms. There are environmental triggers, nutritional imbalances, gut or intestinal issues, sleep deprivation, chemical or metal poisonings, or even emotional trauma that has not been properly addressed.
Effectively locating your personal autoimmune trigger requires us to gather a lot of information and history from you as well as run, and more importantly, competently evaluate tests. This is why you can expect to spend much more time working with a functional medicine practitioner than a conventional doctor.
Once we have located your trigger or triggers, we can then formulate an effective treatment plan to get you back into good health and function. Your treatment plan may consist of supplements, exercise, regenerative therapies, or even antibiotics. It may consist of addressing a past trauma. Your program will be unique, rather than a one-size-fits-all medication or band-aid.
Wishing You Health and Happiness.
Lou Higuera, N.P.