If you have trouble falling asleep, feel constantly exhausted, can't each much and experience aching of muscles and joints on a daily basis, then you may have an autoimmune disease. There are over 80 types of autoimmune diseases, ranging from lupus and hepatitis to rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid disorders. The most at-risk individuals are women just past the age of puberty. Health experts aren't 100% sure what triggers the body's defense system to attack itself, but since 79% of cases are with women, they suspect it may be hormone-related.
Rheumatoid arthritis, which is one of the common autoimmune diseases, affects women in 75% of the approximately 2 million cases; within a few years, it leaves 30-40% of untreated sufferers disabled. Patients suffer stiffness of joints, immobility, chronic fatigue and inflammation. Lupus is another of the autoimmune diseases that causes swelling, weakness, muscle or joint pain and insomnia. A butterfly rash and light sensitivity also typically occur as telltale signs of lupus.
The danger untreated lupus presents is serious damage to internal organs and kidney failure, as well as seizures, depression, blood clots, depression, psychosis, strokes or migraines. Other autoimmune diseases include multiple sclerosis (although some debate the classification), type 1 diabetes, hepatitis, Addison's disease, Wegener's disease, Guillain-Barre syndrome, Grave's syndrome and over/underactive thyroids, so you'll want to check your family history for those genetic diseases as well.
Other diseases and disorders are sometimes mistaken for an autoimmune disease. For example, it was long thought that chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia were autoimmune. With both, sufferers feel tired all the time and have a heightened sensitivity to pain, which makes each step more painful than the last. It's suspected that Chagas disease, chronic obstructed pulmonary disease, endometriosis, cycstitis, narcolepsy and schizophrenia may also be autoimmune diseases, but they have not yet been classified as such.
Why just "grin and bare it" when you can live a relatively pain-free life? Many sufferers of an autoimmune disease just try to wait out the flare-ups. However, doctors can prescribe many different medications to treat the symptoms, as well as offer practical lifestyle management tips to help patients get through the pain. If you are uninsured or worried about how much a doctor's visit may cost, then there are many free community resources and group counseling sessions that will help you once a diagnosis has been made. Check www.AutoImmuneDisease.com for more information.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
What Is An Autoimmune Disease?
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