Discovering the World of Autoimmune Diseases

There are several which affect more individuals than others , so I gotta stop saying that word . I want to share with you some of the ones that I highlighted in my recent post on Instagram , so we're going to go through here , starting with lupus . It is one of the most common autoimmune diseases , affecting women more than men , and is often misdiagnosed .

Lupus is a disease that occurs when your body's immune system attacks your own tissues and organs , hence autoimmune disease . Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many different body systems , including your joints , skin , kidneys , blood cells , brain , heart and lungs .

This can also be a difficult one to diagnose , because it's signs and symptoms often mimic those of other ailments . The more distinctive sign of lupus is often noticed by people as being the facial rash that resembles the wings of a butterfly unfolding across both cheeks .

It occurs in many , but not all , cases of lupus , and so quite often we will see people with that , and that's kind of that telltale sign , right . So lupus can be difficult to diagnose because of all of that right . Let's keep moving on to hear about some of these other ones , because they are hard to diagnose as well .

Hashimoto's it affects over 14 million Americans and is the most common cause of hypothyroidism or low thyroid . So Hashimoto's disease is an autoimmune disease affecting the thyroid gland . The thyroid is a butterfly shaped we're getting that again gland located at the base of the neck , just below the Adam's apple .

I don't have one , but if you're watching it'd be right around there . The thyroid produces hormones that help regulate many functions in the body . An autoimmune disorder is an illness caused by the immune system attacking healthy tissues , and in Hashimoto's disease , immune system cells lead to the death of the thyroid hormone producing cells .

The disease usually results in a decline in hormone production , causing hypothyroidism . The next one rheumatoid arthritis . That's what I have , so I know a little bit more about this one . It's a chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect more than just your joints and some people .

The condition can damage a wide variety of body systems , including the skin , eyes , lungs , heart and blood vessels . That's why many in our community don't even call it rheumatoid arthritis . A lot of us will call it rheumatoid disease because so many people get stuck on the arthritis part and don't recognize that it's an autoimmune condition that affects more things .

So it's an autoimmune disorder . Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks your own body's tissues . Early rheumatoid arthritis tends to affect your smaller joints first , particularly the joints that attach your fingers to your hands and your toes to your feet . These are locations that I flare in all the time .

As the disease progresses , symptoms often spread to the wrists , knees , ankles , elbows , hips and shoulders . In most cases , symptoms occur in the same joints on both sides of your body . About 40% of people who have rheumatoid arthritis also experience signs and symptoms that don't involve the joints .

Areas that may be affected include the skin , eyes , lungs , heart , kidneys , salivary glands , nerve tissue , bone marrow and blood vessels , just to name a few . Alright , next one , we're going to talk about multiple sclerosis . It is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord , the central nervous system .

In MS , the immune system attacks the protective sheath It's called the myelin sheath that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body . Eventually , the disease can cause permanent damage and deterioration of the nerve fibers . Yeah , picture them eating away . Yeah , eating away at your nerve fibers , your myelin sheath .

Signs and symptoms of MS very widely between patients and depend on the location and the severity of nerve fiber damage in the central nerve system . Some people with severe MS may lose the ability to walk independently or ambulate at all . Other conditions may experience long periods of remission without any new symptoms , depending on the type of MS they have .

There's no cure for multiple sclerosis . However , there are treatments to help speed the recovery from attacks , modify the course of the disease and manage symptoms . Okay , here's a biggie Cereiosis .

Cereiosis is an autoimmune condition affecting about 7 million Americans Americans I can't even talk today with symptoms including itchy , red patches of skin covered with natural scales that can appear anywhere on the body , and I mean anywhere .

Cereiosis is a skin disease that causes a rash with itchy , scaling patches , most commonly on the knees , elbows , trunk and scalp . Cereiasis is a common long-term chronic disease with no cure . It can be painful , interfere of sleep and make it hard to concentrate .

The condition tends to go through cycles , flaring for a few weeks or months , then subsiding for a while . Common triggers in people with a genetic predisposition I can't even say that word straight . Two . Psoriasis include infections , cuts or burns and certain medications . There are several types of psoriasis .

Each varies in the signs and symptoms , so I'm going to cover a few of them . Plaxoriasis , the most common type of psoriasis . Plaxoriasis causes dry , itchy , raised skin patches . These are called plaques and they're covered with scales . There may be a few or many . They usually appear on the elbows , knees , lower back and scalp .

The patches vary in color depending on skin color . The affected skin might heal with temporary changes in color , post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation , particularly on brown or black skin . Then there's also nail psoriasis . This is where the psoriasis can affect your fingernails and your toenails , causing pitting , abnormal nail growth and discoloration .

Stoicatic nails might loosen and separate from the nail bed . I'm not even going to try to pronounce that word . Severe disease may cause the nail to crumble . Okay , i feel like I'm going to butcher this word , but I'm going to try anyway . Agutate psoriasis This primarily affects young adults and children .

It's usually triggered by a bacterial infection such as strep throat . It's marked by small , drop-shaped scaling spots on the trunk , arms and legs . Inversoriasis This mainly affects the skin folds of the groin , buttocks and breasts . It causes smooth patches of inflamed skin that worsen with friction and sweating . Bungal infections may trigger this type of psoriasis .

Pustular psoriasis Pustular psoriasis is a rare type . It usually causes clearly defined pus-filled blisters . It can occur in widespread patches or on small areas of the palms or soles . Okay , and then there is one Oh gosh , how am I going to try to pronounce this word ? Earththrondermic psoriasis , the least common type of psoriasis .

This one can cover the entire body with a peeling rash that can itch or burn intensely . It can be short-lived , acute or long-term chronic . It didn't even cover psoriasic arthritis . I'm surprised , but we definitely are going to cover that in the future . So , moving on , my computer will move with me . Let's see here . Okay , we've got a celiac disease .

This is an autoimmune reaction to gluten , a natural protein found in common grains like wheat and rye , which affect one out of every 133 Americans . That's a lot . Celiac disease , sometimes called celiac spru or glue sensitive enteropathy , is an immune reaction to eating gluten , a protein found in wheat , barley and rye , fairly common .

If you have C-react disease , eating gluten triggers an immune response in your small intestine . Over time this reaction damages your small intestines in the lining and prevents it from absorbing some nutrients .

So that causes the mal-absorption The intestinal damage often causes diarrhea , fatigue , weight loss , bloating , anemia , and it can lead to serious complications as well . The signs and symptoms of C-react disease can vary greatly and differ in children and adults .

Digestive signs and symptoms for adults can include diarrhea , fatigue , weight loss , bloating and gas , abnormal pain , nausea , vomiting , constipation .

However , more than half the adults who see C-react disease have signs and symptoms unrelated to the digestive system , including anemia , usually from iron deficiency , loss of bone density , osteoporosis or softening of bones , itchy , blistering skin rash , mouth ulcers , headaches and fatigue .

Nervous system injury , including numbness and tingling in the feet and hands , possible problems with balance and cognitive impairment . Joint pain and reduced function of the spleen . Wow , alright . And here is the last one of our common autoimmune diseases . This one , i don't even think a lot of people realize that it's an autoimmune disease .

At least , i know that I didn't for the longest time . This is type 1 diabetes , once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes . It's a chronic condition . It's never going to go away . In this condition , the pancreas makes a little or no insulin . Insulin is a hormone that the body uses to allow sugar or glucose to enter cells to produce energy .

Different factors , such as genetics and some viruses may cause type 1 diabetes , although type 1 usually appears during childhood or adolescence , but it can sometimes develop in adults . So here's the symptoms .

Type 1 diabetes sometimes can appear suddenly and may include filling more thirsty than usual , urinating a lot , bed wedding and children who have never wet the bed during the night , feeling very hungry , losing weight without trying , feeling irritable or having other mood changes , feeling tired and weak , having blurry vision .

Even after a lot of research , type 1 diabetes has no cure . Treatment is directed toward managing the amount of sugar in the blood using insulin , diet and lifestyle to prevent complications . Wow , this is a lot And honestly , you can find this , all of this information , anywhere on the internet .

But it's crazy to me And I guess it's never stopped being crazy to me that we have so many autoimmune and chronic conditions out there that overlap and have so many similar symptoms .

It's just crazy and baffling to me , and I once had a friend tell me in the early years of my diagnosis that autoimmune likes friends , and the more that I've gotten to know and the more that I've unpacked all this stuff , it's true . It's true .

You talk to a lot of the people in our community and you're going to find out they have more than one condition . But I think , as patients , it's up to us to really do our part in digging and seeing how we can help provide information to our doctors . We need to make sure we are concentrating on tracking everything .

Track your symptoms , track what's going on . If you're having stomach problems , track what you're eating . Track when you're going to the bathroom . If you're having lightheaded problems . Track that . How often is it happening . Is it happening during certain times of the day , like whatever your things are , whatever your symptoms are , track them .

The more information that we can give to our specialists , to our doctors , the more they can help us dig deep , figure out what's going on And some of these things . They can be something genetically passed down or like a Lyme and several others . It can be from a bite and infection . We need to figure out how we can live our best life .

Alright , until next time , don't forget your spoon .