Naperville Integrated Wellness

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If you have an autoimmune disease, which specialist should you be seeking the help of? This is a question many people have asked, but the answer is not that simple. You would think there is a doctor that specializes in all autoimmune diseases…unfortunately, no such specialist exists. 

When it comes to autoimmune diseases, probably the most qualified medical doctor would be a rheumatologist. However, rheumatologists do not specialize in all autoimmune diseases. 

Can a rheumatologist help me? 

“A rheumatologist is an internist or pediatrician who received further training in the diagnosis (detection) and treatment of musculoskeletal disease and systemic autoimmune conditions commonly referred to as rheumatic diseases. These diseases can affect the joints, muscles, and bones causing pain, swelling, stiffness, and deformity.

https://www.rheumatology.org

They diagnose and manage autoimmune diseases that affect muscles, joints and bones…musculoskeletal diseases. They do not specialize in the treatment of other autoimmune conditions. 

Can an immunologist help me? 

“An allergist/immunologist is a physician specifically trained to diagnose, treat and manage children and adults with allergies, asthma and immunologic disorders including primary immunodeficiency disorders.”

https://www.ama-assn.org/specialty/allergy-and-immunology

What treatments do immunologists provide? 

“Immunologists provide treatment for the many allergic and autoimmune problems people may suffer from…treatment generally involves the administration of medications. These include steroids or other immunosuppressant medications.” 

https://healthengine.com.au/info/immunology

Rheumatologists and immunologists manage autoimmune diseases by suppressing your immune system. This generally involves the use of steroids or immunosuppressant drugs. The solution is the same, if you see a specialist for an autoimmune condition, if you are treated at all, your immune system will be suppressed by drugs. 

Is my immune system overactive? 

Many of my patients with autoimmune diseases have been told by specialists that their immune system is “overactive” and that is the problem with their immune system. While this is a simple explanation, it is not accurate. 

This would be like telling someone with high blood pressure that they have an “overactive” heart or blood vessels. The cause of high blood pressure and autoimmune disease have a common explanation…a loss of function…the ability to regulate itself has been compromised. The root cause of high blood pressure is most often a loss of function of the nervous system. The root cause of autoimmunity is loss of function of the immune system. 

Can a functional medicine doctor help me? 

Autoimmunity is not caused by an overactive immune system. It is caused by a poorly regulated immune system. Your immune system has made a mistake and has identified your own body as an enemy to be attacked. 

The main purpose of your immune system is to heal your body and protect it from danger. Such dangers include viruses, bacteria, yeast and fungus and cancer cells (yes, you have immune cells that seek out and destroy cancer cells). 

If your immune system is designed to heal and defend your body, then the biggest mistake it can make is to attack your body. This does not happen because it is overactive; it has lost the ability to regulate and control itself; it has lost proper function. 

When a system of your body has lost proper function, be it the immune system, the nervous system or any other system…the solution is not to suppress it. Drugs used to manage autoimmune diseases do not restore function, they do not improve the health and effectiveness of the immune system; they introduce more dysfunction. Functional medicine doctors and functional medicine treatment never seeks to suppress bodily functions; we want to help them. You could say we do things to help them to help themselves. 

What happens when you suppress your immune system? 

Two of the most common classes of drugs used to manage autoimmunity are steroids and immunosuppressive drugs. Let’s see what new problems, what new dysfunction, and new disease processes are created by the use of such drugs. 

Steroids (corticosteroids/prednisone): 

“Corticosteroids may lower your resistance to infections. Also, any infection you get may be harder to treat.”

  • Decreased or blurred vision
  • frequent urination
  • Blindness (sudden, when injected in the head or neck area)
  • burning, numbness, pain, or tingling at or near place of injection
  • confusion
  • false sense of well-being
  • hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there)
  • mental depression
  • mistaken feelings of self-importance or being mistreated
  • mood swings (sudden and wide)
  • redness, swelling, or other sign of allergy or infection at place of injection
  • restlessness
  • skin rash or hives
  • Increased appetite
  • indigestion
  • nervousness or restlessness
  • darkening or lightening of skin color
  • dizziness or lightheadedness
  • flushing of face or cheeks
  • increased sweating
  • nosebleeds 
  • sensation of spinning

https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/corticosteroid-oral-route-parenteral-route/side-effects/drg-20070491

Immunosuppressive Drugs: 

Some of the immunosuppressive therapies to treat autoimmune disease are traditional pharmaceutical drugs. Examples include:

More recently, biologic drugs have become available. These are usually given through an injection or an intravenous line. These newer therapies target specific parts of the immune system, like blocking a specific type of receptor on immune cells. Some of the broad categories of immunosuppressive biologics to treat autoimmune disease include the following:

  • TNF-inhibitors, like Humira (adalimumab)
  • IL-6 blockers, like Actemra (tocilizumab)
  • IL-1 blockers, like Kineret (anakinra)
  • Biologics blocking T cell activity, like Orencia (abatacept)
  • JAK inhibitors, like Xeljanx (tofacitinib)
  • Biologics affecting B cells, like Truxima (rituximab)

https://www.verywellhealth.com/immunosuppressants-4846160

The most common side-effect of immunosuppressive drugs is immunodeficiency. “Immunodeficiency is a state in which your immune system’s ability to fight infections and cancer is compromised or entirely absent.”

Other possible side effects include but are not limited to: 

  • infections
  • cancer
  • heart damage 
  • liver damage 
  • kidney damage 
  • high blood pressure
  • high blood sugar 
  • hair loss 
  • swollen and tender gums 
  • headache, dizziness, ringing in your ears
  • nausea, vomiting, stomach pain
  • loss of appetite, weight loss
  • mood changes, feeling nervous or irritable
  • skin rash or itching
  • hair loss
  • lupus-like syndrome
  • blood problems (decreased blood cells that fight infection or that help stop bleeding) 
  • nervous system problems: numbness or tingling, vision problems, weakness in your arms or legs

This list could go on for pages, but I think you get the idea. 

Suppressing your immune system with drugs will make it more difficult for your body to fight infections. Poor/inappropriate responses to infections are a cause of autoimmune disease

“…environmental triggers (in particular viruses, bacteria and other infectious pathogens) are thought to play a major role in the development of autoimmune diseases.” (1) 

In addition to all of the possible side-effects listed above; you may actually increase the risk of new autoimmune diseases. 

Summary

There are not any “autoimmune doctors” or “autoimmune specialists.” In traditional medicine you have essentially two options; a rheumatologist or immunologist. The problem with this model is that the immune system is being “treated” as an isolated system and the only solution offered is to suppress that system. This only opens to the door to more disease and dysfunction in the body; causing damage to other systems such as the heart, nervous system, kidney; etc. 

No system in your body functions by itself and in isolation. Your immune system, nervous system, endocrine (hormones of all types), digestive system…they all affect the function of each other. You can’t separate them and you can’t suppress one of them without affecting the others. 

So what is the best “specialist” to consider if you have an autoimmune disease? 

A functional medicine doctor. Functional medicine doctors are “function specialists” and autoimmunity is the result of an immune system that has lost function. Functional medicine seeks to restore as much health and function to your body as possible; not to suppress function…this only leads to more health problems and more disease (refer to the lists of side-effects…these are all “new” dysfunction and disease that are being created).

The purpose of functional medicine is: 

Understanding how the body works, knowing how and where to investigate health issues, knowing what to look for, understanding the significance of what is found and creating a plan of action to reverse and correct the root cause the health problems.

My wish for you…health, happiness and a better quality of life! 

If you would like more information about functional medicine and integrative medicine or Dr. Sexton go to napervilleintegratedwellness.com

Do your own research, inform yourself and ask lots of questions. When collecting information, you MUST consider the source. There is no shortage of false, misleading, outdated, profit-driven and utterly biased information in healthcare today; even from the most respected sources and organizations. 

This approach to healthcare is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any disease. This article is for information purposes and is not a substitute professional healthcare services. Contact our office for more information.

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