Autoimmune Disease 

This affects millions of people all over the world; because it

starts out with minor symptoms and progresses into so many different symptoms

that don’t necessarily fit into the category of a particular autoimmune disease, it goes

unrecognized. The person suffering is left feeling lost and told continuously that it’s

all in their head when in actual fact, it’s not!

There are not many, even in the Natural Health Field that specialize in Autoimmune

Disease, so it’s very common for a person to continue to suffer for over 20 years

before they finally fit into some of the categories. By then, there are literally years of

inflammation damage from your immune system attacking itself.

It breaks my heart because I went through this myself and I am still recovering from

the damage this unnecessary suffering has caused me. It’s so unfortunate that it

takes so many years of suffering before you get an answer if you get an answer…

Do you know the average age people actually get fed up from being sick before they

start to try to figure it out on their own or finally stay committed and are ready to do

something about it is between the ages of 38-65? That makes me so sad. Especially

when they tried to tell their doctors there was something wrong, but unfortunately, it

wasn't recognized as an issue. 

Have you ever wondered what those hidden symptoms are that sometimes are told

to be related to stress, depression, etc.???

These are the ones I suffered from myself and others that I have helped with

Autoimmune Disease.

Fatigue, Brain Fog, and Nausea

For me, this was the worst first thing in the morning. It was really hard to get up,

especially if it was before 9 am. It was hard to get going and I felt light-headed. I also

felt desperate to get something to eat right away and the food temporarily improved

it. So I often craved sugar and caffeine (chocolate) to keep me going.  I also found it

extremely hard to fast because I felt I couldn’t live without food, it was the only thing

that gave me a small amount of clarity. I actually got extremely stressed out if I even

thought there may be a time I would have to go without food. If I stayed up too late,

the brain fog came back (along with nausea), and once again felt the need to eat. I

always felt nauseated when I went too long without food.

Anemia with no explanation

No matter how much sleep I got, it didn’t make a difference. I was always exhausted.

For me, my actual Iron levels were usually ok, but my iron storage was always low (

Ferritin). Little did I know until 20 years later that I had B-Vitamin deficiency anemia. 

I also ran out of breath easily, got blackouts, was weak when I worked out, especially

in my muscles, they felt really weak and tired. I didn’t seem to ever recover from my

workouts either. Stiffness and pain went on non-stop. I had numbness and tingling in

my hands and feet and nerve pain (shots of pain) in my feet and Plantar fasciitis from

the B- vitamin deficiency.

It’s quite common to actually be anemic but the doctor can’t actually find a reason.

The types of anemia that I found were most common were Iron deficiency and B-

vitamin deficiency. Celiac Disease, Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Gastritis, and

Multiple Sclerosis is typically the most common to suffer from anemia issues. With a

lot of these conditions, usually people take medication to block stomach acid because

they have issues with their digestion, and this causes anemia because you need acid

to absorb iron and your B-vitamins.

Muscle and Joint Pain

When you try to exercise, it gets harder and harder to do, especially strenuous or

exercise that gets your heart rate up. Sometimes like I said, with me, you feel random

or continuous pain and it will go from one area to another. For me, I couldn’t pinpoint

how I hurt myself. As the symptoms progress, you start to put on more and more

weight and you will start to retain water, especially in your face. Then you will start

becoming prone to injuring yourself, even with minimal movements or activity. So

you will start to avoid exercise or any kind of physical activity in hopes that you will

prevent further injury.

I used to sprain my ankle every 3-6 months or twist my knee just walking on my farm

or going to collect eggs. I couldn’t run or play sports or I would twist my ankle or hurt

myself. I also felt swollen all the time. I was eventually told I was just out of shape, not

eating well or stressed, depressed. I often took Advil for pain, which is common. For

me, it also seemed as if it was impossible no matter how hard I tried to feel strong in

my muscles or to get in shape, nothing worked.

Neuropathy

Nerve damage is very common with autoimmune diseases. You will have symptoms

like stabbing or shooting pain (like I had), muscle weakness, muscle loss, numbness

and/or tingling, muscle loss, sensitivity to touch(feels bruised or tender). If it affects

your brain you will notice things like brain fog, dizziness, vertigo, really bad

coordination, and even ringing in your ears. I suffered from most of these things as

well.

The most common Autoimmune Diseases with damage to the nervous system are

Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, Restless Leg Syndrome, etc.  Gluten and dairy have been

found in more and more studies over the past few years especially, to be the main

culprit of autoimmune disease nerve damage. 

Leaky Gut or other Gut Issues

What is Leaky Gut? Click Here for Video

Leaky Gut, acid reflux, bloating, cramps, and stomach pains are the most common

symptoms of Autoimmune Disease. Leaky gut is a trigger for autoimmune disease

and often if you have any of the other symptoms I mentioned, that is a good

indication that you may have Leaky Gut. When you have a Leaky Gut, it makes it very

difficult to get the vitamins and nutrients you need and you start to go downhill from

there because you start to really become unbalanced. Often Leaky Gut is triggered by

food allergies and intolerances, exposure to too many harmful pesticides and

chemicals, and/or medications that strip the gut of good bacteria levels. 

There are so many hidden triggers and symptoms of Autoimmune disease that can

be detected early if you do your own research and start to learn more about why you

are sick. If you are sick, there’s a reason for it. Your body tells you when there’s

something wrong and we should not ignore it or pass it off as something that is not a

big deal and will go away. If you have symptoms that persist, you should always look

further into them to get to the root of the problem so you don’t have to suffer for so

many years. If you choose this root, you will struggle for many more years to try to

repair the damage that has been done. It’s much faster and easier to recover from

autoimmune disease when you catch it early.

Tracey