How Do Autoimmune Diseases Affect Your Health and Well-Being?

There are more than 100 known autoimmune diseases. These diseases appear in different parts of your body, such as your digestive system, joints and muscles, or nervous system. Some, like rheumatoid arthritis, affect your joints and muscles. Others, like Addison’s Disease, affect your endocrine system. They can be hard to track down. 

Autoimmune diseases have unique characteristics. You can describe them as your body backfiring from the way it’s supposed to function. Instead of your immune system fighting off bacteria and other “bad actors” that can make you sick, your immune system turns on itself. This impacts your daily life. 

You may feel sick, tired, achy, or constantly have gastrointestinal issues. Or, you might have a constant dry mouth or a strange rash that won’t go away. 

It’s important to get the right diagnosis. At Hands on Health Wellness Center in Carrollton, Texas, Our expert health care professionals practice functional medicine, which addresses your nutrition, lifestyle, and overall health to uncover the source of your discomfort — because feeling tired, achy, or bloated all the time is no way to live. 

What causes autoimmune diseases? 

Doctors aren’t sure why some people experience this breakdown in the body’s natural defense system. However, there are some commonalities. For example, women are 78% more likely to experience autoimmune diseases. 

Additionally, if you have one autoimmune disease, you’re more likely to develop another one. Genetics, obesity, and smoking are also all contributing factors. 

It can be difficult to locate the underlying cause of your autoimmune disease. However, by evaluating your medical history, symptoms, and lifestyle through functional medicine, we can get to the underlying cause and develop a personalized treatment plan for you. Autoimmune symptoms are bound to affect your quality of life.

Symptoms of common autoimmune diseases

These common symptoms can impact your well-being — fatigue, chronic bloating, constipation or diarrhea, achy joints, inflammation, dry eyes or mouth, and the list goes on. You may be used to living with such symptoms and missing work or fun activities. Yet, finding relief can be as simple as changing your diet or getting the right treatment for your health issue.

Take celiac disease; While many people are gluten intolerant, celiac disease ratchets up the implications of eating bread and other foods with gluten. That’s because the gluten goes beyond the typical bloating and fatigue to actually attack your small intestine. However, if you test positive for celiac disease, you can build a gluten-free nutrition plan and feel an energy boost within days. 

For many people, getting the right nutrition makes a world of difference in your health and well-being. Add support like chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage, and PRP therapy to discover the health boost you’ve missed. 

If you’re tired of feeling fatigued or achy all the time, have skin problems or inflammation, or have chronic gastrointestinal issues, book an appointment with Hands on Health Wellness Center. Call our office or schedule online today, and rediscover your natural state of well-being.