What is Lupus?
Lupus is a chronic disease that can cause inflammation and pain in any part of your body. It’s an autoimmune disease, meaning the immune system attacks healthy tissue. The main types of lupus are systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), discoid lupus, drug induced lupus, and neonatal lupus. SLE is considered the most common kind of lupus and the most serious form as well.
Nearly 1.5 million people in the U.S. suffer from lupus. People of African, Asian, and Native American descent are more likely to develop lupus than are Caucasians. 90% of people diagnosed with the disease are women.
Lupus Symptoms
Do you suspect or know that you have lupus? You may experience symptoms such as these:
- Muscle and joint pain
- Fever
- Rashes (malar “butterfly” type)
- Chest pain
- Hair loss
- Sun or light sensitivity
- Kidney problems
- Mouth sores
- Prolonged or extreme fatigue
- Anemia
- Memory problems
- Blood clotting
- Eye disease
- Anxiety
Triggers for Lupus
What can trigger or fuel lupus?
- Insulin resistance
- Gluten sensitivity
- Impaired detoxification
- Mucosal infections in the gut or sinus tract
- Chemical exposure
- Low vitamin D
- Hormonal imbalances
- Cortisol/Stress response
- Trauma
How Can Dr. Autoimmune Help?
It can be frustrating trying to find help with chronic and complex conditions, which is why we have chosen to dedicate our practice to exactly that. Instead of treating the symptoms, our functional medicine approach focuses on finding the causes.
All autoimmune diseases start in the gut. We design custom plans of dietary intervention, supplements and lifestyle recommendations to help heal the gut and support the immune system. In supporting these fundamental functions of the digestive tract we can reduce inflammation and see dramatic changes in symptoms.
Finding the Root Cause
We know that autoimmunity requires 3 things to develop:
- Genetic predisposition
- Leaky gut (a.k.a intestinal permeability)
- An environmental trigger
It All Starts in the Gut!
Our small intestine consists of 25 feet of tubing, the inside surface area being equivalent to that of a doubles tennis court!
Proteins called “tight junctions” prevent a flood of material into the gut. Low vitamin D levels coupled with inflammation in the gut starts to widen the space between cells, allowing materials (bacteria and food) to start seeping through. This triggers inflammation and as antibodies are formed they begin to target organs. This is why medication may help symptoms but it can never resolve your condition.
