Autoimmune Disease

Background

Our body’s immune/defense system is trained to tell what is not a part of our body and to attack it. Unfortunately, it can mistake a part of our body for an outside invader and attack it. This is what autoimmune illness is, and there are over 100 autoimmune conditions.

In Sjogren’s, tear and salivary glands, along with bowel function, are especially affected.

Why is There a Growing Autoimmune Epidemic?

With over 80,000 chemicals now being added to the environment without any significant safety testing, our body’s defense systems are being overwhelmed and confused.

Our immune systems are also being overwhelmed as a result of partially-digested food being absorbed into our blood.  This is due to:

  • Food enzymes being destroyed by food processing.
  • Loss of stomach acid caused by acid-blocker medications.
  • Leaky Gut caused by Candida and other bowel infections.

Treatments

[With a focus on Lupus and Sjogren’s]

Although there are many autoimmune illnesses, with Lupus (SLE) being a common "prototype," and there are many natural treatments for these different processes, a discussion of all of these is beyond the scope of this application (it is a book in itself). The following are a few key points, however, that may be dramatically helpful — especially for Lupus and Sjogren’s.

Recommended Supplements

There is usually a significant inflammatory component to these illnesses. Inflammation and the symptoms can be decreased by:

Fish oil

Fish oil 1 tbsp/day until better (or 2 months) then a teaspoon a day. Alternatively, eat salmon or tuna at least 4x a week.

Boswellia, willow bark and curcumin

Herbals can significantly inhibit inflammation. My favorites:

Cortef

Your doctor may give you steroids (prednisone) to suppress inflammation. Because doses of prednisone over 5 mg a day are toxic, your doctor will try to wean you off of it. As the prednisone suppressed your own adrenal cortisol production, your illness may flare when they do this. Instead of lowering you below 5 mg of prednisone, ask them to switch you from the 5 mg prednisone to 15-20 mg each morning of Cortef (prescription, bio-identical natural cortisone; 20 mg is like 4-5 mg of prednisone, but safer). Research has shown this dose to be safe for long-term use and my research showed it does not suppress the adrenal glands.

DHEA (for Lupus)

Several studies have shown that Lupus patients do better on DHEA 200 mg a day, and it seems to lower the dose of prednisone needed and the prednisone’s toxicity. This high dose can cause acne or darkening of facial hair, so it should be used under the guidance of a holistic physician. It may also lower the toxicity of the prednisone and allow a lower dose to be used. Use GNC, Enzymatic Therapy or compounded DHEA as there is a major quality control problem with some other brands.

Other Therapies & Advice

Consider measures to improve digestion and treat leaky gut from bowel infections (see food allergies) to decrease the load on your immune system.

Secondary fibromyalgia

Very Important! Many autoimmune problems trigger a secondary fibromyalgia, which may cause many of the symptoms that could be mistakenly blamed on your autoimmune illness. Your physician might then load you with high dose prednisone or other powerful drugs which do not help fibromyalgia (though very low dose cortisol does). If you have insomnia along with widespread pain, you likely also have fibromyalgia caused by the autoimmune disease — which is very treatable (see my books The Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Solution, a short and simple read, or the more in depth From Fatigued to Fantastic!).

In Sjogren’s, magnesium (to decrease bowel spasm) and the use of the antibiotic Doxycycline (or minocycline) as needed to settle bowel infections can be helpful along with probiotic pearls. In addition, see the article on Dry Eyes and mouth—Sicca Syndrome

Low-dose naltrexone

Naltrexone is a remarkable medication, with dramatically different effects at different doses. At standard doses, it blocks the effect of narcotics. At 1/20,000 of the dose, it increases the effect of narcotics. At 1/50th the standard dose, it has marked immune balancing effects, and can be very helpful in autoimmune illness in general. I give 4.5 mg (not more) at bedtime, starting with a lower dose if it disrupts sleep. If this medication was still patentable, it would be a $10+ billion/year medication and every rheumatologist would be using it. But it is generic and inexpensive, so they have been shown the research by the drug companies, as occurs with expensive medications. Visit www.LowDoseNaltrexone.org to learn more. Show the research to your rheumatologist and give him or her the information from the site on how to prescribe. If they still won’t prescribe it, see a holistic physician for it at Institute for Functional Medicine.

PEA

Research is mounting that for neurodegenerative diseases in general, especially in the presence of chronic pain, a supplement called PEA (Palmitoylethanolamide) 600 mg a day can be quite remarkable in both decreasing pain and regenerating nerve and brain cells. It takes three months to start seeing the effect however, so give it time.

The Autoimmune Epidemic

An excellent resource on understanding autoimmunity is the book "The Autoimmune Epidemic" by Donna Jackson Nakazawa.

More Information Online

Articles on Autoimmune Function by Dr. T

Institute for Functional Medicine (find a holistic physician)

Interview with Donna Nakazawa, author of The Autoimmune Epidemic

The Energy Analysis Program (a free tool to help guide you on your fibromyalgia symptoms)

The Autoimmune Epidemic (book at www.amazon.com)

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