How Medicine – Conventional and Alternative – Is Failing Autoimmune Patients

There can be up to fifty million Americans who are suffering from auto-immune diseases. Shutterstock

With the media focus on cancer and heart disease, most people don’t know we are living amid an autoimmune epidemic.

Some shocking stats:

• The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) estimates up to 50 million Americans have an autoimmune disease (AD). In comparison, cancer affects up to 9 million and heart disease up to 22 million.
• Researchers have identified nearly 100 different autoimmune diseases and suspect at least 40 more will soon be added to the list.
• NIH research funding for AD in 2003 was $591 million. Cancer funding came to $6.1 billion, and heart and stroke $2.4 billion.
• According to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Women’s Health, autoimmunity ranked #1 in a top-ten list of health topics requested by callers.
• A close genetic relationship exists among autoimmune disease, explaining clustering in individuals and families.

Common obstacles to an autoimmune diagnosis include:

• Symptoms cross many medical specialties and are frequently missed or misdiagnosed.
• Conventional medical education is behind on autoimmune disease diagnostics and treatment protocols.
• Specialists aren’t trained to recognize or treat the interrelationships among different autoimmune conditions.
• Because initial symptoms are often sporadic or non-specific, many patients suffer for years before proper diagnosis (if any).
• More inter-disciplinary sharing of information is needed.

“Your labs are normal and it’s all in your head.”