Are autoimmune diseases generally accepted by the medical community?

Chronic Attentionwhoritis is not an autoimmune disease.

Neither is TES (Terminal Entitlement Syndrome).

Interferon genes are overstimulated. There was a recent study about this. This article, I think 4th paragraph, has info. This overstimulation screws with the autoimmune system.

Now, whether it's over diagnosed, I don't know.

What is her autoimmune disorder, OP? Lupus, MS, Chron's disease, Type 1 diabetes are all autoimmune diseases, and all are horrible and life threatening. There are at least 100 autoimmune diseases that have been identified.

The one thing which makes me give the side eye to fibro and the even weirder Morgellons is that you never see men whining about having either.

Is it possible for an affliction to only affect one sex?

Wtf are you on about, OP? Of course autoimmune diseases are accepted by the medical community.

Your idiocy, however, is not.

R4, male here, had severe fibromyalgia - disabling. disappeared when I normalized my tryptophan levels. it is real. mine came with killer, daily migraines.

Most autoimmune disease (real ones confirmed by medical diagnoses, not just the imaginary ones of hypochondriacs) disproprortionately affect women. (Type 1 diabetes is an exception.)

There are no clear answers on why that is, but pregnancy seems to play a part -- apparently some fetal cells remain in the mother's body long after birth (possibly forever), and there's a theory that they may play a role in triggering autoimmune disease.

R4, Morgellens is not real, of course; it's usually a "disease" of former drug addicts, exactly the type of people who would think that things are growing under their skin. Apart from that, it's well-known that many diseases affect men and women at different rates. Men get non-sex-specific cancers at higher rates than women, for example.

Is OP a troll or just an idiot?

You people are stupid as fuck. Auto-immune disorders affect women more than men. The reason is the XX genes are superior to men's XY genes. Translated women's genes attack itself and that is what auto-immune dosorders are. The organism attacking itself.

"According to the Lupus Foundation of America, approximately 1.5 million people in the U.S. have lupus. People of African, Asian, and Native American descent are more likely to develop lupus than are Caucasians. Although it can occur in both men and women, 90% of people diagnosed with the disease are women."

Gee OP, I dunno. Maybe I should do an online search for “autoimmune diseases” if I’m not sure what they are. What do you think?

My step mother and my uncle both have rheumatoid arthritis and it is very real. You don’t hear either of them complaining, unlike fibromyalgia or lupus “sufferers”.

Look what I found! Doctors defining “autoimmune diseases”! It’s a Christmas miracle!

R12, Lupus is real, you moron.

I do feel sorry for your mother and your uncle though. Not just because they've got such a dumb son, nephew respectively, but because arthritis is just terrible.

Just like Lupus is.

Thanks for all the responses. Sorry, I was equating "autoimmune" with "fibromyalgia"; I didn't realize it encompassed so many other diseases.

“Auto-immune disorders affect women more than men. ”

There is evidence that childhood adversity has a connection with autoimmune disease. Women are exposed to a much higher level of sexual violence than men, and are treated like 2nd class citizen pretty much the day they come out of the womb. The same goes for minorities.

That’s because you’re an ignorant asshole who is smug in your intellectual incapacity, OP

Thanks, r17.

Asthma and IBS (incl. Crone’s Dz and Ulcerative Colitis) are inflammatory, auto-immune type diseases.

Let me tell you a short story about myself and these autoimmune diseases. Some 12 or 15 years ago, during the same month, I developed a chronic cough and diarrhea that resisted the usual remedies. My primary doctor prescribed codeine cough syrup and I used more Imodium for the diarrhea. He then sent me to specialists. A pulmonologist for the cough and a gastroenterologist for the diarrhea. It seems the chronic cough was caused by asthma. The doctor explained that a cough was sometimes the main or only symptom of asthma. And after a colonoscopy the gastroenterologist told me I had ulcerative colitis, which by this time included blood in my diarrhea (not to put too fine a point on it.) The doctors put me on treatments and medications that in time got everything under control.

The really unusual thing about all this is that I never had any hint of asthma or bowel trouble in my entire life. I never had asthma as a child or anything close to it. And my bowels were always right as rain—almost boring in its regularity. So why would I be hit simultaneously with these seemingly unrelated, chronic diseases out of the clear, blue sky? The only common thread I could find between asthma and ulcerative colitis is that they are both inflammatory, autoimmune diseases.

Thinking back, I remembered that I had been taking Echinacea for several weeks in the months before this all started because I had read that it could boost your immune system and perhaps help you fight colds, flu, or other infections. Sort of give your immune system a little goose. My theory now is that Echinacea overstimulated my immune system so that it triggered these autoimmune diseases. I can come up with no other explanation, except that it was just random and inexplicable. I’m either onto something or full of beans. Are there any experts in the house that has an opinion about this? Is it plausible?

R19, was there a particular reason for starting to take Echinacea, like a bitchy cold that didn't subside? If so, THIS might have been the beginning of it all.

Anyway, echinacea is NOT recommended when there's already a story of struggling with any kind of autoimmune disease as it can, in fact, cause aggravation of symptoms related to autoimmune diseases. Patient information leaflets of many echinacea-based medical products point out one with an autoimmune-related condition should definitely not take echinacea.

No reason for taking Echinacea except trying to stay healthy. Interesting that it’s known to aggravate autoimmune diseases. Thanks for your input.

Is R19 a frau or brau?

I’m a homosexual gentleman.

I have Graves Disease and I can assure you it's very real. Medication forever, whether you take out your thyroid or not. If you have one autoimmune disease you are at a much higher risk for getting another.

Eating meat causes your body to react by attacking itself

Lupus here! Lucky me its lupus nephritis. Its a very real condition, and can be fatal. Ive been in and out of the hospital a lot lately from it because the medication used to control it also produces kidney stones. When lupus became the "IT" disorder for fraus, you can imagine how frustrating it is to hear them pretend to have it.

If r26 is indeed a man, I will retract what I said and acknowledge that lupus is real...for men.

I think many imagine an intolerance to gluten who don’t really have celiac disease.

[quote] When lupus became the "IT" disorder for fraus, you can imagine how frustrating it is to hear them pretend to have it.

Where have you come across fraus pretending to have lupus? Lupus is real and it is diagnosable by lab tests. It’s not something you can successfully fake

R12/r27 apparently thinks Dr. House's lupus theory is fact instead of fiction. OP seems to be equally incapable of nuanced thought.

[quote]Sorry, I was equating "autoimmune" with "fibromyalgia"; I didn't realize it encompassed so many other diseases.

Yet you typed the plural "autoimmune diseases" in your post, implying that you were well aware that there is more than one.

R26, R28, I know such a case - a frau trying to garner sympathy and attention by emulating other people's diseases. When she found out about me having lupus, she had it too all of a sudden - except that she had no idea about lupus-related blood tests and the like. Then she started to claim she has got celiac disease - except that she had no problem with continuing to eat bread, cake, cookies and the like.

People like this make it hard for those who really suffer from these diseases. Just look at OP's initial message up here.

My current rheumatologist told me they are more shy about labels these days.

For example, he'll describe me as "having symptoms of" ankyosing spondyitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and that my inflammation numbers are in the lupus range.

R10 : Women are given more medical treatment and see doctors more than men. That's why they receive all of these diagnoses. Most men walk around with what a woman is being treated for because they think they can "be a man and walk it off"

"Gotta be a man and not whine about this pain."

"Gotta be a man and not look weak by going to the doctor."

"Women and children first, a-hyuk!"

etc. etc. etc.

Selena Gomez has lupus.

End of thread.

I think this was a Golden Girls episode.

I remember when DL was nothing but clever gay men.

Autoimmune diseases are real. Symptoms of some can be kind of vague, so a lot of neurotic frauen self-diagnose themselves. Shanann Watts might have been one such hypochondriacal, attention-seeking frau.

R16 it is purely genetic. Nothing to do with victimization, you stupid fuck.

Fibromyalgia is not an autoimmune disease, it is typically a diagnosis that is given out when all autoimmune tests come back normal, but the patient complains of symptoms. I had a knee injury and developed continuing nerve pain that spread to my other knee, I finally got it under control after months of PT, but my doctor was throwing out fibromyalgia as a diagnosis, I told him I didn't think it sounded like what I had since it was not body wide pain. I believe doctors will give this when patients want a diagnosis, to make them feel better. I did not care about the diagnosis, I just wanted to get better (and am about 90-95% back to normal).

R33, I was misdiagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, but a follow up diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis led the doctor to the correct diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis, which is treated differently. Apparently, spondylitis is more common with the latter form of arthritis.

My theory about women and autoimmune issues is that estrogen may be part of it. I briefly exhibited resistance to my own estrogen and histimine when I was in my late 20s, which produced symptoms similar to my autoimmune issues now in peripause.

There's actually an autoimmune called "stiff person syndrome". JFC🙄

Fibromyalgia is a fake disease.

Great, now we have an autoimmune troll.

Reality is anti fibromyalgia r44

Not quite, R39. Many illnesses are genetics plus environment.

R41, that's an interesting theory and I think there might be a lot of truth to it.

Fibromyalgia is real. I don't know why you people rubbish it. The pain is more concentrated between one's shoulder blades and lower back, as well as in areas where sinewy muscles are present. It is caused by a deficiency in serotonin. I don't think it's autoimmune. When I had it no amount of self massage, hot bottle compresses, Advils worked. When my doctor prescribed an SSRI the pain went away.

You people need to read widely as well as have compassion. It's all fun and games until it affects you. A lot of callous individuals on DL.

Be gone, psychosomatic disease frau @R47

Is r47 post satire?

If so, she isn’t doing it very well.

I am done with this site. A bunch of mean, delusional assholes who like to bash those they think are beneath them. Fibro IS real. Just disgusting behavior. Very negative energy on here. Most are losers and cowards in real life so you come on here for your daily dose of schadenfreude. My friend was right. A bunch of sad clowns on here. Done x Some of you are fucking stupid and absolutely miserable. Ignorant, too.

Go fuck yourself right up the ass while you're on the way out, R50.

Bye drama frau.

Read the research paper, you fools. Fibro AND lupus have been known SINCE THE FIFTIES to have a central etiology in impaired tryptophan metabolism. Most of you are on medications for life when this is a dietary issue! Bump up your tryptophan intake and they both disappear! Obscure papers from the mid fifties saved my life! I literally ate myself back to good health. Lupus remission, 4 years, Fibro, gone, since 2012.

Just miserable, hurt and insecure men. The gay trope IS real.

Smells like FISH in here. Ew!

Nobody has your fake-ass "diseases" R53 so we don't need to eat more turkey. Bye bitch!

Too many mug cradlers on this site. Bitch, take your pumpkin spice mug and cradle it while you "take to your bed" with your fibro flare up. Then get a life and get over yourself.

I also have fibromyalgia. Women get it 9 times more often then men. As a man, I found it difficult to accept the diagnosis. I felt like I was being diagnosed with PMS or menopause or something, so it offended my sense of masculinity. I also wanted it to be curable, as I was in a lot of pain at the beginning. And I knew the disease was frequently ridiculed. So, it was hard to accept for a very long time.

I don’t talk about it much, as it is chronic and I have come to terms with it. (In this case, OP asked, so I’m commenting.) I got it in 1995. I went from feeling like I was 35 to feeling like 85, in the course of a year.

It sucks, but everybody has their problems, and otherwise I’m reasonably healthy and have a good life. A lot of people are far worse off, so I count my blessings. It is most certainly “real”.

How do you treat it R57?

R8 I realize that Morgellons is a psychiatric disorder, but I have never read or heard of a male complaining of it. Once I went to a Morgellons' support group online for shits and giggles, and the saddest thing I saw was a complete wackadoo mother who had a "severe" case of it(she had worm-thread like creatures which would stick their heads out of her skin pores and watch her put her makeup on in the morning) and she had come to diagnose her three young daughters as having contracted It from her. Can you even imagine how she damaged those girl? Likely permanently?? She was picking at their threads and fibers in an attempt to get them out of her children's skin.

If I knew her name I would have called CPS.

Men manifest Morgellons as well.

I can believe that R60, but there were none writing in that support group I spoke of

Joni Mitchell complains of Morgellon's

Fibromyalgia is a diagnosis that gets thrown around frivolously by doctors to get you out of the office when they can't figure out the source of your pain. That Lens Dunham is the face of fibromyalgia tells you everything you need to know about it. Pain has many sources, better to get to the bottom of it through good diet and exercise than to remain a malingerer.

R46 WTF do you know. Stick your theory up your cunt.

Fibromyalgia is rampant among fat fraus who need an excuse to not work.

“Nothing to do with victimization, you stupid fuck.”

Actually, you ignorant fuck, it may very well be. There are numerous articles about this.

Op, suck a dick, dumbshit.

R66 Fuck off and die, cunt. Environment has nothing to do with it.

Dorothy Kilgallen had one.

[quote] R58: How do you treat it [R57]?

Everyone so affilicted has to find their own path. What I found that works for me are deep tissue massage or Rolfing. It hurts like hell during a 90-minutes session, but loosens me up and reduces the pain for up to, maybe, 10 days or so, if I’m lucky.

Lyrica is helpful as a pain blocker.

As a last resort, warm baths, though now I’ve come to associate the tub with my worst periods of pain, so the tub seems a bit like a torture device, lol. Even though it is the exact opposite.

Xanax relaxes tense muscles as does Soma, but they can be addictive so I don’t take those. Tramadol give excellent pain relief but is addictive like an opiate. You’ll develop a tolerance, after which it becomes mostly ineffective but you’ll be unable to quit without going through withdrawal. So, I don’t take that, either,

Lastly, sleep is reparative. Especially that last, extra hour. Whereas I used to function fine on 6-7 hours a night, I now try to get 8 or 9. That makes a bid difference.

Finally, just “acceptance”, that I’ve tried over a dozen non-medicinal practices, and various other medications, and nothing else helped. I’ve given up seeking a “cure”, and just manage as best as I can. Lots of people live with chronic pain or other problems, and medical science, today, really is helpless in many such cases.

[quote] R63: Fibromyalgia is a diagnosis that gets thrown around frivolously by doctors to get you out of the office when they can't figure out the source of your pain.

There is some truth to this, but you’ve phrased it in a way that is quite twisted. Instead, look at it this way:

When you present with symptoms of fibromyalgia, a doctor will test for a cause that falls within his area of speciality. One problem is that patients may not see a doctor with the right speciality, but in any event, a doctor will test for things that have tests, and seem possible, like perhaps Lupus or Lyme Disease. If the doctor exhausts all related tests and all are negative, he may give you the diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

This is not done “frivolously” by a reputable doctor, but rigorously. There are other terms that are used, and different doctors have their own “go to” term. This means “you have something with symptoms consistent with this syndrome and is not something which existing diagnostic lab tests can pinpoint in the manner than a known virus or bone fracture can be pinpointed. Your condition should be managed as best as is possible in line with best practices associated with fibromyalgia.”

This doesn’t mean a cause for fibromyalgia doesn’t exist. That would be like saying that prior to 1600, that viruses and bacteria didn’t exist. Only within the last 20 years or so, did they learn that most ulcers are caused by a bacteria, not by “stress”. So, medical science simply does not know everything it needs to know, today. It never will, incidentally.

Many doctors will tell you that they know the cause of fibromyalgia. But they don’t all agree! That tells you to be a little wary of anybody who is certain of the unknowable. Including many of the naysayers here in this thread!

Anybody who has worked in the medical field for more than a day, knows that fibromyalgia is a fraud.

I’m cradling my mug watching martyred frauen tell us how horrible we are because we aren’t warm and inviting. It’s the fucking Datalounge, princess: don’t let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.

[quote][R33], I was misdiagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, but a follow up diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis led the doctor to the correct diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis, which is treated differently. Apparently, spondylitis is more common with the latter form of arthritis.

AS is one of the few autoimmune diseases that is more common in men than women. And age of onset is generally younger than most others. My rheumatologist thought I had AS, but nope, it was RA.

My pet theory is that it's a cross-reaction to either a very, very bad flu I had when I was 15, or a terrible case of mono that I had in college.

“Fuck off and die, cunt. Environment has nothing to do with it.”

Name calling and statements without any evidence whatsoever. Did you even graduate high school? Any idea of what intelligent discourse means? At the link I provided you will evidence that your inarticulate argument is incorrect,

I've had ulcerative colitis for over 20 years. I assure you it is fuckinf real. I take 9 capsules of balsalazide a day to try to keep it in chevj.

Well, R76, I've had it for 44, count 'em, 44 fucking years. The first six were HELL and I could barely function (was in high school). I could not tolerate the only drug to treat it, and was put on a steady diet of prednisone. MDs, including a GI specialist, told me to go to a psychologist because I was obviously nervous and anxious about something that was causing UC. NOBODY knew anything about autoimmune disorders in 1974.

One of the symptoms of fibromyalgia from what I've seen is neuropathy - nerve pain and tingling all over your body. This condition is can interfere with daily living, yet I believe that the term "fibromyalgia" is just what they call it until the other shoe drops and they find MS, Lupus or something. Or nothing, it could merely be a neurological symptom one must live with.

R39 / r68 you should tell that piece of incomparable medical wisdom to my neurologist. He is involved in MS research and I have taken part in a study on incidence of childhood trauma in MS patients. Your deep insight may have saved him hundreds of hours of research...

As NO ONE KNOWS WHAT CAUSES MS (in caps because you seem to have difficulty reading) the current view is that it could possibly be a genetic predisposition that is dormant unless triggered by environmental and / or social factors.

Stress is a known cause of physical inflammation. Inflammation is a known component of autoimmune disorders. Still with me so far? Good. Childhood stress - at a time when your immune system is still forming - can have lifelong adverse effects. This is known, widely published research.

I think childhood stress/trauma can trigger it. I have fibro but I was not horrifically abused as a child; it was more emotional/psychological abuse. Both my parents were narcissists and I am recognizing it more and more as I get older. I am a female in her 50's and have had fb symptoms since my early 20's. I am not really debilitated by it--I take gabapentin to help me get through the day and be able to work. I get this burning/bruised feeling all over. Some days, putting on clothes hurts. Stress and cold weather make it worse too.

Now we’re getting into John Sarno territory. What comes first - depression or physical manifestations? Is fibromyalgia really just physical symptoms of an emotional etiology?

I have a relative who has fibromyalgia, and it most certainly IS real. He has been to many doctors and specialists who have diagnosed him and told him it's real. He is my cousin, and he lives with me. He has to use a wheelchair if required to walk or stand for longer than 3 minutes. He is one of the most stoic people I've ever known, so I know it must be horrible if he says it is.

R53, what did you eat to get rid of fibro?

Lez with lupus here. I think it is genetic; my cousins, Aunt and Nana all suffer/suffered from varying auto immune disorders. Crohns, Graves, arthritis...nasty shit.

Anyway, the males on that side haven't been affected, the doctors think it is to do with estrogen. Fibromyalgia comes in flares, so when I have a lupus flare the fibro manifests itself.

It's horrible, knowing your body is attacking your own organs and wondering what damage it will cause this time.

My immune disorder is ITP. My immune system kills my platelets. I always thought it was connected to hormones, but they have no idea what triggers it. We just treat it when it flares up.

[quote] Pain has many sources, better to get to the bottom of it through good diet and exercise than to remain a malingerer.

This is so ignorant. Two years ago, I really messed up my ankle while doing yard work, and tons of physical therapy, the use of a TENS unit, hot and cold treatments, specific exercises, etc. and I still can't walk more than about 4,000 steps a day.

As a result, between that and another unrelated health issue that required surgery, I gained a ton of weight. So many people assumed I was lazy.

They literally tell you, like this jackass I'm quoting, that you have to exercise and it'll get rid of the pain. When I was in physical therapy, I was told specifically that if my exercises caused ankle pain, to stop. It limited what I could do, but I had to heal, so I couldn't cause more pain than I was already dealing with.

Telling people suffering from chronic pain that all they need to do is exercise and eat a bowl of kale is ridiculous.

r85 PT worked for me, I could barely walk with knee pain and it was excruciating, it took 6 months until I was finally able to stand for more than 10-20 minutes. I cut out all dairy, gluten, eggs, sugar, went all organic and am doing 90-95%. A knee injury caused severe neuro pain that spread to my other knee, I went to 5 different doctors until I was told I had SIBO and treated that as well. If you don't look for the cause of your pain, you will never get better.

But why try to get healthier when you can get outraged, it is the American way.

No amount of diet and exercise will cure r86 r63 of his main diagnosis, toxic cuntescence.

Anything can trigger anything, but...

I grew up in a relatively stress free family with money in the NYC suburbs, no big childhood traumas. For a long time I bought the "you have colitis because your stressed/neurotic/unhappy/ (fill in blank)." Later I realized the flares were not concurrent with stress or upsetting situations. I could be lying on the beach in the sun as relaxed as I could possibly be and flaring like there's no tomorrow.

A distant female relative has lupus, that's the only one in my family that I know of with an autoimmune disease. Of course, many people hide ulcerative colitis because they're "embarrassed." And up until recently, the medical community has not been helpful.

My posterior tibial tendon is permanently damaged. "Cutting out gluten" isn't going to fix that, genius.

How about "mind over matter," R89?

I have had three episodes of guttate psoriasis. It follows a sore throat of some kind. It’s hideous. Fortunately, mine was limited to areas hidden by clothes (not on face, hands, or also, not on bathing suit area.) Treatment is UV radiation, tar oil baths, and steroid cream. Instead of paying the doc for the UV treatment, and taking time off work for that, I just went to a tanning place in the evening. It lasted, for me, a few months each time, and I learned not to be freaked, knowing it was temporary.

The first time I got it was early 1980s, and I recall sitting in the doc’s waiting room, and reading that first article about the “Gay cancer”, and wondering... plus, I was misdiagnosed. The third time, I went to a new doc, and told him my history, what I had, and the treatment, and he also misdiagnosed me. He insisted. Dick. He was my X’s X. Hmm.

R91 that looks horrendous. :-/

It was, R92. This is why the TV ad called it “the heartbreak of psoriasis”. It passed, thankfully. It was literally painless.

I once knew a guy that had a different kind of psoriasis. His was disfiguring and ever-present, poor lad.

I love the DL.

R53 [quote] Read the research paper, you fools. Fibro AND lupus have been known SINCE THE FIFTIES to have a central etiology in impaired tryptophan metabolism. Most of you are on medications for life when this is a dietary issue! Bump up your tryptophan intake and they both disappear! Obscure papers from the mid fifties saved my life! I literally ate myself back to good health. Lupus remission, 4 years, Fibro, gone, since 2012.

This says the exact opposite.

They are convenient excuses for botched and ruinous fillers and injections by some celebs in my neck of the woods.