Auto Immune Disorders:

This major category of multiple disorders is central to the body’s immune system and commonly manifests as deterioration in the quality of life with symptoms of :

Pain arthralgia (bone), myalgia (muscle) and neuralgia (nerve);

Fatigue and exhaustion often following activity or even slight exertion and often associated with changes in blood glucose levels frequently hypoglycaemia;

Fever usually low grade and intermittent

Hormonal disturbances – sleep patterns, disrupted and painful menses, changes to the body’s acid/alkaline balance; osteopoenia, Adrenal stress; Blood pressure and body temperature fluctuations with low temperature intervals often associated with Reynaud’s syndrome;

Multiple sensitivities to common foods especially gluten cereals, dairy (lactose), animal proteins, increasing chemical sensitivities;

Digestive disorders – increasing inability to digest foods once eaten normallydue to a reduction in digestive enzymes and frequently a switch to acid predominance, wipe out of gut friendly bacteria with an increase in Candida Albicans resulting in cycles of constipation and diahorea seen as IBS/IBD;

Nutritional deficiencies across the range of key nutrients – amino acids, essential fatty acids, blood sugars, vitamins and minerals and essential digestive enzymes;

Brain and CNS related – oversensitivity to sounds, light, tactile response and often smell. Vertigo is often a related symptom.

The list of symptoms is not meant to be exhaustive merely those often witnessed with immune suppressed patients most typically: Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Hashimoto’s and Graves disease, Chronic Fatigue (CFS) & Myeloencepholopathy (ME). This distressing disorder manifests as a three stage illness, often progressive and recently admitted by the BMA as a major illness category hitherto treated with tranquilisers and anti depressants.

The other major immune disorders are : Fibromyalgia, Sarcoidosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis categorised as connective tissue disorders. Our body's immune system protects us from disease and infection. With Autoimmune disorders our immune system attacks healthy cells and tissue and can affect many parts of the body. There are more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases, and some have similar symptoms. This makes it difficult to diagnose and can be frustrating and stressful for patients. Usually the first symptoms are tiredness, muscle aches and low fever. The condition may also have flare-ups, when they get worse, and remissions, when they all but disappear. The illness does not usually disappear and generally symptoms are treated with medication leaving the underlying condition undiagnosed and unaltered. Side effects cause deterioration of Kidney and Liver function, too often complicating effective natural treatments.

The main causes of these illnesses vary from viral and bacterial infections to a steady decline in our immune response due to continued toxin exposure; commonly insecticides, pesticides, mercury, certain vaccines, antibiotics, etc. In some instances the cause of the condition is unknown like MS.

Treatments

The very nature of Auto Immune disorders requires a radically new approach that immediately recognises the degree of inherent damage and takes the critical steps necessary to repair and stabilise these varied conditions. With very few and exceptional cases does a palliative allopathic approach provide an effective solution.

The answer lies largely in listening to the patient and responding with targeted, tried and tested Immune boosting nutrition that is in critical shortfall. There is no simple answer to this major class of disorder and requires the identification of the disorder by recognising the causative agent/s and employing targeted and closely integrated nutrition and detoxification protocols that are patient specific. Patients and their disorders are uniquely individual in their manifestation of illness and require a uniquely individual approach. An arbitrary general nutrition approach may work for some but not completely for others; there is no magic in this approach other than recognition of the uniqueness of the individual condition.

Some patients take over-the-counter drugs, like aspirin and ibuprofen for pain. Others with more severe symptoms may have to take certain kinds of prescription drugs that can help with pain, swelling, depression, anxiety, sleep problems, fatigue, or rashes. Some take medicines to help slow the progress of their condition. The problem is that this approach will only treat symptoms and does not address the cause. The concern is that the longer palliative medicines are prescribed the worse the deterioration of the immune system. Progressive immune disorders are symptomatic of our times and require a radically different approach from careful and painstaking diagnostics to treatments that have no side effects other than a proven patient benefit. Progress is often slow but definitely progressive and materially improves patient quality of life.

Highway Health Practice provides its patients with an individual approach and solution to their condition and is proud to announce a referenced response from treated patients. This list will be added to periodically and represents unedited patient views.