Autoimmune Disease

Autoimmune disease is essentially damage to normal body cells and tissues caused by an abnormal immune response. There are more than 80 known autoimmune diseases and 40 suspected disorders related to autoimmunity. When the immune system is out of balance, it loses the ability to differentiate between normal and abnormal cells and tissues. As a result, it attacks both, even healthy cells and tissues, leading to any number of autoimmune diseases or care that addresses the root causes.

In the United States, autoimmune disease is at epidemic levels, affecting one out of every six people, most of them women. Diagnosis can be challenging because the disease causes so many symptoms in different parts of the body. What’s more, many tests run in a traditional medical setting do not accurately detect autoimmune conditions. Sadly, some patients are told it’s all in their head. On average, individuals see five different doctors before they determine they have an autoimmune disease, and many never receive a proper diagnosis. 

At The Healing Collective, we are dedicated to testing, identifying, and treating autoimmune disease. With functional medicine, we continually see clients whose symptoms improve year after year or even go into remission, which can be life-changing.

Some of the most common autoimmune diseases we treat include:

Identifying the triggers for autoimmune disease is a major focus for Tracy and The Healing Collective team. Once you know how you got to where you are with your immune response, you can start to work on a plan to self-correct and heal. Autoimmune diseases are closely related, and many people have more than one, even if they don’t realize it. 

Here are the five primary triggers or factors for autoimmune disease:

Emotional and Physical Stress

When there is a genetic predisposition, all it takes is one emotional or physical event to send someone over the edge into full-blown autoimmune disease. Some people live with low-grade symptoms for years, and the symptoms worsen and build up to the point they know they need to address the issue. For others, there is one event that places stress on the body, such as a surgery, pregnancy, divorce, or death in the family. 

Some people have non-celiac gluten sensitivity and have eaten gluten their entire lives without any major symptoms. Then, suddenly they develop autoimmune disease when they experience a major stressor in their lives.

Infections

Infections that do not resolve at the acute phase but turn into a chronic infection, also referred to as Biotoxin Illness, create chronic inflammation in the body and can lead to an overactive or dysfunctional immune response as the immune system is fighting constantly. Examples of such infections can include, but are not limited to: 

• Bacterial (systemic):  Lyme Disease and co-infections such as Babesia, Bartonella, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
• Bacterial (respiratory): Staph and Strep in the sinuses and throat
• Viral: EBV (Epstein Barr Virus), CMV (Cytomegalovirus), HHV6 (Herpes Simplex Virus 6), Long-COVID causing autoimmunity in alarming numbers by reactivating latent viral infections and causing cytokine storms.
• Mold exposure from water damage buildings
• Fungal overgrowth such as SIFO (Small Intestinal Fungal Overgrowth) and other fungal colonizations 
• Gastrointestinal (GI): SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth), Parasites
  

Toxins can be identified by testing; and detoxified specifically depending on what toxins are found, what exposures are known and/or general detoxing can be recommended for health promotion, even without testing. Although testing first is always recommended. Detoxing can be one of the most significant interventions in autoimmune disease recovery! 

Tracy and the team at The Healing Collective provide therapies to heal leaky gut, which gets you on the path to improving or reversing autoimmune disease. It’s crucial to understand that unless you work on the triggers, there’s really no medication or treatment that will thoroughly address the conditions.

Important steps to address the triggers include lifestyle and nutritional changes to minimize stress, eliminate sugar, gluten, and possibly dairy, and incorporate exercise. Many of our clients find success with a low inflammation diet like Paleo. 

Tracy has discovered that one secret weapon to promote healing the gut and autoimmune disease is cannabinoid therapy, especially when accompanied by lifestyle and nutritional changes. She has seen amazing results for his patients with autoimmune diseases in the past ten years of using cannabidiol (CBD). 

As the most medicinal part of the hemp plant, CBD offers many benefits for autoimmune conditions, including:

• Anti Inflammatory
• Gut-healing
• Natural immunosuppressive, bringing the immune system into balance rather than compromising it like immunosuppressive pharmaceuticals can
• Pain relief and sleep aid, especially when it is 1:1 ratio with CBD and THC

At The Healing Collective, we want you to know that there’s hope for healing from your autoimmune disease. You don’t have to continue suffering. Tracy and the team are here to help you begin your healing journey through CBD, lifestyle and nutritional changes, and other functional medicine therapies.