Page 3 - Why Are Autoimmune Diseases So Common

When these types of things have happened at a young age, this indicates that the immune system
has already been thrown off balance. As a result, people then start to march towards an
autoimmune disease that may only come once they are an adult.

Understanding immunosuppressant drugs
Many times when people develop an autoimmune disease they are given immunosuppressant
drugs to suppress activity of the immune system.

“People tend to feel some better on immunosuppressants, but they don’t tend to feel great,” says
Dr. Bilstrom. “That’s because the body doesn’t really want immunosuppression. What the body
really wants is immunomodulation, or immune balancing.”

While autoimmune conditions are most often treated with immunosuppressant drugs, they
unfortunately do not fix the underlying cause and this does not stop people from getting a second
or third type of autoimmune disease later on. These type of medications also increase people’s
risk of infections and cancer. By suppressing the immune system, people are told, “oh, by the
way, this will increase your risk of life-threatening infections and cancer. When you know you
already have an increased risk of infection and cancer you may say, “this doesn’t seem quite
right.”

“Immunosuppressants can be a reasonable first option if your symptoms are particularly bad at
the time of diagnosis,” says Dr. Bilstrom. “However, if a person is currently on an
immunosuppressant, it is possible to eventually get off and avoid the side effects—like infections
and cancer—while at the same time, deterring new autoimmune diseases from developing.”

Let’s test, so we don’t have to guess!
A lot of really good information exists today that allows people with an autoimmune disease to
rebalance their immune system. This information puts specialists in a great position to bring
people back to the middle.

“One of the nice things is that we now have a lot of advanced tests, some even created by NASA,
which we can use to figure out how people lost their immune system ‘set point,’” says Dr.
Bilstrom. “I always say, ‘Let’s test, so we don’t have to guess.’ If someone guesses, hopefully
it’s an educated guess, but it’s still just a guess. And, if the guess is wrong, people’s time and
effort has been wasted and nothing good comes from that.”

Guessing tends to be why so many people have seen multiple practitioners before coming to see
Dr. Bilstrom. And, while there are many very good and well-intentioned practitioners, educated
guesses tend to out-weigh testing, which is why people never feel as good as they think they
should.

“This is why I place such an emphasis on testing,” says Dr. Bilstrom. “Because we can see in
black-and-white what the heck is going on. What is throwing the body off so much and
confusing the immune system that is has actually started attacking them. Extensive testing aids
us in determining what exactly needs to be done to help someone feel better.”