A is for Autoimmune

I am taking part in the A to Z blogging challenge.  This is an interesting challenge in which we blog each day of the month (except Sunday) with a different letter of the alphabet.  So stay tuned to see what I come up with for the rest of the alphabet.

Today’s post is brought to you by the letter A. 

Autoimmune diseases are something that I know way too much about.  There are many different types.  The first thing to know about autoimmune diseases is that they are genetic.  They are usually passed down through the female line. 

Even though a parent has one specific autoimmune disease, it does not necessarily mean that the child will get that same one.  A perfect example would be me and my mom.  My mom was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of 16.  Her disease is extremely debilitating.  She was in a lot of pain from the onset.

Whereas, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and eventually Hashimoto’s Encephalopathy much later in life.  I had signs of Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis from the time I was 16, but we just never knew I had it.  It has gotten really bad in the last few years.  However, I have found a few tricks that have helped me out along the way. 

My doctor pointed out that most people who have autoimmune disease also lack vitamin D.  He put me on a high dose of daily vitamin D and my symptoms decreased a lot.  I only wish that I had known about that while my mom was still alive. 

Do you know anyone with an autoimmune disease?