Exhausted even though you got your eight hours of shuteye?

Gaining weight even though youre eating mostly whole foods?

Always sofreakincold and achy?

Stephanie Eckelkamp

Youre doing everything rightso what gives?

You might have an autoimmune diseasea condition in which your immune system attacks your own healthy tissue.

What is an autoimmune disease?

Heather Moday, M.D.

What causes autoimmune disease?

For one, there seems to be a clear genetic link with many autoimmune diseasesthey often run in families.

Black and Hispanic women also seem to be atgreater riskfor certain autoimmune diseases such as lupus.

However, whether certain genes actually get expressed may depend on a host ofenvironmental factors.

Types of autoimmune diseases and their symptoms.

Here are some relatively common autoimmune diseases and what they might look like.

Thus, insulin is needed daily to keepblood sugar levels in check.

It can also cause you to feel unusually tired, lose your appetite, or experience occasional fevers.

Sometimes, people experience symptom flare-ups after a trigger like stress or too much activity.

RA can develop at any age, but its more common as you get older.

In more severe cases, people may experience organ problems and even psychological symptoms.

Similar to RA, lupus can occur in flares, sometimes years apart.

Lupus is most likely to developbetween the ages of 15 and 442.

Stress and certainfood triggers(which vary depending on the person) can also cause symptoms to worsen.

hyperthyroidism, andsymptomslike nervousness, heart palpitations, weight loss, heart palpitations, and feeling overheated.

Graves is most likely to develop between the ages 20 and 40.

This results in an underactive, a.k.a.

(Its one of the few autoimmune diseases where we actually know the trigger.)

MS typically developsbetween the ages of 20 and 40.

Psoriasis also puts you at risk for psoriatic arthritis, which causes joint pain and swelling.

(Notable psoriasis sufferers include Kim Kardashian,who has been vocal about her strugglewith this autoimmune disease.)

Less severe forms of adrenal insufficiency are likely more common.

Common signs and symptoms of autoimmune disease.

But thats not all.

Digestive distress and abdominal pain.

GI issuescan be very common across autoimmune diseases, saysAmy Shah, MD.

We think autoimmunity is an issue of microbiome imbalance at least in part, she explains.

Recurrent skin rashes.

Joint and muscle aches.

Redness, pain, and swelling.

Fever without an obvious infection.

Fatigue and difficulty concentrating.

Weight gain or weight loss.

Feeling overly hot or overly cold.

This can be a result of hormonal imbalances orimpaired neurological functioning10.

Hair loss.

Numbness or tingling in hands and feet.

Several autoimmune diseases, including lupus, RA, and Sjogrens syndrome, areassociated with peripheral neuropathy.

Trouble getting pregnant.

In particular, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis seems to be a commonhidden cause of fertility struggles12.

Symptoms that flare up and subside.

Can you test for an autoimmune disease?

The first blood test youll likely receive is anantinuclear antibody (ANA) test.

This measures levels of antinuclear antibodiesantibodies that attack healthy proteins within the nucleus of cells.

A positive result means youmighthave an autoimmune disease, but it cant tell you which one.

How can you treat autoimmune disease?

Often, this bang out of treatment looks like a combination of dietary and lifestyle changes.

Diet is very important here, says Boham.

If you think you may have an autoimmune disease, reach out to your doctor ASAP.