Getting diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder can leave you reeling. While treatments exist, these conditions last a lifetime. Some require regular medical monitoring.
However, you can lead a normal life despite your disease. Making lifestyle changes helps you feel healthier and control flares. Here are seven tips for living better.
1. Talk to Your Doctor
The right doctor can and should act as your general in your battle to live life at your best. They can provide an overview of your condition and recommend treatment protocols to minimize flares. Your family doc can also refer you to specialists like allergists to identify environmental toxins that may aggravate your condition.
Prepare a written list of symptoms and questions in advance of your visit. Did you know that only 23% of patients get to finish their opening statement of concerns before their doctor interrupts them? If you’re seeing a new doctor, consider bringing an advocate like a friend or partner with you if you’re nervous.
2. Investigate Clinical Trials
Autoimmune disorders are the focus of intensive research and drug development efforts worldwide. Ask your doctor about clinical trials in your area. Pay attention to advertisements — organizations often solicit participants via TV and radio spots.
Also, go online to find potential studies. You can check out sites like clinicaltrials.gov to find focus groups and investigations on nearly any disorder imaginable.
3. Try an Elimination Diet
In general, eating a primarily plant-based diet low in processed foods improves many autoimmune diseases. However, depending on your unique body chemistry, certain meals may trigger you. For example, fatty and fried foods often trigger people with Crohn’s disease.
In an elimination diet, you remove all foods you suspect as culprits for five to six weeks. Then, you gradually introduce them back, paying attention to any symptoms when you do. Once you identify specific items as troublesome, you can live better by avoiding them.
4. Get Your Body Moving
Exercise helps alleviate the pain of autoimmune disorders. When you sweat it up, your body releases endorphins, natural chemicals with painkilling properties. But how do you get moving when conditions like rheumatoid arthritis make doing so painful?
Try aquatic exercise if moving on land is difficult. The buoyancy of the water supports most of your body weight, relieving pressure on sore knees and hips. If you don’t have a pool nearby, try low- or no-impact programs like tai chi and yoga.
5. Learn to Manage Stress
Add an autoimmune disease to chronic stress, and you’re sitting on a time bomb. It’s only a matter of how long it takes before your body flares up. Research indicates people with stress-related disorders develop autoimmune diseases younger and are more likely to suffer from more than one condition. Other studies found a link between long-term abuse in childhood and the development of these diseases.
When you have an autoimmune disease, you need to get enough sleep. Doing so can prove tricky when pain keeps you awake. Start by creating a bedroom oasis. Surround yourself with pillows and hang blackout curtains if any lights outside keep you awake.
Then, practice good sleep hygiene by going to bed and waking up at the same time daily. If you use your cell phone to wake up, invest in an alarm clock. The blue light from electronic devices interrupts regular sleep patterns, and the temptation to surf social media when zzz’s prove elusive can compound your insomnia.
7. Try Holistic Therapies
Some patients with autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis find significant relief from holistic therapies like acupuncture. Western scientists remain uncertain about the exact mechanism behind such treatments. But most offer no risk of side effects — what do you have to lose besides pain?
Massage therapy can stimulate blood flow to achy joints. Herbs like turmeric serve as natural anti-inflammatories. Do your research and check with your doctor before trying supplements. Some vitamins and minerals interfere with the absorption of certain medications.
Leading a Healthy Life Despite an Autoimmune Disorder
The good news? By making lifestyle modifications and following your physician’s advice, you can lead a normal life with an autoimmune disorder. Give the techniques above a try to regain control and feel your best.
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