“Scientists have long thought it takes a combination of genetic susceptibility and an environmental trigger, such as an infection or injury, for the immune system to run amok.”
For me, my problems started after a car accident.
This news article was taken from Stanfords website.
My issues started after repeated bouts of the flu. I noticed I became very photophobic, the lethargy was chronic and I were diagnosed with chronic fatigue, later I were diagnosed with M.E.
Then all the autoimmune conditions were diagnosed !
If only we could zap that wretched x chromisone perhaps we would feel better! It's all work in progress behind the scenes.
I felt fine until part way through pregnancy with my youngest, but it was put down to looking after a differently abled three year old and having high blood pressure. Strangely enough, the first pregnancy was much harder on my body, but I was OK.
I know females have different anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and our XX chromosome means we are more likely to have Autoimmune Diseases. So we have a genetic component then the trigger.
I am very sorry to read that you had a Road Traffic Collision. I feel it extremely important to use Medical Speak here. Just so the Medical Profession gets on-board. We are not hysterical, hormonal, stressed, depressed, anxious or have hypochondria.
A Road Traffic Collision is not a life event per se. Were you injured ? Whiplash ? Any admission to hospital ? Anything minor is an insult (medical speak) to the body and brain. Plus, the shock after.
Viruses, infections, operations, vaccines, pregnancy, birth, menopause, bereavements, divorces, environmental aspects such all exposed to poorly treated drinking water, or hazardous toxins through Occupations or visiting/living in Foreign countries can impact a person’s Health and Well-being. So, they can trigger an Autoimmune Disease.
Giving a good Medical History is superbly important. Jillymo can pinpoint repeated bouts of flu. I too know exactly when my disease was first triggered. However, my doctors had no idea that I have worked in a country with lots of land mines. Often when listening to medics I think, Watch your step. I will trip you up on the nonsense that is coming out of your mouth.
Yes, I had my first brain injury and for ten years lived with undiagnosed Cervical/Jaw dystonia (Neurological Disorder) which started right after the car accident. The man hit my car twice within maybe 30 seconds on a highway. My nervous system was shot on top of the symptoms of low b12. My quality of life sucked due to the pain. Since being diagnosed with dystonia on Oct 2020 and starting treatment with Botox in 2021 my pain levels are way more manageable as well as my quality of life which in turn helps my nervous system. I’m also a “sensitive” person so I avoid negativity in my life as much as I can.
I’m extremely sorry to learn, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and undiagnosed Cervical/Jaw dystonia. Your Central Nervous System (brain and spinal cord) took some impact. 😞
I am pleased to read Botox is making your pain more bearable. I hope you have your PA/B12 under control too.
I smiled when reading you are a sensitive person. Swift20, I do wonder if you know what an ‘empath’ is ? If I understand correctly then it is my super power. I can read a situation extremely quickly and there are ways to protect ourselves from others.
Yes, I’ve heard of empaths! I definitely absorb energies.
Ugh, no for b12. It’s been a rough week or so. I’m on two half dose injections per day and still getting worse. A nurse just told me to stop taking NSAIDs as they will make my b12 not work. I swear I’ve heard this before. Really my increased frequency started when I had my injury…and have taken a lot of NSAIDs.
I am so sorry to read you have had a rough week Swift20. It is very difficult to gage a person’s (daily) pain on internet and even worse, to understand the level and types of pain people are dealing with.
NSAIDs serve a purpose, some people just cannot manage without analgesia because of injuries, diseases. I am not a big fan of them because of the impact to the gut. Although, recently I had to take them daily for a few weeks.
So, Swift20, are you taking all the other co-factors ? What else is going on in your world ? Even ‘simple’ things like having a cough, cold which can really knock people back on their road to recovery. The freezing, cold, wet weather too our bodies ‘react’ to. People with arthritis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease will report how much more difficult it is to move and breath in winter.
For us and those with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) it can be far more subtle. This is because of the ‘wiring’ of the Nervous System is pretty minute compared to the lungs. However, the Nervous System is superbly responsive to many internal and external factors.
Please know when to contact your doctor again. Plus, you are under a neurologist for your TBI. They know far more than me on anatomy and physiology of the brain, spinal cord, nerves and conditions.
Empaths thrive in nature or if housebound just looking out the window at little cheeky birds (weirdos) coming to say hello.
So sorry for the late response. It’s been a rough few weeks. Hope you are well. I have stopped taking NSAIDs and bought Tylenol. But I’m wondering if it’s my Folate. I keep getting worse and stomach is definitely bad from chronic NSAIDs use. My iron has 500mcg of methyl folate but I wonder if I should buy some in a higher dose? Would love your opinion. In my province in Canada we know longer test for folate which is ridiculous. My iron is lower too which makes me think my folate is too due to my stomach issues. I’m trying to heal my gut with a strict diet. Only a few vitamins will cause sore tongue and I know folate is one of them. Would love to know your thoughts and what dose you take.
I’ve always assumed mine was triggered by being pregnant with my second child. I didn’t get symptoms until a couple of years afterwards so I can’t be sure.
If frequent waking insomnia was my first symptom then yes, me too. I did have a lot of gas and air with my second too. But then I may have been vulnerable to low B12 before that as I had a (resolving) period of pins and needles in my mid 20s, which also would have been related to gas and air. Mind you, with hindsight I think my dad’s early onset frontal temporal dementia was undiagnosed PA and HE wouldn’t have been pregnant…
Not an autoimmune disease but I think the rheumatologist I recently saw is suggesting that COVID may have pushed a mild case of hEDS (or at the least traits) into the significant joint pain I have now. 😕
I definitely don’t feel I can identify any trigger. Mine was diagnosed 6 or 7 years ago after my iron levels suddenly dropped and I went from doing sports nearly every day to struggling up stairs.
I have travelled extensively to some pretty remote countries well off the usual tourist destinations so who knows, although I’ve always been careful I have obviously picked up bugs along the way but can’t identify anything specifically.
The most annoying thing is that my GPs neither know or care about this, I have mentioned this several times but they seem to think I just want to tell them I’ve been to Benidorm or something 😀
I know what caused mine. After a bad case of Iritis I was given large, and I mean large, doses of steroids to help cure it by depressing my immune system. The following year a blood test that told my doctor that I had enlarged red blood cells, it took me crawling through the doctor's surgery door and subsequent blood test the next year for him to tell me that I had Pernicious Anaemia and that it was detected the year before. On me asking why it had not been picked up then, it went very quiet.
I've now had it for 20 years and am getting worse, not better. I think that I have long covid or more damage to my immune system from either covid, the 3 injections I had at once, pneumonia, covid and my B12.
I had sepsis, long hospital stays, twice within three years. It was after the second time that I had severe deficiencies & finding of autoimmunity (had a thyroidectomy recently). But I never knew which came first. I do remember my gynaecologist saying "Your body should be fighting this" & wondered why a healthy body was not.
(But I also believe it runs on my mom's side of the family. And I believe my mother's dementia - it played out differently - was b12 deficiency, which is horrifying to even think about.)
For me I always felt that my first autoimmune illness (Graves disease) was triggered by running a marathon. My Dad had passed away and I dealt with my grief by running. On the day of the marathon I was running for a charity connected with his illness and I feel that I ran beyond my capability. Within weeks I had symptoms and was diagnosed a few months later.
I suspect PA started at the same time, or not long after, as it was diagnosed just a few years later.
Yes. Covid! In July 2022. I'm convinced that did the trick. No noticeable problems before that.
Interesting. I have had an unexplained high level of erythrocyte sedimentation rate since I was around 15 years old. Only after going abroad I was diagnosed with Mixed Connective tissue disease, and subsequently, Hyperthyroidism which is now autoimmune thyroiditis. I was under a lot of stress when I was 15 so it could have triggered it. Also the HT started also after some serious stress.
Swift20 I suspect I had autoimmune disease brewing for many years, many mini triggers throughout, but it exploded out of the waters after a really aggressive course of broad spectrum antibiotics, followed by a traumatic brain injury several months afterwards.
I don't think it helped that I got food poisoning really shortly after my head injury - leaky gut/brain + pathogens in food = BIG frowny face...
I’m sorry to hear that. I just read last week that scientists believe autoimmune diseases start with leaky gut. I also had leaky gut years ago when mine started. I was surprised to read that scientists believe in leaky gut since doctors don’t.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Folic Acid
New papers on PA
Interesting fact about B12 levels. 
