Kimberly
Keymaster
Post count: 4294
Carito71 wrote:
But I’m thinking if the problem is the immune system, then maybe that is the key. Maybe the Dr. doesn’t need to know all the details of the disease if he/she understands the immune system.

The issue, though, is that even if you visited the most knowledgeable immunologist in the entire world, they still don’t know how to shut off *only* the part of the immune system that is misfiring and attacking healthy tissues. For patients whose autoimmune conditions are causing extremely serious complications that are life-threatening and/or keeping them from accomplishing simple daily activities, there are some really powerful drugs out there that can knock out the *entire* immune system. But this comes at a price. Because the entire immune system becomes compromised, something as simple as a cold can turn very serious and end up requiring a hospital stay. So for now, the treatment for most autoimmune conditions, including Graves’, is to minimize the “collateral damage” caused by the immune system’s attack. And to fix that “collateral damage”, you really need a specialist: endocrinologist, ophthalmologist, dermatologist, etc..

Personally, I didn’t see a huge difference from cutting out gluten. However, the reason I tried to go gluten-free was that I was told by a doctor that I had a “sensitivity” to gluten (along with dairy, eggs, and a few other items). A “sensitivity” is a different situation from Celiac, where you can end up with very severe medical consequences from consuming gluten.

Take care!