When the Body Attacks Itself

The mystery and misery of autoimmune diseases

- BY Patricia Varacallo, DO

HEIDI HUGHES FROM Tampa, Florida, was 34 when she noticed that her fingers were unusually stiff.

At first she thought it was just from sleeping in a strange position, or perhaps carpal tunnel syndrome from hours spent typing on her computer. But the stiffness continued, and her fingers began to ache and swell. Eventually, she struggled even to open a jar of peanut butter, with pain shooting through her wrists.

Albert Stowell was in his 60s when he started to experience slurred speech, double vision, choking episodes and muscle weakness. A farmer in the Austin, Texas, area, he was having trouble managing his livestock and machinery.

Chelsea H. of Lakeland, Florida, was in high school when she started feeling bloated and uncomfortable after eating common foods like pizza and pasta. As she began her career in marketing, the bloating became painful and more frequent. She was constantly exhausted, barely scraping together the energy she needed for work.

Each of these people would visit doctor after doctor, take test after test, before finally getting a diagnosis. Heidi learned she has rheumatoid arthritis, when the immune system attacks the lining of the joints. Albert has myasthenia gravis, which occurs when the immune system's antibodies interfere with communication between nerves and muscles, leading to muscle weakness that worsens with activity. And Chelsea is dealing with celiac disease, in which eating gluten—a protein found in wheat, barley and rye—prompts an immune attack on the lining of the small intestine, leading to bloating, diarrhea, abdominal pain and fatigue.