What’s wrong with traditional medicine’s approach to autoimmune disease? Why isn’t medication the solution?
Amy Myers, a functional medicine physician who reversed her own diagnosis of Graves’ disease, believes that traditional medicine has it all wrong when it comes to autoimmune disease. She lays out what they have wrong and the approach she believes is more effective.
Continue below for Amy Myers’ take on autoimmune disease and medication.
Traditional Medicine’s Narrow Approach
If you’re one of the millions of people suffering from an autoimmune condition, you’ve probably been to several doctors, hoping to find help. However, according to Myers, traditional medicine can’t help you reverse or prevent autoimmune conditions. It focuses too narrowly on genetics as the cause and medication as the treatment. We’ll outline traditional medicine’s narrow approach to autoimmune diseases and medication.
(Shortform note: Traditional medicine’s narrow focus on genetics and medication may not be the only problem. In The Myth of Normal, Gabor Maté critiques conventional medicine for its tendency to place doctors in an elevated position above patients. This significantly reduces the patients’ agency in managing their own health and healing process. He warns that this can lead patients to feel disempowered or even invisible—hesitant to voice concerns, question treatment options, or share helpful insights about their bodies and conditions.)
The One-Dimensional Cause: Genetics
Myers explains that conventional medicine typically views autoimmune conditions as purely genetic in origin, suggesting that genes simply command your body to attack itself. This perspective leads doctors to tell patients their condition is inevitable and irreversible.
(Shortform note: Doctors who see autoimmune conditions as purely genetic in origin might believe in genetic determinism. This perspective suggests that genetic factors predetermine health outcomes, with little room for patients’ environment and lifestyle to influence either the occurrence or trajectory of a disease.)
The One-Dimensional Answer: Medication to Manage Symptoms
As Myers explains, conventional medicine’s answer to autoimmunity offers little hope for reversing the disease because it focuses on managing symptoms through medication. Myers identifies three major problems with this approach:
- Medications can create a harmful cycle where the drug you use to treat one symptom leads to side effects requiring additional medications.
- Conventional medicine often treats autoimmune diseases with immunosuppressant drugs. However, these drugs leave you vulnerable to infections and limit your life experiences since you have to be extra vigilant about germs.
- Often, the medications stop working. This sends you and your doctors searching for ever more powerful—and potentially more harmful—medications to manage your symptoms.
| A Measured Approach to Medication Although it’s important to be aware of the possible negative effects of medication, try to balance that awareness with optimism—especially if you do rely on medication. In Mind Over Medicine, Lissa Rankin argues that holding negative beliefs about the treatment you’re receiving can harm your health. This is known as the nocebo effect—the opposite of the placebo effect—in which negative beliefs about the drug or treatment you’ve received lead to negative health outcomes. For example, Rankin cites one study that found that 30% of people who were given saline water and told it was chemotherapy lost their hair and vomited. This suggests that the patients were expecting to suffer negative side effects from chemotherapy, which predisposed them to experience the effects even without the medication. To avoid the nocebo effect, have a balanced attitude about medication. Be aware of its risks, such as side effects and lowered immunity, and have a healthy skepticism about its potential for lifelong symptom management. This can help you keep looking for alternatives that might enhance your health. At the same time, keep an open mind about medication’s potential for enhancing your current quality of life. As the nocebo effect demonstrates, your beliefs matter for your health. According to Rankin, a pessimistic mindset makes you more likely to suffer from illnesses like heart disease, and it lowers your overall lifespan. On the other hand, an optimistic mindset helps you prevent illness, recover from illness faster, and live longer. |
