{"id":143932,"date":"2025-05-09T09:52:48","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T13:52:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=143932"},"modified":"2025-05-16T10:48:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T14:48:49","slug":"autoimmune-disease-medication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/autoimmune-disease-medication\/","title":{"rendered":"Curing Autoimmune Disease: Medication Isn’t the Answer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What’s wrong with traditional medicine’s approach to autoimmune disease<\/a>? Why isn’t medication the solution?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amy Myers, a functional medicine<\/a> 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue below for Amy Myers’ take on autoimmune disease and medication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Traditional Medicine\u2019s Narrow Approach<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re one of the millions of people suffering from an autoimmune condition, you\u2019ve probably been to several doctors, hoping to find help. However, according to Myers, traditional medicine can\u2019t help you reverse or prevent autoimmune conditions<\/strong>. It focuses too narrowly on genetics as the cause and medication as the treatment. We\u2019ll outline traditional medicine\u2019s narrow approach to autoimmune diseases and medication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Traditional medicine\u2019s narrow focus<\/a> on genetics and medication may not be the only problem. In The Myth of Normal<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Gabor Mat\u00e9 critiques conventional medicine for its tendency to place doctors in an elevated position above patients. This significantly reduces the patients\u2019 agency<\/a> in managing their own health and healing process. He warns that this can lead patients to feel disempowered or even invisible\u2014hesitant to voice concerns, question treatment options, or share helpful insights about their bodies and conditions.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The One-Dimensional Cause: Genetics<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Myers explains that conventional medicine typically views autoimmune conditions as purely genetic in origin<\/strong>, suggesting that genes simply command your body to attack itself. This perspective leads doctors to tell patients their condition is inevitable and irreversible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Doctors who see autoimmune conditions as purely genetic in origin might believe in genetic determinism<\/em><\/a>. This perspective suggests that genetic factors predetermine health outcomes, with little room for patients\u2019 environment and lifestyle to influence either the occurrence or trajectory of a disease.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The One-Dimensional Answer: Medication to Manage Symptoms<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As Myers explains, conventional medicine\u2019s answer to autoimmunity offers little hope for reversing the disease because it focuses on managing symptoms through medication<\/strong>. Myers identifies three major problems with this approach:<\/p>\n\n\n\n