Autoimmune Diseases - Long-term treatment

With diabetes and other autoimmune diseases, long-term treatment is a team effort. You, as the sufferer, have an equally important role in the management of your disease as the physician has. You are responsible for the day-to-day actions that increase or decrease the controllable elements that affect your disease. These controls are as essential to the course of the disease as any medical effort your doctor will provide.

So, if diet is an important element to disease management, then you should approach it with the same seriousness that you expect the doctor to approach your treatment. If you are to reduce stress in your life, then do it. Arguing about the importance, the feasibility, or the difficulty of making these changes helps no one, and only puts off the tasks you have to do.

The medical treatment of these diseases will change dramatically over the next several years. Autoimmune diseases are an area of intensive medical study, and the methods for treatment will improve as medical experts learn more about the disease. If you join a support group, are active in researching medical information about your disease, and develop a good relationship with your doctor, this should provide you with the resources to keep up-to-date on new treatments of autoimmune diseases. You are your strongest advocate. It is up to you to make sure you know everything there is to know about your treatment.