2023-06-21 12:57:47
Autoimmune diseases, you know? They cause significant damage to life and are often elusive to diagnosis. Although these diseases do not only attack women, women are definitely in an increased risk group compared to men. The female immune system is more complex than the male one, among other things, because it faces difficult physical tasks (pregnancy, for example) that require more resources and flexibility. Add to that a western culture saturated with pressures, and you get a load and confusion that can collapse your body and cause it to damage itself from the inside.
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“Autoimmune diseases are a complex group of medical conditions in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the cells and tissues, as if they were an enemy,” explains Dr. Karen Regev, a specialist in neurology from the Ichilov Hospital.
Christina Applegate recently revealed that she had multiple sclerosis Photo: VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
“Although autoimmune diseases may attack everyone, they disproportionately tend to attack more women, and especially women who have a certain hormonal profile, which may be part of the impact on the development of the disease. Therefore, it is very important to raise awareness of the issue and to familiarize the public with this group of Diseases, among which some are more well-known and some less so,” claims Regev, and sheds light on some of these diseases that you should be familiar with:
Multiple Sclerosis
“Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system,” explains Dr. Regev, “and creates inflammation in the sheath of the nerve fibers. The disease is more common in women and estimates show that women are two to three times more likely to develop MS than men. According to studies, hormonal factors, including estrogen and progesterone levels, may have an effect on the incidence of the disease, as well as genetic predisposition and environmental factors such as lack of vitamin D or exposure to viral infections. There are many myths surrounding the disease, most of which are inaccurate, for example – that all patients need a wheelchair or that the disease has no treatment. In fact, when the diagnosis and treatment are done in the early stage of the disease, it is possible to maintain an almost complete lifestyle. Today there are effective treatments that are adapted to the patients, and they change the course of the disease, slow down the rate of progress and make it possible to deal better with its symptoms.”
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Myasthenia gravis
“Another autoimmune disease is called myasthenia gravis. The disease, which is considered rare, affects the junction between the nerve and the muscle and leads to muscle weakness and increased fatigue. Even in the case of myasthenia gravis, the disease may affect both women and men, but women are more affected, especially in the 30s to their lives when they are in their reproductive years. The exact cause of the outbreak of the disease is unknown, but even in this case the experts estimate that it is a combination of genetic, hormonal and environmental factors.”
lupus (lupus)
“Another disease that in military terminology can be defined as a malfunction that causes ‘firing on our forces’ is lupus (lupus). This is an autoimmune disease caused by the immune system attacking the person himself. Lupus can damage any organ in the body, and it manifests itself in a unique way (another ) in each patient. What is very characteristic of this disease is that 90% of its patients are women, and 90% of them are of reproductive age. Furthermore, the disease may affect the pregnancy and the pregnancy may affect the disease – there is a very close connection between the two “.
Professor Nancy Agmon Levin, director of the Clinical Immunology, Angioedema and Allergy Unit at the Center for Autoimmune Diseases at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, adds: “One of the most common questions among women diagnosed with lupus is ‘Can I have children?’ I tell them yes, you just have to plan it a little more and be more careful. Thanks to the new treatments and biological treatments for lupus that came into use in the last decade, we can stabilize the disease before getting pregnant. The treatment allowed during pregnancy should then be adjusted, and later along with close follow-up during pregnancy, success and happiness can be made possible for the new mothers.”
live alongside the disease
Autoimmune diseases affect women’s lives with a variety of symptoms of varying degrees of severity; Muscle weakness, coordination difficulties and limited mobility. But beyond the physical symptoms, they also have a real impact mentally and emotionally. The need to deal with daily conduct, incomprehensible reactions from the environment and difficulty in relationships and managing family life – all of these may overwhelm even the toughest patients.
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At the age of 28, Racheli Gutman was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis. “Until then, my life went on as usual,” she says. “Nothing in the pastoral landscape of the Jezreel Valley prepared me for the lightning strike that landed on me. I suffered from a host of physical phenomena that had no explanation. When I told my family and friends that I couldn’t smile, they didn’t believe me. Every time something strange happened to me, my immediate surroundings expressed doubts about The meaning of things. Even when one day the baby almost fell out of my hands – everything was attributed to postpartum weakness.”
“It’s a transparent disease.” Racheli Gutman Photo: Private
“The warning lights kept coming on and at a family event where I drank very little alcohol, everyone around me laughed and said that my eyes were closed and that I looked completely drunk. Then, like in a horror movie, one day, in the middle of the drive to work – my eyes closed. I almost had an accident. I was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, but Since I did not know the disease, I turned to a second opinion where the doctor took my husband aside and told him: “Listen, this is a woman after giving birth, so she is upset. Everything is fine with her.” Luckily, we didn’t listen to him.”
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“I feel that sometimes it’s hard for the environment to understand me, what I’m going through, mainly because I don’t have a noticeable and visible disability and most people don’t understand what the commotion is about. It’s a transparent disease. It exists and is present, but with almost no external characteristics. I try to explain to the environment, but Sometimes I don’t succeed. Even those who understand at first forget very quickly, because the outward appearance of not being supported by crutches or a wheelchair is deceiving. I sometimes get sarcastic comments and questions about why a normal woman parks in a handicapped parking lot, or why I drive the children to kindergarten and don’t take them on foot. No one understands my many challenges because they don’t see my difficulty.
“Fortunately, my amazing husband supported and helped me from the beginning. His daily presence, inclusion and acceptance – they are what help me survive the difficulty. It is difficult to survive such an illness without the support of family and close people. There are difficult days, but I do not give up and know that tomorrow is a new day. In the past, people died from myasthenia gravis. Today, with appropriate medication and support from the family, you can live with the disease.”
It is difficult to survive such a disease without support. Racheli Gutman and her husband Tamir Photo: Private
live life to the fullest
“It is very important that health professionals, policy makers and the general public as well, recognize the unique challenges facing women with autoimmune diseases, and work to provide support,” says Dr. Regev, “as well as the appropriate resources such as increasing awareness of symptoms, promoting programs for early diagnosis , improving access to health services and also treatment that is uniquely adapted to their condition. Such a broad view may reduce the misconceptions that exist among the public about the diseases, break stigmas and encourage more women to receive treatment and support, so that they can live life to the fullest.”
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