Treating or Reversing Autoimmune Disorders?

Paul A. Goldberg MPH, DC, DACBN, DCBCN
Founder and Consultant to The Goldberg Tener Clinic
Chronic Disease Reversal

Autoimmunity: A Leading Cause of Morbidity in the U.S.

Estimates of the number of Americans with some type of autoimmune disease range from 8% to 20% of the U.S. i.e. 26 to 66 million people ranging from infants to the elderly afflicting all segments of our population. When I attended graduate school at the University of Texas Medical Center in the 1970’s, researching and writing my thesis on Autoimmune Disorders, there were forty autoimmune disease diagnoses. Today there are over one hundred fifty.

Read our articles, The Autoimmune Plague Part I and Part II.

Numerous Diagnostic Categories… Similar Treatments

Autoimmunity can present itself in diverse ways affecting any portion of the body. When autoimmunity begins affecting a number of people in a new body region, another “disease” is created as the pharmaceutical industry rushes in to market their wares to the “new “ailment.

From a medical perspective, Autoimmune Diseases are considered challenging to diagnose, with patients often spending years going from one doctor to the next, trying to find an answer to their disease. Much time is spent by physicians in arriving at a correct autoimmune “diagnosis” to give the right medical “treatment” only to later change the “diagnosis” multiple times. On average, it takes three years and four physicians to reach an “accurate diagnosis” of an autoimmune disease according to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association.

Once a “specific” autoimmune disease is named, treatments begin. The treatment of disease symptoms does not address causes nor build health. The treatments prescribed by Rheumatologists are mostly the same regardless of the title given to the patient. Steroid treatments head the parade followed by Methotrexate, painkillers and an ever-growing list of “Biological” drug treatments e.g. Remicade, Embrel and Humira. Advertisements for these drugs are numerous always ending with a list of the numerous serious side effects including infections and cancer. The Biological Treatments also carry a hefty price tag some exceeding $10,000 a month. As the side effects become intolerable, another biological is suggested. One might think that with one hundred fifty autoimmune disorders there would be at least one hundred fifty different protocols of care, but this is not the case. The treatments utilized are predictable.

Case Example: Heather (see pictures below) came to our clinic after suffering a severe allergic reaction to Enbrel, a biological drug prescribed by her Rheumatologist. Following the injection, she saw swelling and redness around the injection site which then gradually progressed into a severe, full body rash. Her hair also started to fall out. Heather was hospitalized and prescribed Prednisone to suppress the allergic response. The nurse informed her that she had experienced a toxic reaction to Enbrel. Heather later reversed her Rheumatoid Arthritis and regained her health under our care as shown in the pictures below.

Read our articles “Problems with Prednisone” and “The Dangers of Biological Drugs Part I and Part II”

Personal Experience and Observations

My entry into the world of autoimmunity began while attending Ohio State University in a dual degree program in Law and Preventive Medicine. I developed stiffness in my back and joints diagnosed by physicians as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and mixed connective tissue disease depending on who I saw. The treatments offered were virtually identical regardless of the diagnosis. Steroids and more steroids were prescribed. Sitting in a rheumatologist’s office, it was evident that no one was improving their health. At best, the patients obtained temporary symptom suppression while risking an array of side effects. Approaching autoimmune disorders with pharmaceuticals is a dreary affair of ongoing physician appointments, pharmaceutical side effects and watching one’s health gradually dissipate.

Read more about my personal experience with autoimmune / rheumatoid disease.

Etiology

Medically the cause (etiology) of autoimmune disorders is considered unknown although theories abound including that micro-organisms or drugs might trigger changes that confuse the immune system in those genetically predisposed. Other theories include emotional trauma, infection, toxicological issues, hormonal imbalances, etc., yet even if these theories are valid, medical treatments fail to take these into account in the standardized treatment programs that are applied involving immune system suppression. Autoimmune disorders are generally viewed as mistakes by the body that occur when autoantibodies attack the body’s own cells, tissues and organs.

The logical questions to ask are…

• Why does this happen?
• Why would the body attack its own tissues?
• Are we to believe the body simply is confused?

Logic and experience tell us this is not the case and to ignore the causes for the millions of people with autoimmune disorders is a monumental error. There are instigating factors leading to autoimmune disorders that can be identified and addressed.

The Goldberg Bio-Hygienic Re-Creation System™
We Do Not Treat Disease. We Build Health and Re-Create the Body™

At the Goldberg Tener Clinic, the first task in any health disorder is to identify what factors are contributing to the patients dis-ease. Without knowing cause(s), determining how to return the patient to good health cannot be achieved. We view “treating” disease as a serious error for our goal should be to restore function and vitality. Due to enormous biochemical individuality among patients, we also must address the specific causes for disordered function in each patient’s case.

Causes to Sort Out with Each Patient

In the modern world, the body is under not only more stressors but also different ones from those in the past. We live in a highly industrialized, polluted, toxic world that is often unfriendly and stressful to humans and other animals. The toxins we are exposed to include factory wastes, food and water contaminants, radiation exposure, and pharmaceuticals among many others (read our article “Environmental Toxins and their Role in Chronic Disease”). In addition to these exposures, the individual finds themselves in an environment very different from that of our ancestors, one that is foreign, of increasing complexity and exceedingly hostile to human biology. Our immune system is under a myriad of stress factors keeping it on high alert to harmful influences it must respond to. Under almost constant fire, the immune system can respond in a fashion that produces disease symptoms.

Cellular Changes…Immune System Responses

In today’s world we ingest numerous substances (food, water, drugs, pollutants) that can change the way our cells appear to the immune system, even to the point of appearing to no longer belong to us. Dietary and digestive factors alone can, over time, lead to cells looking different enough to produce an “auto” immune response. If the patient’s cells and the body’s fluid medium they are nourished in are sufficiently abnormal, then the immune system can view them as foreign materials to be attacked. This chain of events can in turn create an inflammatory response, a type of “friendly fire” that can impair the surrounding tissues including the joints, muscles, ligaments, organs and glands.

Our Task…Our Methods

Our task at the Goldberg Tener Clinic after identifying causes is to initiate a process of Re-Creation™ where our cells and tissues can regain normalcy in appearance and function. Shown below are several before / after pictures of patients illustrating the changes that occur when the body is Re-Created.

The process of Re-Creation™ requires that we identify and address the sources of irritating factors (e.g. toxins and allergens) that create a disturbed immune response by the body. To do so we must address behaviors and substances that stimulate an abnormal immune response and take steps to literally quiet the immune system. This is not done through pharmaceutical suppression but rather by creating the right conditions for an external and internal body environment conducive to normal immune functioning.

The Re-Creation™ process also must supply the body with its foundational needs including proper nutrient availability, water, air, activity, rest and sleep and addressing other areas causing stress to the patient. These and other needs are assessed by a thorough interview of the patient’s past and current life events, by physical examination and by appropriate laboratory analysis. Lab analysis is not (as in Allopathic Medicine) performed to put a name to the patient’s disease but to identify and address causal factors disrupting the patient’s nutritional biochemistry that require attention.

Rather than approach autoimmune disease through pharmaceutical treatments, we address autoimmune disorders by identifying and addressing causes. We work to quiet the immune system through the removal of offending substances and behaviors. Working as a team with the patient we gradually create an environment that allows for the patient’s cells to thrive and regain normalcy. At that juncture the cells are no longer seen as being foreign by the immune system and no longer deserving of attack. Having created the right conditions for health, the immune system quiets, normal physiological processes resume and the patients’ health and vitality are restored.

Shown below are several video interviews with patients that successfully reversed their autoimmune disease illustrating the excellent outcomes that are possible. Click here to see more.

Causes Identified…Causes Addressed…Health Restored

Case #1: Rheumatoid Arthritis. In the video interview above, Lindsey discusses her experience working with the Goldberg Tener Clinic and the positive outcome she achieved in reversing her condition and restoring her health. She is no longer taking the drugs she was told she would need to be on for the rest of her life.

Case #2: Autoimmune Alopecia and Severe Allergies. Jack arrived at the Goldberg Tener Clinic diagnosed with Autoimmune Alopecia which caused him to lose all of his hair. Medical treatments (steroids) prescribed by his Dermatologist were ineffective. Jack also suffered with fatigue, digestive issues (SIBO) and severe allergies. He had been taking allergy medication (claritin, zyrtec, xyzal) every day since he was two years old. As the causes of his problems were addressed and the right conditions created to rebuild his health, Jack’s hair regrew, his allergies resolved, his energy increased and his digestive issues are gone. His health has been restored and he is off all drugs!

Case #3: Autoimmunity / Rheumatoid Disease. Nora came the Goldberg Tener Clinic for Chronic Disease Reversal struggling with a 14 year history of Rheumatoid Arthritis. She previously took multiple drugs prescribed by her Rheumatologist yet her health continued to decline. She is now drug free and enjoys a full active life taking care of her 500 acre farm!

Related Articles by the Goldberg Tener Clinic
1) Reversing Autoimmune Disorders
2) Reversing Chronic Skin Conditions
3) An Effective, Causal Based Approach to Digestive Problems
4) Reversing Rheumatoid Arthritis and other Rheumatoid Conditions
5) Reversing Thyroid Conditions
6) Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO): A Symptom of Impaired Health
7) Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Meaningless Diagnosis
8) The Facade of Functional and Alternative Medicine
9) An Effective, Comprehensive Approach to Reversing Allergies
10) You have been misled… the way to lose weight is NOT trying to lose weight.
11) Click here to see our full library of articles.