# Does anyone know what the likelihood is of contracting other autoimmune diseases?



## honeysuckle2 (Mar 9, 2011)

My Grave's and Hashimoto's were sort of found by chance. (If relying on my ability to recognize abnormal symptoms that should be addressed, the diseases would have never been found.) It kind of concerns me that doctors don't routinely check patients with one autoimmune disease for other autoimmune diseases, despite the increased risk.

Does anyone know exactly how much of an increased risk that is?

And has anyone convinced their doctors to run a panel of tests to screen for other autoimmune diseases?

Thanks!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

honeysuckle2 said:


> My Grave's and Hashimoto's were sort of found by chance. (If relying on my ability to recognize abnormal symptoms that should be addressed, the diseases would have never been found.) It kind of concerns me that doctors don't routinely check patients with one autoimmune disease for other autoimmune diseases, despite the increased risk.
> 
> Does anyone know exactly how much of an increased risk that is?
> 
> ...


It really is increased. A good place to start would be to get ANA (antinuclear antibodies.) If present, that would be "suggestive" of a myriad of things and a prudent doctor should start the rule in, rule out by doing further in-depth testing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-nuclear_antibody

I would wait until you get on track w/your thyroid for this unless you really really feel something else is going on. ANA would be present w/thyroid antibodies also. You see? Don't want to see you waste a lot of money.

This field of study is so interesting. It is hard sometimes to identify the "primary" disease w/all others being secondary to the primary.

Use your best judgement.


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