And so it goes we start to feel “better” or our child shows signs of their disorder leaving. Our hopes are up and we are feeling positive. Then it all changes. Why does this happen? What’s altering our disorders?

Age
As we all age many things change within our bodies. Our children grow more toward puberty which is a major body change. As we age our brains change, and our body chemistry changes. Our body doesn’t function the way it used to. It’s unstoppable.

Why does aging matter?
Our body has time to build up chemicals, fats, and natural by-products of living. A build up of these chemicals can lead to different additional health conditions (also affecting our disease – see below). Over time the body breaks down or wears down in different systems from this.

Our cells are exposed to more and more free radicals as we live and age. Free radicals can damage cells and tissues in the body. Over time this damage accumulates and adds to changes in our disease and body.

 

Hormones
Whether you are male or female makes a difference, as well as changing hormones related to age. Our body is a complex system that all works together. Everything keeps on adjusting and changing.

Our children, especially those with auto-inflammatory disorders, will hit puberty. Our hope is they stop their inflammatory process leading to their disease symptoms. We don’t know if they will. Some studies show they do and some show children continue.

Males and females carry different quantities of hormones in their body. These create a different environment for different diseases. They put us more at risk for some things and less at risk for others.

As females when we age our hormones are affected greatly. We have children and then our hormones are on a roller coaster to support baby, and then to support us after. Our environment inside our body is ever changing.

These shifts and changes of hormones over time and with age creating an unknown for our disorders. Some of us know the long-term hormonal and aging changes to expect, but there is always a bit of the unexpected.

 

Other Diseases
With all of these things we sometimes develop secondary conditions. Hormones, diet, environment (see below), and age leave us more susceptible to heart conditions (such as heart disease), diabetes and more. Some of us with autoimmune disorders develop additional autoimmune disorders that relate to the general malfunction of our immune system from our primary disease. With additional symptoms of our new condition, it changes how our initial disease runs its course. As The Fixx sang, One Thing Leads to Another.

 

Environment
We have some control and then very little control over our environment and its impact on disease. Where we live (our home and our community) are somewhat in our control. Choosing a home, location and neighborhood that is low key helps lower stress. The less stress the more disease control you can attempt. Keeping your home clean and clear of possible additional toxins and leading a healthy lifestyle helps control the environment more. However, the country you live in and the air quality, water quality and more are often out of our control. We may be able to move to a cleaner place, but we may not because there is no place else to go. As our environment changes so will our body and our diseases. We try to lower our risk by changing our lifestyle and environment of our home, but the rest is not up to us.

If you track your disease you will notice trends. These trends will likely relate to these four things above. If you have some control over any of the four influences on our disease you can identify options in your tracking. Want to know more about finding trends and tracking? Check out this post. Even more tools for tracking can be found in my book How To Get a Diagnosis. There are tons of tools on this site also.

Change in disease is difficult physically and emotionally. Especially when we feel we are improving or our children are growing out of their disorders. Then we are right back to square one at times. It’s normal to feel frustrated. Track your disease, be patient and try to change what you can and know it’s not all in your control or your fault!