AutoimmuneDx is a newsletter for people suffering from symptoms of autoimmune disorders who are searching for information, understanding, a diagnosis, and the available scientific evidence about autoimmune disorders translated into plain language. It’s also a home for their support persons and advocates. It’s also an investigative approach to autoimmune disorders, using available scientific research to reimagine autoimmune disorder classification systems in the search for a better understanding of the mysterious world of autoimmune pathology.
What: rxlist.com concisely defines “Dx” as an “Abbreviation for diagnosis, the determination of the nature of a disease." This definition represents AutoimmuneDx in a nutshell, the exploration of publicly available scientific research to delve deeply into the nature of autoimmune disorders.
Who: My name is Claire. I am a Registered Nurse in the Midwestern United States with training in the Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Model, and with experience evaluating the available scientific research to inform clinical practice policies and procedures. I have a passion for what scientific research reveals, and also critically evaluating its limitations. I am also the support person for a close family member who has struggled for over thirty years with multiple rare, and common, autoimmune disorders. As an advocate for my relative, I have witnessed the challenges of symptom management compounded by the difficulties and delays of navigating the healthcare system to get the attention, diagnoses and treatment my relative needs. As a nurse, I have interacted with patients with autoimmune disorders who are understandably wary of healthcare workers who are more ignorant of the patient’s autoimmune condition than the patient is. It’s because of these life experiences that I have a passion for making the available scientific research more accessible to the public and to use all available research to explore new ways of looking at and characterizing autoimmune disorders.