Can You Have Two Autoimmune Diseases at the Same Time?

Autoimmune diseases can be difficult to diagnose.  If you’ve ever bounced from doctor to doctor with a list of symptoms that sound like the side effects of everyday life — fatigue, joint aches, gut trouble, weird rashes, brain fog — only to be told “your labs are normal,” you’re not alone. And if you do get a diagnosis, there’s a good chance it won’t be the only one.

Another problem is that you can have two autoimmune diseases at the same time. It's relatively common. What’s less understood, and often avoided by traditional medicine, is why that happens — and what you can do beyond medication to address the root cause and finally heal your body.

In this article, Resilience Health and Wellness will explain why it's possible to have multiple autoimmune disorders and describe how functional medicine can be used to treat autoimmune syndrome naturally, without the need for medication.

When Your Body’s Defenders No Longer Defend

Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s tissues instead of protecting them. This can impact areas such as the thyroid (as in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis), the joints (rheumatoid arthritis), the skin (psoriasis), or even the brain and spinal cord (multiple sclerosis). There are more than 100 known autoimmune diseases, and the number is growing.

Once the immune system begins attacking one part of the body, it’s not unusual for it to broaden its scope. This domino effect can result in people being diagnosed with two or more autoimmune conditions, often years apart.

The tricky part is that autoimmune diseases don’t usually start with a dramatic flare-up. They begin subtly. Perhaps you start experiencing digestive issues that no one can pinpoint. You’re tired, but chalk it up to being busy. Your skin becomes patchy. Your joints ache in the morning. It feels like the hustle of life — until it doesn’t.

Traditional Medicine vs. Functional and Naturopathic Approaches

In conventional medicine, doctors are often trained to spot disease, not dysfunction. That’s an important distinction. In traditional medicine, diagnosis relies heavily on lab ranges and specific clinical criteria. If your results fall within the “normal” range, even if you feel anything but, you’re often told everything is fine. You may be prescribed symptom-specific treatments or, worse, dismissed altogether with the idea that “this is just your normal.”

Functional medicine practitioners ask, “Why is this happening in the first place?” instead of “Which drug should mask the symptom?” They aim to uncover root causes, not just silence the body’s warning signals.

So, let’s say your symptoms include fatigue, brain fog, and digestive issues. A conventional doctor might check your thyroid and iron levels. Even if your lab results show lower-end results, you may still be sent home and told to return in a year. A functional medicine doctor, on the other hand, digs deeper: Is there chronic inflammation? Leaky gut? Hidden food sensitivities? Nutrient deficiencies? Past infections? Environmental toxin exposure? Hormonal imbalances? The questions can be endless — until answers are found.

Functional and naturopathic doctors treat the body as a web of interconnected systems, not a collection of isolated parts. In this model, your gut health affects your brain health. Your hormones affect your immune function. Your lifestyle matters just as much as your genes.

Why Are Autoimmune Diseases Often Coupled?

People with one autoimmune disease are significantly more likely to develop another. This phenomenon is called Multiple Autoimmune Syndrome (MAS). It’s not just bad luck — it’s a sign that something deeper in the immune system has gone awry.

Genetics may lay the foundation, but it’s often environmental and lifestyle factors that trigger an autoimmune response. Chronic stress, poor sleep, a pro-inflammatory diet, gut microbiome imbalances, and exposure to environmental toxins can strain the immune system. When these stressors accumulate, they overwhelm the body’s ability to maintain balance. One autoimmune condition can further weaken immune regulation, making it easier for additional conditions to emerge. The immune system, confused and overburdened, starts attacking anything it misinterprets as a threat.

One of the biggest blind spots in traditional medicine is the failure to recognize that dysfunction begins long before disease. You don’t just wake up with lupus one day — there’s usually a slow, silent buildup of immune dysfunction happening behind the scenes.

Treating the Root, Not Just the Symptoms

If you’ve been told autoimmune diseases are “incurable” and that lifelong immunosuppressive therapy is your only option, it’s important to understand that while these conditions are chronic, they don’t have to define your quality of life.

Functional medicine takes a different approach — one focused on restoring balance to the immune system, not just suppressing it. This may involve personalized dietary changes, gut health support, hormone balancing, and stress reduction strategies.

Addressing the root causes of one autoimmune condition can reduce the risk of developing additional ones. By supporting immune regulation, improving gut integrity, and reducing inflammation, the body can begin to return to a more balanced and less reactive state.

Healing from autoimmunity doesn’t necessarily mean you no longer have the diagnosis. But it does mean you can live a full, vibrant, symptom-free life — with fewer flares, more energy, and greater control over your health.

You’re Not Broken — Your Body Is Communicating

At Resilience Health and Wellness, we believe your body is not broken — it’s communicating. Whether you’re managing multiple autoimmune diseases or sensing that something deeper is out of balance, your symptoms are not signs of failure. They are signals worth listening to.

Can you have two autoimmune diseases at the same time? Yes. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get relief.

Our approach isn’t about masking discomfort — it’s about uncovering root causes, restoring immune balance, and helping your body return to its natural state of health. Yes, it’s possible to live with more than one autoimmune condition. But with the right care, guidance, and support, it’s also possible to feel well, strong, and in control again.

You don't have to live with an autoimmune disease - Resilience is here to guide you on your journey toward clarity, healing, and lasting wellness.