If you live with autoimmunity of any kind — whether it’s Hashimoto’s, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, IBD, MS, or another condition — you’ve probably noticed that your symptoms have a rhythm of their own.
Maybe your pain or inflammation flares in the evening.
Maybe your energy crashes around dinner time.
Maybe you feel anxious, wired, or wake up between 2–4 a.m., unable to go back to sleep.
Or maybe you actually feel better late at night, like your body finally settles down after sunset, and morning is your worst time.
You’re not imagining it. These timing patterns are real, and they’re not being studied nearly enough — especially in women.
Why I’m Doing This Research
I created an anonymous autoimmune timing survey (take it here) to collect data about when symptoms improve or worsen during the day and throughout the menstrual cycle.
This isn’t just curiosity — it’s a clinical project born from both personal experience and patient frustration.
When I was struggling with colitis, I was told my symptoms got worse at night because I “had anxiety.”
That explanation never sat right with me.
And it turned out to be wrong — once I was on the correct medication, my nighttime pain and urgency disappeared.
That moment changed everything for me as a practitioner. It highlighted how dismissive and under-researched autoimmune care for women truly is.
The lack of clinical attention to how our symptoms fluctuate — with time of day, hormones, sleep, stress, and treatment cycles — leaves us unsupported and often doubting our own experiences.
What I’m Studying
Through this survey, I’m exploring questions like:
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Do autoimmune symptoms flare or calm at specific times of day?
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Why do some people feel worse at night, while others feel better closer to 10 p.m.–12 a.m.?
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What’s happening when people wake up around 2–4 a.m. with pain, swelling, or anxiety?
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How do hormonal cycles and sleep rhythms influence inflammation and immune function?
These patterns could hold the key to personalized treatment, better symptom management, and more compassionate care.
Why It Matters
Women are the majority of autoimmune patients — yet we’re often told our symptoms are emotional, exaggerated, or “just hormones.”
There’s a massive research gap when it comes to understanding how autoimmune disease actually feels in the body on a daily basis.
I’m working to change that.
In my functional medicine practice, I teach my patients how to:
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Identify their unique triggers and patterns.
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Understand why certain herbs or supplements help — and why others make things worse.
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See how hormones and circadian rhythms influence autoimmune activity.
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Rebuild trust in their bodies through practical, scientific, and spiritual tools.
This research is another step toward bridging science, experience, and healing — so that no one’s symptoms are dismissed again.
How You Can Help
If you live with an autoimmune condition, please take a few minutes to share your experience in the anonymous survey:
👉 https://forms.gle/cjSHVZrgv9QfHvaZ7
Your input is completely private and will help build data that could shape future care and understanding.
If you’re a clinician or wellness practitioner, please share this with your patients and communities. Together, we can create research that reflects the real, lived experiences of autoimmune disease — especially for women.
Because your symptoms matter. Your story matters.
And together, we can finally bring the full picture into the light.