Are you aware of recently introduced H.R.7078 which has been cited as the "Prevention, Awareness, and Research of Autoimmune Diseases Act of 2008"?  This bill would increase public awareness of and research on autoimmune diseases in order to help patients get diagnosed more quickly and receive proper treatment as soon as possible, as well as improve the quality of life for those already suffering from autoimmune diseases. 

How many of us are truly aware of how interrelated our health issues are to so many things?  Speaking personally, in the past 20 months I have been diagnosed with three autoimmune diseases one of which (AI Hepatitis) was the direct result of treatment for one of the others!  I'm confident you know too that the symptoms for my Crohn's disease didn't just crop up two years ago.  It took years and multiple physicians to "figure out" what was going on with me.

I implore everyone who reads this post to please communicate with your House Representative and encourage him or her to co-sponsor this bill.  Read the document.  The numbers and issues contained within it were real eye-openers for me.

For more information, go to: The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) web page.  Click here to see a list of the autoimmune disorders identified thus far.